Kennet and Avon. Looking for somewhere to do my fit-out.

[stegra]

So. I've got my boat ordered and now need to decide where to do the fit-out, ideally somewhere along the K&A or Avon with the facility to lift in when complete, or anywhere in the south from where a 12' widebeam can cruise to K&A (not really down the Severn though). I intend to spend three months solid on it this summer, living in a campervan on site or nearby.

 

I have the option of doing it for free in the yard of an urban industrial unit but that doesn't really fit with my idyllic fantasy of how this was going to pan out. I realise it may cost more to rent the space than to arrange transportation but that's ok within reason.

 

Grateful for any suggestions.

[Murflynn]

I did my fit-out in Bristol Marina. Plenty of local suppliers like Robbins timber, the usual DIY outlets, Force 4 chandlery on the premises.

When I did mine there were plenty of folk in similar situations, fitting out, living on and maintaining their boats. Boatlift on the premises. Charges about £500 per month.

 

It is not a rural idyll, but it is a pleasant community with lovely views across the harbour to Hotwells.

[stegra]

That's interesting. I live in Bristol anyway so know my way around for materials etc. Never occurred to; thought it would be busy with 'serious' boaty types. Thanks

[dmr]

There's a big yard on the Avon, near Keynsham?, with on site crane. Cant think of anywhere on the canal section that does hard standing, but there is Aldermaston on a canalised section of the Kennet. Might be easier to do the fit out in the water then you will get your full on boating fantasy but will also have full on mooring fees (or CCing hassle) and some marinas don't allow major works. Talk to Caan Hill if you are considering this option. A few brave souls live on the boat whilst fitting out, bit of foam and a sleeping bag, portable gas cooker and a portapotti then gradually increase your level of comfort as you progress, a big incentive to get the job done?.

 

..............Dave

[stegra]

There's a big yard on the Avon, near Keynsham?, with on site crane. Cant think of anywhere on the canal section that does hard standing, but there is Aldermaston on a canalised section of the Kennet. Might be easier to do the fit out in the water then you will get your full on boating fantasy but will also have full on mooring fees (or CCing hassle) and some marinas don't allow major works. Talk to Caan Hill if you are considering this option. A few brave souls live on the boat whilst fitting out, bit of foam and a sleeping bag, portable gas cooker and a portapotti then gradually increase your level of comfort as you progress, a big incentive to get the job done?.

 

..............Dave

 

That's RLL at Keynsham. I went to see them about the shell but the lead time was a quite long and probably would have had to fit-out in the winter. Price was right at the top of my budget as well, although you could see what the money was paying for. It's a consideration but not sure it's much more comfortable there than the pet food warehouse. He might not want me anyway after I went elsewhere but he quoted £400+ pcm for yard space so it's still business for him.

 

Don't much fancy doing it afloat. Being able to use a spirit level and not having sheet materials suddenly throw themselves upon me seems a more comfortable option. I think the fear of financial ruin will be quite enough incentive to get the job done. I'll see what I can find out about Aldermaston. Thanks.

[dmr]

£400 pcm is £4800pa which I think is rather more than most moorings (not sure as have not had one for a fair few years now).

A lot easier to carry stuff on and off the boat if you don't have to climb a ladder, and some would say a spirit level is not a good tool for boat fitting. If you do fit out on land do leave access to the under-floor so that you can adjust ballast when you go into the water.

 

...............Dave

[stegra]

Yeah. I'm going to be working on it full time so the rent won't be for too long I hope. If it was a weekend and evening thing I probably wouldn't consider a boatyard. Just thought it'd be good if I could get away with transporting only once before all the weight goes in and then be lifted straight in. It's shell only so needs to on land initially.

[MtB]

When I was in Thames and Kennet Marina at Reading a number of boaters there were fitting out their sailaways.

 

Surprising really, given TingDene marinas tend towards the posh side.

[manxmike]

Back in the nineties I re-fitted a friends boat whilst it was in the water. I left the white goods in place, but everything else got stripped out and replaced (or re-used). It took me a week of working about ten or twelve hours a day - I had to set an alarm to remind myself to stop for sustenance!

Great sense of achievement when finished!

[stegra]

Back in the nineties I re-fitted a friends boat whilst it was in the water. I left the white goods in place, but everything else got stripped out and replaced (or re-used). It took me a week of working about ten or twelve hours a day - I had to set an alarm to remind myself to stop for sustenance!

Great sense of achievement when finished!

 

Blimey! A week! That's some going. I'm anticipating three months solid as a minimum. Though two months of that is likely to be head scratching.

