Just a quick photo update of the narrowboat fitout on Tom Kitten as she nears completion. Apologies for the quality of some of the photo’s, these were taken as the sun was setting and the light fading.

Above: Ben laying the solid Oak floor.

Above – Side doors and frames completed, just need chrome pull handles.

Above: The toughened glass shelves added to the Cubby holes either side of the cross bed.

Above: Bedroom with oak floor finished except for the addition of the final trims.

Above: Looking through from the bedroom into the walk through bathroom.

Above: Drop down flap for the cross bed now in place – the bed when made up will be King size.

Above: Bathroom

Saloon: The upholstery has arrived hence the installation of the upholstered back rest – Don’t worry Debbie the covers have only been removed for the photo!

Above – Stove has been tested and run and works a treat.

Above – TV/DVD now in place but still needs to be connected. The TV pulls out so it can be viewed at differing angles.

Above: Saloon.

Above: Looking towards the galley at the stern.

Above & Below: The desmo legs have been installed. The upholstered back rest pictured here lifts out and can be placed on the opposite side of the seat – effectively turning the seating to face the saloon area, great if you have guests.

Above & Below: Galley looking forward towards the dinette and saloon. The granite splashbacks are to be fixed within the next week and will complete the galley.

This week as well as progressing with the fitout of Tom Kitten, we’ve also started with the fitout of Aqua Jeta a new sponsorship boat in our hire fleet. As we have recently become a dealer for the new Canaline range of marine engines all our new hire boats will be powered by these engines. We have just taken delivery of Jeta’s new engine which is now sitting in our reception area – this is a canaline 42hp with a PRM 150 Hydraulic gearbox . Photo below. 

That’s all for now.

Justin, Jane & Team

Above: Tom Kitten is a reverse layout with forward cabin and aft galley.

Above – The tiny liners before being installed. It is amazing how such small items take so long to make even with our speedy carpenters and industrial tooling,by the time the oak has been planed down, jigs made and measurements taken producing two liners like these could take the best part of a day to complete.  

Above & Below – But well worth the effort once installed.

Above: The solid oak window liners has been installed.

Above: The built in TV unit has been started….

Above: …..and nearly finished, complete with a lovely chunky piece of solid oak on the top.

Above & below:  Ben has finished making the oak panelled cupboard doors in the bedroom, these have now been hung.

Above: Handles have been installed too.

Thats all for now….

Justin, Jane & Team

Aqua Narrowboats.

Hope you all had a relaxing Christmas and New Year, we’re not officially back at work until tomorrow 4th but i’ve popped into our office at home to quickly update the blog – don’t tell Jane, i’m supposed to be taking down the Christmas decorations! Lets hope that the New Year brings some milder weather than of late, the marina is still frozen in with the ice in some places 4″ thick. A slow thaw i think unless there’s a cold snap in between? Anyhow work continues to progress well on our latest bespoke boat Tom Kitten, here’s a few photos on the progress just before Christmas.

Above – Jordan’s granite worktop templates ready for me to drop off with the suppliers, the granite chosen is one of the most expensive finishes – so no pressure on Jordan to get it right!

Above – Granite arrives and fits perfectly, well done Jordan! Although we template ourselves the weight and awkwardness to fit this amount of granite means that we ask the suppliers to fit it (and take the consequences of damaging it!)

Above – Ian has now installed the taps and connected the hob.

Above – Unfortunately the over mount sink chosen by Phil & Debbie won’t fit in the depth of worktop we’ll have left when we’ve installed the granite splash backs, therefore they opted for an undermount sink but in the same black finish – very smart.

Above – Hob installed – just needs to be tested.

Above – All the appliances in the galley are integrated for a cleaner look.

Above – This washing machine is a new slim depth model, at only 40cm deep it makes it easier to fit on a boat where the slopping hull sides usually mean a standard 60cm deep appliance would protrude into the walkway. Even better the model still has a 6kg capacity.

Above – Ian has made a great job of installing the stainless steel radiators chosen by Phil & Debbie. You can also spot Ian’s handy work in the corner of the photo where the gas isolation points for the oven and hob have been installed, these will be covered with a magnetic wooden panel for easy access.

