On Schedule !

Week 9

We didn't go to the boat on either Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but we weren't completely idle on the former day. We went to B & Q and bought some 18mm x 18mm softwood strips. These will form the supports for the cover for the service trough that we intend to run behind the bottom of the cabin side panels and in front of the top of the hull side panels. The day before we'd measured the angle between the two panels and, on Christmas Eve we cut one of the strips to that angle. That strip went with us on Boxing Day to make sure it would fit, before we cut all the rest.

Tuesday

All three family members journeyed to the boat (and a reasonably deserted boatyard) on Boxing Day. However, although we were awake long before sunrise, we delayed our journey to avoid arriving too early and disturbing those who had no real reason to be up and about. We arrived just before ten and soon had the car unloaded and the heater lit in the boat. Planned jobs were to:

fit some foil insulation to the metal work surrounding the windows
test fit the sample softwood strip mentioned above
cut and fit the softwood strips on the hull side panels - as these were to be left square
cover any other bare metal with spray foam insulation
carry on fitting the cabin side panels on the port side

Good progress on most of these should have been possible as there were three of us beavering away.

The test fit of the angled softwood strip was successfully completed within the first few minutes. One job down, four to go. The youngest family member set about the task of fitting the insulation to the areas around the windows. She was using a foil based insulation that is supposed to be the equivalent of one inch of polystyrene. Its been used successfully in her garden shed to help keep the place warm during the winter days so that her cat can be more comfortable in there if she chooses to use the shed. Our reason for using it is to simply cover the bare metal and thereby limit the condensation in this area.

The vertically challenged fitter's mate set to with the can of spray foam insulation, trying to cover the bare metal on the inside of the angle used to strengthen the hull sides. The object of the exercise here was again to stop condensation by sealing any gaps that might allow air to get to the metal. We removed the front three hull side panels, one at a time, to enable the spraying to proceed - not an easy job when you're spraying upwards. Despite dampening the surrounding foam and the bare metal, the foam that we were spraying kept dropping. We attempted to return it to its original position with only a limited amount of success. In the end we seemed to fair better by spraying just a small amount and then leaving it for about 15 minutes and then adding some more. Unfortunately, we didn't hit on this idea until we were working on the area behind the third panel, by which time the can was almost empty. As we'd only brought one can of spray foam we had to call a halt to this task and the sprayer then set to and assisted with the installation of the foil insulation around the windows.

While this was going on, the fitter was cutting the first hull side panel on the port side, a panel that was just over 7ft long. This is in the vicinity of the stove and, behind the panel, the proposed location for the gunwale mounted water tank filler. The filler will have a flexible (hose) connection to the plastic pipe that will take the water to the tank. By shortening the panel, it will be possible to provide easier access to that connection for maintenance because we'll only need to remove this shortened panel to get to the filler.

There was slight evidence of the panel bowing when the two parts went back, so an extra row of screws was added, midway between gunwale and floor to keep the panels close to the battens. This extra row of screws will be fitted to all the hull side panels, as they are re-secured, after the gaps in the foam have been filled.

Some of our colleagues at the boatyard had gathered together on Monday to share a Christmas feast. As always, there was ample food and some still remained on Boxing Day. We were invited to join them in continuing their festivities, and this extended our lunch time stop quite considerably, by the time that we'd done our share of clearing up.

After lunch we replaced the initial cabin side panel on the port side of the boat. The original panel was too high and couldn't be re-positioned because it had been cut to fit around the window, The panel needed to be replaced as we wanted the lower edge of the port side panels to be at the same height as those on the starboard side.

The two fitter's mates had, by now, finished installing the foil insulation and were looking for something else to do. They were given the job of fitting the unmodified strips of softwood to the tops of the hull side panels. Meanwhile, the fitter had finished working on the previously erected panels and started on a new cabin side one. He'd just measured the panel for the correct depth when the end of his tape broke off, causing the tape to disappear into the case at an alarming rate of knots.