[Murflynn]

I think you are being realistic at 3 months, if you plan on doing a proper job.

 

no way can a proper fit-out be done in 80 hours as suggested.

[ditchcrawler]

 

Blimey! A week! That's some going. I'm anticipating three months solid as a minimum. Though two months of that is likely to be head scratching.

Have you ever done this before, if not you could be surprised just how long things take.

[stegra]

Have you ever done this before, if not you could be surprised just how long things take.

 

I did a motorhome (seen here) about six years ago and I was surprised how long things took. I've been renovating houses, fitting kitchens and bathrooms etc. for over 25 years. It was quite a shock doing the van because a complete remodel of a large kitchen including strip back to brick, all new services, RSJs, shaped hardwood worktops etc. would probably take no more than a month. The van took several months and was certainly more technically challenging than anything else I've done. There was literally less than one inch of insulation under floor in which to run services including waste pipes. Weight was a key factor too as well as the concern of everything handling cornering and braking stresses.

 

Obviously, there was no drive system to worry about and I'm probably not helping myself by going for electric drive, but overall I don't expect the boat to be significantly more difficult.

[Old Son]

The van looks great. Nice quality finish.

[Murflynn]

+1.

 

quality job :- un-fussy, simple and well executed

[MtB]

 

 

Obviously, there was no drive system to worry about and I'm probably not helping myself by going for electric drive, but overall I don't expect the boat to be significantly more difficult.

 

 

I'd say no not more difficult, but quite likely to be more time consuming unless you can get your van right up close to the boat. If you end up having to park 100 yards away from the mooring then the endless trips to the van to get <whatever> will eat into the time, as will carrying materials from van to boat.

 

The people doing it in T&K marina seemed to take about a year to do one when I was moored there, observing.

[stegra]

 

 

I'd say no not more difficult, but quite likely to be more time consuming unless you can get your van right up close to the boat. If you end up having to park 100 yards away from the mooring then the endless trips to the van to get <whatever> will eat into the time, as will carrying materials from van to boat.

 

The people doing it in T&K marina seemed to take about a year to do one when I was moored there, observing.

 

That's a fair point. I was a the point of settling for the warehouse yard but I've now realised that by ordering 50' vat exempt rather than the more expensive 45' with vat, it won't fit. I guess the distance of van to boat is something I hadn't considered much. Pretty determined to do it on hard-standing so probably not such an issue as afloat. Three months (full-time) is the target to get it livable rather than absolutely complete. I suspect most owner fitted live-aboards are never completely finished.

[ditchcrawler]

 

That's a fair point. I was a the point of settling for the warehouse yard but I've now realised that by ordering 50' vat exempt rather than the more expensive 45' with vat, it won't fit. I guess the distance of van to boat is something I hadn't considered much. Pretty determined to do it on hard-standing so probably not such an issue as afloat. Three months (full-time) is the target to get it livable rather than absolutely complete. I suspect most owner fitted live-aboards are never completely finished.

Is this a Narrowboat you are doing at zero rated VAT

[stegra]

Is this a Narrowboat you are doing at zero rated VAT

 

No, 12 foot wide. They're raising the gunwales a bit to meet compliance, which is what I wanted anyway.

 

 

 

Thanks for the comments about the van above btw. I didn't notice those earlier.

[MtB]

 

That's a fair point. I was a the point of settling for the warehouse yard but I've now realised that by ordering 50' vat exempt rather than the more expensive 45' with vat, it won't fit. I guess the distance of van to boat is something I hadn't considered much. Pretty determined to do it on hard-standing so probably not such an issue as afloat. Three months (full-time) is the target to get it livable rather than absolutely complete. I suspect most owner fitted live-aboards are never completely finished.

 

 

The ideal situation is with ther boat in the water and van at the waterside. IF you do it on the hardstanding the endless climbs up and down the ladder to get ion and out of the boat will drive you to distraction too. If you do it on the hard, I suggest you construct a proper timber staircase you can run up and down and safely carry large items up and down rather than rely on ladders leaning against the boat.

[bargemast]

Hello stegra, your campervan conversion is really most impressive, you've done a very good job there, thanks for the link.

 

If I can find the energy, and the time (read money), I hope to make my old Renault Master L3H2 van into a very basic "Stealth Camper", which isn't going to look the slightest bit like yours, but if I manage to do it, it will make me happy anyway.

 

If you make your widebeam as nice as your van, it's going to be a stunning boat, hope you'll do a vlog about the build, to make many of us jealous.

