Could Kenneth be the most unusual narrowboat to hit the water this year? GRAHAM BOOTH inspects a startling ‘motor butty’ built on traditional lines by DB Boatfitting in Braunston   While some boaters wax lyrical about the sound of their vintage engine, others seek a completely silent installation that allows them to appreciate the birdsong or the ripple of the water. One method often recommended to achieve this is moving the engine as far away from the steering position as possible, driving the propeller hydraulically. This usually means a slightly forward or midships position. But this month, we look at a boat that takes the idea as far as it is possible to go – by having the engine in a fore cabin at the bows of a traditional butty. A silent engine installation was not the owner’s main reason for choosing this unusual layout. David and Liz Stephenson have owned a fairly conventional narrowboat, Steelaweigh, for some years. With retirement approaching, they wanted a second boat, built to residential standards, on which they would spend the majority of their time, while still taking holidays on the first. Steelaweigh’s shell was built by Dave Thomas at Braunston Marina and, since they were very pleased with this, the Stephensons approached him with their new project. They had seen the butty that Dave had built as one of the pair of hotel boats operated by Reed Narrowboats, and decided on a 70ft butty with the ‘hold’ enclosed by a triangular section steel superstructure covered with cloths to give the appearance of a working boat. As a virtual residential boat, Kenneth would need an independent supply of 230-volt power; and since the rather restricted space at the stern of the butty left no room for a generator, this was located in the fore cabin. David’s original plan was that, on the fairly rare occasions when it needed to be moved around the system, Kenneth would be towed by Steelaweigh. It then occurred to him that it would be quite useful if it could travel a limited distance under its own power to work through flights of locks or just to visit the pumpout station. With a reasonable sized engine already on board, the obvious solution seemed to be to add a hydraulic pump and use the power to drive a propeller mounted in the rudder. Thus, by a somewhat roundabout route, the boat has what some believe to be the ultimate in silent cruising, so I was very keen to see how it performed.     The shell The idea of having a steel superstructure under imitation cloths has been used on several original and replica working boats in the past. On some, the flat section at the top is no wider than a top plank and this makes them look very authentic at first glance. The downside of this is that, unless the headroom inside is very generous, the cabin can feel slightly claustrophobic. David and Liz were keen to avoid this and decided on a compromise solution with a roof about 30in wide. This gives them a greater volume of space inside and an exterior that looks convincing from most viewpoints. Having made this decision, there seemed little point in slavishly copying any particular original working boat, so Kenneth is a respectful nod in the direction of a Northwich butty. This allowed the designers to take one or two liberties with the details to accommodate the needs of a modern boat, and avoided the need for the hundreds of imitation rivets that a true replica would have demanded. The interior is lit by large, double glazed portholes which can be concealed by roll-down sections in the outer cloths. There are also some rectangular prism lights in the roof. Once complete, the shell was taken away to be grit-blasted and primed before the engine installation and fitting out stage. For this, the Stephensons chose two more Braunston companies – Tony Redshaw Vintage Diesels, now next to the Mill House, and DB Boat Fitting, based at Braunston Marina and run by David and Lyn Bassett, whose work they also admired.     Engine installation A three cylinder Beta 28 engine provides the power for the 7.5kW generator and the 14in propeller mounted in a 17indiameter steel tube set into the rudder. It is installed across the boat and is enclosed in a sound proofed casing to reduce the external noise to a minimum. Day to day access to the engine compartment is through a sliding hatch in the roof of the fore cabin. For more major maintenance tasks, a large panel in the roof can be lifted off – although this does involve removing around 50 bolts. The engine exhaust is emitted through an authentic looking stove pipe in the roof of the fore cabin. At the base of this, the exhaust gases pass through a conical inner pipe which creates a venturi effect to draw warm air from the engine compartment.Flexible pipes along the port side of the boat take the hydraulic fluid to and from the motor at the stern. These are slightly larger than they would normally be to allow for friction losses on the 130ft journey there and back. A custom made, brass single lever gives forward and reverse movement and progressively opens a valve to vary the speed of the propeller. When motive power is not required, the hydraulic pump can be disconnected by pushing on a lever in the front cabin which operates a dog clutch.   Moving inside Most narrowboats are entered at the front or the stern but, on Kenneth, the rear deck is rather small and the front is completely closed. The main point of entry is therefore at the centre of the layout and, since the boat could be moored either way round, there are doors on both sides with steps down to a central landing. A pair of small doors enclose the lower third of the opening while a larger, single door, hinged at the top and supported on gas struts, covers the upper part. The double staircase layout provided David with one of many opportunities throughout the boat for some very ingenious detailing. Under the steps is a large holding tank which follows the profile of the treads and risers and has breather pipes in the gunwales on either side to avoid airlocks. Forward of the central landing there is the saloon, the galley and, finally, a bedroom cum study (with en suite loo) for the Stephensons’ daughter, Abi. Towards the stern, is a through bathroom, the main bedroom and a multi purpose cabin.   