Summary of work to 29th June

The boarding / panelling out has continued with the doors, roof lights and prism surrounds being carried out at the same time. As Dave has completed his joinery work I have continued to follow as soon as possible behind with the beading, filling and finishing etc.
The photos this week were taken early and progress was further than actually shown.

The doors have also been drilled to mount the door liners using screws from the outside of the boat which will be countersunk , prepared by shotblasting then covered in epoxy filler during the final paint job.

Saloon panelling and fit out

The saloon will have a cupboard unit on the front port bulkhead.
It was convenient to build the shelved top half of this unit as the wall panel was framed.

To allow easy access under the tug deck (without moving the access steps) there will intially be nothing built on the starboard side of the saloon. Another cupboard may easily be added later of required.
A suitable curtain will be used to cover the access when not in use.

Galley panelling

The galley has been partially panelled and only partially edge framed as the bottom edge above the worktop will most likely be tiled and the edge adjoining the bulkhead will have shelves above the worktop.

Engine room paintwork

Now the engine room bottom half is in it's final colour of RAL 7036 platinum grey gloss.
Although the engine looks the same shade on these photos it is actually the darker RAL 7010, tarpaulin grey.
The painting has been carried out at this early stage to allow the installation of pipework and services which would make painting later almost impossible.

Looking sternwards on the starboard side is the battery box alongside the engine.
The electrics panel will be on the front of a 6" deep cupboard built against the bulkhead where the wires are hanging. Below this, exposed to aid cooling, will be the inverter and battery charger.

More painting etc

These photos show the bedroom, bathroom and engine room panelled beaded , filled and painted in primer.

On the photo below the cut out in the bottom corner of the bulkhead allows access to the connections and pipework on back of the Kabola boiler in the engine room. (see third photo for the view from the engine room side) 

The batten on the hull side will support the bed under which the calorifier is to be sited.

Bedroom panelling

Here the framing is being added to the bedroom starboard wall. It stops short where the wardrobe/cupboard will be built in. The top piece is of reduced depth as this will be inside a run of small cupboards about 10" high and 10" deep above the bed
The wiring emerging from the wall is for wall lights over the bed.

Below is the framing added to the port bedroom wall panel. This is taken looking back toward the engine room where the panelling changes from plain 12mm birch ply to 19mm boarded hence the 7mm "step"as seen on the bottom photo.

The original intention was to have these panels square or stop chamfered but we are now seriously considering using the same beading as in the back cabin and engine room.
Here we have put a couple of pieces of beading roughly in place to judge the effect.

Engine room framing and beading

The framing has been added around the edges of the panels in the engine room. It is screwed and glued in place with the screw heads buried below the surface before epoxy filling and finishing.
Framing for a cupboard/wardrobe in spare space forward of the engine and the electrical panel has also been put in.
The panels have also been beaded in the manner of the traditional back cabin which will be built.

The photo above shows the port engine room door/hatch framing and beading on the adjacent panels.

Under tug deck primered

Under the tug deck has now been primered.

Varnishing the sub floor

To protect the sub floor against any water that may get into the boat and below the oak floor (which will be installed later in the fit out) the sub floor will be varnished.
The photo above shows the area under the tug deck thus treated with the removable panel allowing acces to the bilge (for ballast adjustment) removed for access to the panel end grain.

The sides and ceiling of the area have at this stage been filled, sanded and treated with knotting prior to painting. The boarding near the front will be completed later when convenient - and to use up offcuts.
The boarding shape is slightly different between the port and staboard sides as the wiring is routed along the starboard side.

Below is the removable panel which has been varnished.

The bedroom and bathroom area were also treated and the rest of the boat will be varnished in the same way as convenient during the fit out. ie For instance, the saloon was in use as a workshop area at this time.

Summary of work to 15th June

We have now completed installing the ceiling boarding right through the boat and primered it as far as the tug deck.
The cardan and prop shafts have been installed as have the battery and fuel tank breathers.


The Kabola flue was installed "dry" but then removed to allow access and further work in the area.
To facilitate a bend and improve the integrity of the flue (to contain exhaust gases) the top join through the deck fitting was cut and welded rather than use the standard adjustable fitting.
This meant some careful measuring and (nervous) cutting of the (expensive) twin wall stainless flue kit before taking it to a local TIG welding shop for reassembly.
I will add photos of this later.

Lining under the tug deck

The T and G boarding is also used under the tug deck for ceiling.
The sides will be of the same board for a couple of feet forward of the saloon, thus matching the saloon hull sides
Beyond this point (and where it will not be easily seen from the saloon) the curvature and twist of the compound curved bow necessitates the use of horizontal ply "planks".

Cardan shaft and adaptor flanges installed

The 3 1/2" cardan shaft with universal joints at each end has been installed.
Here we see the stern end coupled to the 2" prop shaft via the shaft coupling and adaptor flange.
Lining up all the holes and registers whilst supporting the shaft and the u/j s was a bit fiddly but eventually it all fitted into place . Thanks are due to Steve Gray of the Gardner Engine Forum for the well made adaptor flanges.

