The fit-out at Sandhills Narrowboats Limited to Launch [10 May 2006 - 11 December 2006]

Click on any of the thumbnails for a higher resolution image.

All pictures Copyright © 2005 - 2006 C J Wells

BELLE is launched 11 December 2006

A few pictures of the launch at Barton Turns Marina - as we left today, the lads (Mark to the left and Gary to the right) had set about making some slight adjustments to the ballast so that BELLE sits properly in the water. Thereafter they will lay the final flooring, attend to a few other minor jobs on board and then she is ours.

Thanks to Grey Nomad for the pictures of BELLE on the crane.

More pictures to come soon – including some of the interior after handover next weekend.

Some general shots of the Day Room / Saloon / Galley 18 November 2006

From left to right ● view from galley into day room showing side door steps and bathroom door ● view into saloon showing new flat screen TV ● view into galley from saloon ● closer shot of the high-level cupboards in the galley (glass panelled doors) ● TV mounted to the ceiling in the bedroom

More to come soon.

More work completed in the Bathroom / Utility Room and Day Room 28 October 2006

A few selected photographs showing – left to right ● vanity unit taking shape in the bathroom (just needs a door) ● electrical equipment cupboard / control arrangement taking shape in the utility room / stern (needs a shelf and doors – instrument panel being fitted now) ● high-level cupboard nearly finished in the day room (just needs handles).

More to come soon.

Some more general shots of the Saloon / Galley / Bedroom / Bathroom 14 October 2006

A few selected photographs showing – starting from top left and going clockwise ● view into the galley from the day room ● view into the galley from the saloon ● view into the bathroom from the day room ● another view into the galley from day room ● view of one of the two sliding portions at the foot of the cross-over bed (together they both support the lower ‘third’ of the mattress) ● two views of one of the two deep drawers at the foot of the cross-over bed ● view into the saloon from the bow doors

More to come soon.

Miscellaneous features 05 October 2006

A few selected photographs showing – starting from top left and going clockwise ● one of the galley work units, now nearly finished (just needs taps and handles for the cupboards / drawers) ● mushroom vent liners (now installed in all of the rooms) ● typical chrome finish ceiling light (now installed in all of the rooms) ● TravelPower control unit (just needs wiring in) ● Mastervolt inverter / charger unit (just needs wiring in) ● examples of the black laminate fixed to some of the walls in the toilet and bathroom areas ● chromed towel rail in the bathroom area ● toilet now installed along with the heating vent – the heat source for this is a fin-rad mounted on the opposite side of the toilet wall under the desk and boxed in).

More to come soon.

Portholes fitted 26 September 2006

All of the portholes have been fitted – this makes a lot of difference to the external appearance of BELLE, we think that you will agree. We are very pleased indeed with the results. The cabin wall panelling / beading has been started and circular ‘liners’ will be fitted to the portholes from the inside of the cabin when this panelling / beading is complete. All of these liners have already been made. Most of the ceiling lights have been fitted as have most of the boxes for the 240 v. ac sockets. The sockets themselves will be fitted soon, along with the light switches. All of the ceiling lights, sockets and switches have a polished chrome finish. The navigation lights have also been fitted and there has been a small light positioned above the bow doors to illuminate the well deck and cratch areas.

Conventional panel type radiators have been fixed in the saloon, under the desk in the day room, and in the utility room – there will be a chrome finish towel radiator in the bathroom (delivered but not fitted yet). There are Fin-Rads fitted in the bedroom and in the toilet. The shower base has been laid in the bathroom – the shower frame will be built around this soon. We will be having toughened / frosted glass panels mounted into this frame. We have decided upon the shower mixer taps / shower head to be used and the taps for the wash basin, but not the wash basin design itself yet. The gloss black laminate has arrived – this will find its way into the bathroom during this coming week. Most of the saloon TV/CD cupboard has been built ‘on the bench’ and this too will be fixed into the saloon during this coming week.

Mocking-up in all rooms nearly completed 19 September 2006

Whilst there has been a lot of wiring and piping and fitting of the main engine and some auxiliary items going on for the last six weeks or so, most of the fitted furniture in each room has only been mocked-up. The idea behind this mocking-up is that it has allowed us to consolidate all of our thoughts and plans in such a way that we achieve the layout we really want. We have indeed taken several opportunities to make some slight adjustments to the layout in order to improve things. Nevertheless, we do not mind admitting that this has been a frustrating period for us, what with seeing so much stuff going on generally but very little actually finished. During the next few weeks, we shall see all of the mocked-up furniture converted into the real McCoy.

