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Roman is a 54-ft long, 9-ft wide canal boat, built to our specifications by Ian Cundy of Starline Marine. Roman entered the water in April 2009. This was the last of the 64 specialised wheelchair-accessible boats that Ian built in his amazing career. He handed Roman over to us in the marina at Upton on Severn and then retired. (We had initially hired Charlotte 11, one of the boats that Ian built for the Bruce Wake Charitable Trust, on two occasions and realised after our second trip that this was the way for us to go. Sadly Bruce Wake no longer offers canal boat hire for people with disabilities.)
Roman has the best facilities for people in wheelchairs – my husband was a 6′ 5″ tetraplegic and he used a large electric wheelchair.
• You will see from the photos that there is a ramp for access – this ramp is safely stowed on the roof or on the front deck.
• The rear deck is of a good size for the wheelchair user to operate the remote steering.
• And plenty of space for others to sit or stand and operate the tiller
• The internal ramp is long enough for the largest electric wheelchair
• There is a woodburning stove with a fan to distribute the heat throughout the boat
• The main cabin has a sofa and dining table which converts to a double bed
• The kitchen has a 5-burner hob, an oven and grill, a fridge and a washing machine
• The shower room has curtains all round
• Additional adjustable height seat for toilet and shower
• Ceiling track hoist goes from the shower room to the bedroom
• Ceiling track hoist in the bedroom
• There is an extra foldaway chart table in the main cabin that serves as a table for a person in a wheelchair
• There is even a life jacket for a dog
• View through the cabin to the shower room
• View from the front cabin inside the shower room (dog optional)
Roman is moored on the Stroudwater arm of the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal, at Saul Junction. The canal is 16 miles long. We travelled up the canal to Gloucester and through Gloucester lock to the rivers Severn and Avon. The Severn is navigable up to Stourport. Worcester in particular has great moorings. The Avon is the most beautiful river, and we had many fabulous weeks travelling to Stratford – the limit of navigation for our width, as the Stratford basin has a narrow lock. Brave boaters can navigate the Severn Estuary via Sharpness (with a pilot) and Davis’ boatyard, at the end of our moorings at Saul Junction, have cranes and facilities for lifting boats out of the water if necessary.
If interested, please contact the Accessible Waterways Association in the first instance, and we will pass your enquiry on.