hire boat help

[Guest]

Hi guys & gals

need some help a few of our friends heard about us boating with the VIP's where we go what we do what the broads is all about & were getting more people wanting to come here comes the problem...

Shauna who has MS & is wheel chair bound 95% of the time & she uses the electric type wheel chair which are bloody heavy with this is mind we were thinking of an all level cruiser but then had the problem of getting the wheel chair off & on .... with people having to guide the blind shauna uses the electric wheel chair so she doesn't have to rely on people to push her .... big BUT we just cant left the bloody chair is there anyway around this or a boat that is suited to this & has some sort of hoist or lift??

this is why we try to get as many people on a boat who has disadvantages to give there families a rest but also the person who comes a break & to be around there friends which is important to everybody but were stumped on this .... im not the fittest most agile person out there i really do struggle to most thing that others can do no sweat .... if i had to get the wheel chair of & on in fear of putting out my back i would .... well almost did pushing up the canopy on San Elena alone i could barley move for days & got a stern telling off by everybody aboard both boats they wanted to find me a GP in oulton broad but i refused .... at my party last night i told everybody i was willing to do the same again if it meant somebody able to come on the holiday.....

get your thinking caps on

Jonny

[Julz]

Hi Jonny, well the only boat i know of with a hydrolic wheelchair lift is operated out of Kingcruisers? yard at Horning, ajacent to The Ferry pub, they also do 'disabled' adapted chalets as well. Im not sure, but believe that the boat is only suitable as picnic type day boat.

The second problem is that a lot of the rear doors and corridors on hireboats are far too narrow to allow wheelchair use without the user first being taken out, and the chair folded, not so easy to do with an electric wheelchair. Then once on board, you would need shorepower to charge the chair up, as they do take quite a hefty drain of power over a few hours each day, which would be outside the capabilities of most inverters. The only way that i can see this may work is if the lady could be taught to use a 'boot scooter' as these dismantle into several fairly lightweight parts, and can be re-assembled in less than 5 mins, yet are small enough when folded to fit into the average car boot, hence the name lol. These can often be hired for the week from mobility shops, and can sometimes be bought quite cheaply secondhand from the families of those who have sadly passed away.

TBH i think the viability of the idea of a boating holiday for this lady would depend on how far her MS has advanced symptom wise, and if shes able to stand and transfer from her wheelchair to a normal seat, and maybe take a few steps to board the boat with support.

If shes so advanced with this illness that she requires a hoist to manouver her from chair to bed, or cannot stand up even with support, then i think it would be unfair for all concerned, and probably an embarassing experiance for her in reality, as she would also need help with toileting, washing and dressing, prefareably by a female carer, and therefore she may feel more comfortable planning a future trip to the specialist units mentioned above with use of the powered lift dayboat.

The only other thing i can think of would be to contact the Nancy Oldfield Trust and see if they can offer a suitable boat with fitted hoist, even if only for a few hours trip out on the broads, and staying land based in between, which they may also be able to help with.

When are you next down on the broads Jonny? we may pop in and take a peek at 'Lady L' next month

Julz

[littlesprite]

Hi Jonny,

not sure how helpful this is going to be, "but" I remember reading a thread on this or another site about this subject yet can't find it now.

I have a feeling that there was a boat mentioned that was suitable for disabled access and keep coming up with Barns Brinkcraft? might be worth giving them a ring.

I will post again if I can find the original thread.

[Guest]

yer shauna is fine getting in & out of her car as she can drive or moving a little she has the one good leg shes find when it comes to showers life me if there is a seat

the hoist or lift was more for incase the bank was to high or if there was a certain boat with a hoist or lift .... we have to find these things out

Jonny

[andyg]

i think the boat barnes has or had, was one of the braemore class. not sure if they still have it tho. !!!

[andyg]

I don't remember the Braemores having disabled access, but in any case they were sold to a boatyard on the Caledonian Canal some years ago..

hi jonzo, barnes still have the boat i mentioned, braemore 1 its an alpha design like broads suncharm. it has larger rear doors etc.

[Matt]

This is the one:

http://barnesbrinkcraft.co.uk/our-boats/detail/20/

It had a wheelchair ramp on the back.

[andyg]

thats the one matt, iv been onboard theirs loads of space on board