Top Boat repair shops in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom

AVOID MK AFLOAT
Terrible experience with this company from start to finish.
We arrived shortly after 9.30am as directed in the confirmation email, parked in the designated parking then waited patiently for 10-15 minutes for another group to be checked in and leave in their boat.
When the guy became free to greet us he said we'd probably get a parking ticket for not putting our details in the machine in time. If it was that urgent why wouldn't he shout that across to us whilst we stood there waiting?!
The boat itself was filthy and has obviously had no cosmetic maintenance in years.
The guy gave us brief instructions on how to drive the boat, including not to go over 4mph as its illegal and we'll get reported and lose our deposit. I asked if the boat is capable of going over 4mph. He said it is and there's no way of knowing if you are, as there's no speed gage! Just judge it by "the waves at the back"...
He didn't mention that you need to slow down when you pass parked barges, which I remembered as an important detail from hiring from Cosgrove before.
He gave brief advice on how to park at the edge of the canal, but did not mention at all how to park when we return the boat to the mooring, which you approach head on. He also said he'd never driven it himself as he has a massive barge out on the canal.
He also said to return the boat at 4.15/4.30pm for "cleaning", even though the confirmation email clearly said we had it hired till 5pm.
When we did return the boat, I assumed that the approach was to drive slowly and then the tyre at the front would bounce off the edge to bring you to a complete stop.
For some reason, it turns out the tyre is too high to make contact, and so I did knock into the edge. The guy came out shouting in a really aggressive way which made my whole family uncomfortable and really spoilt the day.
There was a small amount of damage to the concrete, which has obviously happened MANY times before as you could see filler had been applied in numerous places along the canal edge.
I didn't receive my deposit back, but I was most frustrated that I didn't receive an email confirming that my deposit was being kept and detailing the costs as to why. We had to phone twice before we were told that we were not receiving it. A company should not be able to keep your money without providing written confirmation.
I honestly think they give as little guidance as possible to create situations where they can 'justify' keeping deposits. Avoid at all costs.

Lifted my boat out {70ft} with care and safety, In for some hull welding. Very helpful & expertise on hand.

Friendly, helpful quick and easy. PumpOut £20 with complementary deodoriser.

Dog friendly and staff very helpful and friendly

First time renting a barge on the Grand Union canal and it was totally amazing. Both MK Marina, and Nick were amazing. Super easy online booking system and very cost effective. If you live anywhere close to Milton Keynes and you haven't tried it.. then DO IT!! Everything was well run, perfect and 5* isn't enough!

Booked the day hire on Mary Jane and it was an amazing experience. None of us had driven a barge before but the guys are fantastic friendly bunch who made sure we were well informed and got us on our way. The boat has just enough basic utilities so take a packed lunch if you don't want to leave the boat or stop off at one of the pubs. Either way we had a Fantastic day and will be booking again.

Not terribly clean or organised, and my husband (who typically handles emptying the toilet cassettes) was unwilling to go anywhere near their elsan point, or their toilets. Their "chandlery" looks like someone's dad's old garage, and judging from all the dust on things, their items have been there since shortly after WWII. Saw numerous instances of different prices on the same item, things missing random pieces, etc. They didn't have what I needed (a very common boat item) and the lights I bought appear to be defective, or maybe just wired oddly. Everybody I talked to seemed to be looking over their shoulder for "the owners" in case they did or said something wrong. Overall, the impression is of a refugee camp run by questionably-stable guards, but hey - YMMV!

Would give 0 stars for having to work with a SCAM car park company called PARKING EYE. Ridiculous fine for mistakenly entering the car park during the night. Pathetic Legalised Robbers!

Great people and great service. Really handy as it doesn't involve actually going in to a marina basin to access facilities. 👍👍

We loved this place, the river was lovely to roam up and down, fun for all the family. Everyone had a go at steering, even the little ones. Great places to stop. Had a fridge in the kitchen to store all cold drinks. Would recommend to others .

We have hired two boats through MK afloat over the last 12 months. Always a fantastic day and friendly service. We motored as far as the Black horse pub in Great Linford for lunch each time. The boat turns round on the sixpence which means you can turn almost anywhere on the canal. Fun, laughter and games on the way back. Two great days had by all - thanks in part to glorious weather each time.

Nice staff ,helpful when possible a working boat yard, so you get what you pay for, so no frills here, but at £100 per week, not that they could ask for any more, its basic, but my experience of these proprietors, is they have more neck than the average giraffe, not unlike a second hand car salesperson, they wish you to pay them for not much in return,

AVOID. USED THE COSGROVE NARROWBOAT COMPANY - GREAT SERVICE, CLEAN BOATS AND NONE OF THIS RUBBISH.

I can't believe I didn't read the reviews before booking. Booked a boat a month before the date. ONE HOUR before we were due to collect, we were told that the engine had a minor problem so we could not have a boat. No real apology and they even said "we might refund you". As 10 of us had taken time off work, we were not going to re-book (and we wouldn't use them either way after this experience) so I demanded a refund. I was told they "would see". I got an email later that day saying they would refund me and it would be requested "immediately". 6 days later I asked how long this would take and received a reply 2 days later telling me was told it would take 14 working days to come through. After 15 working days of waiting (and no refund of my £200) I asked again, where it was. I was told it had been processed but two weeks after the booking. We are now almost 6 weeks after the booking and no refund. They've ignored emails but have just finally replied to say "check with your bank". What nonsense. My credit card company will chase them now.

Thankfully, the Cosgrove Narrowboat company sorted us out straight away so we did get a boat on the day and said they had taken a lot of disgruntled customers from this shower.

I've since seen MK Afloat's boats on the canal. I don't know if 'Afloat' is ironic as they look like they've been underwater. I'm not surprised that our booking was cancelled. I'm surprised they can ever get them going.

Basic marina, with fuel oil, pump out, propane 1 type of solid fuel. Easy to maneuver a wide beam, but not the best mooring. No chandlery, but there is an engineering workshop and laundry with a hotel/carvery/pub alongside. Handy while you're waiting for your washing. No water point, but there is one 100 metres north of the entrance, with 2 stand pipes (flow rate is low, especially with both being used). Open 7 days a week, 10 - 5 in the summer, 10 - 4 winter.

We had a fabulous day out in the Easter Holidays. 5 of us and our dog rented one of the canal boats for the day and Chris was absolutely fantastic at every turn.

The service was superb start to finish and the children had a fabulous experience helping to pilot the boat.

We will definitely be back to have another go and can't recommend Chris and the business enough.

Absolutely Fantastic 👍👍👍

Very handy for all things boat related, coal, diesel, gas, water pumps, batteries, and a plethora of other things in the shop. While place would benefit from a complete over haul as the buildings are all porta cabins and the car park and ajoining roads are full of out holes. Even has showers and a washing machine with a dryer. But is a bit over priced. The staff are amazing though