Galley cupboards drawn in

As you can see we have now added the cupboards, splash back and plug socket locations to the galley. The water filter will be incorparated into the main galley sink tap so no extra tap has to be fitted. The draining board will be separate and slot into it's own place above one of the galley draws. There are other features like posts and recess panels going in the plain sections.

Where has January gone!!!!!!! We are now looking at the LED lighting which will be internal and external. Fernwood have sent off for some samples and we are looking into what is available. This is sometimes difficult because Fernwood have a 24 volt system fitted to all their boats and 24v LED's are difficult to find, but we have found some. We have got to look again at the lighting plan, as all the wiring is now going in to Derwent6, due to the foaming taking place next week.

We are also looking at radiators, what type and how big. This is proving a difficult task on it's own, due to the fact there are so many....Gosh!

The hole cutting and their locations in the Hull, is now full steam ahead and the engine bay has been painted out.

Now you can clearly see the engine radiator and the two strenghteners fitted each side of the engine mounting plate. Also under the engine you can see the hull identification number.

We have also now made the small changes to the main Derwent6 plan, so some of the curves and design features are added, like in the saloon and dining/day room.

Great to hear that John and Cathy (nb Marmaduke) recovered their boat and everyone is pulling together to help out, keep focused guys, it will happen.

Flooring and getting floored

We have been back up to Fernwood after they had done some samples of the wooden flooring we had asked them to look at for us. They have come back with a great effect, which we loved, so Derwent6 will be having this in the Galley, Dayroom, and Engine room. This will also be under the carpet in the Saloon and Bedroom, so if at a later date we want to lift the carpet, we can.

Derwent6 also has got all the holes marked for the mushrooms, water and waste points, aerial and lamp sockets, etc.
The foaming is to take place next week so preparation has already started on battening out and sealing the difficult places. All the lads are working hard to get the boats they have in the workshop out for the end of the month, so they can concentrate on Derwent6. Dick and Alison on whitefield must be wetting themselves about getting their boat on the water as it is just waiting for a canopy for the cratch. If it was us, we would have got her on the cut by now, showing this fantastic boat off to the world, it certainly is a master piece. As for the cratch that could be fitted at a later date ( the boat looks better without it anyway!)

But as for the getting floored we feel so sorry for John and Cathy on nb Marmaduke (http://pavsnb.blogspot.com/ ), as Severn Valley boat builders are having the administrators in today and John is sleeping on the boat to obtain what we all know is their's. After paying their next payment up front, this was cashed very quickly by Roger the owner, knowing the company situation. What a Ba****d Roger at SVBC is......... if there is anything we can do let us know. ( and I will get the boxing gloves down from the loft)

Good luck to the both of you and good wishes.

Galley design

Here is the latest drawings of the galley to which we have now added colour . As you can see this is not the finished article, but we can now add bits and pieces to it, so Fernwood will get a good feeling on how we see it. There will be loads of Fernwood touches going into this, with posts and wood features which will give Derwent6 a special modern quirky feeling.

These drawings are not to scale, so the settee will be a lot bigger than it looks. We have had to squash it all up to get it all in.

As for the progress....things are being prepared for the foaming out and battening is being done with hole cutting arrangements for the shell. Stuart has also done some samples of the wood floor we wanted, so we are looking forward to seeing that. More about that on the next blog.

We also went up to the London boat show at ExCel, but we've got to say we were very disappointed. Not much in the way of Inland waterways features again, and the display boats were mainly hire boats which had been stuck out on the Thames. This meant that not only did you get wet, but you could not walk through the boats, as you could only get on and off at one end.

But the good news from the show was we got to see Chris from beta marine again, who now knows us by name!!!. We thanked him and the boys at Beta for sorting out some extra bits and pieces for us. Oh! and and the other thing was, we got to see a Powerboat going up and down the Thames.

It also reminded us, we are with the right boat builder...................

What a nice feeling, we're happy with the ceiling

We have been back to Fernwood as Stuart has done all the measurements for the standard Fernwood roof and found this was not going to work due to the height we required. He then made a mock up of the tongue and groove roof, which we would take as second choice, and try and do something a bit different with it.

This gave us plenty of head height and good space behind for all the lamps vents wiring etc.

The pipework will now be run down the side panels, so some cutting out of the ribs will be required, as will the shower tray which we want to be lowered into the floor to get maximum height there also. Stuart had also done all the measurements for the bulkheads which now all fit perfectly, with all the side doors and portholes fitting bang in the middle of all the required rooms.

We have also still been working on the drawings for the dayroom/dining area and have now decided (at the moment) to take out the overhead lockers due to the fact it feels very closed in with them..