It would have been almost impossible to reliably carry on with no tape measure to measure things accurately. As it was just going dark we decided to have an early night, so we packed up, cleaned up, loaded the car and headed for home, where we arrived just after 5pm. Alas, this was too late to get to Wickes for more foam and a new tape, so an early start will be needed tomorrow. The two fitter's mates have planned a shopping expedition for Wednesday, so the fitter is going to the boat on his own. However, he will be joined by a work colleague who is keen to help.

Wednesday

Without wishing to sound sexist, Where can you find the two fitter's mates on the day after Boxing Day? Why, at the Sales, of course! And so it came to pass that the fitter kept his hands on most of his money and went to the boat on his own - via Wickes (who hadn't got a sale on)!

It took a little longer to get the tools onto the boat with only one person to unload the car. Nonetheless, a quick start was made as soon as the tools were on the boat and the heater lit - the kettle was put on! There was some re-arrangement of panels while the kettle was brought to the boil. This was to facilitate the initial round of spray foaming. The plan being to remove some panels, spray some foam and, whilst it started to set, remove some more panels. By the time the second batch of panels had been removed, the initial foam would be set enough to take a top-up coat, to catch the bits not covered with the first coat. And the initial application could be made where the second batch of panels had been removed.

The final lot of panels could then be removed and the whole process repeated. As can probably be believed, we managed to empty the second can of foam with very little area still requiring to be sprayed. Fortunately we had bought a third can and this was opened. The second can wouldn't seal properly when the applicator's trigger was released and a lot of foam was wasted as a result. Even though we didn't expect to use all of the third can, this can also had the same problem and we lost a load more. We've found from bitter experience that there is no point in trying to keep the cans after the day that they're opened and even leaving intervals of a few minutes between uses is a bit dodgy. Nonetheless we managed to fill all the voids that we could find with the three cans that we'd bought.

The last lot of spraying was being carried out just as the fitter's work colleague had arrived. As a consequence the spraying was done whilst the kettle was brought to the boil, again! With all the spraying complete, including top-up applications, all the hull side panels could be re-secured.

The next task was to fit the unaltered softwood strips onto the tops of the hull side panels. An ordinary battery drill couldn't be used on the starboard side because the cabin panels were in position and blocking access. We'd already had to lower the upper fixings on the hull side panel so that we didn't need to remove the cabin side panels to get to the screws (in the hull side panels). Fortunately, the visiting labourer saved the day. He had brought an extension bar that could be used to get the drill and screwdriver bits into the softwood strips at a slight angle, avoiding the need to remove the cabin side panels.

Fitting the strips took a couple of hours as all the strips needed cutting and several screws to secure them in place, The job was also interrupted by lunch and a few visits from friends and colleagues from the boatyard who called to see what further progress had been made.

Although we'd used a spacer template resting on the floor to set the height of the strips, we discovered that we'd not ended up with a straight line. This tends to indicate that the floor isn't flat and we may yet need to lift the floor panel(s) to try and find out why.

With all the strips secured, and little wood left over, attention then turned to the remaining cabin side panels on the port side. The first job was to cut and fit the large panel between the first window and the side hatch. Then we added the narrower panels above and beneath the first window. The we came to the hatch. We recycled the panel that had originally been used as the first one on the port side. We cut it to fit between the battens on either side of the hatch and then tried to decide how best to get an accurate cut around what would eventually be the opening.

We started by taking a straight edge and laying it across the two horizontal edges of the hatchway, for we were able to mark the position of the straight edge on the battens. We could then transfer the marks to the panel and we'd have a line to cut to. However, we couldn't do this with the verticals because there were no horizontal battens for us to mark. We pondered for a while and arrived at was was the only realistic solution.