At the forward end the cardan shaft is coupled via another adaptor flange to the gearbox.

Galley and saloon ceiling

These photos show the T and G boarding installed in the saloon and galley ceiling.
The boards are about 13 ft long and the ceiling is 17 ft long but Dave has managed to take advantage of the natural breaks caused by the roof cut outs to leave only 4 or 5 joins which have been well spaced then sanded flush. Here the boards have been sanded and treated with knotting.

Wires for the inset LED ceiling lights can be seen hanging through the 60 mm holes.

Battery and fuel tank breathers

The photo above shows the copper breather pipes installed from the battery box and diesel tank.

To the left is the 3/8" diameter battery breather leading upwards from it's fitting at the corner of the battery box which will be sealed at the top by a lid contacting the top flange.
The hydrogen produced if the batteries gas will therefore rise up the pipe and be vented at the roof.
The cables enter the box about a third of the way down the box from an un-glanded hole.
This leaves enough height to ensure hydrogen leaves via the breather and spare lower volume within the box to contain the acid of a burst battery.
The diesel tank breather is 15mm diameter.
They are routed  closely to the corner of the engine room leaving the bulkhead clear for mounting the electrical panel, ineverter and charger.

Week to 9th June - More lining out.

This week we have been continuing with the line out.
Working forward from the (now finished and primered engine room) the engine room to bedroom bulkhead can be seen at the far end on the photo below.

Dave has previously carefully marked the centre line and put the centre boards up first.
From the front bulkhead of the bedroom, access along the boat is at the centre.
Due to the remaining bulkheads (now to the sides) being trapped in place by the roof boards and breaks for roof boxes being in the centre there will be only a few boards in the saloon which will have joins in.
ie a single stretch longer than the 4.2 m long board.
The bath and toilet are shown in postion to confirm the door and bulkhead positions but were later removed to a safer place to avoid damage.

Below is the cut out in the lining for a roof ventilator which has been treated similarly to the back cabin porthole with a plywood "polo" above the boarding. Insulation was removed to fit this.
Sanding the boarding and plywood with a flap wheel, then by hand allows a smooth surface to be  fashioned.
The finish is so good that liners or trim will probably not be needed here.




Despite a shorter week we did get further than shown on the photos above - taken on Thursday.
The cabin side panels in the bedroom were both  marked up and cut (for light and porthole positioning) and the starboard one fixed in place.
The port cabin side lining panel will be put up first thing Monday.

Summary of work to 1st June.

We are now well under way with the lining out of the boat. Working from the back Dave has been fitting the boards over the more difficult shaped section of the boat which is also endowed with many cut outs which need to be accurately placed.
After filling some time elsewhere on painting work I have, when access was convenient, followed along with preparation and painting.
This week we have also temporarily had the bath and toilet out in position on the cabin floor to confirm that it would all fit and be useable in practice. It was a relief to find that despite the bathroom/toilet being only 46 inches long that this would work OK. Nowadays narrowboat bathrooms seem to have grown to take about 6 feet or more of boat but my philosophy is that given the comparative amount of time spent in the bath and toilet the 2 feet saved here can be best used elsewhere in the boat.

For those who are interested Dave now has a website which is well worth a look:

http://www.davidharrisboatbuilder.com/

A visit by the gremlins:
Whilst I was down at the boat this week, the kettle, cordless phone, Mrs W's sat nav and the (potentially more stressfull) computer all failed.
The computer was replaced with a new (£125 secondhand) one from which this is being written.

Boarding out the back cabin and engine room.

The back cabin is lined almost completely with T and G softwood boarding which to hold it solidly and reduce shrinking and warpage, is screwed and glued to the battening on the knees.
This is the port side showing in the foreground the stove collar in the roof and no boarding in this area of the cabin side as it will be lined with fireboard and tiled.

The boards have been fitted by Dave  and I have subsequently followed him along applying filler over the countersunk screw heads, rubbing down, then applying white knotting over the knots (where else?)
The filling of the screw heads was a bit problematical at first due to the very hot weather making the filler go off too quickly (getting the proportions exact in small mixes is tricky) and my lack of technique. Eventually the temperature dropped and I got good enough to meet Dave's standards. Even some  which will eventually hidden in cupboards were initially rejected and needed further attention.

In the back cabin, to allow low level ventilation from a high level vent, a section of foam is put on more thinly thus producing a downward ventilation path behind the lining boards. This is between two knees on each side.

Below is the boarding in the starboard back cabin side.

In the two photos below Dave is boarding the engine room roof and cabin side respectively.
In the roof the boards conveniently reach the engine room front bulkhead.

The photos below show the back cabin with it's first coat of primer.