Shells & Sailaways

What is a shell? - well with regard to a narrowboat it is the (normally) steel structure that keeps the water below from getting in as well as the elements above. It will also provide provision for mounting an engine to propel the boat and a rudder to steer the boat. Anything else is up to the fabricator (them wot builds shells) and the customer. Things that can be added include gas lockers, integral water tank, bowlockers, steel doors, side hatches, mooring points, fender points, bow lockers, plank racks and anything else you can think of that you can weld!

Most fabricators will offer some of these as standard, if you want more, you pay more.

The other big question is what style? - In crude terms you have 3 basic styles for a modern narrowboat

The Traditional style - 'Trad' - a boat which represents the traditional working boat (well sort of!) - it has a very short stern deck (normally open to the stern) with room for the helmsman. Central aft doors open into the 'boatmans cabin' which is probably the most traditional area of the boat, representing as it does the entire accomodation (sometimes for whole families) on a genuine working boat. Moving forward we will enter the engine room followed by the main accomodation area (originally the cargo area) until we emerge on the foredeck which can be of various styles and lengths depending on individual taste.

The Semi traditional - 'Semi-Trad' - externally very similar to the 'trad' but with a rear area (part of boatmans cabin) which can be opened up to provide more area at the rear for a more social feel

The Cruiser stern - here the boatmans cabin is done away with - part of the area is open deck at the stern with a rail to provide 'seating' and a more secure feel - room for 3/4 people to socialise (unless large tiller movements are required - then they have to move!). The engine is normally below the stern decking allowing the rest of the boat to be made over for accomodation etc.

Right so now you know all about shells & sailaways - so whose are the best? - beats me - and I'm not even going to try and advise - talk to people and you'll get as many opinions as people you talk to!

We went round a few builders both large & small and got several quotes for an imaginary boat that was something like what we wanted (it seemed the only fair comparision). Attitudes varied from out and out 'couldn't care' to nothing was too much trouble with people willing to spend ages talking. You probably won't find links on these pages to ones we don't think much of but then again you won't find links to ones we don't know about either!

So after a lot of deliberations we decided to place an order with Floating Homes at Peterborough. They offered a fair price, were very helpful, made us feel like we were customers and not just a number in the book. Also for one of the larger builders they had no problems with any little things we wanted added. We have a promised build slot start of May with delivery start of June - watch this site to see if they make it!

A Floating Homes boat - The Cat's Whiskers will look like this someday - except it will be blue and no port holes and less windows - well it will look something like this!


Internal view of Shell	Looking in the fore locker (Water tank)