FITOUT

I’ve been hard at work over the last two weeks trying to fit in as many hours as possible in between family commitments and my other job at a Local Authority. The fitout has progressed well, the downlighters (all twenty!) are now installed together with ten switches. The idea being that small groups of lights can be turned on without draining the batteries. The downlighters in the picture opposite are fitted with 20w G4 halogen bulbs, these will be swopped with 10w bulbs to reduce energy consumption further and also to ensure the fittings don’t get to hot, should the lights be on for long periods during the winter months. The galley cabinets are in place and waiting for the worktops and splash backs to be installed, this will be completed once the gas pipe and test point has been fitted by a local boatyard (Corgi registered). The solid oak doors will be fitted at the very end of the fitout to prevent them getting damaged. The galley floor is in place though, you can’t see the detail much in the photo ooposite, but it’s a water resistant laminate, in a limestone tile effect. This has been laid over a thermal underlay to prevent the floor getting too cold in the depths of winter. I’ve just got to finish the floor off with the edgings and tread/gripper plates either end, where the floor will join the sections of carpet in the corridor and saloon. The gas and carbon monoxide alarm is in place which I thought would only take about 30 minutes to install but in the end took around 2 hours! The alarm has a remote gas sensor that sits under the galley cabinets (gas being lighter than air would sink to the cabin floor first) this connects to the alarm via a cable that needed to fed down behind and in between the plywood lining and foam insulation, easier said than done… pictures of before and after below. I’ve also put in the hot and cold water pipes although these are not currently connected as I’m waiting for the water pump to arrive from America. Back to the boat tomorrow to fit the bathroom floor and meaure up for the kitchen worktops. Apologies for the formating of the posts, unfortunately the template I write the posts in appears to be a different width to the one that’s published and I’ve yet to find out how to alter it to prevent the squashed-up look!

IN THE WATER!!

Apologies for the delay in updating the blog but when i went down to the boatyard a week last Tuesday (6th March) I was informed that we could take delivery of H3O on the Thursday, as all the electrical work would be completed by then! I’d intended to sort out all the practical arrangements (provisions, blow-up matresses, volunteer crew members etc!) for cruising her back the following week when I’d expected delivery, so things suddenly picked up a pace. Luckily my father volunteered (or was cajoled) to help me bring H3O back to Kings Bromley (well…, it keeps him active in his retirement!). All the other necessities were soon gathered ready for 3pm on Thursday.

Unfortunately the crane was delayed but managed to get to us by about 5.30pm, by which time the sun had started to set as you’ll see from the first couple of pictures! As Colecraft is not on the canalside all boats have to be craned onto a lorry to be either driven back to the home marina or in our case, to be dropped in -not literally- at a local marina (Blue Lias) which is just a mile down the road. The whole process only took just over an hour, but the sun had well and truly disappeared by the time H3O was lowered onto the water. The photo left is a little blurred as the camera had to be set for maximum exposure.

We managed an inaugural cruise out onto the canal through the very congested and dark marina to moor up for Thursday night. Luckily a pub was spotted within 50 yards – could have almost been planned – so dinner was sorted to commemorate the launch!

The sun shone for just about all of the three day cruise back to base, which should have actually taken 5 days if it were not for 11 hour cruising days! I even managed to get my father on the tiller, something he’s never been that keen on – Well done Dad (photo opposite – hope you don’t mind..).

On Saturday my partner Jane drove across to help us through the flight of 11 locks at Atherstone, whilst the children were looked after for the afternoon by my ‘in laws’. After two nights of an uncomfortable blow-up mattress my Dad decided to head back home with Jane that afternoon. I continued on alone for the last day managing to practice my technique of lone locking -which I thoroughly enjoyed. I’ve included a few of the photos taken whilst cruising back. I hope to update the site next week when I should have started with the rest of the fitout. Cheers.

The beautifully lit Newbold Tunnel from the Stern of H3O.

Below Right: – Entering Braunston.

Left:

Jane bringing H3O into one of Atherstone Locks

Right: Fradley Junction – Nearly Home! Now how do I open the swingbridge single handed!?

CENTRAL HEATING INSTALLATION

The compact unit to the left is the Webasto diesel boiler that will provide the heat to all four radiators on board H3O. As here, these are commonly fitted in the engine bay and run off diesel supplied from the main diesel tank. The feed pipe is the small coiled copper tubing to the right of the photo. The two black hoses connected to the boiler are the feed and return pipes to and from the radiators, the hot water is circulated around the system by a small pump built into the unit. The white pipe is the exhaust that exits through a hull fitting to the starboard side (right) of the boat. This unit is one of the two most popular diesel boilers used on narrowboats (the other is the Eberspacher unit) both can be affected by poor quality red diesel, we may see an end to these issues with the introduction of white road diesel forced upon us by the EU. At least we will see some benefit from the huge hike in taxation..! Rant over!!
The first of the radiators has been fitted. This is the chrome towel radiator pictured opposite in the bathroom. The rest of the radiators in the cabin areas will be of the plain white variety! I was surprised to see that John the fitter prefers to use the traditional copper fittings as opposed to plastic ‘push in’ type that I’ve used in the past. I’ve never had any leaks (touch wood) with the plastic type but I’m sure John hasn’t with the copper, I suppose it’s just personal preference. The radiator circuit is connected into the calorifier (hot water tank) that has also been fitted since my last visit (photo below left). The calorifier has twin coils fitted within the tank, one connected into the radiator circuit and the other into the engine coolant circuit. This provides two different means of heating the contained water surrounding these coils (or elements). Just like domestic tanks the copper cylinder is covered with a blue foam insulation and will keep the water hot overnight and well into the following day. The grey tank on the bulkhead is the header tank for the radiator system. This whole area will be boxed in to provide the stairway from the rear deck. The section above the calorifier and header tank will form a storage cupboard containing the main fuse boxes for both the 12 & 240v supply, hence the wires that have yet to be connected in place.
The majority of the wood work being done by Colecraft is now complete. The two internal doors are in situ. One forming the bathroom area and the other dividing the main bedroom cabin from the rest of the boat. The latter is fully fitted within a frame providing total privacy as on H2O. I’ve seen some dividing doors that have a large gap between the top of the door and cabin roof allowing noise and light into the sleeping area. Fine if you live aboard on your own or with a partner but a greater deal of privacy is normally required on hirer boat. I’ve added an extra photo of the detailing on the woodwork which is not always visible on the
main photos.
Colecraft are now coming to the end of their work on H3O, I hope to back at the yard next week to look at the last of the work before finally taking delivery of the boat the week after!? We hope! That’s when my work starts!
It’s been great to see that we’ve had comments by a couple of our Hirer’s who will be using the boat this year (no pressure then!). As mentioned before please don’t hesitate to leave feedback (keep it clean & positive!) and/or questions about the build.