A battleship no longer

Not many photo's this time. Couldn't get far enough back in the paintshop to do her justice. Wheelhouse and skylight have been removed for painting and almost everything is still covered in masking paper. The windows are on site ready to go in and the solid oak flooring has been fitted throughout. The floor has been given a couple of coats of danish oil which has brought the grain out a treat and all the interior has been varnished but with the masking in place it was too dark to photograph.

Sharp end which just needs the winch to be fitted winch to be fitted.

Middle bit with windows going in this afternoon.

Blunt end with wheelhouse to refit.

Think it's a real smart spray job? Think again, Ben and Mike have painted this all by hand and I've yet to find a blemish. I bet we've all seen the boats presented at shows with droopy runs down the side so it's good to see pride being taken in workmanship. Once Andy's signwrighting goes on that'll be about it.

Just a few final jobs and the soft furnishings. Ben's just presented us with the key to the wheelhouse doors.

Not long now. Got to go to work next week but the week after we hope to be taking some of the bits down to the boat to load up, and with luck we can clear enough room around the house to be able to have freinds over to stay again.

Leaps forward

Lots of things have changed since our last visit, especially in the case of Karen, who hasn't been able to get down to the boat for over a month, this is the first time she has seen it with the wheelhouse on and loves it. The first thing to be seen is the new wheelhouse floor, rear cabin doors and steps down into the galley. Lots of little things are coming togeather such as the mushroom vents on the roof.

Most of the work has been out of sight, the engine is now up and running, Hurricane central heating boiler installed, calorifier in, inlets/outlets for water and black water. All that gives the game away for all this work a a string of chrome 'holes' appering around the hull.

On top of all that the batteries are in and the fridge/freezer is in and working. Whew!

With all this extra loading she is now sitting lower in the water and as steady as a rock. Checked the bilge at the engine which is still as dry as a bone, so she hasn't sunk and is not sitting on the bottom, though she must be drawing about 2' 4" at the stern. We want about 2' 6" to bring the air draft down to 5' 10" so once the gas bottles are on and the tanks full of fuel I don't think we will be far off.

It's not just happening down on the boat either.The anchor and chain has arrived and so have the recliner chairs for the lounge. Can't get into the middle shed for boxes of stuff and the back bedroom is full of bedding and electrical stuff. Think we must have two of everything.
Popped up to Mexborough to take the template for the matress to the Edwardian Bedding Co. - sould be delivered next week.

Did I once say it was like waiting for Christmas? -- Nope it's not a patch on this.

God news - bad news

Sky light has joined the wheelhouse on top of the boat and is looking good.

You can see the ash lining better now that it is in place and there's plenty of glass area to let the light in ad both sides are hinged for ventilation. If it gets too hot then the whole top will be removable but the main reason is so that we can get larger furniture in without having to struggle though the wheelhouse. Before anybody asks - won't it be cold in winter? - the plan is to have a cover that will match the wheelhouse top. The crossways stay is just for lining things up during construction.

Boy does it make the whole lounge area light and airy. The bits lying around are the engine covers.

Yep the engines in with the hospital silencer on the swim to the right. It all looks a bit blue because of the blue tarpaulin over the wheelhouse and to be honest I just haven't had the time to do any colour correction in Photoshop but there will be plenty of opportunity for engine bay shots in the future. Main thing is that the bilge is as dry as a bone.

Been shopping during the week and bought a pair of recliner chairs for the lounge and an alloy anchor which I have had to shorten slightly as it was too long for the hawse hole. Everythings coming along fine. No major changes this visit but lots of little tweaks and jobs a bit further down the line. Karen was working again so it was a case of plenty of snaps to keep her updated.

The bad news - well work is slipping behind schedule, but the big problen is Ben can't get the boat in the paint shop until the last week of August which may mean a completion date towards the middle of September. Now it's a mad dash to rearrange time off work and it looks like we may have to have a split holliday. Ah well hopefully it won't be too long before I start my big holliday and all being well Karen shorly after.

Wheelhouse takes shape

Haven't been able to get down to the boat for over two weeks due to that thing called work getting in the way, but Ben and Mike have been beavering away. The wheelhouse frames have been completed in sapele. Ben popped the parts into position so I could see how they would all fit into place and he was able to show the side hinges in operation. As you can see they lie tight into the side as planned. Boy oh boy am I chuffed to bits, there had been quite a lot of concern at the beginning that my bright idea would not work and I think even Ben had a few reservations before the hinges were in place. Thankfuly he had enough faith in me to carry on with the plan .
And now see how she looks with all the pieces clamped into place, Ben has hinged the top of the door so it folds outwards to collapse. This means that there is nothing to remove apart from the cover so no frantic stowing of loose bits if the top needs to come down.

