# Canal Nav

> Canal Nav is a free route planner and satnav for the United Kingdom's inland waterways. It gives boaters turn-by-turn navigation along the canals and navigable rivers, with live Canal & River Trust (CRT) closures routed around automatically, lock-aware and multi-day route planning, round trips, community moorings and hazards, an automatic logbook, shareable trip itineraries, and offline maps. It is built for narrowboaters and other canal users, not road drivers. Website: https://canalnav.com — Map app: https://maps.canalnav.com — Dashboard: https://dashboard.canalnav.com

## What Canal Nav does

- Plans canal routes that follow the water, counting locks and pacing the days — not a road engine guessing at towpaths.
- Pulls live Canal & River Trust stoppages and closures and routes around them; when a closure has a reopen date it weighs waiting it out against the detour.
- Navigates turn-by-turn with GPS, announcing each lock, flight, swing/lift bridge, tunnel and junction as you reach it, with a live mph/knots readout.
- Plans round trips and classic signposted rings by days or distance ("Not sure how long" suggests loops that fit your time).
- Records an automatic logbook per boat (distance, locks, lock-miles, hours, moorings) and works offline through no-signal cuttings and tunnels.
- Turns a saved route into a shareable, read-only trip itinerary (link or printable PDF) with curated lunch stops and landmarks.
- Includes a community layer (moorings, water points, hazards, services) and a searchable business directory shown on the map.

Canal Nav is free to plan and navigate — no card, no app-store download (it is an installable web app / PWA). It is operated by Apexl Studios and is a navigation aid that does not replace official Canal & River Trust notices or safe boating judgement.

## Common questions (how to use Canal Nav)

- **How do I plan a canal route?** Open the map at https://maps.canalnav.com, tap "Plan a route", search for your start and destination (a place, postcode, marina, or a ///what3words address), and pick from the route options offered (recommended, most direct, or fewest locks). Full guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-planning/
- **How do I plan a round trip or a ring?** In the planner choose "Round trip", set your starting point and how many days you have — or pick "Not sure how long" and Canal Nav suggests loops that fit. You can also cruise a classic signposted ring. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-planning/
- **How do I avoid canal closures or stoppages?** Canal Nav pulls live Canal & River Trust stoppages automatically and routes around them. For a closure with a reopening date it compares waiting it out against taking the detour and lets you choose. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-navigating/
- **How do I navigate turn-by-turn?** Plan a route, then tap Start to follow it with GPS (or Simulate to preview the whole trip first). You get a live speed readout and a heads-up for each lock, bridge, tunnel and junction. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-navigating/
- **How do I save a route and use it on another device?** Sign in (free) and save the route; it syncs to your dashboard so you can open it on any device and start it from your boat. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-dashboard/
- **How do I share a trip itinerary with friends?** In your dashboard open Trips, build one from a saved route, add lunch stops and landmarks, then share a read-only link or a printable PDF — no account needed to view it. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-trips/
- **How do I add my boat or keep a logbook?** Add your boat in the dashboard (its type and colours set your map icon); every cruise is logged automatically with distance, locks and moorings. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-dashboard/
- **Does Canal Nav work offline?** Yes — cache the map and your route before you lose signal and navigation keeps working through cuttings and tunnels. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-map/
- **Is Canal Nav free? Is there an app?** Planning and navigating are free with no card. It is an installable web app (PWA) at https://maps.canalnav.com — nothing to download from an app store; it works on any phone.
- **What area does it cover?** The connected network of UK canals and navigable rivers, including Canal & River Trust waters.
- **How do I list my canal-side business?** Register as a business at https://dashboard.canalnav.com — you get a free directory listing and a map pin boaters see as they cruise past. Guide: https://canalnav.com/guides-business/
- **How is it different from CanalPlan AC or a static canal map?** Canal Nav adds live closures, automatic rerouting, turn-by-turn GPS navigation on the water, community points, a business directory and shareable trip itineraries — things a planning-only tool or static map does not do. See the comparison at https://canalnav.com/features/

## Help & how-to guides

- [All guides](https://canalnav.com/guides/): Index of the how-to guides.
- [Planning a route](https://canalnav.com/guides-planning/): The full route planner — one-way and round trips, waypoints, settings, options and saving.
- [Navigating & closures](https://canalnav.com/guides-navigating/): Following a route with GPS, live readouts, closures ahead, mooring for the night and the logbook.
- [Finding your way around the map](https://canalnav.com/guides-map/): Search, layers, community points, sharing your location and offline use.
- [Sharing a trip](https://canalnav.com/guides-trips/): Turning a saved route into a shareable itinerary (link or PDF) with stops and landmarks.
- [Using your dashboard](https://canalnav.com/guides-dashboard/): Account, your boat, saved routes, cruise defaults, trips and inviting friends.
- [Listing your business](https://canalnav.com/guides-business/): Registering a business, building a listing and getting found in the directory.

