No I done believe so

Those who have hired the boat provide the "crew" themselves. This is not a problem, and god instruction is provided for hirers. No locks are I have hired a "day boat" for a 6 hour cruise; this will allow you to see whether or not a narrowboat holiday is for you.

Hello yes they are free of charge,

Depends which canal you choose. If you choose Falkirk to Edinburgh (Union Canal), the locks are all manned and you get help. The baby could surely be left down below long enough for mooring and casting of, which are the only time you need two people. If not, the person steering could have the baby in a sling. I think the gentle motion might encourage the baby to do a lot of sleeping. I probably wouldn’t recommend going on trips where there are many locks. Locks won’t wait and the baby won’t wait to be fed either. Good luck. Mary

only ones that are day trips. Many you do yourself, its easy and so much fun. And you get training before you set of anyway. And they also do lock training, just incase .

You will be given a quick tutorial and a few basic lessons. You might want to go on line and watch the videos on it. Unless you have a nasty wind, the boats are not too difficult to maneuver. Also check your route. There might be locks and bridges which require some attention. As a novice, you might want to avoid a canal that has a lot of these. Honestly, it is SO fun. Please try it.

children get fully equip with life jackets etc. and should not go on deck without an adult. my kids at the time were only 3 & 5 and they loved it.

Yes At Goytre Marina, they do day hire boats.

headroom is quite good, he would have to crouch going up the stairs though. But I think that's something we all have to do.