The Saloon The saloon is lined in cherry with oak trim and has very realistic looking Karndean imitation timber flooring. Two free-standing chairs and a settee face a bank of shelves and cupboards tailored to take the Stephensons’ hi-fi system and flat screen television. Here, DB’s woodworking skills come to the fore with inlaid strings in the doors and more rounded corners that you could shake a spoke shave at. Lighting is mainly from tungsten down lighters mounted in the ceiling and there are ‘wall-washers’, mounted in a recesses between the ceiling and the cabin sides, for background lighting at night.   Galley The cherry and oak follow through into the galley where they are joined by granite worktops and imitation ceramic tile flooring. Angled cupboards on the port side give DB a chance to demonstrate another of their favourite details – cranked doors that give excellent access to the shelves behind them. This angled theme is continued by the floor to ceiling unit containing the oven and microwave which is set at 45°to the hull side. Such an arrangement could have left two fairly wasteful triangular voids behind it, but David has used these for the gas bottle lockers. These are therefore accessible from outside and are hidden for most of the time by flaps in the cloths. By the side of the oven unit is a full height cupboard which, because of its location, does not receive a great deal of natural light. So, to assist in finding that elusive jar of coffee or packet of spaghetti, a continuous LED strip light is incorporated down the hinge side of the door and comes on, fridge-like, when the door is opened.     Forward cabin Teenagers are well known for wanting their own personal space, with plenty of room for all the latest technical gadgetry and the ability to allow friends to sleep over. Designing a cabin that would include all of these in an area about 6ft 6in by 10ft was a real challenge. Starting at the front, there is a cross bed with a flat screen TV mounted above the foot end and CD and DVD players in slim cupboards against the front bulkhead. Below the bed, what looks like a large drawer pulls out to create a second bed for occasional guests.   Along the starboard side, there is a pair of doors to give light and air and to serve as an emergency escape hatch. Under these is a worktop with drawers and cupboards that could be used as a dressing table or a computer desk. The worktop has a hinged flap at one end, and this lifts to allow you to use the small stainless steel basin below. A slim wardrobe and some chests of drawers occupy the other side. I was particularly taken with the hinged hanging rail that can be raised to the horizontal position when the wardrobe door is opened, giving a better view of what is on the hangers.   Between this cabin and the galley is a facility that you could easily miss unless it is pointed out. By closing the main door into the galley and opening a cupboard door, a full width toilet compartment with macerator toilet seems to appear from nowhere. To emphasise that we are in a private area, this part of the boat has finishes that are quite different from the majority of the accommodation. The cabin sides are painted off white to give a more spacious feel while the drawers and cupboard doors are a deep gloss red for warmth and dramatic effect. And what teenager could resist the ceiling – also deep red – with a random pattern of inset LED lights that go on and off in an irregular sequence to give the impression of sleeping under the stars.   Bathroom Moving rearwards from the central lobby, the through bathroom contains everything you would expect – plus a few details that you might not. The sloping cabin sides meant that the current boaters’ must have – a quadrant shower cubicle – could not be used. Instead, a purpose-built square compartment, with a rather splendid etched glass panel, occupies the far corner. And, having already discovered the illuminated galley cupboard, I was not too surprised to see the six low-level, waterproof LED lights to help you find the soap. The bathroom is also home to a cupboard that could equally well have been in the bedroom but is very useful nevertheless. It has two bottom hung doors with proprietary shoe racks fixed to the inside. Anyone who has rummaged through an enormous pile of sandals and trainers in the bottom of a wardrobe will immediately see the advantages of this.   Bedroom The main bedroom has fewer portholes than the other spaces, which gives it the feeling of an inner sanctum. It has a cross bed with a pull out section at the side to make it long enough for daytime naps without blocking the passage through the boat. There are two wardrobes with well designed rails to get the maximum amount of hanging space and a cupboard that contains a condensing washing machine/tumble drier.   