NARROWBOAT FITOUT UPDATE

I’ve taken two weeks off on annual leave from my job share post at the Local Authority, so I’ve been able to make good progress this week. Over the last couple of days I have been focusing on getting the kitchen worktop in place to enable the cooker to be installed which turn means that the gas pipe work can be connected. This work is being done by Jannel Cruisers in Burton on Trent who have a corgi registered installer. The worktop installation has taken a little longer than planned due to the small section of worktop that’s been mitred into the larger section containing he sink and drainer. This small section can be seen sticking out at the far end of the worktop in the picture and will adjoin the cooker. As the cooker is slightly smaller than a domestic equivalent, and is not freestanding, a custom built carcass has had to be made to house it. Before the worktop was put in place I decided to cut out the holes for the sink, drainer and tap, as once in place space to do this would be to confined. The sinks in the picture have just been placed in situ for the photo and have yet to be permanently installed.
I’ve made and installed a small bulkhead to the left hand side of the cooker, this prevents saucepans being accidentally knocked when walking through the galley. I shall be concentrating on getting the upstands installed tomorrow (Friday) and fitting the worktop opposite. I shall leave the sinks until after the gas has been installed to ensure that there’s plenty of space for the fitter to work in.

I’ve just about finished connecting the loo and pump out tank together. The white hose in the picture is a special ‘no smell’ type, for obvious reasons! As it comes in coils it’s a bit of a nightmare to work with, especially when one end has been connected and your trying to get the other end on to a fitting! I’ve also had to drill an additional hole in the steel tank for the toilet tank sensor, this indicates to the user, via a red light, that the tank is full and requires a ‘pump out’ or emptying. There are three hoses fitted to the tank, the one at the top is the inlet from the macerator loo, the second one down is the ‘pump out’ outlet, this has a pipe that extends to the base of the tank to ensure it is emptied fully (the waste is literally sucked out by large pumps known as ‘pump outs’ – this is a service offered at most marinas and costs around £15 per pump out). Lastly the bottom hose is a vent pipe that ensures that any smells are taken outside the boat and that a vacuum isn’t created when waste is being pumped out the tank.
The toilet has also been installed. The little panel operates the flush and contains the red ‘tank full’ light. The back of the panel can be seen in the pump out tank picture, the little black box on the bulkhead. This will be covered by the bed base. The panel is electronically connected to a solenoid to allow flushing water into the toilet bowl and it also operates the pump within the toilet base which in turn pushes the waste through into the tank.
The sink is in place too and is fully connected, although not tested yet, as my water pump still hasn’t arrived from America! No progress yet on the shower but I hope to start on this next week once I’ve finished in the galley.
I’ll be moving the boat down to Jannel’s on Monday ready for them to fit the gas on Tuesday. I shall try and squeeze in another update sometime next week if I can!