Response to the Adaptabed at Crick

From 'Canal & Riverboat' Sept 2003

'Most of us have come to accept layouts of a fairly consistent form in our narrowboats. All we have to do is to decide where to put the basic features - bed - dinette - seating area - spare beds for visitors, all more or less in traditional layout around the basic galley/shower areas. You can draw up a customary layout that will be the general form for more than half the boats you visit. Many of them have ingenious hinged flaps and removable boards, but that is about all, unless you have an open plan with a sofabed and other domestic furnishings, but even that is fairly static.'

'Of course boaters are always looking for something new - particularly something that will give them more space and freedom on their boats - and at the Crick Show they found it.
Instead of looking for an acceptable layout for fixed furnishings, there is now an alternative approach - choosing furniture that can be changed into another, according to what you need instead of the usual problem of deciding in advance where to put your basic fixed units and living with them in those positions. This new principle is shown to the greatest advantage in the Adaptabed - a kit that will convert into any of the basic items you may need, one replacing the other and requiring no storage.'

'A number of the boaters seeing the demonstrations said that learning about this had in itself justified their visit to the Show. Some visitors who had already committed themselves to having bed cabins and dinettes on their new boats were sorry they had not come across the Adaptabed sooner. But everyone who was still at the planning stage was delighted with the opportunities the system offers. Clearly it is not suitable for all boats, but knowing it is available opens new possibilities that boaters had not previously even considered. One kit will furnish a small single cabin narrowboat with one or two of the extra smaller tabletops also supplied that fix up very quickly (they can also be converted into seats). Having two sets like this is all you need for most medium-sized boats of 45/55ft and is real value for money.'

'This principle of using adaptable free-standing furniture that will convert directly one into another has been shown to be the most effective practical method of saving space on narrowboats and could well become the pattern for the future - in addition it is more cost effective than any other system as it will give such a wide choice and at the same time leaves more space for general storage.'