Morpheus is a “reverse layout” boat, one of the main reasons we designed her like this was that most people get on and off a boat at the back and we didn't want people getting on the boat and walking straight into our bedroom.

Once we started travelling with the reverse layout, we found other extra benefits;

- If you fancy a cup of tea, you haven't got far to go if you find one of you has to jump off to do a lock and has left the kettle on!
- If you are preparing lunch or tea, whilst still moving, you don't have far to go to take food out to the driver of the boat.
- If one of you fancies a lay-in, you haven't got as much engine noise.
- Most boats have the kitchen in the middle of the boat, with the kitchen at one end, the cooking smells are kept up one end.

On the roof, there are two solar panels of the new polycrystaline type, which provide useful power even in cloudy conditions. They are rated at 160Watts in full sunshine. There is also a semi-automatic satellite dish, two radio aerials, a wifi aerial, gps aerial and a normal tv aerial on the roof.

There is plenty of seating in the semi-trad stern area, we also found it handy as you can close the back doors and any children or pets are safe, but still outside in the fresh air.

The engine is a BMC 50 with dual alternators, one for charging the starter battery. The other, a beefy 95Amp alternator, charges the domestic bank, which consists of four 110AH leisure type, lead acid batteries. These four batteries provide the 12volt feed for all the internal lighting as well as power to the inverter.

The inverter is a top of the range Victron Energy 1.2KW smart inverter with built in smart charger. This feeds all the 240VAC appliances onboard, including the TV's, fridge/freezer, washing machine, microwave, etc.

Into the Kitchen.

There are two tall cupboards to the left and right hand side of the steps as you come down - if you are facing the front of the boat, the cupboard on the left is used as a coat cupboard. It is a handy cupboard for several reasons;
- It can hold full length coats;
- It gets quite warm in here, so it can also dry damp coats quite quickly;
- It is handy for keeping mops and brooms in too!
The under worktop cupboards are quite big and are used for food (on right) and plates, saucepans, serving dishes etc (on left). There is a cut-out in the wall at the end of the draining board where the microwave lives.

Under the sink there is a Spring Clear water filtration system on the cold water feed.

There are several handy shelves in the main part of the kitchen and as you go from the Kitchen through to the Lounge there is some more storage above the freezer and the washing machine. The washing machine is a 3.5kg load standard washing machine, as with all other appliances on board, was new as of February 2006.

Into the Lounge.

As you walk into the lounge you notice the big LCD screen, this also has connections for PC/Playstation/X-box/Video/Sky Box etc.

The cupboard under the television is where the hot water tank is, we found that it was very quickly turned into an airing cupboard, it is a very effective warm area, where you can dry out shoes and coats if they have had a cold soaking (in this country it is always useful to be able to dry out!!)

The fire is a diesel fuelled bubble stove (which means that you don't have to carry coal and logs) and also comes with a fireguard (in the cupboard behind the sofa seating) which is needed as it does create a lot of heat - in the winter we also used the fireguard to dry washing and we found it better that a tumble drier!!

The holes in the wall on the opposite side of the fire (under the window) are for a table to be fitted, the table leg is stored underneath. It makes a great dining table.

The sofa seating opens up into either a single or double bed and the cupboard underneath holds all the cushions and with careful planning it can hold all the bedding needed for this too. We have actually had “finrads” installed in every cupboard where we were storing any clothes or bedding. Fin-rads are hot pipes with shark like fins on them to distribute the heat, they are great for warming up small enclosed places. They keep everything in the cupboards bone dry (especially over winter when boats can get quite damp with condensation).

You will notice the cupboard behind the sofa seating, again this is more storage (this is where the fireguard is kept and the Christmas tree!!) There is also a hanging rail in here for full length clothes (either for your guests or yourselves). In the bottom of the cupboard there is a fully secured safe - it is bolted to the floor - great for keeping valuable and cash onboard.

As you walk through the lounge towards the first bedroom, you will notice a very handy shelving area on your right and a cupboard, this is just more storage, either for guests using the sofa seating as a bed or for books etc.

Bunk Bedroom

You then come into the bunk bedroom, with 2 single bunks and storage either side of the beds and underneath. The bottom bunk also has an LED reading light on the left hand side.

The bathroom.

The bathroom is fitted with a Japanese soaking tub, to the un-informed it looks like a very deep shower tray or a very small bath and equally can be seen as both!! It is handy for kids or if you do get very cold and fancy a dip, when you sit in it, the water comes up to your shoulders! The bath is fitted with a gulper system, which sucks the water out of the bath to drain it.

The toilet is a cartridge toilet. Each cartridge usually lasts 2 people 2-3 days and there are 2 further spare cartridges under the seats at the front of the boat.

Again there is more storage under the sink and a razor/electric toothbrush socket.

Front Bedroom

The front bedroom has a pull-out king-size double bed, with storage underneath as well as a smaller cupboard over the bed head. Also fitted to the underside of the top cupboard are two LED reading lights.

At the foot of the bed are several enclosed shelves for storing clothing, etc. Then there is a full height cupboard, currently fitted with several shelves, again for storing clothes. Fixed to the side of the cupboard is a flatscreen LCD TV / PC monitor, so you can lay in bed and watch telly! The TV also acts as a monitor if you bring a laptop with you.

Going out of the front doors into the front area of the boat, you have a seating area for four people, with a removable coffee table. Storage under the seats as well as under the floor. 

British Waterways licence £700 *
Engine servicing £400
General maintenance £500
Hull blacking (every 2nd year) £300
Emergency engineer callout £ 55
Gas for cooking £225
Our management fee £1,320
Fully comprehensive insurance £300
Contingency fund £1,000 **
Moorings £2,400

Total £7,200

This equates to £150 a year for each weekly share you buy.

* The price quoted is for a standard rivers and canals license, it is also
possible to buy a gold license that covers most of the other rivers not under
British Waterways control, but this would only be done with the consent of
the majority of the owners.

** Monies for the contingency fund is only spent with the permission of the
majority of the owners. It is intended to fund any unforeseen     major repairs
that might crop up occasionally.

You would normally pay your share of the running costs annually, at least
one month prior to the start of the week, to allow plenty of time for payment
to clear. However if you would rather spread the costs over 4 quarterly
payment, you may do so but there would be an additional £10 admin fee
per year, i.e. £40 per quarter.

Prices shown above, with the exception of our management fee, are all
paid to third parties, as such we cannot guarantee future costs. Prices were
correct as of February 2010.

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