Did you know that our 16-strong fleet of luxury narrowboats began life completely by accident more than half a century ago? We were recently featured in an article by reporter Rob Goulding in the Northwich Guardian, exploring our history as a third-generation family business building boats right here in Middlewich.
While we are well known and respected within the boating fraternity, we are sometimes seen as something of a hidden gem among the town's landlubbers. We are incredibly proud of our heritage, which started in the early 1970s with Norwegian marine engineer Fred Andersen.
From Boatyard to Holiday Fleet
Originally, the firm began as a simple boatyard on Wych House Lane, servicing and repairing all manner of canal-going craft. To keep busy when business was slow, the industrious Fred built two narrowboats from scratch, which he put up for sale in 1974.
Unable to shift his creations, Fred had a lightbulb moment and began leasing them to holidaymakers, and Andersen Boats was born. Fifty years on, the third generation of Andersens is still hard at work building and maintaining top-quality narrowboats from scratch on Wych House Lane.
"The real magic is you become a kind of country nomad, experiencing different villages and towns with all sorts of amazing vistas along the way."
The Magic of the Country Nomad
Narrowboating has enjoyed a brilliant renaissance recently, partly thanks to hit TV series like Robbie Cumming's Canal Diaries and Great Canal Journeys. The engineering of the canals means you can see so much and literally be in totally different places every day.
It might take you a week to complete a journey you could do in a couple of hours in a car, but it is about the journey in what is basically your own unique, floating cottage. It is much more comfortable than a motorhome, with everything you could need: a full-size cooker, shower or bath, and cosy bedding.
The Personal Touch
Because we do literally everything ourselves, we are all metal fabricators, carpenters, and mechanics, our customers experience a truly family dynamic. When you hire one of our boats, you are not just shown over the boat by someone paid a wage to do it; you will be shown around by the person who actually built it.
Read the full story about our history and craftsmanship by Rob Goulding in the Northwich Guardian.
