How and why we chose Narrowboats of Distinction

Galley on Narrowboats of Distinction's NB Oyster Bay

With so many boat fitters and high profile narrowboat companies to choose from, how do you find your perfect match?

This is what happened for us: Before deciding on a new build we'd considered all options ranging from a sailaway (it would never be finished), a sponsor boat - we were very tempted with Aqua Narrowboats but the layout choices were too restrictive, a pre-loved boat (none of them suited and seemed so expensive) and an ex Black Prince hire boat - but too long a waiting list.  

No, it would have to be a new build. But where to look for our dream boatbuilder who understood exactly what we wanted? And, most importantly, at a price we could afford

So as a starting point I typed in "Luxury narrowboats for sale" into Google and halfway down on page one appeared Narrowboats of Distinction website with images of narrowboats they had fitted out. And something just clicked. The attention to detail and quality of workmanship shone out of the pictures - the original miners lamps adapted to LED lighting, the suspended pan rail above the galley work surface and sliding wooden internal shutters over the portholes were just a few features that made us realise we'd probably found our builder.

Saloon and Galley on Narrowboats of Distinction's NB Salamander

An email to James and Sallie Blackburn was the starting point. We were invited to join them for the day on their own luxury narrowboat Oyster Bay - here's what we thought at the time:  A day aboard NB Oyster Bay 

And by the end of the day we had found our boatbuilder . . . . . . . .

James, Sallie and Simon of Narrowboats of Distinction

And as Colin and Shaun, in one of their Foxes Afloat vlogs say - "you just know when you've found that connection". And it's true - you do.

We had around a 12 month wait for their next available build slot - and we finally signed an Agreement in April 2018, with XR&D starting to build our hull soon after.

Sea Glass was delivered to Narrowboats of Distinction in July 2018 and work immediately commenced on fitting her out, with a delivery date of Spring 2019

Sea Glass being craned off at Narrowboats of Distinction