Hiya, yes it's fine for boating. Just near you in a little town called Sowerby Bridge, there is a marina (well, ok here it is called the canal basin, marina is a bit of a stretch, not so much millionaires as people with beards living on houseboats).
You can hire boats, or go on trips. Sowerby Bridge is the town I went to senior school in, it's changed a lot in the last 15 years.
The river (different to canal) has a canoe course. Really though, the advice of keeping your mouth closed near that water is a good one.
