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What is The Boat Index?

Checked against its sources on 20 Oct 2026.

The Boat Index is a free, independent website that lists UK inland boats. You can look up a boat by name, see basic details about it, and check whether it has been reported stolen. Owners can claim their boat’s record.

It is run by Towpath Digital Ltd. It is not part of the Canal & River Trust, the Environment Agency or any other navigation authority.

Where the records come from

On 20 October 2026 the Index held 44,214 boat records.

  • 44,189 were collected from public boat records in April 2026.
  • 25 were added by owners.

None of the records came from a navigation authority. Each authority keeps its own licence or registration records. A Canal & River Trust number, for example, is not the same as an Environment Agency number. The Boat Index does not see any of those records.

The records were collected at one point in time, so some will be out of date. If a record is wrong, you can ask for it to be corrected or removed through the privacy request form.

What a record shows

Each boat’s public record can show:

  • name and BR-number (the Index’s own reference)
  • kind of boat
  • length, beam and draft
  • hull, engine power, builder and build year
  • licensing authority
  • home waterway, unless the owner has hidden it
  • whether the boat has been reported stolen
  • whether the record has been claimed

What it never shows:

  • owners’ names or contact details
  • licence (index) numbers. These are private. You cannot see them or search by them.

Finding a boat

Search The Boat Index by boat name. Use the length, builder and build year to tell boats with the same name apart.

Claiming your boat

Claiming is free. Create an account or sign in, find your boat’s record, and claim it from there.

Be clear about what a claim is. It means someone has linked their account to a record. Claims are not checked. There is no identity or document check. On 20 October 2026, 28 records had been claimed. An unclaimed record tells you nothing about a boat or its owner.

Once you have claimed your boat, you can hide its home waterway from the public record.

If you cannot find your boat, get in touch.

Reporting something about a boat

Anyone can report something about a boat from its record page. For example, it is adrift, damaged or somewhere odd. Reports go to The Boat Index team. They are not published.

A report is not an emergency service. For anything urgent:

  • If anyone is in danger, or a crime is happening now, call 999.
  • For an urgent problem on Canal & River Trust water that is not an emergency, call the Trust’s 24-hour line on 0800 47 999 47.

See what to do if you find a boat in trouble.

Stolen boats

The stolen list shows boats reported stolen. On 20 October 2026 there was 1. A boat that is not on the list may still have been stolen. If yours has been, see what to do if your boat is stolen.

What The Boat Index is not

  • It is not proof of ownership. No single document proves who owns a boat in the UK. See how to prove you own your boat.
  • It is not a register of title. There is no compulsory register of boat ownership, and most inland boats are not on any register of title. Part 1 of the UK Ship Register is the exception. It is voluntary, and it asks for five years of title history.
  • It is not a licence. You still need a licence or registration from the navigation authority for the water you use.
  • It is not a stolen-boat check. See buying a used narrowboat: the checks to make.

What it costs

The Boat Index is free to use.

More answers are in the FAQ. How records are handled is set out in the privacy notice.

Sources