We screwed the panel into place having first unsecured the hatch. With temperatures outside hovering around freezing, we ventured outside in the pitch black and walked along the gunwale clutching torches in hands or in mouths. We opened the hatch and, using a pencil and a square, marked the position of the opening on the reverse side of the panel. We then closed the hatch and retreated back into the light and warmth of the cabin were we unscrewed the panel, connected up all our marks and now had the necessary lines to cut to. A few minutes with the jigsaw and the opening was cut. We offered the panel up and, satisfied that the hole was in the right place, screwed the panel into position.

By now it was approaching 5.30pm and we had to decide what to do next. We both had a distance to drive home and attempting to fit another panel would probably take anything up to another hour, by the time we'd swept up. So we decided to call time for the day, sweep up, pack up, lock up and go home. Standing at the rear of the boat, looking forward, we decided that it was at last beginning to look like a boat, as the picture on the left shows.

Thursday

We took pity on our friends and colleagues and refrained from starting out when we awoke - at 3.30am! After a number of days when the daytime temperature hovered just above freezing, the outside temperature at this time of day was already nine degrees (celsius). Needless to say, it was to be a few hours before we sampled this warmth, preferring instead to make a cup of tea and to sit and read some back issues of canal and inland waterways magazines. Our attention was drawn to one article therein. A couple had recently taken delivery of their new boat and had moved it to its future moorings while they waited their turn for the boat to be fitted out, something that they said would take just six weeks. Where are we going wrong?

We had promised to do some budgie sitting whilst the owner was in hospital. We had to await a more appropriate hour before we could collect the bird, so our subsequent departure towards the boat was around 9am. Fortunately, the roads a quiet due to the holiday period and we made good time. We soon had the car unloaded and the heater lit in the boat. However, because the fitter was accompanied by the vertically challenged fitter's mate, tea breaks are rationed, so there was no rush to put the kettle on!

Instead, we buckled down to work straight away. The day's jobs were to try to complete all but the last small piece of cabin side panelling on the port side of the boat. The last piece will need to wait until we've fitted the lining on the back wall of the cabin as there aren't any battens to support the side wall panel.

We didn't get too many interruptions, nor did we stop for any great periods of time, except for lunch. However, it still took us best part of six hours to fit four panels and the strips above and below one window. The worst panel to fit was the large one at the back. Not only does this require cutouts for portholes at each end, but the upper edge curves upwards towards the rear, in the same way as its opposite side number does. However, unlike the starboard side panel in the same relative position, we didn't spend too much time measuring where the upper edge had to go. Instead we used the piece that we'd cut off of the starboard side equivalent panel as a template and cut to this. It wasn't an exact match, mainly due to the differences in how the foam was originally sprayed. Nonetheless, it fits the space but we recognise that we may need to re-position it slightly when we add the small panel at the rear.

It was just after 4pm when we finished the side panels. The afternoon cuppa that followed was taken on the hoof - you can see what a slave driver the vertically challenged fitter's mate is! There was a temptation to have an early night but, as we won't be there on Friday - due mainly to the need to visit the dentist - we decided to press on.

We'd ordered two additional sheets of 12mm plywood as part of the second shipment. These two sheets were intended to be for the end panels, two at each end, either side of the relevant doors. The time had come, we decided, to tackle the end panels. However, closer inspection and even closer measuring revealed that all four end panels could just be obtained from of one sheet of plywood. Having ascertained this we transferred a suitable sheet of 12mm plywood from our stock pile onto the sawhorses, face down.

The first task was to cut the panel in half, lengthways. Then we measured (and re-measured) all the dimensions for the port side front wall panel. The lower part of the panel has two parallel sides, up to gunwale level where the panel width reduces by almost four inches. The outside edge then slopes for all but the last couple of inches of the remaining length. Finally, the is another slight narrowing of the panel before the top side is sloped (downwards) to accommodate the roof. Fortunately, there's no need to follow the roof shape as this join will be covered by trim. It is even more fortunate, because this means that the remainder of that half of the sheet will just fit the rear cabin wall.

