NB 'Talpidae'

[wrigglefingers]

Moley,

 

Great job - it looks like a injin'ole now ........

 

Are you planning to paint the 'ole with bilge paint? I'm debating whether to do mine at the mo' for an added layer of protection. It's now dry, thanks to Dan and others' suggestion about discharging the PRV to the stern gland bilge and will be Vactanned when I've sorted out my other bilge problem.

 

Regards, Shep

[DHutch]

Looking a very much more respectable state!

 

As you say, ballest is really not best in the engine hole

- We dont have any in that section of the boat, bar some lead trimming weights, and we dont even have an engine there!

- We also dont have any ballest in our engine room eather, stupid place for it.

 

If you find you really need a little more weight aft then eather put some slabs under the aftcabin floor, or get some lead/steel ingots/weights and stow them around the place, anywhere not in the bildge!

 

 

Daniel

 

 

Also, finger crossed for the deck draining well for you!

[Moley]

As you say Daniel, seems a strange place for extra ballast.

 

Have removed it, and doesn't seem to have made a scrap of difference, the back swims are fully underwater, and I'd have thought there was enough weight in that hole already.

 

And if we need any trimming side to side when everything's in, then lead or whatever can go in under-bed lockers or under kitchen cupboards.

 

Shep: Yes, will paint too.

[Baron & Mrs Boater]

Blimey - I am so impressed, both by your bravery in tackling the project and the speed in which you have completed it.

I know its been said before, by many, but well done - you have inspired me to do all those jobs I've been getting round to for ages.

 

When you pass Norbury - I'll buy you a beer !

[Bones]

You certainly know how to work - and you do it good!!!! Well done.

[Sir Nibble]

One day I shall wnt a look at all this first hand, don't be surprised if I just bump alongside to test your beer for you.

[Guest]

Ade

Just played catch-up on your progress - impressed is not the word. Congratulations.

Showed Jan the picture of your enjin-'ole "before" and she was gob-smacked, she'd never seen it (doesn't like computers so gets all her updates from me), she is also amazed - wants to know if you'll come round and clean her oven please.

[Moley]

Thanks all.

 

Baron: Will hold you to that one day.

Bones: Thanks, can't say I enjoyed it, but had to be done.

Snibble: Any time, but give me a bit of notice so I can get some decent beer in, have only got Tesco's cheapest onboard at the moment - a long cold drink that tastes vaguely like bitter but can have a couple and still drive home.

Wyeman: Nah, sorry, can't do them

 

Mini update:

Still not perfect, but can get in there easily now. Cleaned out channels are doing their job, despite yesterday's thunderstorms and flash floods there was less than a gallon of clean water in the bilge. Some water in there is unavoidable through the cracks in the decking and the drainage holes in the steps.

 

Got some paint on battery-side last night and had a bit of a shuffle round of wiring at distribution board (replacing all inputs, returns and separating running functions from domestics). Will get batteries back in tonight and start reconnecting.

 

A beer with a mate is long overdue, so would be nice to pootle off up the cut on Fridaaay evening, only as far as Cookley, which is about 2 miles, 4 locks, 3 pubs.

[Moley]

That beer's been postponed until another Fridaaay, 'cos things weren't working right, and aforementioned mate has taken a tumble, cracked a rib and might not find locks much fun. Idiot!

 

Not a lot to report, progress inside has been suspended while I concentrated on the injin’ole.

 

Finally got batteries back in, all new in-spec. wiring, kept the isolator to starter battery #1 but re-mounted on a block of nylon as terminals previously must have been within 1mm of steelwork. New wiring still all needs to be taped up. Have replaced (inadequate) split charge relay with a big black manual selector. Re-wired and reconnected everything, double and treble-checked all wiring and fired her up optimistically

 

Charge light stayed on

 

Tried everything Snibble and Alistair had suggested in the Lectrix thread, which all indicated that the alternator was fubard. Had a chat with a nice bloke at River Canal Rescue and within minutes one of their engineers phoned me back. He told me what multimeter readings to try, I reported back my findings, and he confirmed, alternator dead. So I removed it and we set off round a couple of breakers’ yards. Nothing doing.

