Narrowboat

Currently, about 8,580 narrowboats are registered as 'permanent homes' on Britain's waterway system[1] and represent a growing alternative community living on semi-permanent moorings or continuously cruising.

The narrowboat (one word) definition in the Oxford English Dictionary is:[3] A British canal boat of traditional long, narrow design, steered with a tiller; spec.

[citation needed] The key distinguishing feature of a narrowboat is its width, which must be less than 7 feet (2.13 m) to navigate British narrow canals.

Some old boats are very close to this limit (often built 7 feet 1+1⁄2 inches or 2.17 metres or slightly wider), and can have trouble using certain narrow locks whose width has been reduced over time because of subsidence.

Modern boats are usually produced to a maximum of 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) wide to guarantee easy passage throughout the complete system.

Modern narrowboats tend to be shorter, to permit cruising anywhere on the connected network of British canals – including on canals built for wider, but shorter, boats.The shortest lock on the main network is Salterhebble Middle Lock on the Calder and Hebble Navigation, at about 56 feet (17.07 m) long.

[4] Wharf boats or more usually 'Amptons, operated on the Wolverhampton level of the Birmingham Canal Navigations and were up to 89 feet in length and 7 foot 10.5 inches wide.

They were wooden boats drawn by a horse walking on the canal towpath led by a crew member, often a child.

As late as 1858, a Household Words article states that "the Grand Junction Canal company did not allow the boatmen's families on board."

[citation needed] The rear portion of the boat became the boatman's cabin, familiar from picture postcards and museums, famous for its space-saving ingenuity and interior made attractive by a warm stove, a steaming kettle, gleaming brass, fancy lace, painted housewares and decorated plates.

Such descriptions rarely consider the actual comfort of a (sometimes large) family, working brutally hard and long days, sleeping in one tiny cabin.

However many shore-bound workers endured harder indoor trades in less healthy conditions and in worse accommodation, where the family was separated for long hours rather than being together all day.

Aggregate continues to be carried between Denham and West Drayton on the (wide) Grand Union Canal and on the tidal estuary of Bow Creek (which is the eventual outflow of the Lee & Stort Navigation).

A few people are doing their best in the 21st century to keep the tradition of canal-borne cargo-carrying alive, mostly by one-off deliveries rather than regular runs, or by selling goods such as coal to other boaters.

The first written reference to them appears to be in an 1858 edition of the magazine Household Words in one of a series of articles titled "On the Canal", showing that the art form must have existed by this date.

There is also an article in the Midland Daily Telegraph of 22 July 1914 that credits the practice of painting of water cans, at least, to a Mr Arthur Atkins.

While the practice declined as commercial use of the canals dwindled, it has seen something of a revival in recent times with the emergence of leisure boating.

Narrowboat decoration with roses and castle themes is a common sight on today's canals, although these may utilise cheaper printed vinyl transfers in place of the traditional craft of hand-painted designs.

Newer narrowboats, say post 1990, are usually powered by modern diesel engines and may be fitted inside to a high standard.There will be at least 6 feet (1.8 m) internal headroom and often or usually similar domestic facilities as land homes: central heating, flush toilet, shower or even bath, four-ring hob, oven, grill, microwave oven, and refrigerator; some may have satellite television and mobile broadband, using 4G or LTE technology.

They are owned by individuals, shared by a group of friends (or by a more formally organised syndicate), rented out by holiday firms, or used as cruising hotels.

A few boats are lived on permanently: either based in one place (though long-term moorings for residential narrowboats are currently very difficult to find) or continuously moving around the network (perhaps with a fixed location for the coldest months, when many stretches of canal are closed by repair works, stoppages).

Many modern canal boats retain the traditional layout of a small open, unguarded counter, or deck, behind the rear doors from which the crew can step onto land.

On trad boats, the bow well-deck forms the main outside viewing area, because the traditional stern is not large enough for anyone other than the steerer to stand on safely.

In this configuration also, it is common to find that the engine bay contains batteries, isolator switching, fuel tanks and seldom-used kit, spares and equipment.

Narrowboats are Category D boats under the Recreational Craft Directive, intended only for navigating inland – rivers, canals and small lakes – but under the professional supervision of a suitable local pilot, limited coastal passages linking inland waterways, such as along the tidal Severn Estuary between Bristol and Sharpness, can also be safely made in calm weather.

[19] Insurers will often require a pilot for these hazardous areas, and temporary modifications to improve seaworthiness such as waterproof coverings for bow doors and air vents close to the waterline.