Going against the grain

摘要

Pyrus is the third boat the team has fitted out in this style but the other two have gone to private customers so the firm has lacked a craft to showcase its ideas to potential buyers. Until now. Although the boat would carry a price tag of around £125,000 the firm intends to keep it as a floating showroom.rnAnd that's really how it should be seen. There are a lot of great ideas and really successful aspects of Pyrus but equally a few that seem less so. The saloon furniture looks good but really isn't terribly comfortable and the lack of a dedicated cabin is probably a mistake - a permanent, made up bed comes high on most buyers' wish lists even if they can do without granite tops and magic corners. It would have been good if the team had shown off their take on a bedroom design.rnThere were also some loose ends to be tied and snags to be sorted but the boat is still a bit of a 'work in progress' - the team rushed to get it to Crick and we grabbed it from them immediately afterwards so we'll happily accept that those will be dealt with.rnFinally, like any bespoke narrowboat, don't judge Pyrus simply for what it is. Think of it instead as an alternative way to fit out a boat, of a way to use real timber with all its character and the patina of age about it. Of a way to have a real 'floating cottage'. A boat that will be unique, characterful and definitely different.