Attaching wooden battens to the metal frames in a narrowboat

[Jackie Sonic]

Hi just about to start preparing for putting in the wooden batons to attach ply sheets for the walls and ceiling. What's the best way of attaching them. I have already put up the insulation, used 3m thinsulate.

 

Any tips will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

[NBMike]

Hi just about to start preparing for putting in the wooden batons to attach ply sheets for the walls and ceiling. What's the best way of attaching them. I have already put up the insulation, used 3m thinsulate.

 

Any tips will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

I'm doing the same at present. I bought some lengths of 3mm x 30mm mild steel and drilled a 6mm hole every couple of inches along before cutting it into 2" pieces with the hole about middle. I then welded them edge on to the sides of the boat every couple of feet along, top and bottom. Once I've repainted the red oxide I'll screw through the steel tabs into the battens, before I sprayfoam.

But then again I've heard of GRIPFILL being used to hold battens. I think mine will be stuck to the sides longer.

3mm Thinsulate???? That seems thin!

[Jackie Sonic]

I'm doing the same at present. I bought some lengths of 3mm x 30mm mild steel and drilled a 6mm hole every couple of inches along before cutting it into 2" pieces with the hole about middle. I then welded them edge on to the sides of the boat every couple of feet along, top and bottom. Once I've repainted the red oxide I'll screw through the steel tabs into the battens, before I sprayfoam.

But then again I've heard of GRIPFILL being used to hold battens. I think mine will be stuck to the sides longer.

3mm Thinsulate???? That seems thin!

 

Thanks for your response. Wow, what you are doing is way beyond me.

 

It's 3M Thinsulate, 25mm thick. Is that ok.

[Maverick]

Believe a lot of folk use products like no nails etc to do a quick job but I dont think it will last long term and your intereior walls coould end up flapping in the wind.

 

Garry's the man to ask he does it for a living. drilling and screwing may be time consuming and you may get thru a lot of drill bits but it will last.

[NBMike]

Thanks for your response. Wow, what you are doing is way beyond me.

 

It's 3M Thinsulate, 25mm thick. Is that ok.

AAh thats better, I've cleaned my glasses now. Yes 25mm Thats better.

[Malarky]

The lugs mentioned above will certainly help, and I agree this glue stuff is a bit worrying. Battens fixed to lugs angle or box section with self tappers or drill screws is fine. I,ve even wedged battens between angle sections with a nick in the end to hold everything away from the metal sides of the structure, and a piece of felt in the mouth to stop the wood touching the metal(athough poss. a bit OTT). The ply then screws to the battens, to stop them ever going anywhere.

You'll need a few drill bits, and the drill screws are B******s if you want them nice and tight but not too expensive.

Hope all goes well.

[drunkensailor]

I've just deleted this post, the one above is better and written as I wrote mine.

Edited March 20, 2008 by drunkensailor

[Gary Peacock]

Good question well presented deserves an answer!

 

 

Believe it or not this falls into the hull rather than fit out category.

 

A good hull builder will take fitting out into account when building the hull, there are lots of different methods of providing fixing points where the battens can be screwed to the steel but these need to be built into the hull. Of course building a hull without these provisions is probably simpler and quicker. (A clue how you can build a cheaper hull!)

 

It shouldn't really come down to the fitter having to take up welding and ideally the cabin sides should have the absolute minimum welded to them anyway because any welds to the inside will leave "slugs" on the outside that look poxy and spoil the external finish.

 

The best bet is to ask the hulls builder how they do it.

 

Don't glue the thing together without you are selling it on and aren't bothered about what could happen in a few years time. (Another clue how to fit out a cheap boat!)

 

A few pics HERE that might give a few clues.

 

Spray foaming also helps keep everything in place but since you have got Thinsulate that's not an option.

 

Who sold you down the Thinsulate road it is a bit of a strange choice?

[magnetman]

I guess its just a matter of time before someone invents a sealing/bonding product called 'no more weld' then home build is even easier and cheaper. To attach battens i'd say drilling and self tappers but i don't know.

[Timleech]

I guess its just a matter of time before someone invents a sealing/bonding product called 'no more weld' then home build is even easier and cheaper. To attach battens i'd say drilling and self tappers but i don't know.

 

The OP doesn't say what sort of framing the cabin has, if any, though asking the question after fitting the insulation suggests to me that it has. That does have rather a large bearing on how best to do it

 

Tim

 

Edited to say that I just twigged the title makes it clear there is framing, but it might still help to know what it consists of.

Edited March 20, 2008 by Timleech

[Bones]

Believe a lot of folk use products like no nails etc to do a quick job but I dont think it will last long term and your intereior walls coould end up flapping in the wind.

 

And if you aren't convinced they will you are welcome to come and examine the lining on my boat. It desperately needs re-doing properly, but I haven;t mustered up the energy yet. I have no idea how it stays up, probably dirt. The battens are coming away from the steel (where they haven't come away already) and I would definitely tap and screw when I do it. I hate glue. (although glue can be rather good for sticking fuzzy felt to small children)

Edited March 20, 2008 by Bones

[denboy]

Just a Quickie on the self drilling screws its best to drill a small pilot hole for them as they have a habbit of snapping the heads off when theyre halfway in ,box section and angle iron on boats is a lot thicker than thin sheets that they are usually used on likeroof sheets

[Tusses]

I got away with suprisingly not many drill bits. I snapped more, after a long day than I blunted.

 

GOOD quality bits and screws help alot - as does exactly the correct size bit for the screw - even depending on the thickness of steel you are fixing too.

