Daily maintenance
Your boat hire will tell you what you need to do each day to keep your boat shipshape. It’s unlikely that forgetting a daily check will cause a disaster, but driving without enough oil or water could damage the engine and probably make you liable for any repair costs.
So it’s best to check the oil dipstick and the radiator as directed. You’ll probably also need to turn the stern gland greaser (looks like a miniature bicycle pump, detonator or antique fire extinguisher) at the end of the day. It should be done after the engine has been running, although turn off the engine before removing the deck plates and climbing down into the engine well. All you need do is turn the greaser handle clockwise until you feel resistance. That’s enough to force grease into the housing where the drive and propeller shafts meet.
The greaser is probably near the propeller shaft, although on some boats it’s located more conveniently. Your boat hire will tell you where it is or you can find that information in the boat manual.
You should also check to make sure the propeller shaft isn’t wrapped in weeds by looking through the weed hatch. It’s an unpleasant task because you have to put your hand into the water and feel around the shaft. Of course the propeller shaft is never choked with weeds until it isn’t, usually at a very inconvenient time.
Opening the weed hatch (with the engine off!) is easy but may take some jiggling. The screw presses down the lid against the weed hatch. Loosen by turning counter-clockwise and remove the bar by sliding it left or right and then angling it up. Once the bar is removed, you can remove the lid. Then reach down to inspect the propeller shaft. When replacing the lid, make sure the bar is centered within the two slots on either side of the hatch.
Forgetting to replace the weed hatch (or improperly securing it) can eventually sink the boat.
Fuel, water and waste
Unfortunately there are usually no gauges for any of the fluid levels on hire boats. As mentioned earlier, the boat hire will provide you with enough fuel for most trips, just tell them how far you plan to go. You might be able to refuel at another boat yard occupied by your boat hire and get a discount.
If some of these maintenance checks stress you, relax. They take perhaps 15–20 minutes a day and after they’ve been done a few times are automatic. It really is very easy to operate a narrowboat.
Take on water whenever possible for two reasons: one, filling the tank is a slow process if you let it go too long, and two, you don’t want to run out of water just when you worked up a full head of shampoo lather.
Judging when you’ve filled up the waste tank is even more difficult. Your boat manual might mention that if you can see waste up to a certain line, you should stop using the toilet, by which time, of course, it’s too late.