Bathroom sorted

At last the bathroom has been done. The old layout, with it's odd mini bath/ shower, felt very confined and we were sure better use of the space would be possible.

We removed the old shower and sink unit. I had a play with the water pumps so that there is now only one and it all takes up far less space. The walls are lined with plastic and the floor is fibre glass so a wet room really. The wet room floor also means that any water leaks with the pump or heater will be pumped straight out the boat instead of rusting up the bilge.

The pump out system is a sturdy tupperware box with a float switch, a few pipes and a breather hole to let the water into the box quicker (a late modification when I figured out why the water wasn't draining very well).

I've always fancied using layered ply to create a stripy effect with the edge of a surface so had a go with the sink-top and storage facia. A nice colour added on top gives a nice effect and adding the colour elsewhere had a nice continuity. The oversized tap is very useful for Clare when filling the porta potty, not just for bling...

Latest Photos

We've now fitted a floor and done a few more cosmetic touches so here's a couple of photos of how the boat is looking:


Still the flowery curtains live! Their demise is certain, just a matter of time...

Also a couple of photos of the outside of the boat. We're yet to do anything to the outside and will probably wait until next year now as the interior is taking a tad longer than we expected.


Bonus picture of duck and ducklings on our doormat:

Blacking the boat

Steel boats in water is quite a silly idea really: rust constantly threatens and chews away where it can. Keeping a dry hull is very important in staving off this problem. Blacking the outside of the hull with bitumen is another that we will do every two years now so we get a good, thick layer of protection.

We decided to go to Bristol to black the boat as it would be a nice trip and an interesting experience being in the center of the city:

Sadly we didn't get any photos of the lifting out as we were too busy worrying about the boat dropping into the water. 16 tons of boat being lifted into the air is quite impressive.

The top of the boat framed by the crane that lifted us out:


We were propped on a few stilts so that the boat was high enough in the air for us to work on comfortably. Me with body condom:

From our precarious position above the dock we had a fine view:

All done with 3 layers down:

We also took the opportunity to rename the boat, as is customary to do so while the boat is out of water. There is also something to do with a bottle of champagne and walking round the boat. We went for cider and only pouring a little on the boat as we were keen to drink it.

The levitating boat is named:

Totoro is a Japanese cartoon character - their version of Pooh Bear. He's a tree spirit that features in the film 'My Neighbour Totoro', a very nice film.

Lighter Brighter Nicer

It's been ages since the last post. Sorry old beans but I've been up to lots. Where we were last time was the kitchen was just being finished. That was a very long time ago so I'll have to build up to where we are now with a few retrospective blog posts.

As you can see from these old pictures the boat looks quite dark due to the amount of wood on the walls:


Also, there is so much wood that you don't really notice it as much - a case of not seeing the wood for the ash laminated ply. So we decided to put some paint down:



But then the remaining laminate on the ceiling looked even worse now that it had its whiter and brighter walls lighting it up so that needed a facelift. I tried to strip the old varnish off but the staining was too deep. We took the plunge, ordered some new ash laminate and set about replacing the ceiling:

The ceiling stripped and a layer of foiled bubblewrap added for extra insulation:


All foiled with ash laminate ready to go:



Ash laminate added using the old as templates for light fixtures and vents:


As you can see the tasteful flower curtains still live. Not for long but before their demise we have to black the bottom of the boat...

Looking for that toasty feeling - 2

Having switched the lounge area around there is definitely a better distribution of heat. Sadly there is still no heat towards the back of the boat or even the desk area behind the lounge. To rectify this problem we can either fit a back boiler system or try and move warm air to where we want it.

A backboiler consists of a stove with a space to heat water behind it. As the water is heated from the fire the hot water rises and enters a pipe system that runs the length of the boat in a loop with or without radiators. The system returns to the fire with the water having been cooled on its travels. This rotation of water is purely based on hot water rising. To buy a backboiler is quite an outlay and they can be dangerous if the water stops circulating so an alternative will be tried first.

To push warm air around there are fans available that can push the heat towards where you want it but I can't see this working effectively due to the length of the boat. I am planning a system that draws the heat away from the stove with low voltage fans. I'll fit the fans so heat is drawn into the desk area then into the bathroom and finally into the bedroom. There's an option to fit more early on so that the warm air pushed into a room isn't immediately drawn out again.

If the air system doesn't work then the backboiler will need to be considered.

Lounging around

The kitchen is coming on nicely with all the major appliances in place and structurally pretty much there with some tidying to do:




I've managed to use wood from other areas of the boat and have, as yet, not had to buy any. This method is great for saving money and lessening wastage but takes more time with preparation of the wood.

An old picture of how the kitchen was placed before and a photo of the aftermath:


The new lounge is probably twice the length of the old one thanks to 'the void' relinquishing its grasp on about 10 feet of wasted space. Removing the second toilet was a whole days work due the lack of access to the metal toilet tank protruding though the floor.


I learnt that buying more expensive, stainless steel cutting disks were worth the money after destroying 5 cheaper ones. I'm surprised I have all my fingers...

Clare modelling the space we have to play with after a little more alteration:


We found some furniture via a charity called Emmaus, a tough love christian charity that helps needy folk get back on track through work and strict rules. One seat wouldn't fit through the door so I lost a whole day deconstructing it and rebuilding it. The table we had was also a little too big so I trimmed it down to a more manageable size.


Still there is so much to do with lots of finishing and painting required. At least we have somewhere to sit and eat in comfort.

Here's a picture of the boat festooned with piles of wood under the tarps:

Kitchening 2

It's been all go for the last couple of weeks with major work towards putting the structures into place that will make the final spaces that we will live in. The kitchen is the major one:



A strange, hairy man came to help...