Turn her sideways — a narrowboat steers better in landscape.
0.0mph
NEUTRAL
700 rpm
0.00 mi · 0 locks · 0 bumps
THROTTLE
TILLER
Tied up
Tied to the bank
No trip saved yet
P to carry on · K save · L load
Steering a narrowboat
W / S
Throttle ahead / astern (notch by notch)
Space
Engine straight to neutral
A / D
Steer to port / starboard — the tiller swings the other way
E
Work the lock (a lock-keeper sets it for you)
Q
Wind the paddles at the near end of the lock
G
Swing the gates at the near end of the lock
F
Moor up / cast off — stopped, out of gear, alongside the towpath
C
Cycle camera: chase · helm · roof · drone
R
Recover the boat back to mid-channel
B
Key card on screen while you steer
P / Esc
Pause, and the save and load buttons
K / L
Save the trip / pick it up again
M
Mute / unmute
H
Close this panel
On a gamepad
Left stick
The tiller — where you hold it is where the tiller sits
Right stick
Look around — peek from chase, turn your head at the helm or on the roof, spin and lift the drone
RT / LT
Throttle ahead / astern, a notch at a time (or the D-pad)
A · B
Work the lock · engine to neutral
X · Y
Moor or cast off · camera
LB · RB
Paddles · gates
Back · Start
Key card · this help
Stick clicks
Mute · recover to mid-channel
Press a button after plugging in — a browser hides a pad until it
sees one. Casting off still wants a click, because that is the
gesture the browser accepts to start the engine noise.
On a touchscreen
Left thumb
The tiller — drag anywhere on the wheel, not just the knob
Right thumb
Throttle ahead / astern / neutral, a notch at a time
The button that appears
Whatever there is to do right there — work a lock, moor up, cast off
Drag the water
Look around, the same as the right stick does on a pad
⟲ · ❚❚ · ?
Camera · pause, with save and load · this help
Boatman's notes
She weighs fifteen tonnes. Slow down long before you need to — reverse is the only brake, and it barely is one.
The rudder only bites when the propeller is pushing water over it. Coasting in neutral, you steer nothing at all.
Going astern the stern walks to port. Fight it or use it.
Hug the middle. Get too near the bank and it will suck your stern in.
Locks: come in dead slow, stop before the gates, and let the lock-keeper do the winding.
The canal, her paintwork and her name are all picked on the boot screen, and remembered next time.