For the last few years I've been living partly in a succession of rented rooms to be near work, as well as having a house (which is inconveniently nowhere near where I work). What, I thought, about getting a narrowboat which I could put near where I was working. Even if it cost a bit more than renting, it would be money going in to something that was mine, rather than in to a landlords pocket.
So, I started buying the publications which I collectively call "Canal Fanciers Monthly" - Waterways World, Canal & Riverboat and Canal Boat and Inland Waterways. Although the content is fairly similar between the three, you never know when one of them might contain a snippit of interest, especially when you're new to the subject.
After a couple of months I started looking at getting a new boat, rather than a used one. Those produced by Hallmark Narrowboats looked suitable - although basic (and cheap) but that was OK. I don't mind doing a bit of DIY but I knew I wasn't up to doing a complete fit-out from scratch. Found one of the dealers also hired boats out so went away for a weekend in October on the Lancaster Canal which was great. Shortly after, Hallmark went out of business. They were obviously too cheap...
A couple of months passed and in early February 2000 there was the boating, caravan and leisure show at the NEC. Intro Narrowboats looked good. And went out of business a couple of weeks after the show. Bit of pattern emerging here...
The Liverpool Boat Co. were next on the list but by now the price for a fully fitted boat was starting to get a bit higher than I really wanted to spend so it was time to start looking at the used market again. And thus it was that I ended up at the Inland Waterways Exhibition, talking to Virginia Currer about a 45ft narrowboat called Peer Gynt.
The only really major thing found by the survey was a gas leak. There were a number of other things too but that was the biggie!
The other main thing missing was any form of heating. In order to save too much fiddling and expense (I hoped), I opted for diesel-fired blown hot air heating, rather than radiators. I still think this was probably the right decision in the circumstances but I wouldn't do it again! Although you can't hear it outside the boat unless you're standing right next to the exhaust and listening carefully, inside I find the fan too loud to leave on overnight. This means it can be a bit chilly first thing in the morning!
Back to the present or go to pictures