 

While trying to find a yard in Stourport that I’ve been to before, but doesn’t seem to be there anymore, drove past a motor factors that was still open Saturday lunchtime. Called in and plonked dirty dead alternator on his counter. Unable to find that model by part code the guy started going through his picture book, and I was absolutely amazed how many different types of alternator there are. Typically, a good ten minutes later we found one that looked right, on the last-but-one page of his book. But if you started from the back you could guarantee it would be on page 2. Sod’s Law or what?

 

Bloke disappears into stores and returns with clean, bright, shiny 70Ah alternator, at which point I asked the question I was dreading - “How much?”

“Best I can do on that one, including VAT, is forty quid” says he. “Yes please and thanks very much” says me, very pleasantly surprised and greatly relieved.

 

Back to boat, fitted in minutes, fired her up, light went out and voltmeter rose.

So we’ve now got one of these:

 

a big black knob ( dunno what else to call it), a volts needle where it should be, and no lights on

 

Sunday morning I finished a few things off, re-fitted a bilge pump, sorted out the coolant header tank, and thought I’d check and clean the air filter. Guess what .... no filter!.

 

Topped up oil, checked stuff out and thought we’d have a chug down to Stourport to charge batteries, and Lynn put together a superb cold lunch, and all was right with the world.

 

[Bones]

absolutely fantastic!!!!! It all sounds fabulously positive. well done.

[bottle]

 

Well done Moley

[Moley]

Well, as one or two folks have been asking about my progress, it's probably time I updated. So what's been happening? Well not a lot really

 

The injin'ole's now clean. Some servicing has been done.

 

Back on the woodwork, I've been on the fiddly bits, the oddments that need doing but go un-noticed, have just about finished laminating the lower walls and am ready to get the ash faced ply on the top half. The ceiling's just about finished, and tonight the mp3 CD player's going up (only a cheap head unit, but I can theme 10 hours of music on a single cd and then ‘shuffle’ it).

 

So I'm about ready to start planning / designing / building and fitting some furniture (sofa/beds etc.) at the front end.

 

But things have slowed down, last week was all messed about, and I hardly got to the boat at all weekend-just-gone, I was doing other stuff, like building a cage for the kids

(it's actually for budgies, 2 in the picture, now risen to 4, but they'd fit in quite easily

 

Edited July 11, 2006 by Moley

[Gillie]

So interesting Moley a really good read & the photographs are great..

am looking forwards to the next instalments...much better than eastenders

[stuart]

Your doing a great job Moley! I thought I worked quickly but you really do seem to get a lot done in such a small amount of time!

 

If your going to paint your bilge, I'd recommend the Dambouline stuff, not the cheapest but works really well and is resistant to oil/diesel.

[Moley]

I thought I worked quickly but you really do seem to get a lot done in such a small amount of time!

Thanks Stuart, but I've definitely come down a couple of gears at the moment.

 

Trying to get back into it, there are loads of little bits to do. Bathroom's half a day off being finished, but at the moment it's full of folding chairs and stuff, 'cos I'm trying to work in the saloon/lounge area and everything was in my way.

 

Saloon carpet's rolled up on the back double bed, but now I'm trying to tile the splashbacks behind sink, worktops and cooker. Of course, we used the boat for a couple of weekends, so all the tiles, adhesives, trowels etc. were chucked in the back lockers under the double bed, which is now covered in carpet and tools so getting at the tiles again was a pain.

 

Whatever you try to do, it seems you either can't get at it, or have to rearrange everything, but I seriously doubt that I'm the first to find this. It'll all be done and tidied one day. Maybe.

 

In the meantime, as I'm an early riser, I'm back to sanding and final coat varnishing ash faced ply at home on the dining table before breakfast.

 

Oh, and the radio's up, and was well tested last night with an easy-listening compilation of AC:DC, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Extreme, Nickelback, Thin Lizzy and Rainbow. (Well, the neighbours all seemed to be out )

 

And if Stuart thinks I'm painting my bilge with Drambuie ...

[ChrisPy]

 

Whatever you try to do, it seems you either can't get at it, or have to rearrange everything, but I seriously doubt that I'm the first to find this.

Right.

I find that while fitting out my widebeam, so it must be bl**dy awful on a narrowboat. Mind you I use the floor to store 8x4s, which you couldn't do on a narrowboat.

