The biggest impulse purchase I have ever made... a narrowboat!! Dusty was advertised in the classified ads of a local paper. I arranged a viewing ASAP and there she was:
July 2011
August 2011
September 2011
October 2011
November 2011
December 2011
January 2012
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| The first time I saw her |
July 2011
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| being craned out of the canal, 7 tons of rust and barnacles |
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| Onto dry land for now... |
August 2011
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| Not at her best here |
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| Roof is shot |
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| Inside isn't much better either |
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| Despite how it looks, the engine runs nicely! Soon to be replaced anyway! |
September 2011
I'd decided by this point that the roof wasn't worth patching up as it had gone to far and I wasn't happy with the shape anyway! Here starts the preparation for the new interior and roof...
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| Interior stripped, bulkhead cut out. |
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| Engine removed |
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| I wasn't lying about the roof, it doesn't even touch the sides in places! |
After much thought, the best solution for replacing the roof was to build the new structure inside the boat before the old roof was removed. This would help keep the strength of the existing structure and prevent the walls from sagging. We'll see...
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| New roof supports in place |
October 2011
One of the most nerve racking months on this project... the problem of the roof! I needed to make sure that I had everything correct prior to the removal of the old roof. The battle I am up against is getting the curvature correct along the entire boat, whilst trying to achieve the subtle sweep towards the stern (rear). Luckily I invested in a laser level, but sadly it doesn't do curves!
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| 2 Sections of roof removed |
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| Spot the welder, cable didn't reach.... |
November 2011
With the old roof removed and much attention spent on truing up the walls and refining the shape of the back it was time to see if the new steel sheets I'd ordered would fit.
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| Tight fit, but it fits |
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| Complete new roof with new hand rail. |
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| From above, even holds my weight... |
December 2011
Now winter had reared its ugly head the weather wasn't in my favour, so I wouldn't be doing anything drastic this month. I used the time to finish some finer details and soften the square front end.
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| Back capped, welded and smoothed |
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| Other side, doors still need sorting. |
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| Front overhang and handrail detail. |
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| front "apron"? to soften the square shape. |
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| edged with round bar shaped to fit. |
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| From the front. Soon to include a sunken deck with double doors instead of the window. |
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| Ships cat, Oscar. |
January 2012
I thought I'd upload some pictures of the new engine as the build on the boat is likely to be slow this month due to workload and weather.
Beta Marine 28,
3 cylinder, 28 bhp, diesel engine.
More on this as the build progresses.
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| New Beta Marine 28 |
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| From the front with manual PRM gearbox. |