This is just a selection of pictures of the partially completed furniture and a few other items. Starting from top left and going clockwise >>> the Refleks stove in the saloon, the desk unit in the day room, the washer/dryer in the utility room, one of the wardrobes in the bedroom, the cupboards above the head of the main bed, the cupboard that runs along the port side of the saloon with the main TV in it, one of the Houdini hatches, the bow thruster motor installed into its removable housing, one of the fuel tank breathers, one of the fuel tank fillers and the stable doors at the bow. More to follow soon.

Livery lines and bow pattern painted and waste tank fitted 26 July 2006

Most of the livery lines have been painted as has the fancy pattern around the bow – we are very pleased indeed with the results. Gary and Mark will now paint the stern hatch and the stern doors using similar lines. We decided to do away with the idea of painting livery lines on the cabin side doors because we think that this will be a bit OTT. Note the brass thrust washers on all of the cabin door hinges – a nice touch and better than having steel-on-steel grinding away. These brass washers can easily be replaced when they are eventually worn down to the extent that the bottom edges of the doors are fouling the bottom edges of the door apertures. We have a bit more brass in the form of the water tank filler (well every bit counts at this stage you know!) – this filler has been located in the top of the gunwale at the bow end of the port cabin wall.

The waste tank has been fitted into the floor space in the stern. This tank is ‘T’ shaped and as big as we can get into the available space. We have not calculated the capacity of this tank, but we will do so after our next trip (if we can remember to take some measurements this time!). The Important thing to note is that the boat will stay in ‘trim’ as the waste tank fills because the waste will be more or less evenly distributed throughout the tank. Sand/paint mix has been applied to the gunwales and the stern deck (so as to reduce the risk of slipping when walking in these areas) – sand/paint mix will also be applied to the cabin roof.

Those of you familiar with the Sandhills boat building team will be pleased to learn that the ‘head cleaner’ [not the one peering through the side doors!] is still alive and well and still doing a good job in and around the boat, although looking a bit redder than usual owing to the heat wave.

Top coat finished, lining out started and temporary bulkheads erected 12 July 2006

There are now five top coats over the five layers of undercoat – look at that shine; you beauty! There are still a few edges to be tidied up, but they will all be sorted soon. The differences in the shade of grey are due to the artificial light in the workshop (at the bow end) and the natural light shining through the workshop doorway onto the stern. Next job will be painting the livery lines – these will be arranged so as to form several ‘panels’ on each side of the cabin wall using a combination of a 1” wide artic white line, a ¼” gap and then a ¾” wide black line, so as to create a shadow effect. The red tape you can see in the pictures was used to help us visualise and agree where the livery lines will be positioned. All of the corners of the panels formed by these livery lines will be scalloped. Pictures coming soon.

The lining out has been started and temporary bulkheads have been erected to confirm that the layout is as we want it. Gary and Mark even knocked-up a temporary loo for us so that we could judge the elbow room available in this, the most important room in the boat!

Spray foamed and undercoated on 14 June 2006

The interior of the cabin has been spray foamed, including all surfaces under the well deck, but excluding the engine bay – the foam is around 30mm thick for the most and it has been ‘shaved’ back where necessary to expose the battens ready for fixing wall and ceiling timbers. The 150 gallon fresh water tank is standing upright waiting to be fitted under the well deck. The exterior of the cabin has now received five layers of grey undercoat (hand painted). The hull sides have been sprouting stand pipes here and there, along with some holes for various services.

Battening out, ballasting and first layer of flooring laid on 31 May 2006

The bilge has been wax-oiled throughout and the concrete slab ballast laid between the floor bearers – the slabs are laid on top of treated timber slats so that they do not make contact with the steel base plate. The first layer of flooring timbers has been laid on top of the floor bearers. The last two sections of the floor area at the stern have been left clear of ballast / timber ready for the toilet waste tank. Timber battens have been fixed to the cabin sides / roof – there are still a few more battens to be added, but this job should be finished ready for spray foaming 05 June 2006. The removable gunwale sections have been removed from the bow – this makes access a lot easier. Apologies for the poor quality of the photographs.