Rear cabin Multi-purpose areas are another feature found on more and more boats these days, and Kenneth is a good example of how useful these can be. During the design and construction stage, the rear cabin had two intended uses and there may well be a third before too long. It was originally to be a workroom but, after David’s mother came to live with them, it became a bedroom. As it now seems unlikely that she will join them on the boat, it could revert to a workroom or would make an ideal study. The layout is based loosely on a traditional boatman’s cabin but, as with the rest of the boat, nothing is quite as it seems. Half of the space usually occupied by the drop-down bed houses a Harworth Heating pressure jet boiler. This works on the same principle as a domestic oil-fired boiler, and provides hot water and heating throughout the boat. One of the cupboards above contains the switch and circuit breaker panels and two Victron Multi Plus inverter/chargers lurk in low level cupboards near the rear doors. Additional day lighting – and headroom – is provided by a roof light that resembles a cabin block but with glass sides. With the cross bed out of action, anyone sleeping in this cabin must lie lengthways – so, to give more stretching room, the bed base is made from interlocking slats that enable you to extend the width by about nine inches. Oil fired central heating means that there is no need for the box that traditionally forms the step into the cabin to contain coal. This item has been transformed into something that is possibly far more useful to anyone occupying the cabin at night – a commode. All the cabin sides and cupboard doors are framed and have mouldings around the panels so that they could be scumbled and decorated to give a very traditional appearance, However, it was felt that this might limit the possible uses for the cabin so the whole space is currently painted in off white. As in the front cabin, this creates a more spacious feel and gives a cool, classical appearance that works well.   On the water As the engine was started, several puffs of white smoke appeared from the chimney, adding to the illusion that there was really a pot bellied stove beneath it. (To save Beta Marine the cost of a call, I should point out that the engine had not been started for some time and no further smoke was seen for the entire afternoon.) Kenneth was facing towards the wet dock and so had to be reversed down the arm to the main line for our photographs and assessment. The tightly packed forward end allowed no room for a bow thruster but the fact that the propeller is mounted on the rudder means that it performs more like an outboard motor and it consequently reverses quite well without one. In forward, the similarity to an outboard is even more noticeable, directing the stern positively to left or right. The engine is set at a constant speed of about 1,500 rpm and, since the hydraulic pump is driven directly from it, this also has a continuous note regardless of the speed of the propeller. It soon became noticeable that, while the engine was probably almost inaudible, the pump emitted quite a strident tone that could be heard from the steering position. It would also convince anyone on a moored boat that you had not made any attempt to slow down, even though you had. Paul Redshaw reckons that the pump will become quieter as it runs in but the noise level would have to reduce considerably for it to be as quiet as a sound proofed, modern diesel engine driving the propeller through a prop shaft with a flexible coupling. It also became fairly apparent that a 14inpropeller is not ideal for moving a 70ft boat at the sort of speed that would be needed for a long journey. Since it would be quite difficult to increase the size of a propeller mounted in this way, the only solution this would be to have a boat based on a motor rather than a butty. All of these comments are, of course, quite irrelevant to Kenneth’s owner who simply wanted a convenient way to move the boat over short distances which this system does extremely well.   Conclusion By any standard, Kenneth is a very impressive boat that shows what can be achieved by a free-thinking client and a versatile and accommodating building team. I visited the boat shortly before the Stephensons moved on board and with some items of decorative painting still to be completed. While it would have been interesting to see the boat in its fully finished state, this did give me a better opportunity to appreciate the quality of the work which is of a very high order. As you might imagine, a total one-off like this involves plenty of head scratching and experimentation and this sort of thing does not come cheap. For a more conventional 57ft boat, with only slightly less lavish finishes, DB’s bill would be around the £90,000 to £100,000 mark.   The team Dave Thomas learned his welding skills as a boiler maker at ICI but his interest in boats soon led to a move to Braunston Canal Services. While there, he worked with Balliol Fowden on the first narrow-beam Dutch barges. In 1986, he left to start his own boat building and repair company at Braunston Marina. He now builds and fits out boats of all types from wide beam community boats to traditional narrow boats. He is also experienced in the repair of working boats and recently did a considerable amount of work on Nutfield, now paired with the restored Raymond. DB Boat Fitting is in its tenth year at Braunston Marina. With a permanent staff of three plus freelance specialists, they produce four to five bespoke narrow and wide beam boats a year. These are generally based on Dave Thomas, G&J Reeves or Colecraft shells but they are also happy to follow the customer’s choice. One of the specialists is their daughter, Sheila, who carries out traditional decoration and signwriting as well as graining and marbling. Tony Redshaw moved from Hillmorton and now has a canal side base behind the Morrisflex works at Braunston. He and his son, Paul, are well know as restorers of vintage engines, notably Gardners, but they also install and repair more modern engines. In their well equipped machine shop, they can produce custom designed items and manufacture unobtainable parts for vintage engines.