I have owned several boats during my time. The first was a two-person canoe which I built at school from wood and canvas. The photo shows me with a young lady friend in 1962.

This was followed some time later by a "Bumblebee" sailing dinghy, built in my garage. It was big enough to take one adult and one child, so my children learnt the basics of sailing in it. Here it is on the beach at Rock, Cornwall, where we took family holidays for many years.

I once used the dinghy to rescue a labrador that had decided to swim after his master, out for a sailing lesson. The labrador was half way to Padstow - and very tired - when I caught up with him and hauled him on board.

After a while I realised that I preferred being warm and dry, so I turned to cabin cruisers. My first was a Shetland 535 trailable cruiser, powered by an Evinrude 35HP outboard, kept on a two-wheel trailer at home. The Shetland was fairly basic but provided lots of fun for all the family when we took it to Cornwall on holiday.

Occasionally I obtained a 'weekend pass' to visit the Norfolk Broads. I loved exploring little creeks which big hire cruisers could not navigate. Eventually I would run out of water, get out and push it off the bottom!

In due course finances improved and I bought a Sealine 305 flybridge cruiser fitted with twin V8 Volvo Penta engines. Top speed around 35 knots! Sadly I rarely had the chance to test its performance because the 6-knot speed limit on the River Thames interfered.

I kept the Sealine for a year but it was not a success with my wife (no bath, no central heating, no proper galley...).

Here we are on the Thames near Windsor.

Slowly it dawned on me that what I wanted was a really comfortable boat equipped with all mod cons, and capable of travelling at a speed more in keeping with my age! Hence the decision to commission a new narrowboat with the appropriate features. I started work on the design in October 2001 and began to research possible manufacturers.

I sent my initial drawing and specification to 30-odd potential suppliers, and received replies from about a dozen! Apparently this is not unusual - it was a seller's market at that time. But having spent my working life serving customers in industry, it did surprise me that so few bothered to reply.

The first photo shows the idyllic concept of narrowboating. (The Antidote is driven by a more modern power source developing 43 horse power). The second photo shows a pair of somewhat older narrowboats!

The criteria which I used when deciding who might build my boat included:

• A professional reputation in the industry
• Financially sound company, using modern technology
• Not more than 1½ hours' drive from home
• Willing to build on a Reeves hull and fit a Beta Marine engine
• Knowledgable staff, receptive to my design ideas
• Credible and clear pricing

I was not looking for the cheapest supplier, but I wanted a firm that would do a good job at a fair price. Finally I found Weltonfield Narrowboats Ltd, near Daventry, Northants, who met the requirement. There was the added attraction that Weltonfield had a build slot available mid-2002 due to a cancelled order.

The contract was signed with Weltonfield Narrowboats Ltd on 8th June 2002 and construction of the hull commenced on 10th June at Reeves Boatbuilders Ltd. The completed hull was transported to Weltonfield and craned into the water on 10th July 2002.

Then I watched my design taking shape!

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