Work starts

After the surveyors report Karen was so disgusted on her next day off she went down to the marina and rubbed the gas locker down and painted out the Ben Harp Narrowboats logo. She told me what she had done when I got back from work and I had to agree it was abrilliant idea. Why should we provide free advertising for shoddy work. The signwriting had rankled ever since we saw it. The stern had the name and mooring on the back O.K but the registration numbers had been missed off the wheelhouse and the name off the bow. When asked obout it the response was that he (Andy) had forgotten to do it, strange how he didn't forget the logo.
Knowing now what sort of person we were dealing with I would love to hear Andy's side of the story, likewise Bluewater and the firm that was going to make the wheelhouse cover.
First job on my list was to get those fuel tank breathers sorted. I certainly didn't help matters that the tanks now had fuel in them, good job it was deisel. I managed to get a taper and second 3/4 BSP taps of the internet and reamed out the holes very gently with plenty of grease, firstly to prevent sparks and secondly to try and stop the swarf falling into the tank. Took time as the steel is at least 6mm on the tanks but it's done now with brass fittings screwed firmly in place.
If I can do it why couldn't a so called boat builder do it before the boat was fuelled. How can anybody be so free and lose when it concers safety?

Yes it's a prop shaft, so what. But its straight -- Raised the engine with an old car jack and inserted some lengths of mahogany capped with 50x3mm strip steel to take the engine bearers. Total lift about 22mm, you can just see the end of one on top of the engine bearer.

New arched roof bearers made with stainless clamps and dowels to replace the flat roof.
Not a lot of work being carried out before October as I still have to go to work.
Aaaah.

Tales of duplication

The TV

When the build started and all seemed well Ben said get the telly you want and let me know how big it is so I can build the unit to match, but don't get one that's too big. A very reasonable request, so we duly trooped out and brought a nice little Sony Bravia 23", the base of which was part of the case so it seemed very stable - ideal for a boat. Gave Ben the dimensions which were fine. On a later visit we were shown the cabinet Ben had built which was very pretty but had doors on the front and not really suitable to mount the TV.
The new plan was to mount the TV on the wall above the cabinet, only the TV we had purchased was now too big. Off we trot again to get a new smaller TV with a bracket to make sure they match up and present Ben with the bracket so he knows exactly the position of the screw holes and a digram of its position on the back of the TV so shelves can be built round it. Well the shelves never appeared, the bracket is still in its box on the boat and the TV is still boxed behind me as I type.

What of the original TV I hear you ask.
Well that got incorporated into a set of wardrobes I built into our bedroom
Ta Daaa

The bilge pump.

The bulge pump got sorted before the survey as it seemed prudent to get things right in view of the problems we were having with water ingress. The fault was that the pump ran continually unless stopped on the trip switch in the engine bay which was a bit of a pain to say the least.

Ben told me that the supplier had not supplied him with an automatic pump as he had ordered (Its never Bens fault) and that it would be sorted before we took delivery. I'm sure people will be astounded to find that nothing happened.

Down to the chandlers to get an automatic bilge pump - 500 gph should be enough and and an override switch to save diving down into the engine bay if there is still a problem. Back to the boat to get some work done. Old pump removed and new one wired in with override switch. On examining the pump I had taken out I find a float chamber but the wire from it has been teed into the direct feed, effectively shorting it out. What a numpty.

At least I now have a perfectly good spare bilge pump and no boat should be without that, should it.

The Survey

Well we decided that we needed to ge a profesional marine engineer involved to see if our concerns were justified and opted for Bill Rosie from Chesterfield, as far as we knew he had had no dealings with us or the Harps and could be considered impartial. He ageed to carry out a survey so we advised the Harps of same and asked them to let us know if they had any objection to our choice of engineer. Gave BH three weeks with no response so gave Bill the go ahead.

On the 18th of May Mr Rosie arrived at the mooring as arranged and was noting problems before he even came aboard. Namely the wheehouse roof being flat would not shed any water. (This was quite true but only being plastic it had streatched and is still holding water despite installing curved roof bars.)Here are some more of the problems highighted in his report
Leaking skylight

Steering mounted on a plywood board glued to the top of the fuel tanks

Prop shaft out of alignment
Water coming up round rudder post

Fuel tank breather (Which I had taken the trouble to extend)

The fitting just pulled out of the tank because it had been stuck in with mastic instead of being threaded.
The battery compartment. Isolaton switches mounted on doors putting strain on battery leads

Control desk. No slack in wiring to allow access and uninsulated terminals causing short risk. Bill did identify the lose wires to get the bow thruster working again.

