River Canal Rescue began its journey in June 2000, when now-retired chief executive officer, Trevor Forman (partner of managing director, Stephanie Horton), had a recurring dream about providing a breakdown service for boaters.
River Canal Rescue reports its teams, from 1 June to 31 August this year, responded to an unprecedented number of call-outs; 50 major incidents involving submerged, partially sunken or grounded craft, and 1200 general call-outs,
In 2023, RCR warned boat owners about checking their 3rd Party insurance policies. Now RCR warn that the wording on all policies needs to be checked...
River Canal Rescue advises on the different types of domestic water tanks and how to purify them. Each needs different treatment and has different risks.
As storms continue to batter the UK, River Canal Rescue (RCR) is reporting an increase in the number of call-outs to recover submerged vessels. In October, Storm Babet alone, was responsible for 13 boats succumbing to rapidly rising water levels on the Caldon, Chesterfield, Leeds & Liverpool and Leicester Canals, the Rivers Great Ouse, Soar, Trent and Weaver, and in Leicester Marina.
RCR is calling for boaters to check terms & conditions if they have a third-party insurance policy, as they may be unable to recover costs if their boat sinks.
In 2022, RCR responded to 130 major incidents & 3411 general call-outs, due to electrical, fuel & engine issues, flat batteries, over-heating & gear box failures.
River Canal Rescue is calling upon boaters to be aware of the fire risks on their vessels after finding more and more cases of poor electrical wiring, including under-sized wiring, overloaded circuits, and sub-standard connections and cable routing, which can rapidly turn into a loom meltdown or a fire.
In "managing lock cills", RCR's chief rescue co-ordinator, Pete Barnett, explains what to do if your boat’s caught on a cill, or your bow caught under a lock gate...
As Easter approaches, River Canal Rescue reminds boaters to undertake preparatory checks before setting off on what could be their first journey of the year.
River Canal Rescue reports it responded to 130 major incidents in 2022; emergency situations either involving submerged, partially sunken or grounded craft, plus salvage work.
Last summer, River Canal Rescue highlighted the problem of sticky fuel which was causing a peak in fuel-related component breakdowns not linked to diesel bug.
RCR says its rising callout figures for electrical, fuel & engine issues, flat batteries, over-heating and gear box failures, are set to reach an all time high by the end of the year.
WaterNav is the UK’s only free mapping and route planning tool that works offline – giving peace of mind to boaters who have had to be reliant on good internet.
Aqueduct Marina, on the Shropshire Union Canal near Nantwich, is encouraging customers to install River Canal Rescue’s Bilgeaway filter on their narrowboats.
After more than 20 years providing inland waterway users with marine breakdown and recovery services in the UK, River Canal Rescue is going global and launching a similar business – River Coastal Rescue in Perth, Australia.
River Canal Rescue reports that in 2021 it responded to 171 major incidents involving submerged, partially sunken or grounded craft, plus salvage work. These figures slightly down on last year.
River Canal Rescue is warning boat owners about the perils of buying cheap third-party insurance after finding some insurers will not pay out if a boat sinks.
With the UK’s weather patterns becoming increasingly unpredictable, River Canal Rescue is advising owners how to manage their boats during extreme weather scenarios.
Inland waterway businesses and boat owners are coming together to help the newly-established Forces Vets Afloat Project restore a boat so it can be used and enjoyed by British forces veterans.
Buying a narrowboat? This buyer's guide from RCR looks at the different types of narrowboats - traditional, cruiser and semi-traditional, and at the pros and cons of buying too big or too small.
River Canal Rescue has won the British Safety Industry Federation’s Water Pollution Award for its Bilgeaway filter. In its entry, one of over 80, River Canal Rescue (RCR) explained how Bilgeaway – the world’s first environmentally-friendly bilge discharge filter – was developed to address a well-known pollution problem.
River Canal Rescue managing director, Stephanie Horton, says the inland waterways this summer will predictably, be busy with owners keen to blow the lockdown cobwebs from themselves and their boats. This, coupled with a focus on ‘staycations’ this year, means business is booming for hire companies and marinas/brokerages who report increased interest from hirers and first-time buyers keen to spend some cash.
RCR managing director, Stephanie Horton, reports that after heavy rainfall and rising water levels early this year, boats were left submerged and others separated from their moorings and pushed onto towpaths or wedged against pontoons and other craft.
River Canal Rescue has redesigned and re-launched its WaterNav app, making it freely available to
all. The rescue service believes everyone should have access to the app - which allows navigation
without wifi or data connection - as it improves safety and shares key information.
River Canal Rescue reports there’s been an uncharacteristic peak in fuel-related component breakdowns not linked to diesel bug. It cites two identical jobs where fuel injectors were diagnosed as needing an overhaul, yet their replacements stopped working within a week, and injection pumps were found to have failed even though the diesel was clear and bright.
With winters getting colder and sub-zero temperatures becoming more common, River Canal Rescue has put together some tips on how to winterise your narrowboat and so avoid costly repair bills.
Following the failure of the Twerton sluice gates on the river Avon on Tuesday evening (15 Sept), River Canal Rescue has performed a logistical miracle, pulling teams and equipment together, at short notice, to recover 47 boats.
River Canal Rescue offer us some advice on boat maintenance following the exceptionally long period that your boat may have been idle during the lockdown.
River Canal Rescue (RCR) has extended its range of Bilgeaway filters with the addition of a new smaller midi filter, suitable for boat owners who have little or no bilge pollution, but want peace of mind they will not pollute the waterways if anything does happen.
River Canal Rescue will be raising the capsized narrowboat at Barrow, on the River Soar, on Wednesday 25 March. Torrential rain and surging water caused the boat to break its moorings, sending it down river to bridge 30 where it became wedged. Story update with photos by Mike Brown.
Since the beginning of the year, storms Brendan, Ciara, Dennis and Jorge have battered the UK, causing problems for boat owners across the inland waterway network.
As we shake off the cold weather and begin to embrace warmer climes, the changes in temperature signal the start of the boating season and with it a need to de-winterise your boat.
Over a 12 month period, RCR logged 292 call-outs, around 24 a month, as ‘environmental near-misses’ or pollution incidents. These were typically fuel, oil, coolant and antifreeze leaks into bilges caused by cracked filter pipes, spills into the engine bay, battery acid spillage and contaminated bilges.
River Canal Rescue (RCR) reminds boaters how to cope with suddenly rising and falling water levels. At the end of October, RCR was called to assist six stranded or precariously positioned boats at risk of capsize across the country; one of which was passed onto the emergency services to recover, due to the boat being inaccessible and the owner at risk if he remained on board.
