As a registered charity, Swansea Community Boat Trust (SCBT) and our boat Copper Jack are run entirely by a dedicated team of unpaid volunteers and are licensed by the Maritime Coastguard Agency (MCA).

We offer boat trips for groups (Private Charters) and individuals on Public Sailings. We also run special events such as Live Music Events (that are also open to the general public). 

All boat trips typically last for 90 minutes and with the exception of our Live Music Events are accompanied by an entertaining and informative commentary on the history of Swansea from its Copperopolis days through to the present day. The commentary on Private Charters being optional.

Private Charters for corporate events, organisations, charities, family occasions, parties etc can be booked for almost any day/time (crew, weather and river conditions dependent), and can be booked for almost any type of event. 

Booking a Private Charter for up to 40 passengers means you have exclusive access to the boat. Whereas Public Sailings mean you are potentially sharing the boat with other members of the public.

When making a booking for a Private Charter, the person/organisation making the booking is responsible for inviting their guests and ensuring only those invited board the boat (as well as paying for the sailing).

Although we can comfortably carry up to 40 passengers, as many want to bring musicians, equipment, catering etc onboard, we naturally have to reduce that number to accommodate such requests. For example, a couple of musicians with their instruments and associated equipment, would typically reduce the number of passengers to 35.

We often get asked to run a Private Charter for a “party”. Copper Jack is an enclosed vessel with limited space and facilities (for example, just one WC). As mentioned, Copper Jack is run entirely by volunteers, and although they are fully trained to deal with emergencies (as required by the MCA) and can more than cope with well organised and run events, we do not have door staff / bouncers to police unruly behaviour. Added to which, it’s not as though we can just ask people to leave – unless they are good swimmers.

This being said, we have had some really great party sailings from birthdays, anniversaries, and music events, and would welcome hosting more of them. All we ask is that when making such a booking, your guests are made aware of the limitations of Copper Jack – including respecting our volunteers, and abiding by our rules such as no smoking/vaping, only alcohol puchased onboard can be consumed – very much like most other licensed premises.

Private Charters costs for 2025 are from £270 for a sailing Monday to Friday during school term time, and from £325 at all other times (weekends, public and school holidays). 

Although our normal sailing times are 90-minutes, we can provide longer booking slots with the additional time onboard at the pontoon (either before or after the sailing). The cost of any additional time is based on a pro-rata cost of the 90-minute sailing in 30-minute slots. For example, a 2hr booking on a weekend would cost £325 for the 90-minute sailing plus £108 for the additional 30 minutes.

A deposit of £100 plus the booking fee is taken at the time of booking, with the balance payable no later than 3 days prior to the sailing.

To provisionally book a Private Charter please complete a booking form. This can be found by clicking HERE. 

Please note that this is just a provisional booking, as we need to ensure we have a full complement of crew (all volunteers) available for your sailing.

Providing as much detail as you can on the form (such as whether you are flexible on sailing days/times), and any specific requests you have for the sailing (such as longer sailings, welcome drinks for guests etc), would be extremely helpful.

Copper Jack and our Boat Masters are licensed by the MCA. All sailings will have a minimum of 3 SCBT volunteers (Boat Master, outside crew and galley staff). In addition, when a narration/commentary is required, we will also have a guide onboard. Please indicate at the time of booking whether you require a live commentary.

As mentioned, everyone involved in running SCBT and Copper Jack are volunteers. As such, prior to confirming a Private Charter booking, we will have to ensure we have a full complement of crew available for your sailing. If you are flexible on the days/times that you sail, please let us know at the time of booking, as this will help to ensure we are more likely to be able to accommodate your request.

Copper Jack has a small, fully licensed bar serving alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, tea, coffee and other hot and cold drinks.

We also carry a small number of snacks such as biscuits, crisps, flapjacks, and occasionally other treats (such as Welsh cakes!).

Click HERE to see our current Bar Tariff.

