Narrowboat Calbourne: Design considerations

Over 40 years later, I have owned several boats and more recently, shares in a syndicated one. A shared boat is great for people who only want 3 or 4 weeks a year cruising, but we decided we wanted to do some really extended cruising and travel the whole network, as far as possible.

But having spent months, scouring adverts and looking at numerous boats for sale, I decided that none of them really ticked all my boxes.

There was nothing for it. I was going to have to start from scratch and build my own! Being 'a man of means by no means', this was going to have to be very much a DIY job. So, with a clean sheet of paper, I could now set down all the 'must haves' and 'desirables'.

In no particular order, here are the key things which have influenced my decision-making:

The bed. I hate having to construct a bed at the end of a long day's cruising and locking. So it had to be a permanently made up full size double.
Engine. I love boating but really dislike the sound of modern engines. I find the noise intrusive into what should be a relaxing experience. My engine absolutely had to be a restored vintage one. The next decisions were what make to have and how many cylinders - 2 or 3 - it should have, very largely based on what I could afford and availability.
The toilet. Oh dear, that old debate! Having lived on boats through some serious freezes, I wanted a system which was not dependant on shore-based facilities, which eliminated cassettes. Pump-outs are OK if you're prepared to sacrifice a lot of storage space, put up with the smell and pay for disposal. Which really left two options - compost or incinerator. After an awful lot of research, I concluded that composting was really only appropriate for land-based installations, due to the length of time all the buckets have to be stored while the contents rots. I didn't really want a boat full of part-rotted poo, which left the incinerator as the remaining option.
Gas and cooking. During my research, I had seen a number of boats which had a Heritage Compact oil-fired cooker fitted. Unlike Agas/Rayburns etc, these are not drip-feed burners. Instead, they use two efficient pressure burners, one for cooking, one for heating and hot water. I decided this was what I wanted, which brought another big plus - no gas on board.
'Birmingham Square'. An option offered by some boat builders is to use 208cm wide steel (instead of the normal 200cm) for the baseplate. This does two things: it makes the hull sides vertical, allowing square items like the fridge, cooker, etc to fit properly, without leaving a gap at the back; it also gives an extra 3" of width at floor level.
Potter's locker/shed, or forecabin. A problem I have frequently encountered when boating is a lack of 'dirty storage'. By this I mean rubbish waiting for disposal, coal, sack of spuds, etc. I looked at one second-hand boat which had a Potter's Locker. I was amazed at the sheer amount of secure storage space it gained. Tick.
Length. If you believe the common myth about 'go anywhere', you would elect for a 57' boat. But when you go through the list of waterways, it soon becomes clear that there only a couple of pinch points which really affect this. Even the Huddersfield Broad can be navigated in a 60' narrowboat, which is what I originally decided. But in order to maximise internal space, I have specified a 62' hull, which gives a 48' 6" cabin. That two feet might not sound like a lot, but it makes a big difference to the design options. N.B. I've had a re-think on this! Having looked through the virtual cruise of the Calder & Hebble on http://www.penninewaterways.co.uk it would seem a great pity not to be able to cruise this. So it will be a 60' 0" boat after all!
Style. Given that I had already decided to have a vintage engine, located in a mid-engine room, the rest of the design had to follow suit: trad stern, 10' bow and long swim lines underwater. A self-draining well deck was essential. Above all, my boat had to 'look right'. It's one of those things that's hard to specify, but it did mean I would need a firm of builders who knew their stuff and would be prepared fulfil my bespoke requirements.
Heating. I have stayed on many boats in cold weather and have found that most of them suffer the same problem - very warm at head height but a freezing cold floor. So I started looking at underfloor heating (UFH). And thought - why not? The proposed cooker could run it easily, it should give a nice, even warmth throughout the boat. More on this later.
Insulation. I was determined that the new boat would be insulated to the max. Everyone's kneejerk reaction is 'Sprayfoam is the best'. But it's becoming expensive; in many cases, it's not put on very thickly; it involves a lot of work to cut it back and frankly, I think it looks a bloody mess. Out of all the other options available, I selected Celotex/Kingspan. Low cost, easy to install and able to use the full depth of the steelwork.
Fuel storage. Given that this boat would be totally reliant on diesel for heating, cooking and power generation as well as propulsion, it was clear that I needed a large tank. If I could accommodate one with 600+ litres capacity, it would permit a direct bulk delivery of 500L+ at a considerable cost saving over marina prices. The fuel system will be fitted with a circulating polisher.
Water storage. In order to maximise independence from water points, I wanted a stainless steel tank of at least 1,000L capacity.
Bath/shower. If I had been going for an even longer hull, I would have been tempted to have a full size, lengthwise bath, which is a nice luxury on a long cruise. But to save space, I decided on a decent size shower instead. This even left room for a bidet!
Mains power. The decision to have an electric incinerating toilet dictated that a fairly substantial 230V power capability would be needed, with a hefty bank of batteries, a big inverter and a 'quiet' diesel generator to save engine hours. More on this later.
Intended use. The boat is intended as being primarily for two people for extended cruising, with very occasional overnight guests.
Food storage. I have frequently found that shops close to the canal can be few and far between, so I wanted to include a good-sized fridge and a freezer, as well as a decent number of galley cupboards, to be able to store adequate amounts of food.
Other desirables: a washing machine, if it could be fitted in; plenty of storage and a good sized airing cupboard to dry clothes. A domestic quality stereo system, as I've never thought automotive ones very good.
Multifuel stove? A case of 'belt and braces', I figured it would be a good idea to have a stove as well. Just in case something went wrong with the cooker/boiler, it would provide a backup.

That pretty well sums up all the things I wanted to fit into the new build. The next stage was to choose a boat builder, find an engine and get on with some serious design work!