Cratch Cover

The cratch cover has been fitted:



Inside:

Kathryn Tickell

We saw Kathryn Tickell in concert tonight at the Buckingham music festival. We've been fans of hers since we saw her first at Towersey Festival in about 1989. She really is a quite remarkable musician and I strongly recommend you go and see her if you get the chance.

Worktops

The worktops have arrived at last:

On the left is the breakfast bar with the sink and on the left is the hob.

The dinette table has been made although it has still to be fixed:



All the skirting boards are in place now. There's a small issue with one of the mushroom vent trims and we have got a pile of foam bed pads at home waiting to be covered with fabric.

The fenders have been fitted at front and rear and the tiller arm has bee made up.

Roald Dahl Parade

We went to watch S at the Roald Dahl parade in Aylesbury this morning. Lots of primary schools from Buckinghamshire were in the parade and they had all made models of characters from "The Twits" by Roald Dahl. There were also street performers dressed up as the Twits:

I grew up in Haddenham, just a few miles from Aylesbury and went to school there. During that time the statue of John Hampden was vandalised - his sword was twisted into a curl:

And the nearby statue of Disraeli nearly always had a can of Coke in his hand.

After the parade we went and ate donuts in the Market Square

Syncopation is nearly complete. We are waiting for the arrival of the granite worktops.

The floor has been laid throughout:

Oak in the saloon and bedrooms:

Slate tiles and marble pebbles in the bathroom:

The internal doors have also been fitted:

Syncopation has left the paint dock and is tied up alongside at the wharf.

Build Progress

Work continues event though we are waiting for the flooring to be delivered.

The mushroom vents have been fitted to the roof:

Lots of lovely brass to polish!

The engine room floor has been fitted:

It's going to be a tight squeeze for the shoe cupboard we have bought from Ikea.

The propellor has been fitted and the front deck hatch has its last coat of paint.

 

Bow Thruster

The bow thruster has been fitted. Opinion among boaters differs as to whether narrowboats should have bow thrusters. Some call the bow thruster control "the girly switch". I think it could be useful for handling the boat single handed.

Inside, all the lights work and the 12v electrical sockets are live (Yes, S and I ran around turning all the lights on and off). There are a few more detailed pieces of woodwork completed:

(Houdini hatch surround and swim cover).

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.