Skip to content
Canal Nav logo

Canal Nav MCP server

Which servers in the official MCP registry are Canal Nav's own, whether they answer, and what they offer. A program checked each of these, nobody copied them from a product page.

read 2026-10-20

← Back to Canal Nav

Whose server it is
  • Registry namecom.canalnav/canal-navverified in the MCP registry

The registry name sits under canalnav.com. The registry only lets a publisher use that namespace after proving control of the domain through DNS or HTTP.

When we asked itchecked 2026-10-20
  • Stateanswerschecked 2026-10-20
  • Tools6
  • Server calls itselfcanal-nav
  • Server version1.0.0
  • Protocol version2025-06-18

On 2026-10-20 the server answered initialize and tools/list without a sign-in. First answer in 468 ms.

Should an agent connect itNot proven either way yet
  • Whether its tools do the product's job has not been judged yet.
  • Checked on 2 of the 7 days it takes to judge reliability.

Once connected

  • For "plan multi-day canal cruises by days and locks", the likely first call is plan_round_trip.

Said by rules from the measurements above. The likely first call is a model's pick from the tool list; read its description before relying on it.

Measured dailydaily checks: 2, the first on 2026-10-20
  • INITE MCP scoreafter a weeka score needs 7 daily checks: 2 so far
  • Answeredmeasuring2 of the 7 daily checks it takes to print a share
  • Median first answer527 ms
  • Space in an agent's context≈ 2,147 tokensthe definitions of all its tools (6), which an agent carries on every turn
  • Tool definitionsB · 83 of 100
  • Typed results0 of 6 toolsdeclared outputSchema: results come typed, read once
  • Not saying whether it only reads or can destroy: 6 of 6

What an agent can do with it

  • can do · plan multi-day canal cruises by days and locks
  • not sure · get turn-by-turn guidance around live canal closures
  • not sure · log distance, locks and hours on each cruise

Each of the product's use cases, put to Jev against this server's tool list: can an agent do it with these tools?

Worth a look

None of the five warning signs in these definitions.

A program checks the server once a day: initialize and tools/list, no model. Tokens are the definitions' length at about four characters a token. The grade averages six checks of every tool's name, description, schema and annotations; it says how well the tools are described, not whether they work. The score weighs what was measured and nothing else: answering (30%), doing the product's job (25%), definitions (20%), context (10%) and use (15%). A part that was not measured is left out, and a hidden instruction caps the score at 40. The state of vendors' MCP servers: method and numbers →

Tools it offers6 tools · read 2026-10-20
  • plan_route

    Plan a boat journey between two points on the inland waterways of Great Britain (canals and navigable rivers). The route follows the water itself, not roads. It counts every lock and estimates cruising time from realistic boat speed plus…

  • plan_round_trip

    Plan return-to-start cruises from a point on the inland waterways of Great Britain, sized to fit a number of days. Returns several options: circular loops where the canal network offers one (canal "rings"), plus out-and-back and…

  • get_closures

    Live closure, stoppage and restriction notices for the inland waterways of Great Britain, covering every GB navigation authority: Canal & River Trust, Environment Agency, Scottish Canals, Broads Authority, Bridgewater, Middle Level, River…

  • will_my_boat_fit

    Check boat dimensions against the published maximum craft dimensions for a named British waterway (length, beam, draught and air draught, from Canal & River Trust published figures covering the full CRT network). Returns a per-dimension…

  • find_place

    Look up a place name on the British inland waterway network and return matching locations with coordinates (marinas, moorings, water points and other waterside facilities). Use it to disambiguate a place before calling plan_route or…

  • search_directory

    Search Canal Nav's directory of waterside businesses on the British inland waterways: marinas, chandleries, boat hire, boatyards, pump-out and services, fuel, moorings, surveyors, brokerage, and canalside food and pubs. Filter by free…

How to connect

Add the server to your MCP client config. Claude Desktop, Cursor and most other clients read this shape:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "canal-nav": {
      "type": "http",
      "url": "https://mcp.canalnav.com/mcp"
    }
  }
}

Add it

Claude Code, in a terminal

claude mcp add --transport http canalnav https://mcp.canalnav.com/mcp

Add to CursorAdd to VS Code

claude.ai, ChatGPT and other clients: add https://mcp.canalnav.com/mcp as a custom connector in the settings.

Each line is something a program found when it went looking: the registry entry, the server's own answer, a spec that parses. A missing line means we did not find it, not that it does not exist.