Choosing your boat
THE BROAD WATERWAYS
Where the landscape was more accommodating, or the engineers more ambitious, locks were sometimes built broader. 14ft was a common width, so the locks could fi t either one ‘wide-beam’ boat (‘beam’ means width) or two narrowboats. ough this was particularly common for navigations based on natural rivers, or those which joined them, there were ‘canal motorways’ too: most of the Grand Union Canal between London and Birmingham is built to the broad standard, and its engineers did not hesitate to work over (or through!) steep hills.
afl oat with spacious accommodation, but is restricted to the wider waterways. Consider one if you want to cruise only on the broad waterways, particularly the major rivers with their deeper water and wider locks, or you plan to cruise extensively on Continental waterways.
Grand Union Canal, Stoke Bruerne
THE SIZE OF YOUR BOAT
When choosing a boat, you need to consider the size of the locks you want to navigate through. A modern narrowboat will have access to the whole system if it is no longer than 58ft (17.62m), and not too high (to fi t under low bridges). Many locks on the canal network are capable of taking a boat up to 72ft in length, but some locks are shorter, particularly in Yorkshire. Clever interior design can make a lovely cruising boat or home afl oat within this compact space. A wide-beam boat can provide a home
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In the south, the best known waterways for wide-beam boats are the Grand Union Canal travelling north from London, the River ames and the Kennet & Avon canal linking the ames to the Severn. 12ft 6in beam (3.85m) is the maximum recommended for these more restricted wide beam canals, although wider is possible. Draught on these southern canals should be no more than 3ft. If your boat will have a wheelhouse, make sure it can be easily raised and lowered: you will have to travel with it lowered on some of these canals. ere is unfortunately, no wide-beam link from south to north. You cannot get a wide- beam boat from the Trent to the ames, save by sea or transhipment. But when you’re in the north, or Scotland or Ireland, the canals are usually larger and deeper: those in the North-East are still used commercially. e Leeds & Liverpool Canal is a famous and picturesque link from east to west. CBA members build narrowboats in both traditional and modern styles, and a growing number also build wide-beam boats. ey provide a fi nished boat to a very high standard, drawing on a lot of experience with owners up and down the system. Most boats intended for the waterways are built in steel, or sometimes in aluminium or fi breglass. Several CBA members will provide you with a shell, often with an engine ready fi tted – a ‘sailaway’ – so that you can fi t out the interior to your own design and in your own time, or take it to a specialised fi tter.
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