THE LAUNCH OF NARROWBOAT H3O

Jun 1, 2007   //   by admin   //   BLOG  //  1 Comment

Many apologies for the lack of updates but things got a bit frantic after a delay with the painting of H3O at Stenson. This resulted in the cancellation of a holiday, something that we’ve never had to do before and was the lowest point in the whole build. However we managed to organise an alternative boat for the customers and provided them with a free short break as compensation for their inconvenience, so we’ll be welcoming them aboard in the not too distant future.

Once the boat had been painted things progressed fairly rapidly with H3o finally being complete ready for hire on Saturday 26th May-two weeks behind schedule. She is now currently cruising the Leicester Ring, so give the crew a wave if you see them! We ‘launched’ her from Kings Bromley Wharf Marina with the help of a bottle of Champagne supplied by Pat & Darryl, the managers of the marina – in my tired daze to get the finishing touches complete i completely forgot about an official launch – so a BIG thank you to them for not letting the boat go out without a splash of bubbly!! This is a photo of the occasion- I got a bit carried away with the spraying (I think I’ve watched too many Formula One celebrations) as there wasn’t a great deal left to drink after soaking everyone!

As well as our new guests arriving on Saturday we also had the Tourism Board Assessor on board both boats. This was the annual inspection for our VisitBritain Accommodation rating. I’m happy to report that H2O retained her four star rating and H3O gained the maximum five stars! We’ll get the official feedback shortly but he was very impressed with both the quality of the fitout and furnishings, so we’re really pleased!
As the weather was pretty poor leading up to the first hire we didn’t have the opportunity to have the name ‘H3O’ sign written on the bow, this will probably have to wait until the end of the season as we are already nearly fully booked!

We decided to alter the paint scheme slightly from the red panel on H2O as this has faded over the last year. So we’ve gone with a predominately blue and cream scheme with red coach lines. I found choosing a colour scheme one of the most difficult decisions of the build, as you’re never quite sure if it’s going to work. I’m glad to say that we’re really pleased with the new look and will be using the same scheme again on our next boat.

Many thanks to the Joiners Mick and John Day who did a fantastic job of the woodwork on the stairs, seating and double bed. They also made the solid oak trimmed doors for the wardrobes as well as building the TV unit. We previously used John and Mick for the woodwork on H2O and knew there work was of an excellent standard, in fact shortly afterwards they set up their own boat building business known as Kingfisher Narrowboats. They managed to fit in the work on H3O whilst still completing work on their own narrowboat which is now for sale here.
For some reason the cushions look particularly bright in this photo, in reality they’re actually slightly darker! These were supplied by Midway Upholstery and again, also did a superb job in superfast time ( I should really have worked out some commission for all these recommendations!).

You’ll by now have noticed the cream carpets? ‘Not very practical’ is the usual remark but we’ve used similar coloured carpets on H2O, and yes they do get marked, but the light colour makes a big difference to the feeling of space on board. However we do have to renew them every 12-18 months but rather that than hide the dirt in an patterned Axminster!
Not all things ran smoothly with the build. I discovered that the inlet pipe was faulty on the Tecma toilet after it flooded the bathroom floor with 2.5 litres of water (fresh water I hasten to add!). The calorifier blanking plug for the immersion heater leaked once the water system was pressurised – this also happened with H2O, so i presume this is a fairly common occurrence. Top tip – ditch the fibre washer and use it as a template to make one out of rubber gasket material (Plumb Centre) – works a treat. Both of these jobs, although simple to repair, ended up being fairly time consuming as the water system had to be drained off on two separate occasions.
The access steps at both the bow and stern have proved popular with everyone visiting the boat. They provide a much easier access than the steeper more traditional steps. They’re also inlaid with ribbed matting to lift off any loose dirt from shoes before stepping onto the cream carpets!! The drop down TV/DVD/DVB unit works a treat. The digital picture quality has been fantastic and this works from just a small magnetic aerial that sticks to the side of boat when required.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this somewhat shortened build blog of H3O – I promise to try harder next time! We’ll be blogging the build of H2O’s replacement boat this autumn as H2O will be for sale at the end of this season. That boat will be another Colecraft hull as H3O but it will be 58ft in length and 4/6 berth. Thanks for visiting.
Best wishes
Justin
I forgot to mention that in April we also welcomed on board (H2O) a Journalist from the Sunday Times, you can see her article here

1 Comment

  • Anonymous June 13, 2007 at 2:14 pm

    the’RITZ’ no less…….look forward to our week 09/09…..success to H3O…Regards,Len Wood.

    Reply

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