Shaft of Light sleeps four comfortably, six if you employ the saloon berths. She has an aft cabin with a double bed and an en-suite shower (mighty powerful) and WC. 

For’rard (a.k.a. the pointy bit) there are twin bunks. This is a delightfully cosy cabin with its own heater outlet; for warm Summer mornings there is a large hatch overhead, staring at a blue sky through one of these from the comfort of your bed is a boat-specific joy.

There’s the galley, another WC, the saloon and the amazing wheelhouse. This folds and slides so ingeniously that the boat can convert from having a galeproof wheelhouse to being completely open in a few minutes. We’ll show you how.

There are three ways of heating water: from the shore power cable driving the immersion heater, from running the engine and from an independent heater. There is a blown hot air heating system with outlets in both cabins and the saloon.

This boat is universally admired wherever she goes, being aboard gives you a real sense of occasion.

Balholm sleeps three in single bunks in one cabin but is best for two in the converting double bed, niftily designed and constructed by an architect friend of ours.

She was built for the sea so has a chart table. Nowadays this provides very useful extra galley space and the engine box has a chopping board built in. She is built of mahogany from stem to stern and the cabin has the ambience of an exclusive club. She has blown hot air heating to the cabin and the cockpit, a WC and shower for’rard and a splendid galley. When she was built the concept of having a fridge on board was so alien that no provision was made for one at all. An electric coolbox in the cockpit does the job.

And what a cockpit. It is the most comfortable, spacious place we have ever seen on any boat, ever, anywhere. On a boat of this length it is amazing. Very deep and sheltered but with wonderful views from the seating, it is the apogée of practicality with style. The drop-leaf table demounts and fits into the cabin if you feel like eating inside but the snug canopy and heater outlet give you little encouragement to do so, even when the evening cools off.