Along with this Mr. Rosie identified that all wiring being run through bulkheads were not protected from metal edges by grommets, the hot water tank was free to move about, the 'U' bent to stop water getting into the exhaust was the wrong way up, deck drain over battery compartment bunged with mastic rather than connected to hull outlet, no Hull Identification Number stamped on rear of hull and a host of other minor and not so minor faults.

His finding was that the fit out was generaly to a poor standard.

We sent a copy of the report to BH but once again no reply and as was realised in later deslings the Harps choose to ignore everything in the hope it will go away.

Since the report we have also found that 10 inches of steel plate welded to the bow to transport the hull was still in place, the anchor winch was wired up in reverse so down was up etc., the central heating boiler has been mounted between the engine bearers so it cannot be accessed

for maintenance, water comes in at the galley sink outlet as it is on the waterline and loose, and paint is flaking off in places due to the primer not being cleaned properly before the top coat has been applied.

I think that brings us up to date with the failings. The next thrilling installments will cover the rebuild (If you can have one with a new boat) hopefully with a few before and after pics.

A Continuation

Sorry for the absence but there seemed little point in continuing this blog as it was rapidly heading into negative territory. At last there seems to be light at the end of the tunnel I think it only fitting I restart telling my tale of woe and ho we are overcoming the problems left by our builder Ben Harp.
We left the story with us moving into Great Haywood marina at our own expense after being ordered off the Harps mooring owing to the fact that we had not been provided with a servicable craft until after the blockage at bridge 20 at Stenson had started.
During the time at the marina I went round to see Mr. Harp to see about getting the remainder of the work carried out, Despite promises on the first visit nothing happened and the second visit I got the order to fornicate elsewhere in his best anglo saxon. At least we now had it confirmed that we could not expect the contracted work to be carried out.

First job on the adjenda was to sheet down the leaky skylight and fit weather boards to the wheelhouse doors to try and stem the ingress of water which was already ruining the flooring. Ontop of that it was just a quick trim with a jig saw and router to get the control desk away from the wheel. The most seroius job was to extend the fuel tank breathers which were venting into the engine compartment.

Thats the right hand and there is the same on the left, both were extended to the outside of the wheelhouse. Even so the fact that the fittings into the tank could be rocked concerned me. That done hanging rail installed in the wardrobe and mirrors fitted into the bathroom cabinet for comfort. ( Yep he hadn't even done that - if you look at the pictures of Trudy Ann on the Ben Harp web site you will see pictures of the sink but not the cabinet over it because he never finished it!!!) Oops geting negative again.

Anyway once the waterway was open again we had a very pleasent cruse back to Pillings marina. This turned out to be a bit of a shake down cruise because a few things shook off. The bow thruster worked when it felt like it, water came up past the rudder post, catches fell off cupboard doors and the batroom sink lifted up when you operated the plug.

That brings us up to the end of April 2010 and back at our home mooring with the resolve to get a profesional examination of the boat for our own peace of mind.

That'll do for now - plenty to catch up yet.

Christmas & New Year 2009/2010

Wednesday December 23rd
Arranged to drop some stuff off at the boat on my way to work on the 23rd ready for the off over Christmas only to be met by Bens dad who tells me the domestic power has failed and I have just missed the engineer from Anglo Welsh. Bens dad popped round to Haywood Junction whilst I opened up the boat - it was open anyway because the wheelhouse doors have swolen so much they will not lock. Still no sign of any promised work being carried out apart from the control desk, which shows signs of being sanded to free off the steering wheel. (But still stcks)
When th engineer arrived he carried out some tests which he said he would report back to Beta to follow up. I couldn't hang around any longer as I was on duty in Derby at 14:00 for late shift so left it at that.
As soon as I got home that night I checked the e-mails to find one from Kelly at 17:26 to say they were away until after Christmas and that Anglo Welsh were coming out to sort an engine problem.
Would have been nice to know before hand.

Thusday December 24th
Contacted Beta but they tell me it is now too close to the Christmas closure for any new appointments to be arranged before the new year. The fault had initially been reported to them on the 22nd.
Ah well that's us screwed for getting home untl the middle of March when the stoppage at bridge 20 is cleared.
Merry Christmas!

