The couple set about fixing up the boat, ripping out the walls and redoing the bedroom and the bathroom. Mr Mertens honed his plumbing skills and learned about electric systems and motors, critical knowledge on the canals, where many problems can't wait for a contractor to arrive.Mr Mertens is one of the fortunate ones with a permanent mooring. Prices for the spaces have been swelling, given the growing demand.
"There is a much younger demographic of boaters than we have in other places," said Matthew Symonds, national boating manager at the Canal & River Trust, which manages the canal network."It's more affordable, if you don't mind living in a slightly smaller space." The bulk of the network was developed in the 18th century to link the manufacturing heartland with London, and the canals were crucial to the UK's rise as an industrial power. Expanding train and road transport eventually made the network obsolete, and it fell into a long period of neglect and disrepair. Restoration in the 1970s for leisure purposes helped expand canal living as rising property prices made narrowboats a cheaper and bucolic alternative to city life.
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