 

Don't make the mistake of using a spirit level, as normally a boat won't be level, and is (if all is well) deeper at the stern than at the bows.

 

Have a look at a few wide beam boats that are in the water with people living on them, and ask if you can messure the difference in draft of bow and stern of their boats, although they could most likely tell you what it is without having to messure.

 

The values will change (less on a widebeam than on a NB) between the draft bow and stern, with changing levels in fuel-and watertanks.

 

Good luck,

 

Peter.

Edited January 13, 2017 by bargemast

[Murflynn]

 

 

The ideal situation is with ther boat in the water and van at the waterside. IF you do it on the hardstanding the endless climbs up and down the ladder to get ion and out of the boat will drive you to distraction too. If you do it on the hard, I suggest you construct a proper timber staircase you can run up and down and safely carry large items up and down rather than rely on ladders leaning against the boat.

Of course at most convenient locations there is no choice; marinas for example will not let you do construction work except when the boat is on the hard.

 

I agree about access - when doing my widebeam I developed new muscles from constantly hauling myself up using a stool and then heaving up on the stern railings.

[stegra]

Hello stegra, your campervan conversion is really most impressive, you've done a very good job there, thanks for the link.

 

If I can find the energy, and the time (read money), I hope to make my old Renault Master L3H2 van into a very basic "Stealth Camper", which isn't going to look the slightest bit like yours, but if I manage to do it, it will make me happy anyway.

 

If you make your widebeam as nice as your van, it's going to be a stunning boat, hope you'll do a vlog about the build, to make many of us jealous.

 

Don't make the mistake of using a spirit level, as normally a boat won't be level, and is (if all is well) deeper at the stern than at the bows.

 

Have a look at a few wide beam boats that are in the water with people living on them, and ask if you can messure the difference in draft of bow and stern of their boats, although they could most likely tell you what it is without having to messure.

 

The values will change (less on a widebeam than on a NB) between the draft bow and stern, with changing levels in fuel-and watertanks.

 

Good luck,

 

Peter.

 

Thank you, Peter. And thanks for the tips as well.

 

I hadn't really thought about the floor being out of level when afloat. I would still anticipate placing internal walls perpendicular to the floor though. Is this not normally the case? It would seem an unnecessary complication to have to deal with angles when fitting kitchen and bathroom etc. I think access all round, steady footing and closer parking is a fair trade-off for having to climb a few steps.

 

I managed get get a much earlier build slot than I anticipated for the boat so it's absolute panic stations now. I couldn't refuse because everything felt right and it meant I could do the build in the summer so warm and long days. The next available slot was several months later. I did the van over the winter and it was truly miserable. I'm pretty confident about doing the living space part of the boat; it's the boaty stuff that I'm a bit clueless about... obviously a major drawback! The next few months are going to involve a lot of learning.

 

If you do decide to do your van, I very much recommend joining SBMCC. It's £15/year but the shear amount of information and the knowledge and enthusiasm of the members is incredible. There's no way mine would have turned out as it did without their help.

[bargemast]

Hello again stegra,

 

the Van conversion that looks like what I would like to do to mine, is more or less what a Young Englishman did a couple of years ago.

 

I bought his book that I'm reading over and over again, mainly because I really like his quite simple and basic fit-out solutions.

 

In case you would like to know what he did : http://vandogtraveller.com/

 

You are doing what an other forum member (who has become a friend), has done in the past, he started with the conversion of an old ambulance that he made into a smashing motorhome.

 

A couple of years later he bought a widebeam hull, just an open hull, of which he first had to finish the steelwork, no problem for him being a Professional welder, and after that he fitted her out at least as good as the best boatbuilders manage to do.

 

I'm sure that you can find lots of very interesting information that could be useful for your fit-out, if you read his blogs with lots of photos :

 

http://kevskamper.blogspot.fr/ and the gorgeous widebeam "Avalon" : http://boatbuildblog.blogspot.fr/

 

Peter.

[MtB]

 

Thank you, Peter. And thanks for the tips as well.

 

I hadn't really thought about the floor being out of level when afloat. I would still anticipate placing internal walls perpendicular to the floor though. Is this not normally the case? It would seem an unnecessary complication to have to deal with angles when fitting kitchen and bathroom etc.

 

 

 

I've always believed my boat has the bulkheads etc constructed perpendicularly to the baseplate, but having just checked, no it doesn't. To my surprise they are all roughly vertical!

The galley units are square to the floor though, with tapered fillets where they meet bulkheads. And the worktops slope down towards the stern parallel with the baseplate.