The end wall panels will also provide the means to support some bearers that the side panels can be screwed into as the original corner battens can only be used by the side or the end panels, not both. With the end panel cut to size we offered it up and secured it briefly. We were then able to mark where the side panel alignment was. The end panel was then removed and the bearers fitted. The side panels now had to be removed so that the end panel and attached bearers could be re-fitted. The two side panels were then re-fitted, with the end panel in place, and screws into the new bearers added.

By now it was almost 6pm and time to pack up, brush up and load the car for the journey home, in the knowledge that we wouldn't be at the boat again at least until Saturday.

Friday

Friday was D-Day - as in D for dentist! The fitter had lost a filling about half an hour after the dentist closed for Christmas and had had to wait until now for an appointment to have it replaced. Luckily, all the tooth needed was a quick clean by the dentist and then the filling was replaced. No needle and, more importantly, no need to pay - it was replaced under warranty!

The dentist's appointment has virtually nothing to do with the boat, save that it provided an excuse to have a day's rest. Well, almost. The 12v light fittings recently purchased from Screwfix need 54.5mm diameter holes in the ceiling. A quick search of the generally available hole cutters could only reveal 57mm diameter items. Holes this size are too large because the screw fixings in the lights are on a very narrow flange so the ceiling holes need to be as close a fit as is possible.

Part of Friday was spent experimenting with two hole cutting devices that we already have. One comprises a drill bit that passes through an horizontal bar (and is bolted to that bar), Either side of the drill bit are two vertically mounted cutters that can be positioned as required to give the right diameter. We tried this in the bench drill, on an 18mm thick plywood offcut. The resultant hole was clean but the thought of this device spinning for all it is worth was slightly worrying. We didn't try it in a cordless drill and, thus, don't know if said drill would provide enough power to cut the hole in the boat's 9mm plywood.

Next came a kind of hole saw. This device, not new, but hardly used, comprises several cutters of various diameters that lock onto a central arbour. Each cutter has a specific diameter with the unwanted ones being removed, leaving the one required to cut desired size hole. The size options vary by about 6mm between each pair of blades. The nearest size available was 57mm and, as we thought, this was far too large. Even though we cut halfway through the plywood from each side, the blade still jammed a couple of times. This hole saw is clearly not suitable in this instance.

Our third option, and yet to be tried, is to make a wooden template with a suitable size hole that can then be used with a router and guide bush. The template would be clamped to the ceiling panel over the hole position, the router fitted with appropriate bit and guide bush and then the router plunged and the hole cut using two or three gradually increasing depth settings. We hope that readers realise that we'd plan to take the ceiling panels down before we cut the holes! We'll probably liberate an offcut of plywood from the boat and bring it home to experiment.

Saturday

We didn't rush to get to the boat, arriving just after ten o'clock. Even though the vertically challenged fitter's mate was in the team (of two) we decided that, having unloaded the car, there was little point in getting stuck into something and then stopping within a few minutes for the morning brew up. Instead, we made a drink and started work while the tea cooled slightly.

We'd left the boat on Thursday having just fitted the panelling to the port side front cabin wall. This had left us with the remains of the half sheet from which the fitted panel had been cut. The leftover piece was going to become the panelling for the starboard side rear cabin wall.

We started the day's efforts by measuring up the size of this panel and transferring the information to the plywood. Then, armed with jigsaw and down-cutting blade, we cut the panel to shape. We offered the panel up and found that we needed to remove yet more foam to get the panel to rest firmly on the battens. We then had to remove further foam to provide space for the switch patress that the panel will be fitted with. We lost count of the number of times that we lifted the panel up and down! That number increased further because the panel is shaped to fit around part of the hatch opening. It took several attempts to trim the panel to get a nice tight fit.

We then had to add a batten to the front face of the (back) panel to provide support for the rear edge of the back (side) panel. However, before we could add this batten, we had to cut the back side panel roughly to size so that we could see where the batten needed to be fitted.

