JanetH

We are due to launch our narrowboat onto the water for the first time this week. It is not fitted out yet an will not be 'officially' named as yet but I want to know what the protocol is. Do we break a bottle over the stem post? I heard somewhere that this should be beer! Should this only happen when the boat is named or launched for real on the maiden voyage? Is there an orthodox way to do things?

Didn't get onto the William Piper but would love to see internal pictures if you have them

There seems to be a difference of opinion regarding the maximum length of narrowboat that can cover the whole of the canal network. I understand that the length and width of locks varies considerably and have read that anything between 57' and 62' is the maximum length you can get through all locks depending on whether you go in diagonally or not! Has anyone got real hand experience and does this mean taking off fenders etc?

Being the one responsible for the original posting I find it gratifying that there is certainly still a passion out there for life on the cut. As you can see I am learning the lingo! We are not looking for a traditional boat but are looking for traditional boat building skills and values. We have looked at many hulls over the past few months, some of which we would be happy to own and some not, some we can afford but would not want to buy and some we would love to have but can't justify the price. We hope to end up with a boat we will be proud to own, that the builder is proud to put their name to and that will be admired by those "in the know" but we also know that everyone has very different opinions and we respect them all. We look forward to seeing you on the water but this will probably not be until 2011 as Rome was not built in a day. We're not going to call the boat Rome but the end result will be worth the wait.

we have onlhy been looking at builders with a good few years under their belts and so far everyone has well in excess of 1 year order book.

thanks for that but Norton Canes have a 3 year order book, can't wait that long!

We are looking at getting a narrowboat built to a sailaway stage and have looked at Canal Transport Services (CTS) at Norton Canes near Walsall. Has anyone had any experience of them recently, I know they have a good reputation and build a handsome hull. Any guidance would be appreciated.