Wednesday December 30th
E-mail from Kelly asking why we had not left and pointing out that we need to get out of the way for a new hull being delivered in January.
Light blue touch paper and retire!
I responded by pointing out that we had been wanting to move the boat since September and that in October, November and December moves all failed because the work was not complete or there were faults preventing us from moving and that work that had been promised had still not been completed. No work of significance had been carried out since October. Asked about radio, speakers LED's, roof bars & fender which I had purchased which Ben was to fit to be returned to the boat. Suggersted that it would be good to talk things over with Ben.

Thursday December 31st
E-mail asking for boat to be moved or it will be placed on towpath side of canal. This is good as the boat still cannot be locked and the bolts to secure the skylight still have not been fitted.

Friday January 1st
Asked if this meant that they were refusing to carry out work to complete the boat and stated I would make arrangements to move the boat after the break. This got the reply that Bens list of snags would be completed by next week when I came to move the boat and that the missing items I had mentioned had been returned to the boat and I must have missed them.

Tuesday January 5th
After previously being pulled up in no uncertain terms for turning up at the mooring unannounced the Harps are now happy for me to arrange a meeting with the Beta engineer without clearing it first. this duly done for the 12th owing to the big freeze.

Tuesday January 12th
Met up with Chris from Beta. No sign of Ben again. Chris checked everything over and found a connector pulled off on the back of the control panel. No slack under control panel and full weight of cable hangs on connectors as it does not appar to be secured. Any slack pulled up soon drops back into the engine bay. Another own goal. All praise to Beta who have been out to carry out warranty work - none of which has been af their making. Whilst Chris was sorting the electrics out I got a chisel and deepened the bolt holes for the door locks - lo and behold they now work. Carried out a thorough search for the items which were said to be returned but only found the front fender, of the rest there was nothing. Still no snagging work carried out. Spotted missing plank/pole bars on landing stage near lock box.

Monday January 25th
Went down to Great Haywood with a friend from work to move boat into the marina. No sign of Ben but Mike was there and I asked about the missing stuff. He promptly delved into the large lockbox on the landing and produced everything except the speakers which he could not find. Still no snagging work carried out - no surprise there then.
Boat moved into the marina - Freedom I can now visit the boat any time I like without having to ask permision first, that's a result in itself.

Tixall November 2009

After the upset at the start of November when we tried to come home we decided we needed a run out to regain our confidence. Just a short run round the corner to Tixall wide to stop overnight to get the feel of things. A much better night as we could run the heating and being warm the dogs settled a lot better.
Still nothing done on the snagging front over the last two weeks and having mirrors in the bathroom cabinet would have been nice.

Spent the evening reading and listening to music as the TV connection still is not finished.

No weather boards fitted to the wheelhouse doors means quite a bit of water still coming in, warping and lifting the deck boards. It's the same with the skylight letting water into the saloon. Therse items need to be a priority as with the winter coming on things will only get worse if not sorted.

Took our concerns up on return. It is our plan to use the last of our holidays to move to our home mooring over Christmas break as on January 4th there will be a stoppage at bridge 20 at Stenson until the 12th of March. We are promised that all outstanding work will be sorted for our departure.

Bit vague but fingers crossed.

Update ( Second attempt to get home)

Looking at the blog I see it's a year since my last entry. Things have moved on over the last twelve months but not by much. I stopped recording progress as there was nothing positive to report.
Went to collect Trudy Ann in te first week in November but on the Monday there was an electrical fault.

Went back on the Tueasday and were given the all clear except for a temperature sensor fault which Beta were coming to sort out on the Wednesday and any snagging work would be done at our home mooring. So in good faith we made the final payment and in preparation we went down to Gt. Haywood Jn. to tank with water and fuel for the central heating. Just as we winded at the waterpoint the engine boiled up. Shut the engine down and thankfully a lady on the towpath took the bowline and with the help of Anglo-Welsh staff pulled us into the bank. Spent a very cold night just off the waterpoint as the batteries failed early on, being still flat from the previous electrical fault. No water, no light, no toilet and no heating because we couldn't run the engine for charging for fear of causing damage. When Chris from Beta arrived on the Wednesday it didn't take him long to point out that the engine cooling system was connected up in reverse and a few other items. Ben couldn't get the correct hose until the following day and we pointed out that it would be too late to set off on the Thursday and get back to our home moorings before we had to get back to work. It was decided to leave the collection for another day which would give time for the snagging work to be completed - leaking skylight, fuel tank breathers, sticking doors, steering wheel binding on control desk and lots of stuff that had been promised to be sorted as well as items yet to be fitted such as tunnel lamp.