If I asked you to cast your mind back to the Crick Boat Show, you could be forgiven for thinking that it was just too long ago to properly remember what happened. After all, a lot has happened in the meantime - we've had a new monarch, two new prime ministers and at least three chancellors. Taxes have been raised, lowered, scrapped and unscrapped. There's been a heatwave and a drought, and parts of the canal network have been closed due to lack of water. And yet, the Crick show was less than six months ago. In case you've forgotten, the winner of the vote for the favourite widebeam boat - voted by visitors to the show - was Time of LiFe by Finesse, which The design and build of the shell is all down to Jonathan Wilson. In fact, he constructed it virtually single-handed during lockdown when no other staff could go to work. The owners, who were in Sheffield to have some work done on their narrowboat, saw the shell and loved it so much they decided to buy it. And there's a lot to like. The bow, for example, has a definite point at the waterline, but softens to a curve at the top, meaning it has presence without looking frightening to oncoming traffic. And even though it's big, it still looks sleek. More than anything, it looks like a proper boat. The stern deck has seating built in. It's already a large area, but can be made larger still: fold the seating away and press a button and the rear lowers hydraulically to the horizontal, to create something akin to a swimming platform. Move the table to the end and you have the perfect outdoor eating area.
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