The Favourite Boat vote is one of the traditions of the Crick Boat Show. Boat builders will tell you that it really doesn’t matter – while at the same time desperately wanting to win it!
There was a change in the voting this year. In the past, it’s been a purely public vote; but this time the organisers introduced an expert panel alongside. They said the scoring would be Strictly Come Dancing style, without ever exactly explaining what that meant. There were more than 20 narrowboats eligible for the vote, but just five widebeams – so sensibly the organisers announced only a winner in that category. The change in voting meant that there was a tie for third place for the narrowboats, something which would have been extremely unlikely in a pure public vote.
This month we’ll look at the winning boats; next month we’ll have a selection of the other boats on show.
THE WINNERS
NARROWBOATS WINNER 1ST:
KINGSGROUND presented by LAKELAND LEISURE ESTATES
Highgrove
58ft cruiser
£229,000
Highgove is the latest build by Kingsground, commissioned by Lakeland Leisure, which operates a number of marinas and boat sales outlets. Last year’s offering, Beatrice, picked up third place in the Favourite Boat vote, and it’s fair to say the team thought this boat was better!
Highgrove is built on a ColeCraft shell, and powered by a Beta 43 engine. There’s also a 75kgf Vetus bow thruster. There are four 120Ah domestic batteries, and 600 watts of solar on the roof. The interior is where this boat really scores. The design is inspired by the gardens at Highgrove, the house in Gloucestershire which has been the private home of the King since 1980. The rear galley has green unit doors, quartz worktops, a Belfast sink, and a splashback of tiles with an oak leaf and acorn design, which crops up at various points in the boat. Equipment includes a Thetford oven, and a Zanussi mini washing machine.
The raised dinette has storage in the base, as well as a freezer. While most of the furniture uses oak, there are black walnut trims which have embedded copper rings, which show real attention to design detail. In the saloon, there’s a Lockgate Refleks stove, with a copper guard on the flue; there’s more copper in an oak leaf artwork alongside. A tv unit is under the gunwales.
The walkthrough shower room has a quadrant shower, where cleverly the rail holding the shower head has been recessed into the wall to give a little extra space. The loo is by Tecma, and there’s a rectangular basin on a unit. The cabin, at the bow, has an inline bed with drawers in the base. The wardrobes and a nautical-style drawer unit have looped leather handles, with copper trims. The radiators throughout the boat are a gentle cream colour, rather than the grey so often seen these days.
The whole look is one of calmness and serenity. The greens and pastels, the oak leaves, the leather, and the copper give an organic feel which is really appealing. A worthy winner.
VERDICT: the height of sophistication.
CONTACT: lakelandleisureboatsales.co.uk
kingsground.co.uk
NARROWBOATS WINNER 2ND:
STONE BESPOKE BOAT COMPANY
Albert Ross
60ft semi-trad
£245,000
We loved Albert Ross when we reviewed the boat in our December 2023 issue, and the Crick public clearly loved in too. The boat is built on a shell by Nick Thorpe which uses the features of old working boats to maximise internal space. There’s a Potter’s Cabin at the nose to provide extra storage, and there’s a tipped-in clothed section, in the manner of a covered hold, which is an elegant way of extending the cabin. The use of orange as an accent colour also really works.
Inside, there’s a curvy galley at the stern with blue doors and quartz worktops. It’s an all-electric boat, so there are Neff appliances including an induction hob and an oven. There’s a tap with a pull-nozzle over the sink, and a wine store in the floor.
The dinette has a table that rises and lowers at the touch of a button, and the table and bench seats both extend so you can seat six. The saloon has an under gunwale tv unit that floats off the floor.
The shower has a giant picture of Admiral Flamingo inside, but this doesn’t appear to have alarmed the Crick voters! A crackle-glaze basin sits on a unit, and the loo is a Thetford cassette.
The cabin, at the bow, is a real highlight with a king size bed in the tipped in section, making it feel cozy and welcoming. There are also glazed side doors both sides, and a glazed pigeon box in the roof for extra light. The joinery throughout is stunning.
Albert Ross is powered by a parallel hybrid system from Hybrid Marine, with a battery bank of 800Ah at 48 volts. There’s also an 8kw Victron inverter.
This was Stone Bespoke’s first appearance at Crick, and to say they were pleased with second place would be an understatement. “Not bad for two men and three dogs” said Martin, one half of the two-man team which makes up the firm, based at Aston Marina on the Trent and Mersey.
VERDICT: Eyecatching inside and out.
CONTACT: stonebespokenarrowboats.com
NARROWBOATS WINNER 3RD:
BRAIDBAR BOATS
Est Tempus
64ft semi-trad
£250,000
Braidbar have an extraordinary record at Crick, winning multiple times including last year. This year’s boat was a 64-footer on a lovely shell by Tim Tyler. It had recessed panels and an extra-long well deck, to give the look of a tug, while retaining the practicality of a normal front deck.