## AI assistants (MCP server)

AI assistants are welcome to connect to Canal Nav's remote MCP (Model Context Protocol) server and plan real canal routes with the live engine. Endpoint: https://mcp.canalnav.com/mcp (MCP Streamable HTTP transport, no auth, no account; free, read-only, rate-limited to be fair to everyone). In Claude: Settings -> Connectors -> Add custom connector -> https://mcp.canalnav.com/mcp. The same URL works in any MCP-compatible client (ChatGPT connectors/developer mode, Cursor, etc.). Human-readable docs: https://canalnav.com/ai-assistants/

Tools:

- plan_route: A-to-B route on the water (not roads) - miles, locks, lock-aware cruising time, day plan with overnight moorings, closures routed around automatically with a wait-vs-detour comparison, boat-fit warnings, tidal safety warnings.
- plan_round_trip: return-to-start cruise options (loops/rings, out-and-back, fewest locks) sized to a number of days.
- get_closures: live closure/stoppage/restriction notices near a place or on a waterway, from every GB navigation authority (CRT, EA, Scottish Canals, Broads and more).
- will_my_boat_fit: boat dimensions checked against published per-waterway maximums (length, beam, draught, air draught) with per-dimension verdicts.
- find_place: place name to waterway locations with coordinates.
- search_directory: the Canal Nav waterside business directory (marinas, chandleries, hire, fuel, food and more).

Place inputs accept a name or "lat,lon" coordinates; boat dimensions accept metres or feet/inches strings (57ft, 6'10").

## Key pages

- [Home](https://canalnav.com/): What Canal Nav is and why it is different from a static canal map.
- [AI assistants](https://canalnav.com/ai-assistants/): How to connect Claude, ChatGPT or any MCP client to the Canal Nav MCP server.
- [Features](https://canalnav.com/features/): Full feature list plus a side-by-side comparison with other canal planners.
- [Pricing](https://canalnav.com/pricing/): Boater plans (Free, Plus, Premium) and business plans (Free listing, Promoted).
- [Business directory](https://canalnav.com/directory/): Marinas, chandlers, boatyards, pubs, fuel boats and services, searchable and mapped.
- [For businesses](https://canalnav.com/for-businesses/): How canal-side businesses get a free listing and map pin.
- [About](https://canalnav.com/about/): Background on Canal Nav and Apexl Studios.
- [Contact](https://canalnav.com/contact/): Get in touch for help or support.

## Routes

Server-rendered canal route pages: distance, locks, cruising time, a day-by-day plan with overnight moorings, live closures on the route, boat-fit and tidal warnings, and a link that opens the same trip on the live map. Any URL of the form https://canalnav.com/route/<a>-to-<b>/ renders a real, freshly computed plan between those two places (marinas, towns or junctions, kebab-case names, e.g. /route/kings-bromley-marina-to-shakespeare-marina/) - you can construct these URLs directly and they will resolve.

- [All routes](https://canalnav.com/routes/): Index of popular curated cruises.
- [Kings Bromley Marina to Shakespeare Marina](https://canalnav.com/route/kings-bromley-marina-to-shakespeare-marina/)
- [Nantwich Canal Centre to Llangollen](https://canalnav.com/route/nantwich-canal-centre-to-llangollen/)
- [Braunston Marina to Little Venice](https://canalnav.com/route/braunston-marina-to-little-venice/)
- [Liverpool Marina to Leeds Dock](https://canalnav.com/route/liverpool-marina-to-leeds-dock/)

## Waterway guides

Per-waterway pages with an editorial overview, length and lock counts, live CRT closures on that waterway, and the businesses along it.

- [All waterway guides](https://canalnav.com/waterways/): Index of every UK canal and navigable river covered.
- [Grand Union Canal](https://canalnav.com/waterways/grand-union-canal/)
- [Trent & Mersey Canal](https://canalnav.com/waterways/trent-and-mersey-canal/)
- [Leeds & Liverpool Canal](https://canalnav.com/waterways/leeds-and-liverpool-canal/)
- [Kennet & Avon Canal](https://canalnav.com/waterways/kennet-and-avon-canal/)
- [Oxford Canal](https://canalnav.com/waterways/oxford-canal/)

## Apps

- [Map app (plan & navigate)](https://maps.canalnav.com): The free web app to plan a route and navigate turn-by-turn. Installable as a PWA.
- [Dashboard (account, saved routes, boat, trips)](https://dashboard.canalnav.com): Sign in to save routes, manage your boat and logbook, share trips, and list a business.