NB Dunwuryin

[DHutch]

Look at the the one titled 'Fuel lines and filter', see anything wrong or at least that could be wrong.?

You got a link to that?

[ChrisPy]

Well I am surprised, we've all been looking at Viking's splendid photo's and only one of us spotted the deliberate mistake. (and that wasn't me)

 

Look at the the one titled 'Fuel lines and filter', see anything wrong or at least that could be wrong.?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

take off does not rise above fuel level in the tank. BSS says 'it's a good idea'. so it is not compulsory and is done. my boat is the same.

[viking]

Wow, It is a real roller coaster of emotions having a narrow boat built. First there is the expectation and excitement as you drive up the motorway for another visit,then there is the elation when you see the quality of the work that has been carried out, then there is the concern over the quantity of work that has been carried out! Finally there is the deflation as you drive away and realise you won't be back for another 2 weeks.

 

One minute up, next minute down but never a dull moment!

 

The latest visit is just over and I have a few more photos for you. In fact, despite still being outdoors and under canvas, the photos seemed to come out better than ever this time, and I had a hard job deciding which to include in the post. I ended up with 10 - about half of the number I took so apologies to those of you on dial up if this topic is becoming a little picture heavy for you.

 

Anyway as you can tell, this time I am delighted with what has been carried out in quality terms though not so pleased about quantity. I must admit that this time I was hoping to see doors,windows,paintwork, tiling even, but none of the above! I have a water tank, shower tray, washbasin, and sink, none of which are plumbed in. I have a dinette, bathroom, bed, bedside cabinet and wardrobe, and in the engine I have batteries, diesel heating and half a silencer system. The devil is in the detail I suppose, and sometimes the smaller jobs take a lot longer than the big ones. The trouble is I am running out of time till my holiday and I can't change the dates (the holiday is to be used to move the boat to its home moorings - something that will take 2 weeks and I only have one 2 week holiday so I am getting worried!)

 

Anyway hope you enjoy the pics, here we go!!( I have never mastered the art of getting pictures to appear side by side on this forum so they are all one after the other)

 

Water tank

 

 

Galley

 

 

Washbasin

 

 

Folding door system, allowing bathroom doors to be opened across aisle

 

 

Cross Bed

 

 

Wardrobe

 

 

Map Shelf

 

 

Mikuni diesel heating system

 

 

Silencer system (unfinished - don't write in!!)

 

 

Batteries

 

[Steve Lockett]

Great pics mate.

 

Always been curious as to the quality of Stoke Boatbuilders. They are my local boatyard and are literally 4 streets away from my house. Might pop down and have a nosey at it one sunny weekend!

[stuart]

Looks a neat job throughout - your right the little things always take the time.

 

Although I'm DIY'ing my boat you can spend all day doing to smallest job.

 

Think your pictures are putting my woodworking skills to shame!

[viking]

Steve - If I lived 4 streets away I would certainly give them a look! Mind you if I did live that close I would be down there every day and would worry even more about finishing on time. On second thoughts though if I lived 4 streets away I wouldn't need 2 weeks to deliver it to its home mooring so it wouldn't matter if it was a bit late finishing would it! If you are serious about talking to someone about a build though you would probably need to go on a weekday to speak to the guy in charge (unless you made an appointment) and don't bother for the next week or so 'cause he is down in Crick.

 

Stuart - the photography is a lot more to do with the abilities of Adobe Photoshop than me and my camera - and you should see my woodworking!!! Best not to even think about it you would have nightmares. That is why I am getting somebody else to do it for me.

[John Orentas]

Steve.

 

S o T Boat builders have been around for donkeys years and have always had the reputation for being at the top end of the builders hierarchy, so a good bit more expensive than most.

 

If you are looking for a boat they should be you first option as you live nearby.

[Steve Lockett]

Glad they've got a good reputation then, I'll have to pop down and have a sniff around.

 

Sorry to stray off topic for a moment but are Roger Fuller boats good quality?

[John Orentas]

Steve.

 

Roger Fuller boats are probably as good as you can get, I may be wrong but I doubt if he would sell you a shell. If you have won the lottery he might sell you one of his boats fitted with a restored vintage Kelvin engine.

 

P.S. Don't try winding your boat opposite his yard, he gets quite upset.

Edited May 23, 2005 by John Orentas

[viking]

S o T Boat builders have been around for donkeys years and have always had the reputation for being at the top end of the builders hierarchy, so a good bit more expensive than most.

 

Don't quite agree there John. If I take their estimate as the base line, the lowest estimate I received was about 20% lower. Our local boatyards in the southeast were about 50% higher, making SOT seem like a bargain. I would never call SOT cheap but I would say they fit into the mid-range category. If they were more expensive than most I wouldn't be using them.

[John Orentas]

Viking.

 

My information is 10 or more years old, things have no doubt changed, but I did only say "Top end".

[viking]

Well, another fortnight gone, another visit and another disappointment

 

As before I have no quibble whatsoever with the quality of the work being carried out it is first class, but I have a great deal to quibble about when it comes to the quantity. Our original delivery date has come and gone, the date I wanted to sail it away is fast approaching and we have been told not to expect it to be ready for that either. How much beyond that it is going to go I don't know so I now have no idea if I will be able to collect it or not and likewise I have no idea if I have anything to do during my summer vacation. I obviously can't book an alternative in case it is ready. It is a real shame that something that should be so exciting can turn into such a frustration.

 

Anyway, I have a few more photos for you, not many this time for two reasons: firstly not that much has changed to take photographs of and secondly ( and I should be grateful for this I suppose) the boat had 5 or 6 people working on it when we arrived and I obviously didn't wan't to stop them working in order to take photographs.