All beverages and snacks consumed onboard must be purchased onboard.

Exceptions will be made for medically necessary items and infant food and formula.

For Private Charters, if you have any specific requests, we will endeavour to meet these provided we are given advanced notice (ideally at the time of booking).

Examples of previous requests include;

• Provide guests with a welcome drink on arrival (e.g. Prosecco or soft drink). If we normally stock the beverage(s) requested, these will be charged at our normal Bar Tariff rate. Payment can either be included in the Private Charter booking charge (payable in advance), or the account settled at the end of the sailing.
• An “Open Bar”.  We can provide an open bar service where guests are served drinks, with payment being made at the end of the sailing. This can only be requested by the organisers of the Private Charter event. 
• Supply of beverages that we do not normally stock. As indicated, Copper Jack is restricted in space, and thus we are limited to the variety of stock we can carry. Where customers have a request for a specific beverage (e.g. a bottle of brandy), we can acquire these as a one-off purchase. We will provide details of costs to the organizer prior to the event, and if agreed, will include these costs in the Private Charter booking charge. At the end of the sailing, any remaining stock will be given to the organizer to take away with them.

Private Charter bookings may bring their own food / catering (excluding drinks) onboard by prior arrangement. Otherwise, all drinks / snacks consumed on board must be purchased onboard.

Being classed as a commercial vessel by the MCA, as well as holding licences for Copper Jack, our Boat Masters, Music and Alcohol, we are fully insured (including £5m for Public Liability insurance). We also have Risk Assessments that can be made available if required.

Onboard AV / PA Equipment

Copper Jack has the following audio visual (AV) equipment that can be made available to Private Charters by prior arrangement (at no additional cost):

• 3x monitors that can be used to display material (connected via HDMI). 
• Ceiling-mounted speakers powered by a small amplifier (Bluetooth, RCA and USB)
• Windows laptop connected to the amplifier/speakers and 3x monitors (for example to display PowerPoint material).
• A “karaoke” soundbar (Bluetooth, Auxiliary, Optical)
• Hand-held microphones (x2) and microphone headset 

Please note:

• The ceiling-mounted speakers and small amplifier (max power 2x 160w) are primarily intended for the delivery of guided talks and presentations, and not designed for high-volume sound reproduction.
• The “karaoke” soundbar (located at the bow of Copper Jack), also has limited power output (60W RMS, 600W Peak).
• If planning on using CJ AV equipment, it is strongly recommended that a pre-inspection visit is arranged to ensure the equipment is suitable for your requirements, and that any media you plan on using on the day is compatible with and able to connect to our equipment.

Customer-supplied AV / PA Equipment

When customers on Private Charters require more substantial AV / PA systems for their events, they often opt to bring their own equipment onboard.

Copper Jack is equipped with 230v power delivered by a 14KVA onboard generator. This has been proven to be more than sufficient to power the audio equipment of a number of music events.

As with our live music events, consideration needs to be had for the additional space requirements of customer-supplied AV/PA equipment. A typical DJ deck, amplifier(s) and speakers may reduce the capacity by 3-4 passengers. Thus the smaller footprint the equipment takes, the better!

Copper Jack’s cabin contains 40x chairs. These are normally laid out in theatre style in 8x rows of 3 + 2 with a walkway down the centre of the boat.

For Private Charters, given advanced notification, we can rearrange and even remove seats to meet your requirements.

A common configuration is to place chairs under the windows on both port (left) and starboard (right) sides, facing inwards. This then provides a large open space for guests to stand, and if so inclined to dance!

Hopefully the above information answers many of your questions about hiring Copper Jack for a Private Charter.

Should you have any further questions, you may find answers to many commonly asked questions (such as where are the nearest car parks, how do passengers in wheelchairs get on board Copper Jack, can I bring my well-behaved dog on board) can be found on our FAQ page (https://www.scbt.org.uk/faq-menu/), or by contacting us.

Otherwise, we look forward to welcoming you aboard.