Canal engineer John Smeaton has a lot to answer for. He designed the Calder & Hebble Navigation with 57ft 6in locks. That is ultimately why your boat, and the boat built after it, and practically every new narrowboat you'll see, is (more or less) that long. Boat-buyers are fixated on the 'go-anywhere' length - and the Yorkshire locks, in particular the C&H's, are the shortest. But... do you really need that extra 17ft? Forty foot is enough for a spacious cabin, galley, bathroom and bedroom. You can squeeze into that last space on the visitor moorings, which longer boats have regretfully cruised past. You don't need a bow-thruster. You can turn your boat in places that aren't officially winding holes but are just long enough. You can share locks more often. You pay less for your licence, less for your mooring, and less for your boat.
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