Hi everyone,
For about two years I've been following the threads on here with the intention that someday my partner and I would finally move onto the canals and enjoy the life we've been dreaming of. Well it turns out this may actually happen in the next 6-12 months so I was hoping that I could get some advice on any of the many questions we have!
A little about us; We're based in the south, both in mid 30's. Our nearest canal is the K&A, and while we'd be looking at using this canal, our main intention is to continuously cruise. Both our work allows us to move freely. Theres no kids, and unlikely to be any in the near future, but we do have two lovely springer spaniels
Our first and usual conundrum is the narrow vs wide beam. I've read pretty much all the topics relating to this I can find, but it's still difficult to imagine living on boat less than 7' wide for extended periods. When we've rented narrowboats (usually with friends but have done several times just the two of us and dogs), we've managed fine, but the idea of just a little more width seems just too good an idea to dismiss.
Originally we'd intended to commission a dutch barge build (55 x 12) and spend a year or two in the UK before heading off to Europe, and if all the southern widebeam network were suitable, we'd probably still be considering this. As it is though, we'd probably be cruising bristol, oxford, london and back again route. As I understand it, the K&A is just not suitable for such a boat - It seems barely capable with a standard wide beam. And we don't want the hassle of finding large enough visitor moorings or annoying other boaters on the other canals.
We know we want to cruise in England before Europe, so we then thought "why avoid a narrowboat?" - especially if it means we can go further and see more. But as beautiful as they look, and the ease of navigation, I have three probably silly but main concerns!
1st - our dogs get in the way! Every time we've rented, our boys get under our feet in the tight spaces! They do tend to follow us around, and they might get used to this pretty quickly and learn to stay clear but it has given me pause!
2nd - the lack of a comfy sofa to cuddle up and watch a film! We don't want separate chairs. We're romantics and love to cuddle up in the evenings. All the narrowboats I've looked at seem impractical with a larger comfy sofa, and usually just have boxed in affairs with pads.
3rd - motorbikes! We understand we're going to have to sell our cars, but we both love to ride. We want to be able to take a bike out to explore more than just the canal side in new areas we're visiting. I've seen a few discussions about them on narrowboats on here, but does anyone have advice on anything other than a 125cc bike system that'll work? We'll look into a light bike, but we'll want to have some fun, so ideally something in the 600cc weight range.
So those are the main issues with going full hog narrowboat. Any opinions on any of the points would be massively welcome! When we do one day head off to Europe, we'd sell and buy a more suitable boat for those canals and rivers. Is there a third option though? Would a 9' beam be ok? I know it limits us for the midlands, but we're happy on the southern network, and it would alleviate all the concerns above. The wide beam map doesn't say how far you can get on various widths, so potentially I could take a 14' nearly up to Birmingham!
Apologies for the long post, and this is only the first question! Hopefully in the next year we'll be on the water and actually getting to know some of you!