Fitting out your boat
pump-out station every few days. Spare cassettes kept on board ensure one need never get caught short!
BEDROOM
Boats may have up to 12 berths, and the owners will usually choose a double bed. This can be placed lengthways or crossways. On a narrowboat, a crossways bed could access through the boat, so a lift-out or fold-up section is included to preserve access through the cabin. This does, of course, need making up each night.
The beds are every bit as good as at home with proper mattresses. Most bedrooms have wardrobes, dressing tables, mirrors, reading lights and somewhere for the TV and radio
HOT AND COLD WATER ON TAP
Every canal boat has hot and cold running water. Water storage tanks have suffi cient capacity for a few days, and water fi ll-up points are widespread through the system. Hot water can be produced in a number
of ways. If your engine is water-cooled, then the waste heat produced when the engine is running can be used as a heat source. If you have a central heating boiler, this, too, can be used. The tank can also have an electric immersion heater, but this is usable only if the boat has an on-board generator or is connected to electricity ‘on shore’. The water is stored in a tank called a
calorifi er. Calorifi ers can typically hold 10 to 15 gallons of piping hot water, and are foam-insulated to keep the contents hot for several hours. Larger units are often fi tted in wide beam craft where more room is available.
13 INTERIOR DECORATION
Interior decoration is entirely a matter of personal choice. Most canal boat interiors feature natural wood surfaces, which may be varnished or lacquered. The sides are sometimes carpeted
to waist height, and fl oors are usually carpeted. However, laminate fl ooring, solid hardwood fl ooring or tiling are increasingly popular. Galleys and bathrooms will often use vinyl fl oor coverings.
speakers. Just as at home, larger boats even have en suite facilities.
Smaller cabins may have single or bunk
berths. Living accommodation (bench- type sofas or dinettes) can sometimes be converted to a bed, giving extra flexibility for when guests stay over.
SEATING AND BEDDING
In the past the Narrowboat shape meant restricted seating and sleeping designs but now, even with traditional fixed seating in the saloon and a boatman’s cabin there are a large range of foams to suit all. They can be shaped for comfort of sleeping and sitting.
Where a fixed bed is a preferred there are options of sprung, foam or memory foam mattresses all made to measure including zipped sprung for zipping together for cross beds giving extra space when not being used. It is always wise when having your bed constructed to consider your sprung mattress at the same time. Although made-to-measure are now widely available, the basic rules of the number of springs on the width and length should be considered by the mattress makers, and enough room must
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