Editing Narrowboat (section)

== Development{{dash}}traditional working boats ==
{{More citations needed section|date=September 2014}}
[[File:Horse drawn cruising on the Montgomery Canal - geograph.org.uk - 846074.jpg|thumb|The horse-drawn narrowboat SIÂN on the [[Montgomery Canal]] ]]
The first narrow boats played a key part in the economic changes of the British [[Industrial Revolution]].  They were wooden boats drawn by a horse walking on the canal [[towpath]] led by a crew member, often a child. Narrow boats were chiefly designed for carrying cargo, though some [[packet boats]] carried passengers, luggage, mail and parcels.

The first canals to feature locks in the now standard size were the canals designed by [[James Brindley]] and approved by Parliament in 1766, including the [[Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal]] and [[Trent and Mersey Canal]]. Although construction took many years, the lock size became standard for many canal building projects.

Boatmen's families originally lived ashore, but in the 1830s as canals started to suffer competition from the burgeoning [[railway]] system, families (especially those of independent single boat owner/skippers) began to live on board, partly because they could no longer afford rents, partly to provide extra hands to work the boats harder, faster and further, partly to keep families together. As late as 1858, a ''[[Household Words]]'' article states that "the Grand Junction Canal company did not allow the boatmen's families on board." The crew of the non-stopping (''[[fly-boat|fly]]'') boat in the article (skipper, two crew and a "youth") is said to be typical.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

[[File:Working canal boats.jpg|thumb|left|Historic working narrow boats on the [[Macclesfield Canal]] in [[Cheshire]], England. The leading boat, ''Forget Me Not'', is hauling the un-powered butty ''Lilith''. This became a familiar operating pattern once motors began to replace horses.]]
The rear portion of the boat became the ''boatman's cabin'', familiar from picture postcards and museums, famous for its space-saving ingenuity and interior made attractive by a warm stove, a steaming kettle, gleaming brass, fancy lace, painted housewares and decorated plates. Such descriptions rarely consider the actual comfort of a (sometimes large) family, working brutally hard and long days, sleeping in one tiny cabin. However many shore-bound workers endured harder indoor trades in less healthy conditions and in worse accommodation, where the family was separated for long hours rather than being together all day. The lifestyle afloat, by definition itinerant, made it impossible for children to attend school. Most boat people were effectively illiterate and ostracised by those living "on the bank", who considered themselves superior.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

As steam and diesel progressively replaced the tow-horse in the early years of the 20th century, it became possible to move even more cargo with fewer hands by towing a second, un-powered boat, referred to as a ''butty'', ''buttyboat'' or ''butty boat''. Although there was no longer a horse to maintain, the butty had to be steered while being towed. So that the butty boatman could lengthen or shorten towline as needed, the towline wasn't tied-off on the bow, instead travelled over the buttyboat through permanent running blocks on stands or retractable middle masts and managed in the stern.<ref>[http://www.jim-storey.com/jargon2.htm Canal Jargon N-Z]</ref>  On a wide canal, such as the [[Grand Union Canal]], the pair could be roped side-to-side (''breasted up'') and handled as a unit through working locks.

[[File:A canal boat loaded with fruit pulp travels along the leafy Regent's Canal, on its way to the Grand Union Canal in 1944. D21763.jpg|thumb|right|A narrowboat, crewed by a boatman and his son, carrying barrels of fruit pulp on the [[Regent's Canal]], London, 1944]]
Cargo-carrying by narrow boat diminished from 1945 and the last regular long-distance traffic disappeared in 1970. However, some traffic continued into the 1980s and beyond. Two million tonnes of aggregate were carried on the Grand Union (River Soar) between 1976 and 1996, latterly using wide-beam barges. Aggregate continues to be carried between Denham and West Drayton on the (wide) Grand Union Canal and on the tidal estuary of Bow Creek (which is the eventual outflow of the Lee & Stort Navigation).

A few people are doing their best in the 21st century to keep the tradition of canal-borne cargo-carrying alive, mostly by one-off deliveries rather than regular runs, or by selling goods such as coal to other boaters. Enthusiasts remain dedicated to restoring the remaining old narrow boats, often as members of the Historic Narrow Boat Owners Club.<ref>[http://www.hnboc.org.uk/ Historic Narrow Boat owners Club]</ref> There are many replicas, such as ''Hadar'', ornately painted with traditional designs, usually of roses and castles. Boats not horse-drawn may have a refurbished, slow-revving, vintage [[hot-bulb engine|semi-diesel engine]]. There are some steam-driven narrow boats such as the ex-[[Fellows Morton & Clayton]] steamer [[President (narrowboat)|''President'']].<ref>{{cite web | title=Steam narrow boat President | work='Friends of President' website | url=http://www.nb-president.org.uk | access-date=2007-10-28}}</ref>

===Painted decoration===

[[File:Narrowboat decoration.jpg|thumb|right|Decoration on a traditional English narrowboat: roses on the water can (top) and castles on the open doors to the cabin]]

By the end of the 19th century it was common practice to paint roses and castles on narrow boats and their fixtures and fittings. Common sites include the doors to the cabin, the water can or barrel and the side of the boat along with ornate lettering giving the boat's name and owner. This tradition did not happen in ''all'' regions, the [[Chesterfield Canal]] being one waterway where narrow boats never bore such decorations.<ref>Richardson, Christine (2006). ''Chesterfield History Nuggets''. Richlow Histories. {{ISBN|0-9552609-1-4}}</ref>

The origin of the roses and castles found on canal boats is unclear. The first written reference to them appears to be in an 1858 edition of the magazine ''[[Household Words]]'' in one of a series of articles titled "On the Canal", showing that the art form must have existed by this date. For some time, a popular suggestion was that it had some form of [[Romani people|Romani]] origin; however, there does not appear to be a significant link between the Romani and boating communities. Other suggestions include transfer of styles from the clock-making industry (in particular the decoration on the face), the [[japanning]] industry or the pottery industry. There is certainly a similarity in style and a geographical overlap, but no solid proof of a link. There are similar styles of folk art in [[Scandinavia]], Germany, [[Turkey]] and [[Bangladesh]].

In the 18th century, similar [[Netherlands|Dutch]] [[Hindeloopen]] paintwork would only have been a sailing barge journey away from the Thames. There is also an article in the Midland Daily Telegraph of 22 July 1914 that credits the practice of painting of water cans, at least, to a Mr Arthur Atkins.

While the practice declined as commercial use of the canals dwindled, it has seen something of a revival in recent times with the emergence of leisure boating. Narrowboat decoration with roses and castle themes is a common sight on today's canals, although these may utilise cheaper printed vinyl transfers in place of the traditional craft of hand-painted designs.