Layout and Livery for BELLE

We created our layout and livery drawing using the drawing tools in Microsoft Excel 2003 and Microsoft Word 2003. These applications are very powerful and will allow you to readily create freeform and regular shapes, adjust formats, relocate, erase and replicate etc., indeed all the tools you need to quickly and effectively produce a high standard of layout drawing and artwork for your graphics.

BELLE is laid out to scale on a 6” square grid pattern – you can of course enlarge the views and adjust the scale when you need to go into more detail for any of the areas.

You will find an Excel file here. If you want to unlock this file so that you can use it as the basis for your own drawing, then email us and we will let you have the password.

There are many colours and textures, etc. to be found in the Microsoft Word and Excel palettes that you can use to create your base, add coach-lines and to complement your graphics, but you must bear in mind that not all of these colours will be available in ‘boat friendly’ paint finishes from the recognised high-quality marine paint manufacturers, so you will need to experiment a bit. Obtaining paint swatches is advisable when selecting your final colour scheme, because no matter how hard you try, you cannot accurately replicate the subtleties of tone, etc. on the computer monitor and when printing. We have found that, all other things being equal, just using a different make of glossy print paper will bring about noticeable differences in tone.

Having approached Yamaha for a scale drawing of my bike and been told that one was not available, ever the resourceful, I positioned my bike at the front of the house and hung out of the bedroom window with camera in one hand and curtain pole in the other and took some photographs. A bit of work with Adobe Photoshop in conjunction with a few measurements of the bike itself resulted in an accurately scaled image that was duly pasted into the plan view of our layout drawing. The side elevation of the bike came from a Yamaha owners website.

We found the ‘WordArt’ tool very useful for creating the character sets for the boat name and trading name. You can use this tool to create a variety of different shapes, altering the colours used for both the fill and the outline and you can add shadows as required. A few Internet searches will reveal all manner of flourishes and scrolls and most other shapes used in narrowboat artwork and you can easily copy those that are not subject to copyright and paste them into your own drawing. We are trying to create a sense of depth to the main panels as well as the character sets using shadows – definitely cheaper than using recessed panels.

You will find older versions of our layout drawing dating back to February 2005 here.

Concept for Removable Gunwales at the Bow

Concept requirements:

Well deck to be tread plate and set at standard height

Gunwales cut-out on both sides of bow

Cut-out width to be 2’-5” – the bottom of cut-out to be 4” above well deck

Both ends of cut-out to be plated in so as to form a vertical slot at each end

Bottom of cut-out to be plated in – also to be supported from deck plate

Two vertical retaining pins [approximately 30mm diameter] to be welded into the bottom of each cut-out

Sections of gunwale that have been removed to be plated in so as to form a vertical tongue at each end – bottom also to be plated in – bottom to incorporate two clearance holes for accommodating the vertical retaining pins

Retaining pins to be cross-drilled to suit ‘tailgate’ type retaining clips, or similar

Retaining pins and retaining clips will be used for retaining removable gunwale sections and loading ramp

Gaps between removable sections of gunwale and the cut-outs to be minimised

Ramp to be constructed from Aluminium and have tread pattern on uppermost surface – ramp to overlap gunwale cut-out by approximately 6” – this end of ramp to be bent downward so as to form a lead-in

Ramp stowed on suitable brackets on cabin roof on starboard side when not in use

This concept is focussed on accommodating one or two motorcycles at the bow, but it could be readily adapted so as to suit wheelchair access, etc.

Concept for Bathroom

Concept requirements:

Toilet floor area hatched in red to have laminate facing colour TBA – all other areas of floor to be T/G ash

All toilet walls to have laminate facing from floor to gunwale height – colour as per laminate floor facing – top edge to be finished with dado rail surround

Laminate facing edges and corner joints to be suitably finished and sealed

Shower base to be sunken into floor

Shower door and shower panel nearest port side as shown in green to be frosted/tinted glass – colour TBA

Shower walls to be tiled and have accent strip – tile size/colour and accent strip colour TBA

All cupboard doors to be recessed with inset mouldings

Wash basin unit top to be laminate with 3” (76mm) high laminate splash-back surround with suitable sealing

Toilet partition and starboard cabin wall above wash basin unit to be mirrored

Door furniture, etc. style/finish TBA

Recessed ceiling light positions to be agreed – objective will be to illuminate area around wash basin as much as possible

Toilet door and bathroom-bedroom door to be bi-folding type

Bathroom-dayroom door to be single panel type

Copyright © 2005 - 2006 C J Wells