No I'm not really having a mid-life crisis but ... my friend John and I have just decided to buy a narrow boat and our wives have doubts about our common sense. The boat is named Patience and she's 45 feet long with a cruising stern, cosy accommodation for four and a wood burning stove.
In fact we're pretty sensible blokes looking for a project - and what could be more sensible than a narrow boat? Not for us the red Ferrari or a subscription to a lap dancing club; not a mistress or a motor bike or a speed boat in sight. Just a slow moving little caravan on water. We can, individually or together, chug down the river at 4mph, stop at a waterside pub for a pint and a sandwich, browse the local sites or bookshops then set off again at a sedate pace.
We've both been on narrow boat holidays, so we have a general idea of what it's about, but I think we might have a lot to learn about the ways of the water.
We are moored at The Lazy Otter between Cambridge and Ely on a part of the river Ouse called "The Old West River". We plan to spend the winter rearranging the accommodation on Patience and perhaps improving the electrical system. She needs a survey and we'll probably have to paint her bottom ("blacking") but by early Spring we hope to be out there on the Ouse spending time navigating the eastern waterways.
Watch this space ....
In fact we're pretty sensible blokes looking for a project - and what could be more sensible than a narrow boat? Not for us the red Ferrari or a subscription to a lap dancing club; not a mistress or a motor bike or a speed boat in sight. Just a slow moving little caravan on water. We can, individually or together, chug down the river at 4mph, stop at a waterside pub for a pint and a sandwich, browse the local sites or bookshops then set off again at a sedate pace.
We've both been on narrow boat holidays, so we have a general idea of what it's about, but I think we might have a lot to learn about the ways of the water.
We are moored at The Lazy Otter between Cambridge and Ely on a part of the river Ouse called "The Old West River". We plan to spend the winter rearranging the accommodation on Patience and perhaps improving the electrical system. She needs a survey and we'll probably have to paint her bottom ("blacking") but by early Spring we hope to be out there on the Ouse spending time navigating the eastern waterways.
Watch this space ....
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