That sinking feeling - finding your perfect narrowboat kitchen sink

Butler sink on Narrowboats of Distinction's Blue Haze

No - not THAT sinking feeling - the one you get trying find your perfect narrowboat kitchen bowl or bowls that are small enough to fit, whilst stylist and practical

The standard fit on Narrowboats of Distinction boats is a compact Belfast sink, which looks superb and is highly practical.  But we wanted a sink and a half on our boat as we are used to the convenience at home, and finding one below 450 mm wide proved difficult and involved much research. Here's our specification:

Style: Sink and a half - either a complete unit or two separate bowls. No draining board as we're having a routed work surface (and a small dishwasher) 

Size: - Less than 450mm wide in total to leave room for the taps. Length wasn't as important but the longer it was the more work surface space it used.  Bowls depth wasn't an issue and the smaller bowls are typically shallower than the main one

Material: White ceramic or composite to fit our colour scheme and Shaker-style kitchen units. Not dark and not stainless steel

So after hours of online research here's our shortlist:

1. Villeroy & Boch Subway XU 15 white ceramic undermount sink - 545 x 440 mm

This is our perfect sink. However, James of NBofD advises it would be very tight to get the taps behind and might look cramped

2. Franke VBK Ceramic Undermount - 540 long, 440mm deep - the smaller half sink allows for a tap to be positioned in the top left hand corner rather than behind which would give a contemporary look. Not sure I fully like the asymmetrical styling though . . . . . . 

3. Franke Sirius SID160 Tectonite Polar White Kitchen Sink - 560 mm x 410 mm

Really like this sink - elegant, practical and small enough to fit

All three sinks have a basket strainer waste to stop bits of food going down the drain (and into the canal)

So which one will we choose? We need further technical discussions with our boat fitter.  Our final decision will be featured in a later blog

Now we need to find our perfect tap!!!