On the other hand the rivers are in decline, with falling numbers of boats registered, and difficult trading. So what are the reasons for this disparity?

Presently there are approximately 3000 miles of navigable waterways in England, Scotland and Wales, though as we have said, this figure is increasing every year.

Of this total, some 2000 miles are controlled by British Waterways (BW), one of the last publicly-owned corporations.

Another 600 miles come under the Environment Agency (EA), and the remaining 400 are the responsibility of 28 other navigation authorities, some private, some public. These include the Norfolk Broads, River Wey, River Avon and others.

Six years ago the then Conservative government looked at the waterways, which were in a sorry state of disrepair following many years of under-funding and neglect.

The options considered for their future included privatisation or franchising, with different waterways being sold off to private bidders.

Fortunately the incoming Labour government, and in particular John Prescott, were persuaded by BW under its new chief executive Dr David Fletcher that the canals should be seen as a major public asset and one that could be turned round with the right investment and support.

Part of the requirement that he put forward was that the tight financial restrictions imposed by the treasury should be relaxed, allowing BW to operate in a more commercial manner.

This would include removing the ridiculous situation whereby the budget was set annually, and had to be spent every year, with no allowance for long-term planning or carry over of funds.

For its part BW agreed to increase its income from nongovernment sources.

This meant maximising returns from its waterside property portfolio and selling off unwanted buildings.

But perhaps more controversially it included getting the maximum income from boat owners and increasing the licence fee by 30% in three years - a move that caused considerable alienation among users.

With its new funding in place, BW embarked on an ambitious programme of regeneration. The Millennium Fund and the lottery provided major contributions to canal restorations such as the Kennet & Avon, Huddersfield and Rochdale.

These were matched by rebuilding historic waterway structures such as the £5m Anderton Lift, and culminated with the construction of the astonishing space-age Falkirk Wheel. This revolutionary boat lift links two Scottish canal restorations, the Union and Forth & Clyde, and was part of a £30m project that was intended to regenerate a rundown area of Scotland.

These restorations were matched by major waterside property developments, particularly in inner cities.

When the canals were nationalised in 1948, they included not only the water, but also the adjacent land and buildings, including warehouses and wharves. For many years these languished in disuse as the commercial carrying days of the canals declined.

Then BW realised they were sitting on prime development sites and in conjunction with local councils and property companies turned these into major inner city projects.

These developments were matched with a new approach to marketing, press and PR.

The canals were promoted in a way that had never happened before, as tourist destinations, and life-style locations.

As a result of this, a whole new audience of boat owners took to the waterways.

Many of these new boaters were in their 50s, either taking early retirement or about to retire.

Buying a boat and taking off round the system seemed the perfect relaxation at the end of a hard-working career. And a narrowboat is the ideal vehicle to do it in.

For a comparatively modest £50-80,000 they could get a good quality boat, with all the facilities needed for long-term living afloat.

Full-size galley, bathroom with shower and bath, full-size double bed and room for guests or the grandchildren.

Maintenance and running costs are low, and the boat will hold its value well. Once they were travelling they could usually moor up every night for nothing, and they are never far from help if they should need it. The perfect solution.

As a result of this popularity, the narrowboat market is booming.

The industry estimates between 750 - 1,000 new boats are being launched every year and the top companies are quoting delivery times of 12 -18 months.

Many new firms are entering the market, with the attractions of low start-up costs and overheads, matched by simple designs and low-tech construction methods.

The typical narrowboat is built of steel to a design that has changed little in 200 years.

The dimensions of the narrow locks, constructed in the 1790s, restricts the size of any boat that wants to cruise the whole system.

Originally they were designed for barges of 70ft x 7ft (21.3m x 2.1m), and the only variation to this has been to restrict the maximum beam today to 6ft 10in (2.08m) to avoid any chance of getting jammed in tight chambers.

After that it is just a question of deciding what length you want, or can afford, with many builders in fact quoting prices by the foot.

Whilst the design may be old, the equipment fitted today is anything but, with modern diesel engines, generators and inverters providing all the comforts of home and interior joinery the equal and better of any found on sea-going production craft.

In fact so popular are the canals becoming that a serious shortage of moorings is threatening to curtail expansion.

New marinas are now being restricted by difficulty in getting planning permission in rural areas, and the cost of disposing of the spoil generated when the basin is dug out.

As a result of this, probably only 200 - 300 new marina berths are coming on stream every year, with the major shortage most acute in the South East, and close to major conurbations.

Rivers So why is this boom situation not occurring on the rivers?

The largest river navigation authority is the EA, which controls the Thames, Nene, Great Ouse and Medway, plus some smaller waterways.

The EA has acquired these by a convoluted process and is responsible not only for navigation, but flood control, which is in fact its primary function for the whole of the UK.

The River Thames was for 200 years controlled by the Thames Conservancy. This was an independent body, but one empowered to raise levies, particularly from the local waterside authorities.

Then in 1974 responsibility for the river passed to the public Thames Water Authority and priority for navigation diminished.

When this was privatised in the 1980s, control briefly passed to a new body, the National Rivers Authority, then in 1994 to the newly-formed Environment Agency.

To put this move into perspective, the EA has a staff of 10,000, and an annual budget of over £600m.

Of this, just £8m or so is allotted to navigation and recreation. The Thames has staff of 125, and an overall budget of some £6m, of which the government grant in aid has reduced from £3.3m to just £1m in the past 10 years. This has to be spent on 125 miles of river, with 45 locks and weirs.

Over the past decades, the number of craft on the Thames has fallen from 20,000 to 15,000, partly because of lack of maintenance of the structure, and partly because the typical Thames cruiser is too wide to travel off the river onto the canal system, thus reducing its appeal to the modern inland boater.

There has also been a knockon effect from the introduction of the Boat Safety Scheme (BSS), the cost of complying with which was disproportionately high for smaller, older cruisers, of which the Thames has many.

In an attempt to rationalise and improve the overall situation, two years ago the government looked at the possibility of passing responsibility for all the EA's rivers over to BW.

In what became an increasingly acrimonious dispute, the two bodies fought for control, with the new chief executive of the agency, Baroness Young, vowing at one stage that she would lose the rivers over her dead body.

In the event, the EA won, and at the same time levered some more money out of the treasury for repairs.

They also set up Thames Ahead, a £250,000 marketing plan to promote the river to a wider audience.

This is gradually bearing fruit, and it is to be hoped that the rivers will follow the canals into the 21st century.

Emryhs Marrell is editor of Canal Boat & Inland Waterways