Inside, there’s a lobby type area as you enter the boat from the stern deck, with a breakfast bar leading to the galley. It has black sparkly granite worktops and Neff appliances, including an induction hob and an oven with a slide and hide door.
In the saloon, there’s a change in the fitout, as the diagonal tongue and groove on the cabin sides in the galley gives way to painted panels, with vertical tongue and groove below the gunwales. There’s a corner tv unit, and the tv swings out on an arm.
The shower room is walk-through, and has a quadrant shower with a pull-out unit alongside, and a special towel storage unit in the cupboard below. The cabin has an inline bed, which lifts on gas struts to access the storage inside. There are high level cupboards and plentiful wardrobes. In these more private areas, the diagonal tongue and groove returns, to give a more intimate feel.
The boat is powered by a Hybrid Maine system, so the prop can be turned by both the Beta 43 engine and the 10kw electric motor. There’s an 800Ah at 48volts battery bank, and charging is assisted by eight 160 watt solar panels on the roof.
Everything about this boat screams quality, from the shell to the fitout, the furniture and the fittings. It shows exactly why Braidbar has a reputation as one of the top boat builders in the country, and why it has such a good record at Crick.
VERDICT: Quality through and through.
CONTACT: braidbarboats.co.uk
NARROWBOATS WINNER 3RD:
BOATING LEISURE SERVICES
Curiosity
68ft semi-trad
£300,000
Boating Leisure Services have a great record at the show, having won Favourite Boat multiple times, including three years in a row – but they’ve missed the last few shows. They were back this year with Curiosity, which we reviewed a couple of months ago as our Crick preview boat. We thought it was top notch, and it seems the voting public agreed.
The 68ft boat is built on a ColeCraft shell, and has one of the most muscular electric propulsion systems we’ve ever seen. The boat is powered by a 20kw Bell Marine motor, has a lithium battery bank of more than 1100Ah at 48 volts. To charge them, there’s a 22kw Fischer Panda generator, and a massive 3kw of solar panels on the roof.
The boat has a lobby area inside the boat for getting out of wet coats and taking your boots off, followed by a well-appointed galley with dark grey Corian worktops, and Neff appliances such as in induction hob and oven. The dinette is a bit smaller than usual, but can be expanded when it converts into a bed, by unlocking one of the bench seats and moving it. The saloon has a sofa and low tv unit, and a door to a tiny second loo.
The main cabin is in the centre of the boat and has a cross bed with wardrobes either side. The side doors have glazed inners, with a special film which means you can see out but people on the towpath can’t see in. There’s a pigeon box in the roof, which floods the room with light. The shower room has a generous quadrant shower, a Headmaster loo, and a vanity unit. At the bow is a second bedroom, set up as a day room with its own drinks fridge, so an evening on the well deck isn’t disturbed by having to walk all the way back to the galley.
VERDICT: superbly appointed, and the ultimate electric propulsion system.
CONTACT: boatingleisureservices.com
WIDEBEAM WINNER 1ST:
BESPOKE BOAT CO
Lunar
65ft x 12ft 6in cruiser
£280,000 excl VAT
Undoubtedly the stand-out widebeam of the show, there’s so much to say it’s difficult to know where to start. The drama begins on the stern deck, where there’s a sunken wine store in the floor. Opposite is a set of stairs up to a roof terrace, which will eventually have a privacy screen around it.
Stepping inside, there’s a large and well-appointed galley with an island unit carrying a five burner gas hob. The far side is a circular breakfast bar. Above is a circular skylight (that you can walk on when you’re up on the sun deck). Equipment includes a Water Freedom purification system, which means it can turn canal water into usable water.
The saloon is huge, with room for a massive sofa. It also features a log burner suspended from the ceiling, and a built-in fish tank. The other side of the tank is visible from the second bedroom, which is set up like a day room, with seating that turns into a bed, and plenty of wardrobes. Behind the bed is a feature wall, with a striking piece of art.
The bathroom is often one of the areas where a widebeam wins, because it’s so spacious. This one has a large shower and a full size doubled-ended bath. The loo is an incinerating one by Cinderella. The cabin, at the bow, is a dramatic dark green with another huge circular skylight. It has LED lights inside, to make a feature of it at night. There’s hand-painted, slightly risqué, art above the bed as part of a full-height headboard panel, and there are plenty of drawers and wardrobes.
The boat is built on a shell by Aquarius, and the boat is powered by a Beta 70hp engine, and there’s a 95kgf Vetus bow thruster. The steering is hydraulic. Electrical power comes from lead carbon gel batteries, and there’s a 5kw Victron inverter.
There were far fewer widebeams on show this year, in a dramatic change from previous years when they appeared to be taking over. This one would probably have won the vote even had the competition been stiffer.
VERDICT: Dramatic and outstanding.
CONTACT: bespokeboatcompany.com
As featured in the August 2024 issue of Canal Boat. Buy the issue here
