Last day at Redhill

Well, the boat has been moved out of our workshop ready to go on the truck tomorrow. Everything's gone well today and the boat looks really nice. The interior is primed and undercoated and the ceiling/trim is top-coated in eggshell. The window liners are also coated in eggshell and look great around the large windows and portholes.

It will be great to see the boat in the water!

Electrics

The control panel is all wired in now. We've started putting socket faces in on the boat.

Painting

We've done the first two coats of paint on the interior, (these photos were taken after the first coat.) Now we're going to put up all of the trim on the walls and ceiling, and make the window piners before putting a final coat of paint on.

Changes

The interior walls are all lined, including the end bulkheads. We've started constructing the internal bulkheads today, and these will create the bathroom space.

Subfloor

The subfloor is made up of 16 sheets of 18mm ply.

Bubblewrap

We're putting double shell silver backed bubblewrap underneath the subfloor. Just started on that today.

Interior lining

We have just started lining out the interior walls. These are being sheeted with 12mm ply which will be painted. (43 sheets.)

Roof furniture

The roof vents are all temporarily in place, we've drilled and tapped the roof and attached them, but they can be removed for painting.

The ceiling is finished

We finished the ceiling the middle of last week. It has a total of 24 12 volt lights and two additional deck light (prisms) which are going to look amazing on a sunny day. We will clad the interior with a painted box.

Ceiling

We started putting up the ceiling yesterday. The tongue and groove has been treated with knotting solution, primed and painted in a white eggshell. Each strip is over 4 metres long and it takes 24 strips across the width of the boat.

Wiring

We have installed the 240 volt mains ring and the wiring for all of the 12 volt circuits, (lights, pumps, etc.)

We have done the lighting installation in blocks of four or six lights, some of which have double switching.

Sprayfoaming

The sprayfoaming was completed by Websters of Doncaster. We find the quickest way to trim back is with a wire cup brush on an angle grinder. This is quick but messy, (see our PPE pic above!)

Engine installation

We've used a reclaimed commercial vehicle silencer, which we've managed to fit (just) under the side deck! We had to fabricate adapters for each end to join the 1 1/2 inch regular exhaust.

The battery box with the first two batteries is in place. Note the cable tray on the left which will ensure a tidy wiring installation.

The engine is in place and has had its final alignment. It's now ready for electrics.

Sprayfoaming prep

We've taped up all of the battons to make it easier to get the sprayfoam off the wood for skinning the boat interior. The window recesses are covered with polythene to completely enclose the space, and all pipework is securely taped to prevent stray foam from getting where it shouldn't be.

Ballast

The boat has been ballasted with around 3000 bricks, laid in a double layer in the rear two thirds of the boat and single layers in the front third of the boat.

The workshop

The boat has been grit blasted and has now been moved into our workshop. We can get stuck in to working on the interior.

Engine installation

The engine fitting is established before the engine compartment is sprayed.

Battoning

The battoning has to be completed before the boat is sprayfoamed.

Steelwork

As the steelwork is nearing completion, Soar Valley Steel Boats are cutting out windows, portholes and vents.

The sides are on

The sides and roof are now on the boat, it's reinforced on the inside while adjustments are made. This week the windows have been cut out and the steelwork is nearly done.

The hull

The steelwork is underway. The boat is 11 foot 6 by 60 foot, so it will feel extremely spacious inside. The windows are large too, a combination of portholes and bu-style windows.