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More sharp corners!


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Just had a glance at a boat test in canalboat mag and found an attempt at building in the maximum number of nasty sharp corners in a very expensive boat. Just a look at the pics on pages 30/31 would make me run away.  What is wrong with rounded corners and kind edges in the confined space of a narrow boat?

It takes very little extra time and skill to get a professional result and guide even an inexperienced boater towards a much better result.

I would also expect any experienced reviewer to be pointing out the shortfall.

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Assuming you mean the Feb 22 issue?

 

Never mind the corners, what’s with modern fitters using these cupboard handles that easily snag you as you walk by?

 

I often think it’s because a lot of them have never spent time on a boat other than when working so it’s not obvious what the pitfalls of design are, doubly so if the customer is equally inexperienced and coming from a purely land-based way of thinking about fittings.

 

(pic added for those without the mag)

26F0BA15-168C-4EBF-8EC5-2121FA9B0B2A.jpeg

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Yes it was the current Jan22 magazine, and the point (literally) about the handles is well made.

I think it might be time stop calling this type of article a “ test” unless it’s more objective and points out any glaring faults.

I will confess that the magazine was passed to me by a friend, so I didn’t part with the £4.99. Purchase price.

I am aware that magazines generally are having a struggle to hang on to circulation and don’t like paying much for quality articles.          
 

Edited by Mike Jordan
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If you are moving around a narrow boat there is not a lot of space and the last thing you want is to bump into a sharp corner and sticking out handles are just asking to get caught up on trouser pockets. Not such a big problem on a fat boat, I expect.

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6 minutes ago, haggis said:

If you are moving around a narrow boat there is not a lot of space and the last thing you want is to bump into a sharp corner.

When we were shopping for our first boat, circa 1997, we rejected an otherwise likeable one for that very reason: it had a protuberant sharp-cornered above-galley storage cupboard hat could easily have had someone's eye out.

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13 minutes ago, haggis said:

If you are moving around a narrow boat there is not a lot of space and the last thing you want is to bump into a sharp corner and sticking out handles are just asking to get caught up on trouser pockets. Not such a big problem on a fat boat, I expect.

 

 

Does anyone still build narrow boats then?

 

My perception is 90% of new launches are fat bustuds. Does anyone know the true percentage?

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23 minutes ago, haggis said:

If you are moving around a narrow boat there is not a lot of space and the last thing you want is to bump into a sharp corner and sticking out handles are just asking to get caught up on trouser pockets. Not such a big problem on a fat boat, I expect.

 

I did a couple of nicely rounded corners on my fat boat, but I also fitted these stupid handles which are always getting caught on my pockets. I'm sure it would be the same even in a house! 

 

 

IMG_20220201_132946.jpg

 

IMG_20220201_132927.jpg

8 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

Does anyone still build narrow boats then?

 

My perception is 90% of new launches are fat bustuds. Does anyone know the true percentage?

 

I guess the figure will vary depending on whether you are measuring by weight, volume or absolute number. 😋

Edited by blackrose
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7 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

Commonly known as Belfast sinks.  They were horrible in the '20s, not practical now either.

Both 1920's and 2020's.

My late grandmother had one in her kitchen that probably dated to the first time round. Was most surprised to see them come back in to fashion.

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4 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

But they're trendy... 😞

It's funny how things come back into fashion. I was brought up many moons ago with big white sinks and wasn't sorry when they sort of disappeared . Now they are back and my opinion of them hadn't changed. I can't really see their attraction.

  • Greenie 2
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7 minutes ago, haggis said:

It's funny how things come back into fashion. I was brought up many moons ago with big white sinks and wasn't sorry when they sort of disappeared . Now they are back and my opinion of them hadn't changed. I can't really see their attraction.

 

Ideal for washing welly boots, flower pots etc.

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We had one (A Belfast sink) on the boat and we now have one at home.

 

As we have a dishwasher at home it isn't used for washing up just veg prep. etc.

 

We like the look which of course is a purely subjective thing but there are two distinct negatives to one.

 

1 - anything pot or glass dropped into one whilst it is empty is highly unlikely to escape unscathed. Even knocking something over in one is enough to damage something like a wine glass.

 

2 - Both ours on the boat and at home are quite deep, so bending/stooping to reach in one for long periods can be tough on a dicky back.

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10 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

Back in the day when I was a young plummer, they were more commonly called "butler sinks". 

I've heard both. 

Regarding the comments in the last few posts, why should they be "pot-smashers"? We had one in our first boat, , and we've had one in our current home since 2007 or thereabouts. We haven't been aware of any propensity for breaking pots compared with steel sinks - which often look cheap and nasty by comparison.

   We do, of course, use a washing-up bowl  in ours, as I suppose most people do, unless we're washing something bulky such as a very large pan, which is not likely to break anyway.

Edited by Athy
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10 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

 

Ideal for washing welly boots, flower pots etc.

 

Maybe, but having something ideal for washing something you do a few percent of the time but not so good for something you do almost all the time -- washing pots, pans, plates, dishes and cutlery -- doesn't seem like a good tradeoff to me. Too low down (bending over, anything dropped in is more likely to break), prone to leaks where they meet the worktop. Fine for a butler in an outhouse or scullery, not so much for real people in a kitchen that's actually used.

 

Might be OK in a (big) trendy house where almost all this goes in a dishwasher (and the au pair -- or the butler! -- does the rest) and image matters more than utility, but makes no sense on in a narrowboat kitchen...

 

(unless it's one of those permanent-liveaboard-in-the-city boats where the kitchen is rarely used for "real" cooking, like a lot of kitchens you see photos of...)

 

Yes I've used one and hated it. But I agree that (especially cheap) stainless steel sinks can look nasty -- OTOH I don't tend to look at a sink as a thing of beauty, I'd rather it did the job as well as possible.

Edited by IanD
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1 minute ago, IanD said:

Might be OK in a (big) trendy house where almost all this goes in a dishwasher (and the au pair -- or the butler! -- does the rest) and image matters more than utility, but makes no sense on in a narrowboat kitchen...

 

Galley, Shirley?!

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