Midlakes Launches New Boats

Harriet H. Wiles

Hanging out around marinas can be a lot of fun, especially ones like Midlakes in Macedon, NY. Midlakes is home to Midlakes Navigation's fleet of Canal hire boats, which you can rent for cruises up and down the canal. The houseboats are styled after European Narrowboats, and are what amount to floating condominiums, or at the very least a floating luxury apartment.

Midlakes has been providing this service with boats that they design and build for generations. In fact, Midlakes built the Sam Patch, but that's another story. Peter Wiles, owner and operator explained to me that they had built around twenty boats, and have been in the process of buying back several boats that they had sold over the years, so that now their fleet is around 14 boats in all.

Peter Wiles

One of the boats that had been purchased back from an individual has been re-built and was recently launched as the Harriet H. Wiles, named in honor of Peter's mother.

Designed as a single-couple rental, with deluxe appointments, Harriet is both spacious and modern. The boat also has some updated features, including an enclosed cockpit, which will make for more comfortable navigation, especially in inclement weather.

Something about the curved hard-top put me in the mind of Thomas The Tank Engine, and the lines of the boat, even with the modern interior, still have that friendly, Erie Canal charm that all Narrowboats seem to enjoy. If you're interested in chartering a boat from Midlakes, click here for more information.