A built-to-order, tug-inspired 46-footer by Stone Bespoke NARROWBOATS will be heading for the Crick Boat Show.
Words by Adam Porters | Pictures by Andy Annable
Is it too early to start thinking about the Crick Boat Show at the end of May? Well, if there are signs of spring in the air, then probably not. And while some boat builders may not be anywhere near finished their show boat yet, Stone Bespoke Boats have already decided what they’ll be showing. Mac is their follow up to the boat which came joint second in the vote for Favourite Boat at the show last year.
And it’s sure to stand out, because at 46ft and with a tug deck, this boat will be unlike most of the others on show. But it still has the quality fitout Stone Bespoke showed last year. Its owner commissioned them to build him a boat which was both fast (in canal boat terms) and quiet – and it also had to be easy to handle when he was boating on his own.
EXTERIOR
Mac is inspired by the tugs which used to be operated by Leonard Leigh, one of the lesser known carrying companies. The firm had wooden boats to start with, but during the Second World War won a coal supply contract with the Ministry of War, and commissioned six new iron tug boats which operated on the Birmingham Canal Navigations.
The shell is built by Nick Thorpe, who knows a thing or two about historic boats and enjoys the research needed to create a modern version. There are lovely features all over the boat, such as the planking effect on the tug deck and the forward and stern bulkheads, and the horse rail across the front of the cabin. The lid of the bow locker sits on a rim built to look as though it was forged from iron. The bow is a nice shape, and the whole boat sits quite low in the water, giving the impression that it’s carrying a load of cargo. At the stern, there are three tunnel bands rather than two, because that’s how many the old boats had.
If you look along the cabin side, you notice that there are two different angles of tumblehome. The back part, which is where the engine room of a tug would have been, is straighter than the forward part, which is tipped in slightly more. It’s designed to look as though the forward cabin is a later addition – as though an open tug deck has been converted. So successful is it, that the owner, Simon Thornes, says people have seen the boat and thought it was an old boat with a recent re-paint.
The tug deck has a practical value too. Simon spends a lot of time single handing, and the tug deck means that if the boat is in a lock it doesn’t matter if the top gate is leaky or the paddles are opened too quickly; the deck is never in danger of flooding like a well deck could. Under the forward half of the deck is a 500-litre water tank. Simon wanted a tank big enough to last him a good length of time.
The semi-trad stern is not traditional, but even here efforts have been made to play up the inspiration. The stern doors, for example, are very chunky, and have the planking effect. One of the lockers contains two of the small 6kg gas bottles – chosen as the size and location make swapping a bottle much easier.
Care has also been taken with the underwater shape of the boat. The bow is designed to cut through the water cleanly, and the shape of the swims at the stern helps the boat move at a decent pace without creating much wash.
The colour scheme of grey and black is also based on that used by Leonard Leigh. It looks simple but effective – but in fact great care has been taken to limit the colour palette. The portholes have black powder coated frames, and the mushroom vents have been de-chromed so they could be painted black. Likewise, the plank and pole are also black. The decks and the back cabin roof are raddle red, and there’s a traditional club shape on the rear slide. The name is big and bold, and really stands out.
LAYOUT AND FITOUT
This is a reverse layout boat, with the galley at the stern, leading into the saloon. A walk-through shower room comes next, with the cabin at the bow.
The fitout uses white painted panels above the gunwales, and blue painted vertical tongue and groove below. All the furniture and trim uses oak; Stone Bespoke buys a batch of wood for each boat they build, so all the wood comes from the same tree. It means that while there are differences in the grain, the colour of the wood is consistent. And there’s always some spare, so if a repair is needed in the future, the same wood can be used.
The quality of fitout is first rate. Everything fits together perfectly and looks just right.
GALLEY
We’ll start at the stern with the galley. A set of removable ladder steps leads down from the back deck into the boat. On one side is a cupboard with hanging space, great for coats. There’s also a shelf on which a microwave has been hidden away, out of sight. Above is a cupboard with a drop-down door, which has plug sockets and USB charging ports inside. On the opposite side is the electrical cupboard.
In the galley proper, all the carcases have been made in-house using top quality ply, with lovely oak doors and drawer fronts. The handles have all been chosen so they’re unlikely to catch on your clothes as you walk past. The worktops are a thin dark grey laminate, which look very sleek and stylish but are also an affordable option.
On one side is a composite sink and drainer in black, with an arched tap. On the opposite side is a Thetford gas oven (which Simon says he’s hardly used) and a Thetford 2-burner hob. Other equipment includes a 230 volt Cookology fridge in black, and a Hisense washing machine hidden behind a door. It’s the 7kg model which is slightly shallower, so can still fit in front of the swims.
SALOON
The main furniture is a sofa bed from Sofa Bed Barn, which converts into a double bed and is reported to be very comfortable, thanks to having a spring mattress built in. There are a couple of smart little wall lights above.
On the opposite side of the boat is a long under-gunwale unit with a three-bifold door, in which is a tv. There’s very little wall space, so there are radiators on the bulkheads at the end of each run of galley units. There’s also a 4kw Arada Hamlet stove, fitted with a double insulated flue. It sits on a heart with a drawer in the base, and attractive black and white tiles behind.
The dividing line between the galley and the saloon is where the change in the angle of the cabin sides takes place. It’s marked by some oak trim, but unless you knew you really wouldn’t notice that the saloon is slightly narrower.
