Canal Boat — February 2018

canalboat.co.uk Canal Boat February 2018 29

THE BOAT TEST

the ceiling, which when teamed with

colourful furnishings gives a very bright

cheerful look. The floor of the galley and

shower room is porcelain tiles, while in the

rest of the boat it’s solid oak.

GALLEY

Steps lead down from the stern deck into

the galley. The treads lift for storage and

there are little LED lights in the risers. On

one side is a coat cupboard with the

calorifier in the bottom, so anything stored

in here will be dried and warmed. On the

opposite side is the electrical cupboard,

which also contains a Pioneer car radio

linked to speakers in the ceiling of the

saloon and cabin.

The galley proper starts with a full

height unit containing a Thetford oven and

grill set at eye level. Below are drawers,

while above is a cupboard containing a

microwave. The hob is alongside, set into

the sparkly black quartz worktop. It’s a

very smart, oblong, three-burner model by

Thetford. Set into the worktop on the other

side is a circular stainless steel sink.

Other equipment includes a 12 volt

Shoreline fridge with a freezer box, and

there’s a washing machine, hidden behind

a door. There’s also a decent amount of

storage in the remaining cupboards.

DINETTE AND SALOON
It’s relatively unusual to find a dinette in a
boat of this length (a breakfast bar is more
typical) but plenty of seating was a must
for this family of four. It takes up six feet of
the boat’s length, six inches less than most
dinettes – but those lost inches will
probably only be noticeable when it’s
converted into a bed, and even then only if
you’re tall.
The bench seats provide lots of storage
space. One has a drawer, while the other
has a cupboard door; there’s longer term
storage at the far end. The whole dinette is
raised, so there’s a drawer under the
raised floor too. A useful touch is a 240 volt
socket complete with USB port under the
table, perfect for charging a laptop or
tablet.
The dinette cushions are upholstered in
a bright turquoise fabric. It’s a bold choice
which works really well, and provides a
good splash of colour to contrast with the
white cabin sides. The same fabric is used
on the very large sofa bed in the saloon.
This piece of furniture had to be specially
modified so it would fit; it came from Sofa
Recognise that bold colour?

Three-hob burner sits in granite

LEDs light the storage steps into the galley