Nb Cobbett

[wrigglefingers]

You mean you hadn't heard?

 

Charles Sterling is the man behind the new product to complement the Smatgauge and Smartbank...

 

The Smartarse

 

Star! (it's just oddest day .... )

[Dekazer]

This is all so exciting I'm sitting here with a big grin on my face - many congratulations to all of you xx

[charles123]

You mean you hadn't heard?

 

Charles Sterling is the man behind the new product to complement the Smatgauge and Smartbank...

 

The Smartarse

 

Quality!

 

Charles

[Big John]

Yes, 'tis true, we are off to Audlem for the foreseeable future, I am really, really excited.

And every reason to be too. That is a fantastic looking boat Gill. Can't wait to see it in the flesh.

Audlem's just lovely and the mooring is offside, so apart from tranversing the lockgates (tricky when icy though) and the either 8 locks down or 24 locks up to get water, I think it'll be fine, plus with no job, the fact that it was less than £90 a month was a bit of a bonus!

That must be per foot! You are joking aren't you? £1000 p.a at Audlem? Wow!

 

Have you got a wheelbarrow for the water? As for the ice, young girls like you will be as safe as houses.

 

We'll look out for the mooring on our way down on Friday or Saturday. If you're in the area, do pop across and see us. We hope to be around at Adderley or Audlem for the weekend, and hope the folk evening at the Shroppie Fly on a Monday is still going.

[wrigglefingers]

And every reason to be too. That is a fantastic looking boat Gill. Can't wait to see it in the flesh.

 

That must be per foot! You are joking aren't you? £1000 p.a at Audlem? Wow!

 

No, I'm still pinching myself. I should've bought a lottery ticket as today is clearly my day!

 

Have you got a wheelbarrow for the water? As for the ice, young girls like you will be as safe as houses.

 

Well, I've worked out why I fitted b*wthr*sters! If I practice when nobody is looking (ie dead of night) I reckon I'll be able to reverse down one lock and then come up with a bit of luck. And, let's face it, I'm stupid enough to try!

 

We'll look out for the mooring on our way down on Friday or Saturday. If you're in the area, do pop across and see us. We hope to be around at Adderley or Audlem for the weekend, and hope the folk evening at the Shroppie Fly on a Monday is still going.

 

Yes it is! I asked yesterday and apparently last Monday's session was an absolute gem.

 

Will pm you and try to meet up - I want to have a proper wander about now I now I'm going to be there.

 

Wriggly

Edited March 17, 2010 by wrigglefingers

[casper ghost]

Yes, 'tis true, we are off to Audlem for the foreseeable future, I am really, really excited. Casper encouraged me to go and have a look at the moorings when I was considering the Kinver and Norbury ones and eventually I got round to doing so yesterday. Audlem's just lovely and the mooring is offside, so apart from tranversing the lockgates (tricky when icy though) and the either 8 locks down or 24 locks up to get water, I think it'll be fine, plus with no job, the fact that it was less than £90 a month was a bit of a bonus! Need to sort it out now though, as it's my firm belief that the Bad Fairy may just steal it all away from me if I'm not good and sort out the paperwork - Where do I sign Ellen away in return for the mooring?

 

Isn't it only 1 lock down (maybe 2) to the water point and the pub from where you will be..And it'll be less than you state to get to Market Drayton too.

 

Well done, nice pub there..

 

Casp'

[deletedaccount]

Looking lovely. Congrats!

[sarahavfc]

Now that's a proper boat! She looks lovely.

[Speedwheel]

Very nice. A quality piece of work!

 

Someone else said don't ballast it down to much but I like them sitting low.

 

Each to their own. Whatever you do it will look good!

[wrigglefingers]

Isn't it only 1 lock down (maybe 2) to the water point and the pub from where you will be..And it'll be less than you state to get to Market Drayton too.

 

Well done, nice pub there..

 

Casp'

 

It's winding her that's the problem although if I practice when nobody's watching I reckon I can reverse up and down the lock. I knew I fitted the b*wthr*sters for a reason!

[journeyperson]

Isn't it only 1 lock down (maybe 2) to the water point and the pub from where you will be..And it'll be less than you state to get to Market Drayton too.

 

Well done, nice pub there..

 

Casp'

 

I think you are right. If it's the moorings I'm thinking of they are above the lock beyond the road and there is water just past the Shroppie Fly before the next lock down.

[Keeping Up]

It's winding her that's the problem although if I practice when nobody's watching I reckon I can reverse up and down the lock. I knew I fitted the b*wthr*sters for a reason!

Reversing down a lock is easy - although it feels very odd if you're standing on the back of the boat as it goes down, with a great big gate just behind you, because all your instincts tell you to move forward away from the gate.

 

Going up a lock backwards needs a bit more care; if the top paddles draw the boat towards them it is very easy to damage the rudder etc on the cill as you ascend, unless you are very gentle with the paddles or you use ropes.

 

Oh but it's great fun because it really does confuse the boats that are coming the other way.

[bargemast]

Well, we've got to the point that I scarely believed was possible this time last year.

 

David Harris started laying the baseplate for Cobbett today.

 

For those of you who haven't read before (and I can't believe there can be that many of you I've been so excited all year) Cobbett will be a planked Josher bowed and sterned 62' tug deck steel narrowboat. Recessed rear panels, boatman's cabin, portholes and Rayburn and frankly not much more except a JD3 engine and PRM 260 gearbox. She'll be finished sometime in Spring 2010 and then Phil's crew will paint her.

 

The plan is to disappear off round the system for a year or so and visit friends. She's been planned as a single-handed liveaboard so the strange fact that I've gained a partner this year is a little ironic but never mind. I'll take photographs as she progresses and keep you posted. It's been a stiff learning curve this year but I've enjoyed the process very much so far. Fingers crossed for the rest .......

