Essex Girl

Essex Girl is a 58ft bespoke narrowboat, launched in July 2022 and designed, built and fully fitted out by Bluewater Boats for her owners, Nicole and Richard.
Nicole and Richard first visited us in 2021, spending time looking around our boats in build and gathering ideas for their own layout and interior.
They particularly liked our short bow design, which maximises the internal cabin length. The additional space allowed them to incorporate a side cloakroom at the stern, with alterations made to the steelwork specifically to accommodate their chosen layout, which has since become very popular with our builds!
Because we fabricate our own hulls in-house, we aren't restricted to a standard shell. Steelwork, layout, materials, electrical systems and engineering can all be designed around the individual requirements of each customer.

During the design process, we created our elegant square stern with integrated seating across the back and a side locker.
The additional usable stern space provides a fantastic area for socialising, relaxing and enjoying the waterways and has since become one of our most popular stern designs.

Once the steelwork was complete, Essex Girl was fully shot blasted to remove mill scale and surface contaminants and provide the correctly prepared surface for her protective coating system.
A two-pack epoxy primer was spray applied to the superstructure, with two-pack epoxy blacking below the waterline to provide long-term protection to the hull.
Towards the end of the build, Essex Girl moved into our dedicated paint workshop where high-build finishing primers and undercoats were applied, together with non-slip coatings to the roof, gunnels and stern deck.
The superstructure was finished using Alexseal two-pack acrylic urethane topcoats, followed by a protective clear coat. This provides a beautiful high-gloss finish with excellent colour stability and additional resistance to UV, abrasion and the everyday scratches and marks associated with cruising. Minor tree scratches and similar marks can also be buffed and polished, helping to restore the original finish.
The distinctive signwriting was designed by Nicole and then perfected and applied by our local signwriter.

Following installation of the ballast, flooring, battening and spray foam insulation, we marked the proposed layout directly onto the floor.
Nicole and Richard were then able to walk through the layout of their future boat before the interior fit-out began, making sure everything felt right and allowing any final adjustments to be made.
At this stage we also planned the electrical installation, including sockets, TV aerials, Wi-Fi, solar and other onboard systems, before progressing with the lining, bulkheads, bespoke cabinetry and engineering.
Throughout the build, Nicole and Richard visited regularly and were involved in the many decisions that make a bespoke boat truly individual – from materials and cabinetry through to furnishings and the final exterior colour scheme.

Essex Girl is another example of our complete in-house approach to bespoke boatbuilding.
From the fabrication of the steel hull through to the carpentry, bespoke cabinetry, electrics, plumbing, engineering and painting, the complete boat was built and fitted out by our own Bluewater team.
Keeping the build under one roof allows every part of the boat to be considered together and gives our customers the opportunity to remain closely involved as their boat develops from steelwork into their finished home.

Essex Girl was exhibited by Bluewater Boats at the 2023 Crick Boat Show, where visitors had the opportunity to step aboard and see the finished boat for themselves.
Our relationship with Nicole and Richard has continued long after the boat was completed, and over the years they have become good friends of Bluewater Boats.
Richard produces our quarterly Bluewater newsletters, keeping customers and followers up to date with what's happening at the boatyard, new builds and the latest Bluewater news.
Nicole and Richard also very kindly help us at our boat shows, where they can often be found chatting to visitors and sharing their own experience of having Essex Girl designed and built.
We still meet up from time to time, and they remain very much part of the wider Bluewater family.

On completion, Essex Girl was inspected by an independent marine surveyor and certified in accordance with the applicable Recreational Craft requirements.
From her space-saving short bow and bespoke side cloakroom to her sociable square stern and high-quality two-pack paint finish, Essex Girl demonstrates the flexibility that comes from having a boat designed, fabricated and fitted out by one company from start to finish.
Launched in 2022, exhibited at Crick Boat Show in 2023 and still very much part of the Bluewater story today, Essex Girl is a wonderful example of a bespoke narrowboat designed around both her owners and their life on the water.