Most of the boats on the narrow UK canals are based on commercial carrying vessels that transported cargo in the UK as far back as the early eighteenth century. Originally drawn by horse, and then later powered by steam and then diesel engine, the vessels were often worked as a pair, one of the pair being unpowered. An entire family would have lived aboard in a small cabinat the rear of the boat, the rest being cargo space usually covered by cloth to keep the weather out.