To go back to the very beginning..... Chapter 1

22/8/03 We decided to buy a boat! We, being myself, Debbie and my partner, John . This idea came from a workmate of mine who, in conversation one day told me about Narrowboats. Colin, the afore mentioned, has for many years holidayed on boats and, had always wanted to live on one. That small comment got the cog wheels of my mind into a frenzy! John and I had lived together for two years, in a flat. We decided to stop renting and buy a property, that is untill we got interested in boats. To cut a long storey short, we tried unsuccessfully to obtain a loan for a boat. Somebody we knew was selling a 50ft cruiser stern boat for £18,000. We really wanted this boat, which was sheer madness as it was the first one we looked at and, we knew absolute zilch about them. Once our hopes and dreams were dashed, we put it all behind us and went on to buy a house. Two and a half years later we wanted a boat again. We had lworked hard on our little house, to make a right mess into a cozy little home. Unfotunately we had been blessed with neighbours from hell. They were not nice at all and advertised this on a regular basis. Rather than put up with these unsavoury beings we wanted out, and fast!! Ironicly these morons gave us the motivation to pursue our dream. For weeks we looked at. Small boats, big boats, and quite a few boats worthy of a place in a museum! We travelled miles, spent hours on the internet, read books and magazines and practically Gongoozled ourselves to death! We looked at so many second hand boats and got more and more dazed and confused, until we hit on the idea of having our own boat built. We visited a few reputable boatbuilders, non of which had any building slots for at least two years, me being "Miss Can't wait", wouldn't wait and plodded on untill we found a builder who could start our boat within a matter of months. We found the builder very friendly and helpfull, mindyou who wouldn't be, with a potential customer wanting to spend money on a brand new boat!