Love of and on the Canal

Let me start by telling you a little bit about me, my name is Charles but I get called Chas or Charlie, I have just turned 18 and I have had one heck of a life. I lost my parents when I was 9 and since then I have been in and out of number of homes. At 11 I realised that I might be gay and by 12 I knew I was. There are a few stories to tell of my early years and I may well share them with you ... so keep your eyes open for them.

On the Saturday of my 18th birthday I bought a lottery ticket and won a tenner on the Wednesday I bought another one ... the numbers were, 9 when I lost my parents, 10 when I first learnt to masturbate, 13 becoming a teenager, 16 becoming of age, 18 because I could buy a lottery ticket and 49 because it was the highest number on the form.

Well it came up and now I am worth in excess of 6.5 million pounds. I moved to a small bed and breakfast in Berkhampstead to get away from the press and people who claimed to be my friends, I got a lawyer and an account and then I went out and spent some money. First of all I bought mobile phone that would allow me to connect a lap top to the internet and a contract to go with it. Next I bought the lap top, printer then I good digital camera. I spent the next couple of days getting used to them and setting them up. Next I went a bought a good but not overly expensive mountain bike with panniers and a few odds and sods and after that it was some clothes.

I went on the the internet and found what I was looking for... A Narrow Boat.

I had been on 3 canal holidays and I loved them and had all ways dreamed of living on a boat. The yard that I wanted was at Solihull on the Grand Union. The couple that ran the bed and breakfast were great so I warned them that I might be away over night. After an early breakfast, it was Tuesday, I grabbed my bike and headed for the station.

It did not take me long to find the boat yard thanks to the maps that I printed off of the web. After locking my bike I wandered down the yard to look at the boats.

'Hi can I help you'     I turned and stared for a second, as my heart skipped a beat, at a guy who was about my age, about my hight and about my build, he had shoulder length dirty blond hair and he was wearing overalls with the yards logo on them.

'Hi, yes my name is Charles' and after a hesitation I offered my hand 'Charles King and I am interested in buying a narrow boat'    He held up his hand to show me that it was covered in grease.

'Well you have come to the right place and my name is Tim' he laughed 'and I would shake but I think you might get you dirty'    I laughed back and nodded in agreement.    'Anyone in perticular'    he finished by gesturing at the boats.

I had looked on their site on the net and the one I was most interested in was a modern build 70' boat named Zachire

'Nice boat, let me go and clean up a bit and get the keys, you want a cup of tea'

'Please, no rush I am out for the day'    He smiled and beckoned me to follow him which I did looking at the graceful way he moved, my cock stiffening slightly.

We walked into a work shop and I stooped and looked at the boat that was being worked on, a guy came out and I guessed it must be his dad or may be an older brother. He introduced us and it was his dad he smiled and as we moved off he followed us into a a office. After some general chat and tea Tim picked up some keys and a file and we headed down to the marina.

I fell in love with the boat as soon as I saw it, it was mid-blue in color, my favorite. Tim unlocked the rear door and on the left were controls and gauges, he slip a cover back and we went down 3 steps and into the into the boat. On the left were some cupboards with a single bed on top, on the right a washing machine , freezer and another cupboard and once more a single bed on top. The gangway moved left and we went passed a double bed, Tim explained that this was the main bedroom and showed how doors each end slid across to keep the rear twin bedded area separate from this and the shower and toilet that came next. Then the galley or kitchen and this included a microwave as well as a gas cooker and was, like all the woodwork in the boat made from pine with Formica work tops. Next came a table with bench seats and then a lounge area. He explained that I could get chairs or a sofa and rework this area how I wanted.

I was so excited, it looked so clean, so neat. There were cupboards and shelves everywhere. For those who have not seen a narrow boat just let me enplane. All thought it is 70' long it is only just over 6' wide with an interior head room of just over 6'. Its compact.

By the time the tour was finished I had found out that as well as gas for the cookers it also ran the hot water and central heating. It had a 240 volt generator, various battery for various jobs, pumps for this and pumps for that. Tim said it had been built as a special order so was of a very high specification.

'Lets talk a deal'    I said

'You are serious'    He looked at me and I nodded.
Well it took about two hours and his dad to sort out the deal, it took some convincing at first but eventually when I said that I would pay by credit transfer and that I was good for the money we got it all sorted. Its amazing now days how quickly you can transfer money. Paper work was signed and Zachire was mine.

I asked Tim he he fancied a late lunch/early dinner at the pub across the road, my treat, he looked at his dad who told him that he could have the rest of the day off after the sale that he had just made.

They walked across the road and Chas ordered two pints and looked around for Tim who had taken a seat by the window over looking the canal. They sat in silence for a moment just watching a boat navigating the lock.

'So where are you going and who is helping you' asked Tim.

'Well at the moment thats the problem'    Chas went on to enplane that he wanted to go down to Hemel but at the moment he didn't have anyone to help and apart from the holidays he also did not have a lot of experience on the canals.They talked for about an hour, Tim about the yard and his work, Chas about his life and his hopes.

'Well as Zachire is yours I had better show you how it works'

'Your dad wont mind, I have taken up so much of your time all ready

'No, it quite untill the weekend when our hire boats come back on Saturday and then go out Sunday' Tim explained.

For the next 3 hours Tim showed Chas how to start and stop the boat, explained about the generator, the pump out toilet, the generator, the cooker ........

At the end of the day he cycled back to the station and got the train back to Berkhampstead. He down loaded the photos he had taken of the boat and Tim and started a folder for them. It had been quite a day and it had been arranged that he would move onto the boat tomorrow and he could stay berthed in the yard for the weekend at least. He smiled as he remembered how Tim had insisted that he would help all he could, his dad had agreed and had said he was due some time off. Chas got the idea that the yard was successful and that they both ran the place because they enjoyed it not because they had to.

He hired a car...