Ken & Kate aboard Daedalus
School trips, an 85-year-old Gardner engine, movie sets, cartoons and a waterways sitcom described as “Detectorists on water.”
Ken and Kate, featured in People on the Cut
“That sense of community has clearly followed them onto the cut.”
Some people find the waterways by accident. Others seem to carry them around in the back of their minds for years.
For Ken Norman, the seed was planted at 14 on a school trip. He returned to the canals several times through his teens and early twenties, including trips with Kate, whom he had met at school.
Years later, when Covid prompted so many people to reassess what they wanted from life, Ken and Kate finally acted on a long-held dream.
They moved aboard Daedalus in December 2021 and have been continuous cruisers ever since.
Before boat life, Ken was a head groundskeeper at an organic farm shop, while also working as a comedy promoter in his spare time. These days, life looks rather different.
And so does the view.
“What has surprised me most is how much I enjoy having a different view every couple of days.”
For Ken, that constant change is part of the appeal. He loves being off-grid, living more minimally and having the freedom that comes with moving through the waterways.
The transition wasn’t without a downside, though. One of the biggest challenges was leaving behind a community in which he and Kate had been very active.
That sense of community has clearly followed them onto the cut.
Meet Daedalus
Daedalus is no ordinary narrowboat.
At 67 feet long, she’s a one-off boat based on the Northwich Trading Class, complete with a tug-style front that doubles as a sun deck.
And then there’s the engine.
She’s powered by an 85-year-old Gardner 4L2.
If Ken could change anything about the boat, though, the answer is refreshingly practical:
More solar.
But Daedalus already has something most boats can’t claim — a film career.
She has appeared in two movies, including Jason Bourne and the recent Amazon film The Runner.
Filming The Runner gave Ken one of his most memorable experiences on the waterways, with special-effects crews, production designers, stunt performers and camera crews all aboard.
Along with Gal Gadot.
Not bad for a day on the cut.
From movie sets to sitcoms
Film appearances aren’t the only creative project happening aboard Daedalus.
Ken and Kate are currently writing a television sitcom about life on the waterways called Gongoozlers.
Two episodes are already written.
Ken describes it simply as:
“Think Detectorists on water.”
That alone was enough to get our attention.
And comedy isn’t Ken’s only creative outlet.
He also produces a series of wonderfully daft bird illustrations under the name A Play on Birds, selling books, postcards and prints from the boat as well as through boatyards, farm shops and an art café.
It’s exactly the sort of small, creative venture we love discovering through People on the Cut.
Life along the waterways
Ask Ken about favourite places and Liverpool features heavily.
His favourite stretch of waterway is the Liverpool Cut, while one of the moments that has made the biggest impression on him was cruising past the Three Graces.
The Dysart Arms in Bunbury gets the vote for favourite canalside stop.
Still on the wish list is the Rochdale Canal.
And when it comes to choosing between a quiet middle-of-nowhere mooring and a pub stop?
Pub stop.
No hesitation required.
Ken is also firmly in the cassette toilet camp.
His defence?
For continuous cruisers, it’s simply convenient.
Hard to argue with that.
Tea beats coffee. Spring and autumn are his favourite boating seasons. He’s a self-confessed slow starter, and when it comes to keeping warm, it’s coal and wood.
He also points out one thing that non-boaters often don’t seem to understand:
The boat is warm in winter.
“Just go for it”
After five years living aboard, Ken’s advice to anyone considering boat life is pleasingly simple.
“Just go for it. You’ll always find people with differing advice and opinions.”
And if he could go back to his first day of boating and tell himself one thing?
Nothing.
“It’d only spoil the surprise!”
We think that might be one of the best answers we’ve had.
Although, admittedly, this is our first feature.
So Ken has set the bar rather high.