Narrowboat Honesty – Norton Canes’ 100th Shell

I can’t believe that my last blog update for Honesty was in December, how time flies! Since my last post the boat has been back to us a few times to continue with the build. Here’s some photos of progress since December.  

My last post was when Honesty was at Norton Canes for painting and what a fantastic job Graham Edgson’s team made of her and Dave Moore’s signwriting looks superb. 

Above & below – The cabin after Dave Moore’s scumbling. Jan worked incredibly hard to undercoat and prepare the back cabin. These photos are before Jan had picked out the wood beading in red paint.  

Above: The stove is surrounded by Welsh slate as a heat shield. 

Above: Thick solid oak steps lead up out of the boat – here they are covered with ply to protect them from splashes of paint. 

Above – The completed Boatman’s Cabin – this was Jordan’s first Boatmans Cabin and what a fantastic job he made of it – well done Jordan. Jan’s painted the beading and what a diffence it makes, it suddenly brings the space to life. This bed hole is 4′ 6″ wide making it a lot more comfortable than the traditional 4′ wide standard bed holes. 

Above – Instead of a traditional Boatman’s solid fuel stove at the stern, Jan went for a small diesel Glembrig stove purchased through Kuranda Marine. Having felt the warmth of the heat it produces, it’s impressive for such a small and compact unit – and no need to store any additional coal. 

Above – The seating area will be upholstered by Jan. 

Above: Embracing advances in technology Jan & John opted for LED lighting in the cabin roof.

Above: Jan has made all the pull cords herself and all are colour co-ordinated to compliment the colours in each cabin. 

Above: Dave Moore’s decoration sets the whole cabin off. 

Above & Below – The galley cupboard doors without the stained glass inserts. 

Above & Below – And with the stained glass panels in place and back lit. These panels are influenced by the seed heads of the plant Honesty, which the boat was named after. 

Above: Bathroom with colourful basin and accessories hand made in Mexico  

Above & Below – Solid oak flooring being laid in the saloon and galley. 

Above & below: Jan & John moved on board in April so that they could put there existing boat onto brokerage. They commissioned Elite furnishings to make this sofa bed and pair of foot stools in a deep red, which, with the oak floor and Tongue & Groove panelling, creates a lovely warmth to the cabin. 

Honesty will be back with us for a week in August – where we’ll be concentrating on getting the utility/engine room finished, the last major job to be completed.

Justin, Jane & Team 

Aqua Bywyd

Well, a very belated welcome to Graham & Lynn the owners of the latest sponsored boat we are currently fitting out for our fleet.Aqua Bywyd (chosen by Graham & Lynn and meaning life in Welsh – following our Water Life boat name theme) is a 58ft, 4+2 reverse layout and will be launched in July. As with all our hire boats she is being built to five star standards and will include double glazing and granite worktops as Jeta before her. Here’s a few photos of the build progress so far:

Above: Hull being fabricated.

Above: Cabin now in place.

Above & Below: Graham & Lynn spotted the Semi Cruiser stern we did on our last bespoke boat Tom Kitten and asked if they could have a similar stern on the hire boat which we were happy to accommodate. I think this will be a good choice for our hirer’s too as it makes the stern a lot more sociable. 

Above: With the steelwork complete the shell is craned onto a wagon at our shell builders and taken straight to the painters, S & G refinishers who sand blast the steel work and spray paint the boat with Two Paint Epoxy Paint for us. 

Above: A couple of weeks later and the shell has been painted in our corporate colours and arrives at our workshop & base at Mercia Marina ready for the fitout to commence. 

Above: The craning in of Bywyd was watched closely by her sponsored owners Graham & Lynn. They intend to sail off in her in four years time when she comes out of the fleet. 

Above:  A few days later the upgraded double glazed windows arrive and are installed to ensure the boat is water tight so the fitout can commence. 

Above: Now watertight the wooden battens are installed – these battens are what the timber lining of the boat is attached too. Shortly after the battens were installed, the boat was spray foam insulated to ensure it stays warm and cosy all year round. 

Above: Once spray foamed the whole cabin is lined which Oak veneered Plywood. The above photo was taken before all the timber bulkheads (dividing walls) have been installed. Notice all the wiring tails for both the 12v and 240v electrics have been installed too. At this point all the separate cabins are measured and marked out on the floor and any adjustments made and then the main fit out work commences. 

Above: Galley installed – here the templates have been made for the granite worktops. Also the cabin sides and ceiling has been painted with white eggshell to provide a bright and modern look to the boats interior. 

Above: Looking from the saloon backwards towards the galley at the stern.

Above: The sweeping stairs have been installed together with the cupboard that will accommodate a microwave initially and then possibly a washing machine when the owners take over the boat. 

Above: Our trademark solid oak scroll surrounding the hatch opening leading into the sweeping stairs. 

Above: Looking forward from the saloon towards the bow of the boat through the double and single cabins.

Above: The fixed double bed, since this photograph has been taken we’ve now built a floor to ceiling wardrobe. There will also be a dividing door between this bedroom and the saloon.

Above: The vanity unit has been started in the bathroom. This will have a granite worktop with inset basin. 

Above: The shower cubicle has been started too.

Above: This is the front cabin that will contain two singles that will also convert to one double bed. This will also contain a floor to ceiling wardrobe as well as a second TV & DVD player, ideal as an additional living space in the evening if the boat is fully occupied. More updates to follow as work progresses on Bywyd. 

Justin, Jane & Team