With the back panel now fitted to the rear cabin wall, we could finish off the back side panel. This panel needed the top edge to be shaped to match the slope of the roof. It also required the cutout for the rear porthole. Both were quickly achieved as the roughly cut panel was small enough to be easily manoeuvered into position to mark all the relevant cut locations. The completed panel was soon fitted into place.

By now it was lunch time, fortunately! As we sat in the boat surveying all that we've achieved so far, we noticed that the bottom edge of the back side panel was not in line with the remaining side panels. After lunch we corrected this by trimming the panel in situ, using the jigsaw.

Before we finally left this area of the boat for the time being, we decided that we needed to support the butt joints between the sheets of plywood above and below the porthole apertures. We initially cut some strips of 12mm thick plywood from one of the offcuts but found that this was too thick to fit between the back side of the plywood and the foam over the metal braces on the cabin sides. Fortunately, 9mm thick plywood didn't have the same problem, so we cut strips of this thickness. We positioned the strips behind the wall panels so that they spanned the joins and then we screwed the panels to the strips. It is amazing what a difference this made to the appearance!

We now turned our attention to the starboard side front cabin wall panel. We'd had a slight deviation from a totally straight cut when we'd cut the original 8x4 plywood sheet in two lengthways. This meant that we were only able to use the second piece in one specific orientation because we needed the full width of the plywood at the bottom of the wall. The plywood sheet has some nice markings that needed to be matched on both sides of the front doors. We thought that we'd achieved this until we looked at the picture below and realised that those markings were almost in the middle of the sheet. Although we'd still got the markings, it was clear that we'd had to cut the panel upside down, so the markings are not in line on both panels.

The picture to the right shows a collection of wires suspended from the ceiling. Some of these are for the internal light switches, some for the radio and the remainder for the horn and exterior light circuits. We guessed that we'd probably have trouble with these so, for trial fitting of the plywood panel we opted to have some of these wires over the front of the panel. This showed us that we needed to attack the foam once again so that the panel could be screwed to the batten. We also needed to remove the front cabin and hull side panels as, once the front panel was fitted in place, we'd need to fix battens to that, to support the front edges of the side panels.

We'd soon got the front panel cut to shape and the cutout for the light switch patress also cut. That was the easy part! It must have taken us about thirty minutes to fit the panel because we couldn't seat the panel on the battens as the foam under the wires was too thick. We had to keep offering the panel up, decide where we needed to trim, remove the panel and then trim the foam, something that isn't easy on a flat surface, between battens and underneath a collection of wires! We had to position the wires correctly and make sure that they weren't trapped between panel and battens each time we offered the panel up. The fitter was getting quite irritable by the time we'd got a decent fit. What he called spray foam can only be imagined!

The bad news, as far as we're concerned is that this panel has to come down again for three reasons. Firstly, one of the vents that we need to fit in the front of the cabin is to go behind this panel. We're planning to copy Graham Booth's idea and have the vent fitted behind the cupboard that will be in the front corner of the saloon. The plywood panel over the vent will remain intact, and the incoming air will by funnelled down behind the panel and either under the floor or into the saloon through a vent that will be positioned in the front face of the plinth upon which the cupboard will stand. This idea is supposed to reduce the severity of the draft from the incoming air.

The other reasons for the panel to be removed are that we will need to drill holes in the cabin sides for the wiring to external lights, etc. We don't intend to do this until the painting is about to start. And then there's the wiring for the radio. That will need to be passed through the panel, once we have a better idea of the height of the cupboard into which the radio will be fitted.

Anyway, with the front panel in place we could mark out the position of the battens that needed to be added to support the side panels. The fitter was beginning to get a bit tired by now because he started to make silly mistakes, not thinking before he drilled holes. As a result we ended up with three unnecessary holes - fortunately all will be hidden by the side panels. Eventually we got it right and had the front panel more firmly fixed, the battens for the side panels added and the side panels re-fitted.

By now it was 5.15pm and, as we were going out for a meal with friends, we decided to clean up, pack up, load the car and get changed. We didn't think that dirty overalls were appropriate attire for a restaurant.

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