So, what are we looking for? A narrowboat obviously, around 55-60 feet long so that it can ‘go anywhere’ on the canal system. I don’t think we’ll be straying too far but it should help to sell it when the time comes. Cruiser stern, I don’t care what they say about them not being traditional I want the engine to be accessible and the fumes outside.
The front will be the sitting area with all mod cons, followed by some kind of double bed arrangement which will presumably need putting up at night & taking down in the morning, just like our old bedsit days in Hampton. Kitchen next with the usual modernities, although I’m not sure about a washing machine – our current one has died & I’ve
quite taken to the weekly laundrette visit. A mad hour gets everything out of the way & we avoid the seven day a week washing routine we had before. We’ll see. The functional bit next, toilet & bath or shower, but most importantly it has to be walk-through. I can’t abide the ‘train carriage’ effect on some boats with the rooms off to one side & a tiny corridor bypassing it. We saw one once that had maximized the bathroom space by forcing you to walk sideways past the toilet door, not good & very claustrophobic. Finish off with a fixed two berth room at the back end for the girls and a back door out to the rear. Sorry, stern – must start getting the terminology correct. And somehow it has to be not twee – horse brasses are absolutely banned.

Outside can be any colour because we’re going to paint it, and I don’t care how silly the name is because we’ll rename it ‘moorjoy’. Note the lower case ‘m’, I can’t get past my John Cooper Clarke phase. Apparently renaming a boat is a bit frowned upon if you’re superstitious (thankfully we’re not) but in reality is simply a case of telling the insurers, all the legalities tie to the registration number. Bow thrusters definitely because I can’t see how else we’ll be able to get the front (or ‘bow’ to those in the know) away from the mooring, and I’ll have to investigate those cratch things.

Technology I’ve briefly mentioned elsewhere, but I’m thinking 24″ iMac on the wall for main computing & TV. They come with remote controls nowadays & linked with one of the EyeTV range, a Sky box & wireless keyboard & mouse should cover most needs. We’ll lose the Sky+ functionality because tvtv.co.uk can’t control that which is a bit of a bummer but we’ll have to see how it goes. Probably a laptop for portability & to keep one foot in PC-land, the existing 17″ LCD TV in the second bedroom. I’m also hoping that 21st Century marinas have wireless internet. If not I’ll maybe nick it from a stray signal. There is a Starbucks which might be in range …

There’s probably a load more boat-type things I should be worrying about, but ignorance is bliss.

It’s good, this blogging thing. It means old thoughts are still there when you’ve written new ones & that forces you to constantly reassess. Take ‘Kit‘, for instance. On the surface it flies in the face of why we want to do this in the first place. Supposedly we want to get away from the 100-mile-an-hour must have the next-big-thing life and mellow a bit, yet I still expect a wall-mounted flat screen TV and a wireless internet linked network. On a boat. Well what’s wrong with that, I say. I want to live in this century not the last one, but in a quieter and slower way. I want us to be able to get with our lives in a way that we choose while holding down the jobs that pay for it all, and enjoying what we have with each other. It’s about being able to step out of the race for a while, and pause for breath. Is that too much to ask?

Much as I’l like to be getting on with buying a boat we’re a bit stuck until we sell the house & we’ve got the cash to go out & do it with. In the meantime though there are a few bits we can be getting in and others we can be planning for. We’ve already done the two day course to get the helmsmen certificates which feels like a positive step on the road, & I’ve bought a Tilley hat to look the part. I say ‘dashing’, Debs says ‘gay’. I want the full experience so I’ll be putting a VHF radio on board if there isn’t one there already & we’re going to be needing a set of lifejackets. But we’ll also be needing entertainment so I’m looking forward to designing (& installing of course) the TV & computer network. We’ll be limited for space to I’m toying with the idea of pooling the TV & PC budget to wall mount a 24″ iMac & watching TV through that. Secondary computing needs should be covered by a decent laptop which will also double as a portable DVD player for the girls if necessary, although our current 17″ LCD TV in the bedroom has an integrated DVD so that might be repurposed. So, a whole new thread while I mull the options. Oh, to get the priorities right so early …