More information on Barge Style Narrowboats

What is a barge style?

The Ledgard Bridge barge style has been developed over the last five years specifically to provide a more realistic live aboard and long term cruiser in a narrow form.
Over the last ten years more and more people are looking towards the country’s inland waterways as an alternative place of residence. The idea of a life on the water has always being a more romantic dream to many rather than a viable alternative, the choice of boats being restricted to large old working boats or new pleasure boats.
For many years the only really available option for a residential boat was the “traditional” type recreational narrow boat. (Using the term traditional to cover all its varied forms)
This style of boat does not lend itself ideally to residential use, the boats themselves copying the lines of working boats of yesteryear and still playing on the romanticism of the old time boats and their boatman’s cabins; with an extended cabin being largely fitted out with features from the caravan market.
Granted the “traditional” narrowboat has now matured over the years into a high quality product, but the basic design is still not ideally suited to residential use.

How many people would live in a house where you need to be double jointed to fit through the door?
You then quite often find you and your muddy shoes stood in the bedroom!
Next you squeeze your way stooping down a narrow corridor with a sloping wall that forces you to move sideways.
Off to one side squeezed into a small cubicle will be the shower, toilet (often a cassette type) and a small caravan style wash basin.
Next we enter the world of the cabinet maker, the galley custom built to fit in the minium space equipped with an oven and hob as fitted in most caravans. Followed by the central feature the caravan style dinnette any remaining space allowing a cabinet maker to practice their art filling it with corner TV units, bookcases and shelves.
On retiring to bed depending on the builders preference you are treated to a custom built odd sized bed or a “krypton factor” style test of the cabinet makers latest pull out bed.
Looking at the hull another six feet of cabin would have made all the difference, but after all it does have a nice six feet of bow and well deck enclosed by a cratch cover to keep you dry if it rains.

Maybe that’s all a bit tongue in cheek but you can see where we are coming from...

So the obvious thing seems to be to start with a blank sheet of paper and an open mind and make a fresh start!
In the past the design restricted the intended residential use, with the barge style we aimed to create a new design specifically geared towards residential and long-term cruising.
We have tried very hard not to just to create a house boat, but to create a classic looking barge capable of cruising the full network while in the comfort of your own home.
The following illustrates the considerations taken into account when working out when designing our new barge style boats.

Firstly, the hull:

Width was decided a few hundred years ago so that had to stay the same, a length of 57’ is a good starting point. It should fit anywhere on the network. Longer boats for further south wouldn’t be a problem.
When buying a live aboard boat living space is important so why not keep the length of bow to the minimum and dispense with a forward welldeck? You can then run the cabin right up to the forward locker gaining valuable living space.
What could be done to make the hull space more roomy? One of the main reasons narrowboats tend to feel cramped is the sloping cabin sides. By increasing the height of the gunnels, reducing and squaring cabin sides the feeling of space was dramatically increased whilst still maintaining the same air draft.

So what about the stern? Well traditional boaters don’t mind the weather but maybe residential boaters do, so if they want it they can have a wheelhouse and wheel to keep them dry in the rain. And if they don’t want one why not give them a choice of cruiser, trad or semi trad as well?

Next, the interior:

The boat needs to be as near to a house as possible, a tough requirement considering the shape of the space available.
Firstly the corridor layout had to go to be replaced with a central isle.
You enter the boat from the rear down comfortable stairs straight onto the central isle into the galley.

Galley:

Firstly throw away the caravan accessories catalogue and upset the cabinet maker!
People don’t employ cabinet makers to build a kitchen in a house so why should they on a residential boat. The increased gunnel height and square sides now make it possible to fit domestic kitchen units and appliances down both sides of the boat while still maintaining a good sized central isle. So why not send the customer to their choice of kitchen supplier and let them choose their own?

Lounge:

Not a cabinet in sight! Keep it open plan let the customer choose their own freestanding furniture and there are some very nice bed settees available to double as guest beds.

Bathroom:

Make the most of the available space, Make it full width and maintain the centre isle giving room for a bath with shower to one side and pump out toilet and full size sink to the other, why not hide the washing machine in there too?

Bedroom,
Put it forward with a full size permanent double bed this way there is nothing to make up and the bedroom is kept separate from the rest of the boat.

Windows:

Keep it secure! Boat windows are the ideal height to be kicked through, we recommend portholes even without the glass thieves can’t fit through.

Lighting:

Once again throw away the caravan accessory catalogue and only fit high quality marine lighting connected to domestic style switches.

Electrical Power:

Lots of it! Forget about 12v hair dryers and vacuum cleaners, make sure the boat has enough domestic batteries and inverter power to function like a traditional home.

A few things to consider when buying a residential boat.

Choice:
If you were having a brand new house built you would have it built the way you wanted it, shouldn't the same principal apply to your boat?

Durability:
A residential boats needs to be built for the purpose, fittings and systems used in recreational boats are fine for weekend and holiday cruising but not for long term use.

Usability:
Are you buying a residential boat or a house boat? All of our boats are designed with long term cruising in mind and are still very capable boats before houses.

Warranty:
Are the main components of the boat covered by dealer warranties? If not how far, how often and how quickly is the builder prepared to attend to any problems?

Quality:
Is your boat builder a boat builder? To be a boat builder you build boats! From the base plate upwards, fitting out or brokering a deal for the purchase of the hull and fit out does not make you a boat builder.
A boat builder is responsible for the quality of the boat from start to finish and his reputation is only as good as the last boat he built!

Investment:
A boat is a very good investment, but always remember a well thought out and built boat will always give a better return than a badly designed poorly built boat.