Sign Written

It looks even better in reality. Syncopation has her final coat of paint on and the rear panels have been sign-written. There's still some blacking to do.

Here are the original concept pictures for the panel lettering:

Bendigedig

I met my first canal blogger today. Strictly speaking it wasn't the blogger herself but her husband, Eric. Elsie lives aboard Narrowboat Bendigedig and writes this blog. We were in Blisworth for a little mooch about with the dog and of course to check on progress on Syncopation. The weather is perfect for walking along the towpath. Probably even better for cruising, but that's several weeks away still.

Cratch Fitted Temporarily

The cratch has been temporarily fitted so it can be measured for a cover.

The steerer's heating ducts have been fitted and the bathroom tiles have been cut ready for fitting.

The coach painting is still in progress and the kitchen sink has been delivered so the templates for the granite worktops can be completed.

Not Crick Boat Show

We set out this morning for the Crick boat show. Arrived at half past twelve looking forward to lunch and then a couple of hours looking around the trade stands and maybe a couple of new boats. We even had a shopping list (Fenders front and rear, lifejacket for small boy, Sea Searcher magnet for recovering lost metal objects from the bottom of the canal, small sofa bed, window blinds etc.) but the show had closed early due to high winds.

Disconsolate we headed over to Braunston for lunch hoping to find the Admiral Nelson but failed and instead found the Millhouse; a different pub entirely but we've enjoyed a pleasant meal there before when we went to Braunston to visit DB Doatfitters (web site appears to be broken). However when I tried to order lunch I was informed that the kitchen was too busy and it would be two hours before an order could be placed. We left.

After another half hour we found our way to the excellent Wharf at Bugbrooke which I cannot recommend highly enough. We arrived home at 4.00 PM having achieved very little in the day.

Syncopation in the Paint Dock

Syncopation is now in the paint dock being coach painted. During the last week the coach lines have been masked and the sides, panels and handrails have been undercoated. Even in undercoat, Syncopation is seriously shiny:

Inside, the curved doors have been fitted in the kitchen:

The exhaust has been fitted through the side of the hull, the electrical cupboard has been built and the controls have been fitted to the outside of the cupboard:

Side hatch glazing from the outside:

Batteries Boxed

Syncopation's systems are being commissioned. The woodwork will be completed in the next week and she will move to dock for painting.

The heating system has been filled and tested. Most rooms have finrad type radiators at floor level except for the bathroom and the central bunk room. These two have towel rails:

The side hatches have been glazed. The glazed panels open as a bi-fold door:

Closed

Open:

Front Doors Lined and Glazed

All the exterior doors have been lined in ash and the front doors have been glazed:

The heating system has been fitted but cannot be commissioned as we are short one radiator (still trying to decide what to fit: plain or fancy)

Syncopation Update

The saloon woodwork now has nearly all the trim strips in place and the light fittings have been put in place.

The cross-bed is just about complete with the ledge in place to support the slide out sections. The hospital silencer has arrived, as have many electrical components. The toilet has been fitted:

The vacuum cassette is located under the bed in the main cabin - as near to the door as can be arranged.

Shower Almost Complete

The plumbing for the shower is now complete and the waterproof panels have been fitted:

The Door frames have been made and fitted. In this picture you can see the coving fitted so that the frame can be put in place:

The chimney collar has been fitted, ready to accept the stove pipe from below:

Next week, Michael will be busy fitting electrical equipment in the engine room, where the batteries have been placed on the uxter plate to see how they fit. Jason has completed all the flat doors and drawer fronts and will start on the cratch next week. Alan will be doing more varnishing of the interior.

Progress Report

Steady progress this week.

The stove surround has been clad in Masterboard to protect the woodwork from the heat from the stove.

The shower doors have been fitted:

The window liners and side hatch liners are in:

The bedside cabinet carcases have been installed.
Left hand (tall) cabinet:

Right hand (low) cabinet:

Saloon cabinet:

Bed and Saloon Progress

The cross bed base has now been built:

There are two pull out sections (on the left of this picture) that extend the bed across the cabin for use. The toilet cassette and spare will be located beneath the foot of the bed and any remaining space will be used for storage drawers. Coming soon: bedside cabinets and wardrobe.

The saloon now has the carcase for a tall cupboard installed, with some small shelves adjacent. On the other side of the door the base has been built for the stove:

A Week at the Seaside

We've just returned home after a week in Minehead. In fact we spent our time at Spring Harvest; a christian conference held each year at this time at Butlins. Ten thousand christians together for a week. It's a quite different kind of event from a normal holiday as there's always a christian activity going on.

