I am Chris and living in South Africa with all the intention of the world to retire to the UK., hop on a narrowboat and cruise all the canals before I need to climb the long ladder to my final home in the sky.

My first trip on a narrow boat was from Caversham lock in Reading to Tesco. OK, OK that was a very long trip of 500 yards, or a bit more. My second trip was on the Kennet and Avon from below the Caen Hill Lock to Bath and back. Alas, I have to admit, my wife and I are hooked.

So what are my expectations from this forum? Firstly I want to learn as much as possible about living on a narrow boat, the canals, continuous cruising (Not Mooring) before I take the plunge and buy my first narrow boat.

So what do I have in mind for my narrow boat? First of all I am a bit of a DIY fanatic, so I need a workshop. Next to that I have to have a loo as my wife and I have the habit of needing the loo at the same time, so each to his own. Next a bedroom. This will be my bedroom as my wife and I do not share a bed due to my propensity for making the most unearthly sounds in my sleep. So let’s keep a safe distance. Next the bathroom, nothing fancy, then my wife’s bedroom. As my wife is a fulltime writer she would need an office so I will shove this in between the bathroom and her bedroom. More space between us at night.

Now I get to the forward half of the boat. A normal sized galley should suffice, with a dinette. As my wife is an ardent piano player the lounge should be able to accommodate an electronic piano, a lounge chair or two, a bookshelf, TV a little stove to keep us warm in winter.

Now the bow. I thought of having a bow which would be able to accommodate a little car but I know with a car at the bow the trim will be shot. So I will settle for a scooter parked on the foredeck.

As we were landlubbers all out life, we would need storage space for all those things we have had no use for in the last 10 years nor will we need them in the following 20.

So there you have the layout of my dream boat. Length I would say comes to about 95 feet.

This is where the forum is going to be helpful. I hope to find out how I can fit all of the above into a narrowboat of 62 ft.

PS. I forgot the guest bedroom.

Thanks for the welcome and I am sure I will learn from all the contributors on this forum.

My introduction was a bit tongue in the cheek as I think every person who is considering living on a narrowboat has a lot of queries and doubts and space is maybe one of the most worrying.

From what I have read on the various sites and blogs that I have visited, is that it would be a bonus if a person living on a narrowboat is skilled in the following fields: Carpentry, DC and AC electrical installations, diesel engines, painting and ships husbandry.

So I will follow this forum with keen interest and gather as much information as possible, and to all those lovely people that will be adding their inputs to this forum I say a big thank you in advance