Cruises on the Norfolk Broads use a steering wheel to control them; this steering wheel operates in the same way as a car steering wheel. When you take out your canal narrowboat, you’ll find that steering works very differently. To control your narrowboat you use a “tiller” -  which is a handle at the back. You push the tiller to the right, to turn the boat left, and push the tiller to the left to turn the boat right. This may sound odd, but you’ll soon get used to things when taking your holiday.

Boats don’t react to steering quite as quickly as cars do, so be prepared for this. When you’re getting used the steering, move the tiller a little, and if you find you’re not turning far enough, move it a little more. As with all things boating, you’ll soon know how the steering works, and be able to relax into things.

The maximum speed to you can cruise your narrowboat on the canals is 4mph. So you don’t have to worry about not being confident on the tiller. With such a low cruising speed you’re not going to crash on the first difficult bend you come across.

If you’re interested in taking a canal narrowboat holiday, take a look at the boats which are available across the canal network.