Too Long in Chesterfield

My employers have seen fit to send me to Chesterfield for the last four weekdays and while it is a charming place I have grown tired of it's charms. Fortunately today was the last day and I have waved goodbye to the place whose most noticeable feature is an architectural disaster:
I had a couple of chances to look around the charming town centre at lunch times but spent most of my time in my company's offices about a mile to the east of the centre where there's not a great deal to see. I did manage to visit the town museum where I learned that railway pioneer George Stephenson made his home there and that there is a canal there undergoing restoration. The Chesterfield canal is still navigable for about three quarters of its original length where it was cut by the collapse of the Norwood tunnel in 1907.

Stove Arrives

Syncopation's solid fuel stove has arrived. It is a Stovax Brunel 1A multi-fuel with a dark blue enamelled finish. It came with a matching stove pipe as standard.

Bathroom Taking Shape

Syncopation's bathroom is taking shape. The bulkhead that covers the cabin side and hides the pump is in place. The shower tray has been sourced. The carcase for the cabinet that supports the bathroom basin is in place. More varnish has been applied to the interior so that all the new woodwork is now protected.

Bunk Room Carcasses

The carcasses have been fitted in the bunk room. The children were excited by the end of bed bunk ladder.

The dinette has a sliding base at one end that solves the problem of the seats being too short to fit comfortably under the table that is the same size as the gap between them.

The table fits between the two seat bases to make a flat bed. It lifts out and attaches to the wall above and slightly forward of the gap it comes out of. The rear-most seat base then slides forward and slightly under the rear edge of the table to make a more comfortable sitting position.

Dog Mooring

Kitchen Carcases

The kitchen is taking shape with the carcases having been fitted.

The bunks in the bunk room behind have been fitted with an attractive ladder at the end. We've delivered more fittings to the boat yard, including the shower screen and some electronics that need measuring for the entertainment cabinet. The skin fittings have been attached and the plumbing from these has been attached. The cold water supply system has been pressure tested.

Devon

We spent the weekend in Devon with my sister Judi and her partner Brian. They live on a farm near Honiton and have the benefit of views like this

It's taken far too long to find a panorama editing program to stitch these pictures together and the results are not outstanding.

Update:
The panorama above was created with Panorama Factory (the free version (v1.6 ca. 1999). The one below was created using Autostitch with better results, no ghosting or obvious joins and a lot less manual intervention to fix the inadequacies. Maybe that's just the difference 8 years makes.

Bulkheads fitted

Syncopation's internal bulkheads have been fitted and it has immediately become a lot easier to visualise how the internal spaces will feel.

Calorifier installed.


This blue cylinder will be hidden under the bed in the rear cabin. It is fed hot water from the engine cooling circuit and the diesel central heating boiler to provide hot water for showers and washing.
Looking forward from the same position into the bathroom:

Beyond the bathroom is the bunk room.




In the galley looking back towards the bunk room:

Ballasted

Syncopation has now been ballasted. Originally designed to carry 25 tons of cargo, narrowboats need to be ballasted these days. Even though Syncopation is twelve feet shorter at 60 feet and shallower draughted than a working boat would be a sofa and some kitchen cabinets still weigh a lot less than the potential cargo that could be carried in the space provided in the cabin. This is why there are a few tons of concrete blocks under the floor to ensure that she sits properly in the water.

Running Dog

Arrow is really quite hard to photograph in motion. Here's the best so far:

I cheated here. The picture you see is just a small portion of the middle of a much larger picture, cropped to make the subject central.

Not a Bomb Shelter

A picture from the building where I work:

Pipes and Wires

Work progesses on Syncopation. The water supply and heating plumbing has been installed and the electric cables for the interior 12v and 240v circuits have been hung in place.




Syncopation still seems quite large inside - probably due to the lack of interior fittings or bulkheads. I'm still working on a Photoshopped picture of the proposed exterior paint scheme.
In the meantime here's the current exterior view:

From the steerer's position:




And from across the cut:

Engine In

The Cocooned Beta Engine has now been fitted to Syncopation. Looks a bit like a fridge.

But inside there's a real Beta Marine engine with 5 kVA travelpower generator.


And the flexible coupling between gear box and prop shaft:


The exterior of the shell has received another coat of primer and a coat of undercoat to protect it until May when the coachpainting will be done.