As soon as I put the microwave oven on the galley worktop I realised that it took up too much space and just didn't look right (photo 1).

I talked with Nick about raising it up on a high level shelf but he was not keen. Then it came to us that there was a big space in the middle of the dressing table on the other side of the bulkhead.

The solution was to move the dressing table mirror forward, and to cut a hole in the bulkhead to take the microwave. The end result looked good (photo 2).

If anything, the bedroom looked better too (photo 3) because the mirror alcove was not as deep.

You really have to plan your use of space in narrowboats with great care because there is so little room. Even though I had drawn scale plans, the two IKEA armchairs were simply too big to fit comfortably in the saloon.

I replaced them with smaller versions (photo right). The new armchairs were not quite so plush, but they fitted the space much better!

Sometimes the only way to find out whether the plan will work is to try it out and be prepared to adapt it.

Well, not exactly too many - I felt that two toilets were essential on a boat of this size.

There is however a lack of options when both toilets are the same type, both pumping into the same holding tank. The holding tank can only be pumped out at a boatyard, which is usually expensive! And there can be problems if you are not near a pump-out station when the tank fills up. It's even possible in winter not to be able to get to a pump-out station if the canal is iced up.

So I replaced the electric toilet in the utility room with a Porta Potti 365 chemical toilet. Not as pretty, but it can be emptied by hand at an Elsan disposal point, and there are plenty of these around the canal network.

Some boaters carry a spare tank for their Porta Potti so that they don't get caught out when the tank fills up.

The photos show before and after shots.

Because the waste holding tank breather outlet is not far from the galley window, there was another problem!

Unlike a "dump-through" toilet, an electric toilet pumps waste under pressure into the holding tank, which in turn forces air out of the tank through the breather pipe.

If the wind is in the wrong direction, this "air" from the holding tank finds its way in through open windows, which can be a bit "whiffy"!

The solution was to put a charcoal filter in the breather pipe, so that odours are removed from the air. The Microvent filter is tucked inside a cupboard in the bedroom, where it is out of the way but accessible to change the filter element.

I adapted one of the three tables from the nest of coffee tables, and mounted it on a "Desmo" leg in the front cockpit.

It makes a nice place to sit and drink coffee/beer/wine when the sun shines.

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Funny, informative, enjoyable - a must read for anyone dreaming of `life on the cut'.

I changed the seating arrangement in the saloon too.

I fitted a 6ft long bench seat, which can be extended to make a 6ft x 4ft bed. The table (48" x 15" when closed) has a lifting flap and opens to 48" x 24" as shown in the photo. Folding chairs allow for extra seating on the other side of the table.

(Paul subsequently moved the bench seat to the rear cabin when he bought the boat. This is shown in "Paul's Modifications").

I eventually found a sofabed to fit the rear cabin. It's an inexpensive unit from Argos, but it does the job and looks much prettier than the one which I had made myself.

It's actually quite comfortable to sit on, and it's very easy to open out as a bed.

(This Argos sofabed was made redundant when Paul moved the bed/settee from the saloon to the rear cabin)

I didn't know whether the inverter was too smart or too dumb, but it frequently decided to cut off the shore power when it didn't like the voltage supply for some reason. This was potentially disastrous when I left the shore power connected to keep the boat from freezing up in winter.

Consequently I inserted a switch in the 230V circuit which allows one to by-pass the inverter. Shore power can then go direct to the wall sockets when the heaters are plugged in.

The 230V sockets can also be isolated by choosing the "OFF" position.