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...

Kitchening

Work has started on the rear of the boat. First up was sorting out the leaking calorifier (marine immersion heater that heats water with the engine or an electric heating element). Although not a serious problem I'm keen to have a dry hull - I'll sleep better at night. So the calorifier was removed revealing a fair amount of water but no corrosion once the grime was scraped back.



The hull was cleaned out and the rinsed out calorifier given a nice bed of insulation that will also catch any future leaks. On the left is the heating kit we've just got with lots of hot air ducting pipe that I need to install.


I also found some uninsulated metal, obvious with all the damp staining on the wood next to it. This was generously covered in insulation.


The hull around where I was going to build was also scraped out and dried, a job I'm doing as I go throughout the whole boat. The prepared area was then ready for some building:

The kitchen is going to be a galley type based on a boat we'd seen before, that we liked the look of. While I'm constructing the kitchen I'll keep the other as well so we can have a few comforts like cooked food.

Looking for that toasty feeling

Heating the boat jumped up the priority list a fair bit when we had a couple of cold mornings recently. There is no definitive way of heating a boat, on online forums there is no consensus as all boats are different as are the people that live on them.

The boat had a diesel burning water heater in the past with a few radiators down one side of the boat. Sadly this disappeared and I can only think it was sold - a similar unit costs nearly a grand - or it broke. So our options were open as to the heating plan.

In our opinion, after much research, wood is the greenest form of heat we could realistically implement on the boat. Thing is though they're not so great for cold mornings as they take a while to heat up. Also, in the summer we don't want the fire going and may want a quick warm up after a chilly night so another form of heat is needed. The most common are diesel burners which we're not a fan of but there is an option of using bio-diesel* with certain burners.
After much deliberation an air heater was best suited to our needs: quick to heat up, compatible with bio diesel products, and a drying heat to help get rid of condensation.

The rest of the heating will rely on a wood burner, which we have already. The problem is it points the wrong way and heats the arse end of the boat only. To heat the whole boat we'll need to turn it round with the surround pointing towards the rear of the boat to reflect heat in the right direction. To do this we're going to swap the kitchen with the lounge...

*Bio diesel from renewable sources, not produced by countries that chop down forests to produce it.

Drawers

Are a pain in the arse. Especially so when nothing lines up which not much does on the boat. Spirit level is out the window when the boat lists to the left a bit. Sooo, lots of trial and error, fuzzy logic, and swearing later...


There's a fair bit of storage now and I'll probably fit some temporary handles and leave the drawers as they are for the moment as we're not totally sure what the decor should look like yet. There is also the more pressing issue of Clare's desk and work area!

This should be a relatively simple task... Ha, of course it won't! Electricity will throw up a few problems as running multiple 240 volt appliances through an inverter will burn it (£900), plus the shower is next to the desk area so here's hoping it's sealed ok. Whatever 'das boot' throws at me it's all good as it's work on our own house - albeit a floating one with no space to swing a cat.

Also found a leak around the water filler fitting, which is dandy as I was wondering where the water staining was coming from! So, off it came:


Some brushing, treatment, painting, and silicone later a rust free, water tight water filler:


My days spent derusting the mini were good experience! I'll fit some screws in later but the silicone will do better than the lumps of rust it was held on with before.

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.