 

Colecraft put all the metalwork in place as standard I think - all I had to do is drill and screw the battons in.

 

spray foam went in AFTER the battons

 

 

I have heard of cheap builds and hire boats having the battons glued in, but I have not heared anyone recommend it.

[NB Phoenix]

I used glue (No Nails) and self tapping screws on Phoenix, sort of belt and braces but also the glue formed a waterproof layer between wood and steel.

 

 

Screwfix do a good self tapping screw called TurboGold

 

I also invested in TWO battery drills/screwdrivers, this saves time changing from drill bit to screwdriver bit and with almost 2000 holes to drill and then screw into this was a godsend.

 

Good luck with your fit out.

[GUMPY]

I know of boats where the battens have been attached to the framing using a Hilti gun and nails.

One like this

http://www.tool-net.co.uk/p-320894/ramset-...tridge-gun.html

 

Certainly works and is quick, I would expect the nails to last a long as a self tapper even a stainless one.

And yes a Hilti on minimum pressure will put a nail through 4mm steel with ease.

 

Julian

[blackrose]

I haven't read every post but has anyone suggested Marineflex or another brand of PU sealant/adhesive like Sikaflex?

 

http://www.marinemastics.com/marine-flex/m...x-one-tube.html

 

http://www.sika.co.uk/tech-elseal-bond

 

(Marineflex is a lot cheaper and very good.)

 

I keep banging on about this stuff but nobody listens

 

I don't think Gripfill or No Nails is flexible enough.

Edited March 20, 2008 by blackrose

[Maverick]

All this work to cover up the inside steel walls. Makes you wonder why wooden cabins went out of fashion

Good question well presented deserves an answer! Believe it or not this falls into the hull rather than fit out category.A good hull builder will take fitting out into account when building the hull, there are lots of different methods of providing fixing points where the battens can be screwed to the steel but these need to be built into the hull. Of course building a hull without these provisions is probably simpler and quicker. (A clue how you can build a cheaper hull!)It shouldn't really come down to the fitter having to take up welding and ideally the cabin sides should have the absolute minimum welded to them anyway because any welds to the inside will leave "slugs" on the outside that look poxy and spoil the external finish.The best bet is to ask the hulls builder how they do it.Don't glue the thing together without you are selling it on and aren't bothered about what could happen in a few years time. (Another clue how to fit out a cheap boat!)A few pics HERE that might give a few clues.Spray foaming also helps keep everything in place but since you have got Thinsulate that's not an option.Who sold you down the Thinsulate road it is a bit of a strange choice?

Unless you paint them black and call your boat slug in which case it will be modern art

[Jackie Sonic]

Hi just about to start preparing for putting in the wooden batons to attach ply sheets for the walls and ceiling. What's the best way of attaching them. I have already put up the insulation, used 3m thinsulate.

 

Any tips will be appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

 

 

Thanks to all that gave their time to answer my question. I will knuckle down this weekend to see if I can put your good ideas into practice.

 

Regards

[Wrinkley]

Hi All

 

Just to add on to the end - How do you arrange the battening in the corners? Where the cabin side meets the end. More pics would be good for me.

 

Graham

[Gary Peacock]

Hi All

 

Just to add on to the end - How do you arrange the battening in the corners? Where the cabin side meets the end. More pics would be good for me.

 

Graham

 

There might be some more clues HERE.

[Travis]

Our last boat came with the framework already drilled, saved me hours of work.

 

Also I seem to remember a well known boat builder who used to drill through the cabin roof and screwed the battens up with self tappers through the holes. He then filled and painted the holes in the roof.

 

Andy.

[Timleech]

Also I seem to remember a well known boat builder who used to drill through the cabin roof and screwed the battens up with self tappers through the holes. He then filled and painted the holes in the roof.

 

Andy.

 

That is certainly true. The potential snag doing it with self-tappers is that there's a lot of air space between the screw & the hole, if you see what I mean, which could be a source of leakage.

Some at least of the Northwich-built Grand Union CCCo boats had the back cabin linings secured in a similar way, though they used 'proper' machine screws & tapped holes, which would have less potential for leakage.

 

Tim

[Big COL]

And if you aren't convinced they will you are welcome to come and examine the lining on my boat. It desperately needs re-doing properly, but I haven;t mustered up the energy yet. I have no idea how it stays up, probably dirt. The battens are coming away from the steel (where they haven't come away already) and I would definitely tap and screw when I do it. I hate glue. (although glue can be rather good for sticking fuzzy felt to small children)

 

 

Oh dear Bones smack bottom time.(still love you though) I thought we had covered how to do this? What I omitted to say was that the spray foam will certainly be the final fixing.

Batten out a boat properly, then spray foam it you will not need to worry about anything coming loose later.

That spray foam sticks like s--t to a blanket

Edited March 22, 2008 by Big COL

[blackrose]

That is certainly true. The potential snag doing it with self-tappers is that there's a lot of air space between the screw & the hole, if you see what I mean, which could be a source of leakage.

Some at least of the Northwich-built Grand Union CCCo boats had the back cabin linings secured in a similar way, though they used 'proper' machine screws & tapped holes, which would have less potential for leakage.

 

Tim

 

Isn't the other problem with screws that the heads can pop? I know this has happened with my floorboads.

[Timleech]

Isn't the other problem with screws that the heads can pop? I know this has happened with my floorboads.

 

Suggests to me that the screws weren't big enough, or not enough of them

 

Tim