[John Orentas]

Moley is doing ever-thing right, it really is a huge advantage having a workshop and storage away from the boat. I am always amazed that people manage to fit out a boat that is permanently full of stuff that is yet to be used or just having been ripped out.

 

One of those jobs in life that needs lots of self discipline, were possible take to the boat only the materials that you will use on that trip, complete one job before starting the next take all your offcuts and junk home, do as much as possible away from the boat.

 

I went to great lengths to pre-fabricate the furnishings, I went to the extent of making a 'side profile' template at home, even linings I usually managed to take home to finish with polish or paint fitting them the following week.

[Bones]

Moley is doing ever-thing right, it really is a huge advantage having a workshop and storage away from the boat. I am always amazed that people manage to fit out a boat that is permanently full of stuff that is yet to be used or just having been ripped out.

 

One of those jobs in life that needs lots of self discipline, were possible take to the boat only the materials that you will use on that trip, complete one job before starting the next take all your offcuts and junk home, do as much as possible away from the boat.

 

I went to great lengths to pre-fabricate the furnishings, I went to the extent of making a 'side profile' template at home, even linings I usually managed to take home to finish with polish or paint fitting them the following week.

 

Absolutely! I am everso impressed with all the work you are doing Moley - and it sounds like you have some excellent tools for the job! Well done!

[twoputtyrats]

 

Oh, and the radio's up, and was well tested last night with an easy-listening compilation of AC:DC, Def Leppard, Aerosmith, Extreme, Nickelback, Thin Lizzy and Rainbow. (Well, the neighbours all seemed to be out )

 

 

Perfect ....

 

I'm just totally gobsmacked at how much you have taken on and completed in the time... I'm feeling really lazy and extravagant paying someone to do it all - although I am planning to put up the odd shelf...

 

The feeling of sitting there with a hot bacon butty and a nicely chilled beer in your hand knowing that you totally made it possible must be awesome - I take my hat (If I ever wore one) off to you..

 

Makes me feel guilty...

 

SImon.

[Moley]

it really is a huge advantage having a workshop and storage away from the boat.

and it sounds like you have some excellent tools for the job! Well done!

I'm just totally gobsmacked at how much you have taken on and completed in the time... I'm feeling really lazy and extravagant paying someone to do it all

Well thanks again to everyone for the kind words, but I've got to come back on some of these comments and clarify things.

 

Workshop:

I have a cellar, about 10 x 12 feet, which houses a cheap contractors' type site-saw table saw, with a non-too-rigid table, a rip fence and no mitre or accessory slots. Also a 6-inch jointer, baby bandsaw, sliding compound chopsaw, quarter and half inch router tables, small pedestal drill, baby and industrial grinders. Also a chest freezer, wine rack and fifteen years' crap and clutter. There's not much room to manoeuvre, and everything has to be rearranged if I want to work with anything sizable.

 

Storage:

We have a Victorian double-fronted detached house, entered by a small hallway. Stick timber and sheet offcuts up to 8x2ft are stood up in the hall. To the right is our lounge, containing two sofas, coffee table, TV and hi-fi. To the left is a ‘sitting room’ containing two sofas, bookshelves, chest of drawers, computer station and tropical fish tank. Except you can hardly get in there, let alone ‘sit’, for flooring laminate, ash faced ply, boxes of stuff which should be on the boat but aren’t needed yet, power tools in cases which make the daily return trip to the boat (jigsaw, drill, cordless drill/driver etc.), and other assorted crap and clutter.

 

Through the lounge to dining room, dining table makes a useful surface for sanding and varnishing aforementioned ash faced ply. Alcove between a dresser and archway to kitchen is another useful timber store. Dining room also usually contains one or two ten-quid B&Q workmate benches and sundry power tools yet to be put away properly.

 

Through archway to kitchen, large floor area was useful for pre-painting pine deckhead T&G, but kitchen is now mostly clear, except for pots of screws, sash clamps and sundry hand tools yet to be put away properly.

 

So given the facilities at my disposal, I think I’ve probably done okay, though I sometimes consider myself a bit of a fraud when compared to the likes of Stuart, with all the fabrications he posted yesterday, and Yamanx with his welding and re-plating.

