Hello, we are Kate & Ken Norman

We are a couple who have enjoyed narrowboat holidays together since our teens. The picture above was taken on one such holiday… in about 1980. We don’t look like this anymore. Over the years, usually whilst on a canal holiday, we have more than once uttered the immortal line, “one day, we’d love to live on a narrowboat.” So now (autumn 2021) we’ve packed in our jobs, sold our car, rented out our flat and finally CUT LOOSE!

This blog will chart our transition (and that of our thireen-year-old cat, Buffy) from land-lubbers to continuous cruisers on the UK’s Inland Waterways.

We now look more like this…

Our narrowboat Dædalus is a 67’ (22.4m) long, tug-fronted boat built by blacksmith Robert Kranenborg at Royal Naval Air Station Lee-on-the-Solent (HMS Dædalus) in 2010/11 and is based on W J Yarwood & Sons’ Large Northwich plans. Daedalus was designed by Robert and built working with her first owners and fitted out by them to combine a bit of tradition with modern day living.
Propulsion (and hot water, heating and electricity) is generated by a rather splendid 4 cylinder diesel Gardner 4L2 (delivering 40bhp at 800rpm) in its own engine room.