I had intended to make a template for the mattress to take to the bedding company but the bedroom was full of dog box. This is also being made in sapele but is being lined with ash to match the saloon interior.

The sink is now in place and the hob is waiting to be fitted and it looks like all cupboard doors and hatch linings have been completed. Windows will not be fitted until the hull is painted which will be in about three weeks time.

When I left yesterday the lads were preparing to varnish the wheelhouse woodwork, with the boat being moved down to Anglo Welsh yard to have the engine fitted today. Completion planned for the end of August is looking good. Only 5 weeks to go.

Fortnightly Fix

Down to the boat again this Friday to get our regular boaty fix. A lot of changes have taken place again. New shelves in the kitchen with microwave fitted and there's a belfast sink under the units ready to go in. Still only temporary windows but the proper ones should be delivered shortly. Windows and vents will be chrome finish to save on the polishing lark. Yeah, I know we're wimps, but brass has to be polished regularly to look good and we believe in trying to make life easy for ourselves.
Looking forward through the bathroom and the wenge top is on the bathroom sink stand with a new cabinet above. Bed base with cupboard under and another cupboard under the forward hatch. No shortage of storage here.

Dresser unit in the bedroom. We were a bit worried that the bed base was going to be too small, but usual story, Ben and Mick have got it all sorted and we will have a full 4'6" most of the way down. Don't know why we worry sometimes, the lads are always one step ahead of us.

Shower cubicle waiting for plumbing, Ben asked what tiles we would like which floored us - hadn't given that one a thought, but after talking about it on the way home we think we will go for plain white with a dividing line of tiles with a diamond motif to continue Bens diamond theme.

Finally remembered to take a couple of photo's of the wheelhouse hinges. They dont look much but have caused a few headaches. In the wheelhouse up position. The rear third will go down with the back window, which when raised will give a rigid 'C' section. Thats the theory anyhow. The front window will be of similar construction.

Open or wheelhouse down.

Looks a bit of a mess, should have cleaned up more after filing the holes out.

Work in progress

Back down to Great Haywood yesterday to meet up with Ben and it's definitely work in progress. So much has developed since the last visit. I was amazed to see that the oven is already in and the wenge wood work top has been fitted, just needs the cutouts for the hob and Belfast sink. Ben tells us that it is a horrendously hard wood and it sounds like it's great for blunting router bits. Eee but it looks grand lad. Talked over the lounge area layout, and, because we've lost space by having a longer wheelhouse have decided to abandon the stove idea to make more room and are looking for a beefier heating system to compensate.
With the cover off the roof opening for the skylight (Surely it's too big to call it a dog box) the interior looks realy light and airy. This is the view from the bathroom door looking towards the wheelhouse. Ben says he will be building in a curved corner unit by the steps down which will house the microwave amongst other things.

Even on Saturday afternoon Ben and Mick were beavering away to keep up with work. It sounds like thery have plenty of jobs in the pipeline, which has got to be a good sign in these times. The stand for the wash basin in the bathroom is being made to match the cupboard in the lounge and its a marvel to see the work that goes into each piece.

In the bedroom the bed base is in covering the bow thruster and poo tank, ( So if it leaks we'll be the first to know about it) but there's still room for drawers underneath.

Done it again - so busy drooling over the interior forgot to take a picture of the wheelhouse hinges. Ah well there's always next time. Finished of the day with a cuppa at the cafe at Haywood lock and did a bit of gongoozling. Dream on - back to earth with a bump and off to work for a 12 hr night shift.

The shape of things to come.

Firstly a couple of pictures of the launch from Ben and Kelly which I promised. Our only regret was that we weren't there to see it for ourselves. Three weeks ago and the time has just flown.

Went down to the boat on my own today as Karen was at work to fit the wheelhouse hinges cum handrails which Mick at TR Fabrications in Nottingham had made in stainless steel. Spent the day filing out the holes in the lugs to try and raise the mounts as they were a bit lower than intended. Now they are bolted in place and work as anticipated but the proof of the pudding will be when the wheelhouse sides are fitted to them. I've thoroughly enjoyed today being down at the boat with Ben and Mick but I realise that getting the boat fitted out professionally was a good move. Forgot to take any hinge photo's because I was so blown away by what Ben and Mick had been up to down in the interior. Amazing how people disappear when the camera comes out.

This will be the breakfast bar end of the kitchen area,

oven and hob will be fitted on the other side.

Bens taken our request for no low open shelves that dog

tails can clear to heart and come up with this splendid item.

Can't wait for it to be finished, when the woodwork is oiled/waxed/varnished or whatever so the grain of the wood can be seen at its best. Probably be next month before we can get down again but got to earn a crust to pay the bills.