SHOWER ROOM
This is a walk-through shower room, chosen because Simon is mostly on his own so might as well have a room that uses the whole width of the boat. It feels plenty spacious enough, even though it takes up just 5ft of the boat’s length.
The shower cubicle itself is also generously sized, as an 800mm quadrant. It’s lined with sparkly laminate and has smart fittings. There’s room for some storage between the cubicle and the cabin side.
The loo is a Thetford cassette, with access to the cassette in the saloon, and it’s positioned so it’s hidden behind the door when it’s open. The doors at both ends of the room are solid and chunky, and have proper rebates to sit in; they feel more like the sort of door you’d get in a house rather than a boat. These doors have become a Stone Bespoke signature feature.
An L-shaped unit carries a rectangular basin with a mirror behind, and then continues under the gunwale. The doors are Shaker style like those in the galley, but have blue central panels.
CABIN
The bed is inline, and has the head end towards the front of the boat. Boats sit with the bow higher than the stern, and Simon wanted to sleep with his head higher than his feet – so the bed was, in effect, turned around. (Another way to tackle this, adopted by some boat builders, is to build the bed base a bit higher at the stern end to compensate for the angle of the boat.) There are three drawers in the bed base, and it lifts to give access to the storage space at the far side. There are a couple of cubby holes in the bulkhead, which borrow space from the shower room behind.
Beyond the bed is a small desk with a stool, which makes a pleasant place to sit and work on a lap top. There are all the sockets and ports here.
The main wardrobes are under the tug deck, and offer hanging space and general storage for clothes. This time the shaker style doors are all blue. Above are the doors which open out onto the tug deck, and Simon says it’s a great place to stand with a coffee in the morning, looking out at the view ahead.
TECHNICAL
This boat is fairly straightforward technically. Under the engine boards is a Barrus Shire 43hp engine, which is quite a powerful unit for this size of boat. It drives a good sized, 18×10 prop.
Electrical power comes from a bank of lead carbon batteries, amounting to 400Ah. Lead carbons have a longer life than traditional lead acids, are low maintenance because they don’t need topping up, and can be discharged to a lower level. They do tend to be more expensive though. A 270-watt solar panel on the roof helps keep them charged. A 230-volt supply comes from a Victron 3kw inverter charger, and there’s also a Victron monitoring system, with a basic display which shows what’s going on with the batteries.
Stone Bespoke fit a magnet into the fuel tank, so that any rust is attracted to it rather than contaminating the fuel lines.
CONCLUSION
This boat is the personification of charm. The outside looks traditional while the inside is comfortable and modern. It fits in everything you need in a relatively small space.
One problem with shorter boats is often that the cost per foot looks expensive – after all, a boat needs expensive things like an engine and an electrical system whether it’s 46ft or 65ft. This boat cost Simon around £150,000 which is good value for money. Today’s price would be around £15,000 more, as the prices of all sorts of components continues to rise. It’ll be interesting to see what the crowd’s reaction to Mac will be at the Crick Show. Tugs tend to go down well, and top quality fitouts like this are also endlessly appealing. And a boat that’s as compact as this, yet feels so spacious and welcoming could offer a winning combination.
ON THE WATER
Shorter boats can sometimes feel a bit skittish on the water – but this one feels anything but. It sits quite deep and feels very solid when you’re on board.
Quietness was one of Simon’s key requirements, so the engine has a hospital silencer, and there’s sound proofing under the deck boards. And for a diesel engine, it is pretty quiet when underway. Speed was another requirement, and it’s clear that this boat can get up to a decent speed while making very little bow wave or wash. The underwater shape is definitely working.
Steering is good, the boat responding very well to the tiller. And with this being a compact boat, it feels very manoeuvrable. It can also get into mooring gaps that longer boats can’t, and of course costs less to licence.
THE OWNER
Simon Thornes grew up in a boating family, sailing dinghies and yachts. But he also lived close to the canal in Leeds, so was used to seeing boats and locks. It wasn’t until he retired around eight years ago that he got back into boating, becoming a volunteer lock keeper on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal.
He also bought his own boat, a 30ft Aintree Beetle, which he says was a great introduction to boat owning and single handing. It showed him what he liked and what he didn’t, so he decided to upgrade to something completely bespoke. He moored his Beetle at Aston Marina, which is where Stone Bespoke Narrowboats are based, so it seemed like the natural thing to ask them to build his new boat.
Mac is named after Simon’s mother – her father used to call her Little Mac. Since she died, his cruising pattern has changed from being out all summer with the odd trip home, to going out for three weeks or so and then returning to spend some time with his dad. He’s usually on his own, but does also have friends come boating with him. When that happens, he insists they come out for a decent amount of time (weekends away from the marina just get too boring, he says!) and that they earn their keep by doing the lock work.
Specification
Length: 46ft
Beam: 6ft 10in
Shell: Nick Thorpe 07933 769286
Style: Semi-trad
Fit-out: painted panels and oak
Engine: Barrus Shire 43. www.barrus.co.uk
Inverter: Victron 3kw www.victronenergy.com
Stove: Hamlet 4kw www.aradastoves.com £659
CONTACT
Stone Bespoke Narrow Boats
Aston Marina
Lichfield Road
Stone, Staffordshire
ST15 8QU
stonebespokenarrowboats@gmail.com
07939 089776
www.stonebespokenarrowboats.com
As featured in the April 2025 issue of Canal Boat. Buy the issue here
