Choosing your boat
NARROWBOAT STYLES
In modern canal boats we have the opportunity to refl ect the best of the narrowboat tradition, drawing on the design and decoration of the original working boat, but bringing the whole completely up-to-date.
Designs have now settled down into three main styles: traditional, semi- traditional and cruiser. Let’s start by looking at the outside of a narrowboat – the craft you will choose if you want to explore the entire network. ‘Aft’ and ‘stern’ both mean the back of the boat; ‘fore’, ‘bow’ and even ‘stem’ mean the front.
TRADITIONAL STYLE (SHORT AFT DECK)
e traditional stern looks most similar to that of the original working boats, hence its name. Here, the cabin is taken as far aft (back) as possible, as it was in the original – giving the opportunity for a ‘real’ boatman’s cabin. is leaves just a short rear deck. e helmsman steers the boat by standing safely in the hatchway of the aft cabin. e minimum length of the rear deck will be about 3ft (1m). Increasing this to 3ft 6in (1.07m) or 4ft gives more room to manoeuvre, but realistically there is only room for only one person at the helm whilst the boat is underway. e rest of the crew disappears to the other end of the boat, and hand signals are needed at tea time! On the plus side the helmsman is well protected from the wind and rain, and may be warmed by a stove in the boatman’s cabin by his feet.
As an alternative to a traditional boatman’s cabin, the engine may be mounted in its own compartment, either
7
Photo: Glyn Thomas
immediately forward of the aft deck or in its own engine room just forward of the cabin.
CRUISER STERN (PLENTY OF OPEN SPACE)
A cruiser stern is designed to create maximum space aft. Here, the aft deck is 8ft long (2.5m) or more, completely open, with the engine underneath the deck. Rails are usually fi tted around the stern and sides for safety, and these can even be netted to keep children and pets on board. Seats can be fi tted on top of the rails,
or you can bring out folding chairs when you’re moored. Drain channels around the fl oor-boards help to reduce the rain which gets into the under-deck engine compartment.
SEMI-TRADITIONAL STERN (OPEN SPACE WITH A TRADITIONAL FEEL)
e semi-traditional design combines the look of a traditional stern with the space of
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68