Bedroom Builder

For the bed I've raised it up from the level it originally was to fit more storage space underneath. I'm also moving it all forward a bit as it narrows a lot at the head end.

The frame is a pretty sturdy construction with a space to the right as an inspection hatch to access the hull. A set of drawers will go in the middle. I've never built drawers before so it will be an interesting little task.


The top is done with ply. Half inch ply is reasonably insulative but I'll probably add a layer of thin insulation and a felt cover to protect the mattress.


For the head board I've made a rounded one that accommodates the lower back nicely when sat in bed. I've found some scrap foam which should cover it nicely and then Clare can find a nice fabric to go over it. With the free foam the headboard has cost nothing to build as all the wood came from Jewsons' scrap wood pile.

Destroyer of bedrooms

The bedroom put up a fight but conceded to my destructive ways. Nothing was left except a bare floor and a very large water tank.


The floor boards were all taken up to check for rust and water. Under roofing felt, that I removed as it was pointless, there was a fair bit of old rust but old and bone dry. This is great and wont need treating (on advice from a local boat builder). The main aim is stopping the source of any more water which for the bedroom was all the bare metal that someone had not bothered to insulate! I applied a great insulation called SuperQuilt. I've also cut some inspection hatches so I can check for dampness in the hull. Shouldn't happen now I've plastered insulation everywhere...


The need for a bed is heavy on my mind and must start building one!

Another pic of the boat.

Englandshire

We've been back a while now.

Clare is busy with her design work, so much so she hasn't had a chance to get her own business started. Quieter times ahead will allow her to forge ahead with her identity and how her business works.

I'm still treading water a little, trying to move away from Software related work.

One big difference to our lives is where we live.We had looked for flats and houses around Bristol and were surprised at how expensive they were so looked into alternatives. The result of our search was an idea of living on a narrowboat. During our search we had a near miss with a 45 ft boat that the seller pulled out on us when we asked for a survey, very dodgy! Finally we found a 55ft boat called 'Enki' (we're open to a new name and at the moment, 'Mayfly' from Rob is the favourite so far). We've got lots to do as it used to be a holiday boat and to make it a live on board for us it'll need a new bedroom, kitchen, living room, and a study thrown in too.

We picked up the boat on Friday the 11th Sept. The journey to the mooring was absolutely great with such a relaxed feeling of tranquility when pootling along the canals. Included in the journey were the Caen Hill locks, known as "The Flight", this is where Clare became a lock gate ninja as she wasn't keen to navigate in and out of the locks.

It took until Monday to get from Devizes to Keynsham with the last night spent at a pub mooring that explicitly said "No Overnight Mooring!", it felt like we were in NZ where we camped where we shouldn't quite a few times.

The mooring is in an excellent setting on the Avon river with a large field to one side and the water on the other. It's a World away from our house in Bristol - so peaceful. We have electricity and a water source, just need to get the broadband sorted and we'll be all set except for the large amount of work needed on the boat...

Work has already started on the conversion of the boat from pleasure cruiser to live aboard. First up is the bedroom - a good night's sleep is important to carry on the rest of the work that needs doing! Rust is a major problem and insulation needs to be everywhere - if there is any metal showing moisture will condensate on it and then you get a rusty boat.

I'll endevour to keep this blog updated as we do regret not logging more of our house restoration a few years ago.

Here's some photos: http://s1002.photobucket.com/albums/af149/claredev/