 

The most obvious change is that we now have our signwriting done, and very nice it looks too. The paintwork is not complete though, the roof and coach lines are still to be done. Inside we now have a tv cabinet in the lounge, carpets to the side below the gunwales, a tin cupboard in the galley, most of the windows fitted, and they were fitting the rear steps as we were there. However, there was no plumbing done, no gas pipes, no electrical fittings, no cooker, no toilet, no radiators, no tiling, no engine controls or instrumentation, no doors and no propeller. Any way, the more I write the more depressed I become so I will just post the photos and let you know what happens later.

 

 

 

 

[John Orentas]

Hi Viking.

 

Very frustrating isn't it, you can see a summer slipping away, no good threatening or shouting he has heard it all before.

 

All you can do is appeal to his better nature, "your elderly aunt is so looking forward to her holiday on the boat and she probably won't be around much longer". That should bring a tear to his eye, or maybe not.

 

The other tack, make such a nuisance of yourself that he will finish the boat just to get shot of you, I know you can't get there very often but you can phone him once, twice, three times a day. Get spouse to do it, that sometimes works, some woman nagging at him every 3 hours he will start to think he is still at home.

 

Play dirty !

[DHutch]

What a bugger. Sorry to heard it being slow.

- Going to be a cracker once its done tho!

 

 

Good luck on geting it done for you hols, Daniel

[Richard Bustens]

Hi Viking can you please post a few more pics of the bathroom door and how it works?

[viking]

Hi John, Can you lend me an elderly Aunt, mine are all dead already

 

Seriously though I made my point quite clearly at the last meeting and he does recognise the problem and you are right the missus had a go too which always helps.

 

Thanks Daniel, it is a lovely thing even as it stands now when I get it I'll be like a Spaniel with two tails!

 

As a hirer I used to laugh at the kind of boat owners who moored up at the bottom of each flight of locks they went through and ran round with a tin of touch up paint - now I begin to see where they are coming from.

[viking]

Well, now some good news, we have been told that our boat will be ready for an acceptance trial on Saturday! It surprises me given what I saw last time but I am always willing to have pleasant surprises like that. So off on Saturday for our first short cruise and our first night on board (given it will only be in the boatyard). A couple of days to clear up any outstanding items (if there are any) and then hopefully next week it is ours, which should give us enough time to get it down to its home mooring before our holiday ends.

 

Let you know next week and there are going to be a whole new batch of photos to go with it - the finished article!! (I hope)

[DHutch]

We have been told that our boat will be ready for an acceptance trial on Saturday!

- So off on Saturday for our first short cruise and our first night on board.

Wow, fantasic!

- Bet you cant sit still!

 

Just make sure you dont nacker that paint on your first day! - lol

 

 

Daniel

[ChrisPy]

Just make sure you dont nacker that paint on your first day!

23401[/snapback]

.................. or knock any bridges down with protruding rivets

[viking]

Hello again people, haven't been around for a while as I had a hard disk failure on my computer which wiped out windows so I have had to reinstall and reconfigure everything. I think I am just about there now so I am in a position to show you the latest photos.

 

We went last Saturday to have another look at the boat and to take it for an acceptance trial. We were very impressed this time, not only with the quality of work but also the amount, he has obviously been pulling out all the stops in the last two weeks. The net result is that we have a nearly complete boat that we will be taking away next Thursday (23rd) on the journey down to our moorings on the Kennet and Avon canal, and as a result of some rearranging at work we will now have time to do it.

 

The boat is looking superb and drew many admiring glances as we took her out for the trial run. After the trial we started to load all our belongings and spent our first night on board, albeit in the boatyard. There were a few issues to be sorted out before we sail away but I am assured that these will be addressed by Thursday so all is well.

 

Our first impressions of the facilities on board were most favourable, we tested just about everything except the solid fuel stove (it was like a furnace in there already on Saturday) everything works fine, the bed is supremely comfortable, the best I have ever experienced on a boat. The Vetus toilet is first class, as is the shower, about the only problems we have come across so far is that we don't really have room for a waste bin in the galley, and the inward opening door blocks access to the map shelf when open. Still I don't suppose anyone gets it right first time!

 

So I suppose that is the end of my build blog save for the photos. I will of course continue to post on the other parts of the forum although not from the boat as I haven't organised any internet access from there yet. If you see 'Dunwuryin' out and about give us a wave, I'll tell you what happened on the journey after we return In the meantime, thanks for listening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AND FINALLY

 

 

[Steve Lockett]

Looks very nice mate. I especially like the Port Vale style tiling in the galley. While you're up that way you could pop into the Vale club shop and buy some matching stuff if you like

 

Sadly I've not yet popped up to take a look, It's been finished off pretty rapidly.

 

Good luck with it.

Edited June 21, 2005 by Steve Lockett

[viking]

Port Who?

[Richard Bustens]

It is one of those strange customes. with conections to port-a-potty. or port-a-loo

Edited June 22, 2005 by Richard Bustens

[dor]

A suggestion for the rubbish bin in the galley:

 

You can get these things which fit on the back of one of the cupboard doors. They have a lift-up lid and take supermarket bags, where the handles hook over some hooks.

 

Take up no space and easy to empty - just unhook the bag and tie a knot in it. Recycles the bags as well.

[DHutch]

You can get these things which fit on the back of one of the cupboard doors. They have a lift-up lid and take supermarket bags, where the handles hook over some hooks.

That sound ideal.

- We have the kitchen/galley bin on the back of a the cupboard door (just infront of the sink)

- It a full sized one tho, and geting in the way a fair bit, espcially when tring to get into the cupboard. A carrier bad sized one sounds ideal.

 

 

Danel