In March 2011 we wanted to buy a narrowboat but knew very little about what they were all about, what to look for or what length we wanted. I opened up the lid on my Macbook Pro, started up Firefox and started my research. What I did know was that I wanted something that did not resemble something from an ‘interior design’ magazine and that it would be preferable (to me) to have a vintage diesel engine.
As I became more knowledgeable about all things 'narrowboating' I narrowed it down (no pun intended) to a few essential ‘must haves’. It needed to have a proper shower, cooking facilities and permanent bed. It also needed to be a sociable boat which meant I preferred a cruiser stern so that when I am piloting her I am not stuck in a little space all alone. A cruiser stern is an open area at the back of the boat. Traditional and semi-traditional sterns are a little cramped for my liking. It also needed to have seating at the bow (front).
After perusing the web for many hours we decided it would just be best to get out there and look at some boats in the flesh as pictures never really give you a real feel of things. We decided to head off to Wigrams Marina and Whilton Marina to check out a few likely vessels. As Wigrams was the furthest we decided that we would head there first to view a few boats that we had seen on their website. First up was a 45 footer that I really can’t remember the name of but it was not as nice as it looked on the internet! Although the exterior looked fairly tidy the inside was a bit ‘Ikea’ and not particularly well laid out. It was OK but we are talking about quite an investment here so it had to be right for us.
There was a boat moored next to her which we quite liked the look of but did not know it was for sale until another viewer told us that it had only just arrived. We peered through the windows and thought she looked pretty well laid out. We headed back to the office and made inquiries as to whether or not she was for sale, how much and can we have a look inside. She was indeed for sale so we picked up the keys and headed back over to her. This narrowboat looked a bit more like it. She was well laid out and had good storage facilities built in. The kitchen looked like it had just been refurbished and all of the headlining had been replaced and looked clean and airy.
I had a quick look under the engine boards to be greeted by an amazing vintage engine! I almost wet myself with joy. She has a cruiser stern, bow seating and pretty much everything else I had on my wish list except an inverter (converts 12v to mains 240v). Lee and I looked knowingly at each other but I was determined not to make an instant decision as I would normally do!
We handed the keys back and headed back to the car for the fairly short journey to Whilton Marina. We went in to the main office and looked at all the boats for sale before asking for the keys to three of the mostly likely candidates. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves looking inside these narrowboats and the last one we looked at was a contender. She was a 45 footer with a fairly modern interior, nice paintwork and fitted in with a lot of what we were looking for. The biggest issue for me, knowing that I would be captain was that the stern was short and she had a modern engine. It was not a deal breaker but something just was not quite right for me. It turned out that Lee was of the same feeling that although it was a lovely boat it lacked that certain something - character. I showed Lee my cards at that point and said that I really liked that unexpected boat it Wigrams. She agreed but for the life of us we did not really know why we had such strong feelings for that particular boat because she was older than the others we had viewed and was a bit rough around the edges.
We headed back to Wigrams and made a ridiculously low offer just to see what would happen. The broker had to get in touch with the seller so we decided at that point we needed to eat so we headed to Weedon Beck for lunch in the pub. We were armed with all the paperwork for the boats we had viewed and went through it all while we had our meal. Something just kept us going back to the unexpected boat, she had that certain ‘something’ that kept pulling us back. We decided we should go back for another look after lunch. We called my mum to tell her we had seen a likely boat that fitted our requirements and asked her if she wanted to take a look. She declined as she wanted us to choose as in reality it was for us at the end of the day.
We were called by Wigrams Marina to inform us that our offer had been declined, however, we were close! I made an improved offer in the understanding that the boat would come with a brand new Boat Safety Scheme Certificate. The offer was accepted and we were now, subject to a deposit, the proud new owners of 45ft Hannah the Narrowboat! We rushed back and put down the deposit to secure the deal.
The following days were painful as we had to wait for all the paperwork to go through to get our hands on Hannah. I am one of the worlds most impatient people and could not sleep with all the excitement! Nine days later, on the 16th April 2012, we were aboard our floating dream. I can’t even begin to describe what it felt like to be back at the controls of a boat that had everything we wanted. Hot water, kitchen, shower, proper bed and no requirement for a poo step! Our intention was to sail her down the Grand Union Canal to the Northampton Arm and then on to the River Nene to Billing Aquadrome. We had no idea how long it would take but we figured a week should be enough to get her into a permanent mooring but it did not quite work out that way.
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