A narrow boat is exactly that...... narrow! We thought it might feel rather claustrophobic and we needed to think of way to negate this aspect. Living in a steel tube completely lined with timber didn’t appeal. Although we’re originally from New Zealand, we’re not hobbits or woodpeckers. Having an open plan boat in the living areas will assist. So we have managed to design the boat with only three internal partitions and the combined galley – saloon area gives 21feet of open area. In this area we’ve included two side hatches; one of them of sufficient size to allow the removal and replacement of a large kitchen appliance; and two Houdini (roof) hatches. The portholes will be 15” diameter and double glazed. To break up the timber effect the floor will be covered with a marine grade carpet in the saloon and bedroom. The flooring in the other compartments will be vinyl. Rather than having timber veneer ply on the ceiling we have opted for matt finish formic panelling in a light cream. The idea is this will be low maintenance and further brighten the interior of the boat.
The saloon will have a couple of free standing ‘captains chairs’ with storage ottoman footrests that can double as spare seating. There will also be a diesel stove in one corner and a cabinet for the entertainment system.
At the rear (stern) of the boat the last cabin will be the combination utility room, workstation and spare bed. We’ve named the area the wet locker as this is where we will transition between wet outdoor and dry indoor clothing. It will have an extendable in-line double bed on the port (left) side with storage underneath along with a small 20 litre 12v chest freezer. On the other side there will be an electrical cabinet and calorifier (hot water cylinder) compartment with a cupboard for wet weather gear. Underneath this our plan is to have a combination washer/dryer. If the washer doesn’t fit then we will relocate it to the galley. There will also be a small computer work station with folding desk.
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