 

Having said that, when we bought this boat I didn’t envisage half of what lay in store for me. We wanted a boat but couldn’t afford much. I thought we’d got a bargain and she needed a complete but cosmetic re-fit. With hindsight, I think we paid the right price, and you all know how extensive the re-fit was to prove. The original intention was to buy cheap, refit on a sensible but not extravagant budget, use for a year or so, sell on at a profit and buy a sailaway. But with all the work I’ve done and what I’ve yet to complete, I now know every square inch of this boat, the location and function of every wire, pipe, switch and dial, and I have no desire to let anyone else have the benefit of all this while I start over again.

 

But it’s been a steep learning curve, and the best tool in my box, by far, has been this forum.

I may have gone on at times, and asked more than my fair share of stupid questions, but I would like to thank everyone for their tolerance and advice. I can do plumbing and woodwork, and could understand the internal 12 and 240v electrics, but the gas, mechanicals and automotive lectrix have been a different matter.

 

So I ask questions, lots of ‘em, and people on here have given answers or directed me to the information I needed. The lectrix is a prime example; I didn’t understand it or what I was doing, so I asked and dug and probed and read and asked some more until I fully understood. Then I went on and wired everything in the absolute certainty that when I turned everything on it would be safe and work first time.

 

In a nutshell, I dread to think what sorts of messes I’d have got in without this forum, so cheers

 

But if I do sell on at some point and start again, I reckon a sailaway would be a piece of cake

[Janet S]

But if I do sell on at some point and start again, I reckon a sailaway would be a piece of cake

 

 

... and if you do sell on, let us have first refusal!

 

Janet

[stuart]

So given the facilities at my disposal, I think I’ve probably done okay, though I sometimes consider myself a bit of a fraud when compared to the likes of Stuart, with all the fabrications he posted yesterday....

 

Moley, if it makes you feel any better I'm about as good at fabricating as I am at cake making ie. not very ! Just helps if your Dads been doing it for 40 years!

 

But if I do sell on at some point and start again, I reckon a sailaway would be a piece of cake.

 

Hey, don't steal my thunder!!

 

A sailaway just gives you different problems, and with the habbit of builders going bust at least buying a second hand boat gives you some security! A previously owned boat usually has all its teething problems sorted out as well

[alan_fincher]

But if I do sell on at some point and start again, I reckon a sailaway would be a piece of cake

Over the past year, I've been going various internal reworking of "Chalice".

 

Nothing on the scale of what Moley has attempted, I'd be the first to admit, but still seriously more man hours than I'd really like to own up to.

 

The advantage we have got out of buying a boat much of which was already fine, is that generally we have been able to make quite a bit of use of it, alongside working on improvements. Clearly that would not have been possible with a sailaway, or something requiring a complete refit.

 

The downside of doing it our way, is trying to work in very restricted spaces in an already largely fully fitted boat.

 

None more so than when remodelling the bathroom layout, as like many boats, the bathroom is small, right in the middle, and has fully fitted rooms either side of it.

 

I reckon the amount of time I spent carrying various timbers and boards on and off for cutting or planing outside, added to generally crawling around in very small spaces, probably made that kind of job take about 4 times longer than estimate.

 

Whilst I'd never underestimate the work in fully fitting a sailaway, I reckon that on the whole, I'd start at the back, and work forwards. Assuming some saloon space at the front, for most of the process I think I'd then have a relatively unobstructed work area on the boat, (and even a reasonable amount of storage).

 

But I reckon unless you are Superman or Superwoman, whatever work you do on a boat, new or old, will generally take you a lot longer than you think.

 

Currently rebuilding control panel area in engine room, prior to fitting some better boarding around engine, and hopefully then some better sound insulation. Not a lot of room in there either, so not currently getting anything done at any great speed .

[Moley]

An update seems overdue, and I’ve not posted any pics for a while.

 

Well, the fuel lines have been replaced, and I think it’s fair to say they were in a poor way, almost corroded through, fubard.

 

 

Other than that, work has resumed on the inside, when it’s not been too hot. I’m finally starting to cover up all that OSB (though someone has now told me that if it’s sanded and varnished it can look surprisingly effective - I’m not convinced). It makes such a difference getting some more tiles up and some of the ash faced ply.

