Ironmaiden Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 Hi everyone, we would like to say hello and introduce ourselves, we are rachel and Sally. We aren't exactly new to boating we live on our sailboat but are selling her and wish to live out our days on a narrow boat. Regards to you all, Rachel and Sally. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mad Harold Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 10 minutes ago, Ironmaiden said: Hi everyone, we would like to say hello and introduce ourselves, we are rachel and Sally. We aren't exactly new to boating we live on our sailboat but are selling her and wish to live out our days on a narrow boat. Regards to you all, Rachel and Sally. Hello,welcome to the home of copious canal boat knowledge. How big is your sailing boat?Most I have seen have cabins so tiny,they even have hunchback mice! When you get a decent sized narrowboat you will feel that you could host "Strictly Come Dancing." Ask on here about a prospective purchase and you will get tons of advice.(most of it conflicting) There will however be a common thread running through the replies,mix that with your own knowledge and Bobs your Firkin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironmaiden Posted September 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 Hi, our boat is a 45 ft center cockpit Ketch, she has 12ft 6inch beam so she is quite big. We think that our narrow boat I would think will be about the same accommodation. We are looking at a 55ft trad but we also fancy 55ft with a 9ft beam but not sure if 9ft will restrict where we can go. Rach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Movin' on Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 minute ago, Ironmaiden said: Hi, our boat is a 45 ft center cockpit Ketch, she has 12ft 6inch beam so she is quite big. We think that our narrow boat I would think will be about the same accommodation. We are looking at a 55ft trad but we also fancy 55ft with a 9ft beam but not sure if 9ft will restrict where we can go. Rach. Welcome 9ft will restrict a lot where you can go and IMHO you need to make this decision BEFORE you even start looking others will do better than me but there is a map readily accessible on line which shows all Inland waterways/canals identifying their width restrictions Are going to be working from your new home, are you retired, are you going to travel or pretty much stay put (if so where?) - answers will inform replies much better What is your timescale for making the change - general advice is don't go looking until you have money in the bank as the brokers won't/cant take you seriously in these strange times unless you are "proceed-able" Above all have fun - we do all like pictures (of boats) so one of your sailboat would be a good start 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 15 minutes ago, Ironmaiden said: Hi, our boat is a 45 ft center cockpit Ketch, she has 12ft 6inch beam so she is quite big. We think that our narrow boat I would think will be about the same accommodation. We are looking at a 55ft trad but we also fancy 55ft with a 9ft beam but not sure if 9ft will restrict where we can go. Rach. One thing you wont be able to do is move from the southern waterways to the northern waterways and vice versa for a kick off. Unless you crane it out and back in again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Halsey said: 9ft will restrict a lot where you can go... All the best bits in the middle will be out of bounds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tracy D'arth Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 Your mooring requirements need to be finalised and in hand before you buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironmaiden Posted September 25, 2020 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 Thanks for all the info, we now know that we will be going for a trad as we want to continually cruise. This forum is a gold mine. Thanks all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan de Enfield Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 1 hour ago, Ironmaiden said: Hi, our boat is a 45 ft center cockpit Ketch, she has 12ft 6inch beam so she is quite big. We think that our narrow boat I would think will be about the same accommodation. We are looking at a 55ft trad but we also fancy 55ft with a 9ft beam but not sure if 9ft will restrict where we can go. Rach. You will have considerably less space in a 57' narrowboat than you have in the ketch. In a 12' 6" beam boat (my Cruiser is 14') your spaces (Galley, saloon, etc) can not only be 'lengthwise' but 'widthwise' as well so you can have a (say) 10'x 10' saloon. In a narrowboat a typical saloon will be (possibly) 10' x 6'. We have, for example the galley 6' x 6' on the Port side and a 6' x 6' Dining area on the Stbd side with a 'walkway' running to the forward cabin., so you are only taking 6' of the length of the boat, where in a NB you would be taking 12 foot of the length and would not be able to utilise the 6 foot width due to needing to walk from back to front. I would strongly suggest (if you haven't already, hire a NB for a week or two (in the Winter) so you can see how confining the space is compared to a wide yacht. Everything has to be in a straight line - look at some boat schematic layouts on brokers details 4 foot for the stern 6 foot for the engine 10 foot for bed / wardrobes 4-6 foot for heads / shower 4-6 foot for galley 12 foot for saloon 10 foot for bow / front deck that is 54 feet - all just 6 feet wide. You will also need some bulkheads between 'rooms'. The majority of NB's these days are built to 6' 10" beam, so you will easily lose 4 or 5 inches each side with insulation, wall linings and walls. I do understand the living space on a yacht as my other boat is a 38' x 23' Blue Water cruising catamaran based in Plymouth. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Mack Posted September 25, 2020 Report Share Posted September 25, 2020 A boat wider than 7 ft won't be able to navigate the waterways in green below. There are no through connections between the Northern, Southern and Eastern wide waterway networks. (Ignore the planned wide links as none of these is going to happen soon, if ever). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Featured Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now