Above – Work to the dinette is nearly complete. This photo was taken a couple of days after Jordan had started work on it. Like we’ve made on previous boats, the bench seat nearest to the camera will have a reversible back rest so it can be turned to seat people facing the saloon.

Above – Nearly there, the back rest has been removed and is currently at the upholsterers. This is the dinette set up in the bed position. A access point has been installed on one side (hence the hole!) this means that smaller items can be accessed quickly without the need to remove the top of the seat.

Above – We decided that the table would make a nice visual centre piece in the boat. Therefore instead of using one piece of wood i asked Jordan to come up with a design that would bring together the Ash & Oak fitout. Here’s the result and it looks superb – it hasn’t been varnished yet but the top has solid oak edging with ash between and an oak centre with alternate grain pattern.

Above – The diesel stove hearth is taking shape, the majority of this task was given to Josh (our apprentice) with Ben providing guidance and help if needed. Although Josh has been helping out with all our boat builds since he started with us, this was his first major task on a bespoke boat build.

Above – Ben carried out the tiling whilst Josh was on his weekly college day release. The diesel pipe and controls were also installed by Ian.

Above – Josh finished off by cutting and installing all the hardwood capping’s - well done Josh! Now this is complete the flue can be marked up and a hole cut through the roof. Once working, the stove will also blow warm air into the bathroom – the little black switch on the right hand side panel operates the fan speed.

Above – The shower is a large 900mm quadrant as this is larger than usual we’ve had to reduce the cupboard behind to accommodate it. Here Jordan has installed the tray and mermaid panels, hence the blue keep off tape!

Above – With the help of Ben the doors have been installed, as this is a larger width shower, the door has had to be cut into the trim on the sloping roof. This can just be seen in the top left hand corner of the photo.

Above – The shower taps installed, the only other thing left is to provide hardwood capping’s to the external areas of the back boarding and install the cupboard door and shower pump switch.

Above – The pigeon boxes just require chrome fixings and another coat of of varnish before they are finished

Above – Shower faucet installed.

Above & below - As a feature point Phil & Debbie wanted the granite work surface in the bathroom to be curved. As with the galley Jordan had the task to template up. A small set of shelves will be installed at the end of the thinnest section to support the granite and make it work visually.

Above – Granite installed, this is the same finish as the galley, the next task is to install the tap and cupboard door.

Above – Ben has been working hard on the front cabin. Here the stainless steel toilet tank has been installed under the cross bed.

Above – Nearly there, the cabin pictured looking in through the bow doors. The corner cupboard has also been made and installed.

Above – Instead of using a curved piece of veneered plywood to form the cupboard around the porthole, I prefer that solid wood is used so that it becomes a feature of the cabin. Particularly as it is the last piece of woodwork seen when the customer falls asleep in the cross bed below! This task was delegated to Ben and what a fine job he has done. He has painstakingly cut and fixed small strips of solid oak together to form the curve. He’s then sanded and finished it by hand to ensure a smooth and even surface. Here it is on his bench before being installed.

Above – And here it is in place, well worth the extra effort.

Above – The solid oak capping’s have now been made and fitted. Ben is currently making the paneled doors for the cupboards, hence the blue numbered pieces of masking tape.

Above – Ian has installed the small stainless steel radiator in the cabin and it fits in perfectly. Jordan has made and installed the finial to the step post that can also be seen here – comments have already been made to what it resembles……..it’s a acorn of course! 

Above – As the chrome radiator is fairly small in the bedroom Phil and Debbie also requested the installation of a fin rad. This has now been covered with skirting and Ben has made some bespoke vents out of Solid Ash.

Above – The oak window liners have arrived – these are out sourced as we don’t have the time to make these ourselves. I’ll post a picture shortly of them being installed.

Above – Ian’s work in the engine bay is complete and what a neat and meticulous job he’s made. The Beta marine engine is fully commissioned and is running. We’ll run the engine for a number of hours to make sure everything is ok and tested properly before being handed over.

That’s all for now as i need to get on with the task of taking the Christmas decorations down  before Jane realises i’ve escaped!

Happy New Year to all!

Best wishes Justin, Jane and Team.