Designing our future narrowboat begins with one fundamental decision: its length.
Every additional foot creates more living space, but a longer boat can restrict access to parts of the canal network and make some locks more challenging. After considering how we intend to travel and live aboard, we have chosen a 58-foot narrowboat.
For us, it offers the right balance between cruising flexibility and creating a comfortable long-term home.
Finding the right length
A length of approximately 57 feet is commonly regarded as the most versatile choice for exploring the connected inland waterway network.
We have decided to extend that slightly to 58 feet.
That additional foot may sound insignificant, but aboard a narrowboat every inch matters. It can provide valuable extra storage, improve the proportions of a room or make the difference between a compromised layout and one that works comfortably.
A 58-foot boat should remain suitable for most of the waterways we hope to explore. However, lock dimensions, water levels and local restrictions vary, so individual routes will always need to be checked carefully.
We accept that a few waterways may be inaccessible or require particularly careful handling. For us, that is a reasonable compromise in return for greater comfort during extended cruising and, eventually, full-time life aboard.
Designed for living, not occasional holidays
Our boat will not simply be somewhere to spend the occasional weekend.
We want it to become a comfortable home capable of supporting extended journeys throughout Britain and potentially farther afield. Its layout must therefore work for everyday life rather than merely looking impressive at a boat show.
The additional length will give us greater flexibility when planning the interior. It should allow us to incorporate better storage, avoid unnecessarily cramped rooms and create a boat that feels comfortable without wasting space.
A narrowboat will always require careful compromises, but thoughtful design can prevent it from feeling compromised.
An enclosed bow
One of our clearest decisions is to have an enclosed bow rather than a conventional open well deck.
Front seating can be attractive, but our experience suggests that we would use it relatively rarely. Weather, wind and the availability of better seating elsewhere aboard can leave a traditional bow area occupying valuable space without contributing much to daily life.
Enclosing this area allows us to extend the internal accommodation farther forward and create a more generous bedroom.
That matters considerably more to us.
A larger bedroom should provide better access around the bed, more practical storage and a calmer, less confined space. These are modest improvements individually, but they will make a considerable difference when living aboard for weeks or months at a time.
We would rather devote the space to something we use every day than preserve an outdoor seating area simply because it is conventional.
A square stern
At the opposite end of the boat, we intend to specify a square stern.
The stern will be one of the principal outdoor social spaces aboard. It needs to work not only when cruising but also when moored, entertaining friends or simply sitting outside and watching the world pass.
A squarer design makes more effective use of the boat’s available footprint. It can offer better seating, easier movement and additional storage compared with a heavily curved stern.
It should also provide a more practical space for the person steering and anyone joining them during the journey. Narrowboating is far more enjoyable when the helm does not become an isolated position occupied by one person while everyone else disappears inside.
The precise arrangement will need to be developed carefully with the boatbuilder. Safety, access to the controls and protection of the propulsion equipment must remain central to the design.
The objective is not simply to make the stern larger, but to ensure that every part of it serves a purpose.
Making every foot work harder
The enclosed bow and square stern reflect the same principle: space aboard must earn its place.
Rather than following a conventional narrowboat layout automatically, we want to consider how we will genuinely use each area.
Our priorities are clear:
- A comfortable bedroom suitable for long-term living
- Generous and intelligently designed storage
- A practical interior without wasted circulation space
- An outdoor seating area that we will genuinely use
- A welcoming stern where people can share the cruising experience
- A boat that remains manageable across most of the UK canal network
These priorities will guide the detailed layout as the project develops.
Balancing freedom and comfort
Choosing a boat always involves compromise.
A shorter narrowboat would offer slightly greater cruising flexibility. A longer boat would provide more internal space but progressively restrict the routes available to us.
At 58 feet, we believe we have found our balance.
It should give us enough room to create a comfortable and highly practical home while preserving access to the great majority of the journeys we want to undertake.
The enclosed bow will allow us to prioritise the bedroom. The square stern will create a more useful outdoor and social space. Together, these choices begin to define a boat shaped around our lives rather than around convention.
There are countless decisions still to make, but the foundations of the design are becoming clear.
Our future narrowboat will be 58 feet long, enclosed at the bow and square at the stern—a boat designed for travelling widely, living comfortably and making every available inch count.