Browsing articles from "February, 2011"

Tom Kitten complete & so on with the next build..

Feb 21, 2011   //   by admin   //   BLOG  //  3 Comments
It’s been all hands on deck (quite literally) during the last week as we prepared for the handover of Tom Kitten to owners Phil & Debbie on Saturday. Although we’ve a few small jobs (putting up a couple of coat hooks and touching in some small marks on the white cabin panelling) it didn’t stop the handover on a very wet Saturday last weekend. Phil & Debbie have become good friends with Peter & Mel owners of n/b Eunoia which we built in 2009, and for n/b Tom Kittens’ inaugural trip Peter & Mel are joining them on board there own boat for a weeks cruise down onto the River Trent. Say hi if you see them! Here’s a few photos of the completed boat.  
Above – Tom Kitten being watered and filled with diesel on the quay
Above – Final coat of two pack varnish to the cratch board and connections being made for the aerial.
Above – Jordan’s custom built headlight, horn and aerial bracket.
Above – Tom Kitten’s semi cruiser stern deck. The locker to the left is the gas locker, the one to the right is for storage only. Both of these extend down into the engine bay by a good 5″ so they are particularly spacious gas and storage areas. The bonus of having a stern gas locker like this is that it’s far easier to manoeuvre gas bottles in and out during changeovers compared to those normally positioned in the bow, especially if you also have to contend with a cratch board and cover.
Above – A little about the LED under gunnel lighting. Most of the photos below have been taken with the under gunnel RGB (Red, Green, Blue) LED lighting strips switched on. The LED’s take a fraction of the ampage draw from the batteries compared to the halogen lights placed in the cabin roof throughout the boat. The lights more than adequately provide enough ambient lighting whilst watching TV or relaxing and we’ve all been impressed by their performance. The thin flexible strips are controlled by the remote control pictured above. They can be instantly switched to any of the colours on the pad - it has been suggested by one of the team that they can also be used as a romantic barometer, Green for ‘I’m in the mood’ and Red for ‘Don’t even think about it!’  The lights have been sourced from Kuranda

Above – The completed galley, unfortunately the venetian blinds for the windows didn’t arrive in time when taking the photos. Phil & Debbie are considering the installation of some shelving on the small bulkheads at the far end of the galley. They’ll decide this after spending a few weeks on board to see if their needed first.

Above – The rest of the blinds for the saloon did arrive and were supplied and installed by Ned of Cabincare

Above – The black dinette cushions in place together with the upholstered removable back rest closest to the camera. i think i’ve explained in a previous post that this can be lifted out and placed on the opposite side of the seat creating a small sofa facing the saloon. The upholstery was carried out by Roy of Midway Upholstery in Lichfield.

Above & Below – The domestic styled hob and oven.

Above: Galley looking forward towards the saloon. The granite is called Star Galaxy which has silver coloured flecks that shine and sparkle in the light. The granite has been curved around the walkway into the dinette area.
Above – Ian has made a fantastic job of the wiring, plumbing, gas and mechanical installations on the boat. Together with the help of Lyndon our other engineer, the systems have been meticulosy installed even though a lot of their work is hidden out of view.
Above – Prior to finishing; Inside the electrical cupboard controlling the 12v and 240v circuits throughout the boat.

Above – The finished solid oak paddle steps. As these will get a lot of use and will be exposed to wet boots they have been treated with an epoxy resin and finished with a hard wearing varnish.

Above & Below – The saloon area, the seats convert to form either two singles or a double and have been supplied by Elite Furnishings. In both the saloon and dinette areas the under gunnel lighting gives off a fantastic reflection on the stainless steel radiators, something i couldn’t quite manage to capture in these photos.

Above – The diesel corner stove and TV cabinet.

Above – The Saloon looking towards the galley at the stern.
Above – …And again with just the under gunnel lighting on. 

Above – The mirrors installed on the bathroom bulkheads create an illusion of extra space.

Above – The vanity sink with curved granite worktop in Star Galaxy to match the galley.
Above – The extra large 900mm quadrant shower cubicle.
Above – More under gunnel lighting in the bathroom too!
Above – The shiney chrome finish on the double glazed portholes look fantastic with the halogen downlighters reflecting on them.

Above – Phil & Debbie decided to go for a domestic china bowl macerator toilet. The controls to the left are the electric flush buttons and tank gauge level indicator. The stainless steel towel raditor has been sourced to match the rest of the radiators, all of which are controlled by thermostatic valves.

Above & Below – The front cabin with kingsize cross bed. The round upholstered pads on the bed are known as ’Bungs’ and are placed in the portholes at night for privacy. The chrome step lights can also be seen here, these are controlled by the light switch on the cabin side which also controls an outdoor light situated in the cratch over the outside deck. 
Above & Below – The cubby hole lights work a treat, creating just enough light to check the time in the night without disturbing your partner. 

Above – Looking through from the bedroom into the bathroom and saloon beyond. Another mirror has been added above the dressing table.

Above – The bedroom in girly pink mode…

Above – ….or in green ‘I’m in the mood’ mode..
Above – ….or as in the majority of occassions red ’Don’t even think about it’ mode!
As mentioned above handover day was last Saturday, which typically was the worst day for rain all week, but i still managed to take a few photos of Phil & Debbies first trip out of the marina.
Above – Phil, Debbie and Daughter Hayley reversing off our mooring. Tom Kitten will be moored in Mercia for a year until being moved closer to home.

Above - Steady as she goes….making the turn towards the marina exit.

Above – Cruising past Eunoia built by us in 2009, Peter & Mel are joining them on their first journey out.
Above – And off they sail….
Above – ….followed closer by Peter on n/b Eunoia.
That concludes the blog fitout of Tom Kitten, thanks to all our team Jordan, Ben, Josh, Ian and Lyndon for all their hard work, as ever the team have done us proud. Thanks also to Phil & Debbie for their valued custom.
I’ll shortly be commencing the blog for the fitout of our next sponsored hire boat Aqua Jeta which is currently being battened ready for sprayfoaming this wednesday.
That’s all for now
Justin, Jane and Team