 

 

But, I’ve been sidetracked again. OCM has been moaning about water pressure to the kitchen sink, among other things, and maybe I should also put an accumulator in, and a filter. Now while I might agree to all of these points, we differed on priorities. My thinking was “it’s in, it works, it could be improved, but I need to get some furniture built up front if we’re hoping to go away for a couple of weeks” whereas SWMBO thinks the water system needs sorting now, and the kids are fine sleeping on air beds.

 

Off topic: Notes on abbreviations used, as I’ve been asked by other readers:

OCM: Other Crew Member - Not a derogatory term, can be used by either sex to refer to spouse or partner.

SWMBO (ism) She Who Must (Might ) Be Obeyed - (ifit suits me)

FUBARD: F(oul)ed Up Beyond All Reasonable Doubt

 

So, as if there was any doubt, Little Miss Whingealot gets her way and the plumbing comes out.

Now for a graphic designer I’m a pretty damned good plumber, so the kitchen plumbing has been installed, followed by building in the cupboards, and thereby rendering most of the plumbing fairly inaccessible, ‘cos I knew it would work, so why should I need to mess with it?

 

Well with my perfect 20:20 hindsight, maybe putting the water pump under the kitchen cupboards wasn’t one of my brightest ideas.

 

Problem is, water pressure to bathroom is fine, those taps have full-bore 15mm copper plumbing, but pressure from kitchen taps is pathetic, in fact hot water flow is insufficient for the Morco to register that it needs to fire up. We bought a new kitchen sink, as the one that was in previously was a single bowl plus drainer, at home we’ve got a one-and-a-half bowl, and if we haven’t got one we miss the half bowl for peeling veggies or chucking dregs down when you’re washing up and find cups of cold tea still half full. So we bought a new sink from B&Q which came complete with waste plumbing and a new monobloc tap.

 

With these monoblocs, your 15mm plumbing is constricted through a flexible hose with probably no more than a 5mm bore to a 10mm screw connector. So I thought I’d change the flexi hose for copper tube, which still screws into the 10mm coupling, but constricts to a lesser degree and only for the last inch or so.

Oh, and while I’m on I may as well move the water pump, put in an accumulator and a filter.

So I’ve laminated the front wall and housed things inside the front steps.

 

 

 

... and I get everything re-positioned and re-connected, and open the stop tap from the water tank, and turn on the water pump, and it pressurises the accumulator, and I turn on the kitchen taps, and guess what - no chuffing difference whatsoever!

 

So at this point I’m well and truly SOPOANESFI (thanks to a mate for that one, stressed out, peed off and not even slightly f(lam)ing interested)

 

Off to B&Q for a look at taps, monobloc sink taps from £30 to £200 but all using 10mm connectors - sod this, I’m going home for lunch and I’ve got some spare taps there (I’ve mentioned the kitchen fitters’ skip before, well I’ve got a set of taps out of there some time ago, thinking they’re better than the ones in our utility at home, and never got around to fitting them). But they are deck-type taps, which use full-bore 15mm plumbing, and I’m not sure if I can drill our one-hole sink for two-hole taps. Oh, and Lynn says “we’ve still got the old monobloc taps that were originally on the boat, they worked okay, didn’t they?”

 

So back to the boat; no, I can’t drill for two-hole taps, so maybe B&Q have got some monobloc mixer bath taps that use bigger plumbing, but what the hell, might as well try that other set first. Turn everything off and drain down, remove taps, fit old monobloc to same plumbing, open stop tap, pressurise system, turn on kitchen taps and guess what - whoosh!!

 

How can two sets of taps, connected to the same plumbing, give such radically different flow rates?

 

Oh, and by the way, the water filter is currently by-passed as the water tank has got Milton in it, and I will be building a cupboard at the front, so it will be hidden but easily accessible, and there wasn’t room inside the steps for that too, and the steps will be oak clad. But the walls are definitely starting to look nicer.

 

[Bones]

once again, a fabulous read Moley - excellent piccies too which give a great impression of how you are hoping the boat will look in the end! I bet you are really chuffed to peices! Well done!