Canal Boat — January 2018

30 January 2018 Canal Boat canalboat.co.uk

the grain of the wood shows through the
paint.
The ceiling uses the same technique, but
the boards have been routed to give a
tongue and groove effect. There’s a central
feature made of oak running down the
centre with LED lights behind, washing the
ceiling with light.
The flooring consists of a sheet vinyl in
the galley and shower room, complete
with a sparkly effect, and carpet in the
saloon and cabin.

GALLEY
A set of ladder steps takes you down into
the galley, and there’s an immediate sense
of space. At 9ft wide, this boat is only a
little over two feet wider than a
narrowboat - and yet inside it seems to
offer much more room.
Behind the steps is a radiator, which
helps to warm up the rear deck when the
pram hood is on. On one side there’s an
electrical cupboard, while on the other is a
wet locker with a radiator inside.
Carole was determined to have full sized
appliances in her galley, so there’s a
Belling oven and a matching four-burner
hob. The fridge is a Lec 240-volt model
with a freezer compartment, and the sink
is a full size one by Franke.
There’s plenty of storage, with big
cupboards under the worktop, and even a
bit of space behind the electrical cupboard
made use of, accessed from a door in the
bulkhead above the worktop. Perhaps the
biggest storage space is under the
breakfast bar. There’s one door on the
galley side, and another on the saloon side
to access what would otherwise be a dead
corner. There’s also a wine rack here, to
make use of the under gunwale space.
The worktop is a laminate, in a stone
effect.

SALOON
The breakfast bar divides the galley and
the saloon, and has a couple of attractive
stools for perching on. Saloon seating
consists of a couple of captain’s chairs.
In the left hand corner there’s a 4kW
Hamlet Hardy stove, complete with a twin
wall flue. The tiled hearth is heat resistant
and has an air gap behind.
On the bulkhead across the boat is a tv
unit. This contains a Pioneer DAB radio,
and there are speakers built into the hull
sides of the saloon and the cabin. There’s

another small cupboard on the other side

of the boat, by the door through to the

shower room.

The saloon has a set of side doors.

SHOWER ROOM

This room is another example of where

the extra width of the boat makes a real

difference - because it takes up less than

five feet of the length, and yet still feels

spacious.

The layout is interesting, with the

shower taking up virtually all of one side of

the room. Again, the owners were

determined to have a decent sized shower

cubicle; it’s 1000mm by 900mm, so they’ve

certainly got it. There’s also a porthole in

the shower - apparently the subject of

much debate. It’s been positioned

carefully, so those outside don’t get a show

when there’s someone in the shower.

At one end of the shower, there’s a full

height cupboard to make use of the spare

space. It has plenty of shelves inside.

THE BOAT TEST

The owners wanted full-sized appliances in the galley

Plenty of space in the cosy cabin