 

Wriggly xx

 

 

Dear Jill,

 

my sincere congratulations with your boat, which looks like a masterpiece of narrowboat building, I'm sure "Cobbett" will be admired wherever she go's and that many people (myself almost included) will be extremely jealous. I wish you lots of success with the finishing touches and happy cruising.

 

Peter.

[wrigglefingers]

Hello folks,

 

just to keep you updated as things are moving fast (ish) with Cobbett. We're beginning to move towards the end of her fitout; Andy Downing of ABC Marine Services in Stourbridge came and sorted out the electrics for me (lovely bloke with a great sense of humour) and with some help from me mate Brummie Dave and his mate Mad Chris (40 stone of solid men or so they claim!) the lights are pretty much in and working (Yay!). The 230v circuit needs to be fitted but progress has been made.

 

The painting continues apace. If you ever, ever hear me saying "I think we'll paint that" ever again you are to shoot me. This is my solemn word and testament - just put me out of my agony. Quickly. I have painted things that I didn't realised existed on boat let alone needed painting with four if not five coats of paint. However, I digress. David has nearly finished all the internal woodwork, there's just the floor to go down now and that'll be pretty much the last thing to be done. All the plumbing needs to be connected up and I need to wire in the pumps. (After which I shall be declared the world's expert pump fitter as it will take my lifetime total to double figures).

 

Cobbett was due to go into John's paint dock in the middle of May for final coach painting so time had arrived to take Cobbett, resplendent in her russet hues, to the grit-blasters to get gritted, primed and 'poxed. We'll haul her back for the first weekend in May, whereupon it's all hands to the decks to finish the work. Hopefully, she'll be out and looking sleek by the middle of June and I shall be on my way to Cheshire and environs, by the end of June.

 

It's been a bit of a bumpy ride recently as the winter seems to have caught up with us, and there's been a few moments when I've wondered what I've been doing commissioning such a daunting project on my own. I am so impressed by those of you who do this and then build the bloody thing by yourselves - thought I was bloody-minded and determined! I can say that it's been a bit lonely at times and without such warm and enthusiastic support from the boys at the yard and yourselves I think I might not have ever believed that she'd be finished. I've been quite ill with a persistent racking cough (if this is what living in house does for you I'll be ecstatic to be back on a boat again next winter) which hasn't helped and neither has living in a house with unpacked stuff. Still, best chest forward, she's nearly done and we are both moving on quickly now.

 

 

Cobbett in Compton Lock

Edited April 20, 2010 by wrigglefingers

[andywatson]

Looks good even in oxide naturel.

 

Some picures and description of the blasting and painting stages will be of great interest.

[DHutch]

... Ellen was after having Cobbett painted to match her hair, but has agreed with John that she'd look best painted to an FMC paint scheme [instead]...

You can just paint you children to suit your boat, im a child, i know these things!

 

 

 

Daniel

[Keeping Up]

You can just paint you children to suit your boat, im a child, i know these things!

 

 

 

Daniel

Ours always objected to the gritblasting part of the exercise.

[WotEver]

Ours always objected to the gritblasting part of the exercise.

Some kids just don't know they're born...

[wrigglefingers]

Ours always objected to the gritblasting part of the exercise.

 

I dunno why.... The stuff Ellen cleans her face with feels like gritblasting liquid. I'm looking forward to seeing Pig painted to match Cobbett! Sod boat-labelled t-shirts, how about paint-matched faces?

 

I'm pleased you all approve, the bloke at Compton didn't. "that looks like a helluva of a restoration job, there, young lady". Looked most disbelieving when I said she was a new boat "are you sure? I wouldn't buy one in that state, do you know what you're doing?" I did resist the temptation to ask him to get his eyes checked .......

 

I'll try to dig out some new photos this evening, but they're not very spectacular I'm afraid.

[DHutch]

I dunno why.... The stuff Ellen cleans her face with feels like gritblasting liquid.

Its all about cleaning your face with Manista!

 

 

 

I'm pleased you all approve, the bloke at Compton didn't. "that looks like a helluva of a restoration job, there, young lady".

Haha, i love it!

- Beats finding emilyanne in a pic-vid of 'vintage boats' and day of the week and that made me smile for a good hour.

 

 

Daniel

[bargemast]

I'll try to dig out some new photos this evening, but they're not very spectacular I'm afraid.

 

 

Nobody has asked for very spectacular photos, just some more (as many as you can find) will do.

 

Thank you very much in advance,

 

Peter.

[wrigglefingers]

Okay,

 

These are some of work in progress except for Cobbett's bow which is finished (and as I type now 'poxed at Hetherton).

 

 

Cobbett's Bow

 

 

The Rayburn and some very poor tiling deliberately left out of focus!

 

 

The Old Dutch and some more very poor tiling

 

 

This is the corner of the dinette and the kitchen

 

 

And this is this blonde on blond (or is that blond on blonde?) bathroom

 

More rubbish photos when I find out which particular folder on the Mac I've misguidedly put them ......

Edited April 20, 2010 by wrigglefingers

[DHutch]

Tiles look ok to me....

[lemontoes]

Tiles look ok to me too! I woke up this morning in the middle of a dream about your boat......only it was mine..... Oh well, I'll just keep on dreaming! (Downside of the dream ...... my dreams always seem to have a downside ...... the headroom was only 5' ).

 

It's looking fantastic by the way.

[alan_fincher]

Cobbett's Bow

 

Jill,

 

There still appears to be a hole left in the bows below water-line ?

 

Hopefully that got fixed before it was put in the water ?

 

(If you think that tiling is bad, I'll certainly not be posting pictures of ours!....)

Edited April 21, 2010 by alan_fincher