WDM, IA - Narrowboats and Canals

Interesting what you can find on the web. If you look to the upper left on this blog page, you’ll see a menu item called ‘Next Blog.’ Being curious, I click every now and then and am amazed at what I find. People have so many different muses. Today I happened upon a blog by a couple who are ‘liveaboards’ in a ‘narrowboat’ in England. Instead of buying an RV and traveling over the highways of America, they have bought a narrowboat and are plying the canal system in England, which is quite extensive.

The canals were built during the Industrial Revolution to get manufactured goods to markets and natural resources to the factories during the 1800’s although there are several commericai narrowboats still working the canals now. The canals were built 14’ + wide so, if you are going to buy a narrowboat, it can be only 7’ wide so that 2 can pass going in opposite directions on the canals. Most narrowboats are 6’ 10” wide. Pretty narrow and there are no slides on them. Most are shorter than 50’ since the shortest lock is 56’ long. The canal below is obviously only a one-way canal. This narrowboat is obviously within the locks since you can see both the beginning and the end of the lock.

Originally, horses pulled them down the canal very much like Sal, the mule pulled boats along the Erie Canal here in America (if you’ve ever heard that song). Now, most have diesel motors but some are playing the waters using alternative fuels like cooking fat - like we’ve heard of in America.

They have many of the same concerns that ‘full-timers’, or ‘3/4 timers’ like Gary and I have on an RV: where to stay (although they look for places to ‘moor’ not campgrounds), where to get water and electricity and where to dump, washing clothing, fuel, shopping for groceries, etc. We can tow a car but they also have to decide how to handle a car. Some sell their car and ride trains and walk when they get on land. Others loan their cars to relatives so they can ‘borrow’ it back when they need it. In all there are 15,000 ‘liveaboarders’ in England.

It’s a much more leisurely way of life since some of your time is spent waiting for the correct water level in the canals.

Meanwhile, I looked around on the web and found some pictures to give you a better idea of what they look like. Here is newly built one which is 36’ long and sells for $44.000.

Here’s a picture of another one which is for sale.

I think this is an absolutely fascinating way of life and, should I ever get back to England, you can find me on a canal waking up to the sound of water lapping on the sides of my boat. However, I’m also intrigued by the Great Circle Tour which takes you down the Mississippi and the Tombigbee, around Florida and up the coast, down the St Lawrence, through the Great Lakes and back to the Mississippi.
Doesn’t that sound grand? But Gary and I have loads to see in our RV first.

Looks like I’m not the only one to like pannekoekens - others do also but call then Dutch Babies. I’m waiting to hear why my Belgian friend might call them in Belgium. I’ll have to wait until she reads the blog. She’s pretty busy at work and has just become a new grandmother so you know she is distracted.