We want this room to be a relaxing area where we can sit and chill out looking at the scenary. But to get this you also need a feeling of space. We know we will be sacrificing some storage but every room in Derwent6 needs to be used and it is far more important that we feel we will use this room with the feeling of space in it, rather than having some storage, and not using it. That turns out to be a waste of space. We will look at this again when the seating arrangement goes in.

So we have gone for a corner cupboard at one end, which gives us options at the other end(cupboard, shelfs, pictures etc). Here you can now see how the spare bed will be made up and the corner cupboard will look.

From pencil to glorious colour

As anyone following this blog will know,we have been playing with microsoft paint on the exterior paintwork on Derwent6. Well now we have been using Stuart's drawings to get a good feel on how Derwent6's interior will look. Here is the drawing Stuart done in the last blog in glorious colour.

Although the colours don't come out exactly how you want them, it gives you a very good idea on how we will want Derwent6 to look and feel. It will be interesting on how the finish product pans out.

We still have loads of tweaking to do, but we are getting close on how we all see it.

Here is the colour picture of the dining/ dayroom area, but on putting this in colour we feel it has ended up looking a bit like a railway carriage, so the overhead lockers may have to go.

You can now see where the freezer compartment will be, just under the end seat. There will be a cushion going over this.

Stu Art at Fernwood

This meeting with Fernwood was all about getting the way we wanted the interior of Derwent6 to look over to Stuart the interior designer...We went fully equipped with a folder with all our requirements and a scrap book with pictures of how we see Derwent6 inside.


Stuart was brilliant and it wasn't long before he was on our wave length with the design.


Here is a rough sketch of the saloon, which we had to take a photo of, due to the fact it was on A3 paper and we couldn't photocopy it.


Don't forget, the main objectives of our requirements were, Quirky with a traditional twist and Keep it simple!


Fernwood have added the quirky bits and as you can see we are sticking to what we all know best and what works. After "Whitefield", Fernwood are pleased about that.....

This meeting was very intense and we were worn out at the end of it , as was Stuart, but we got it all done.

Well! what stage are we at now then?

Stuart is going to recheck the measurements for the bulkheads and the ceiling height and then we are going back to check them. The key factor being the engine room and if the washing machine, tumble drier and bikes will fit and the head height is paramount.

While we were there, Ken stuck his head in the door and commented on the shell. "one of the best we have had for a while" he said (well done Jim). Lets hope it don't sink now when in the water.

Our minds are now doing overtime, due to the fact we may have missed something, but at least the basics are sorted out.

Some great news was heard when we turned up. Congratulations are in order to Stuart who is getting married in August (Well done mate and lets hope our boat is finished before the honeymoon) lol

Bargains Galore

As promised we said we would be keeping you posted with what we find in the January sales and how about these for a couple of bargains.

We have been trying to get a decent sack barrow for humping gear along the towpath and we spotted a very compact one with big wheels, but it was a bit pricey at £80.00 from http://www.wolfcraft.co.uk/

So scouting around in the January sales, we found one for a more realistic price of £56.06 from http://tooltray.com/. When it turned up we was really surprised at what a great piece of kit it was. Alison was able to stand on the end and was picked up and taken round the living room with ease, a bargain for anyone getting married and doesn't want to carry their wife over the threshold... when collapsed it will fit neatly under the gunnel.

But the bargain of the month so far is the chainsaw purchased from http://www.hobuk.co.uk/

They were alot cheaper than anyone else and we had great service from them.

But we was a bit worried when the box turned up, as it appeared much larger than the chainsaw we had asked for.

When we opened the box the contents inside were

One chainsaw

One pair of leather gloves

Bottle of chainsaw oil

A complete spare chain

Chainsaw tools

And a complete 30 piece wall mounted tool kit

Wow !!! pleased or what!

We are back to Fernwood this week and really excited, we will keep you all posted

Sail by

Well a busy time ahead now, due to the fact that we have a list of bits and pieces that we have waited to get in the January sales.


We picked up these cooking pans http://www.tefalcompact.co.uk/ which are a great space saving idea.


We also purchased some plates and dishes, all in stylish plain white, and we will have no worries on breakages and it keeps to the Derwent6 theme of "Keep it simple"

Now we are working on loads of stuff for the meeting with Fernwood next week.

We have also done another microsoft paint job on the roof so you can see how she will look when steering.

Well back out to the Sale's (Sail's)

Watch this Space !!!

New start, New beginning. (and poorer)

Well a great time was had by all...... We're heavier, worn out and have a headache, (self inflicted though, I must add) but what a exciting year ahead.

We're looking at it as though our life is taking a different branch, and we are making a new start towards what life is all about. We have got so much to look forward to. We are going to spend more time with our friends and families. Life is all about people, not material things.

But at the moment we are alot poorer for it all....

What with Christmas, eating out, spending in the sales, and having to pay our next stage payment on Derwent6 Gulp!!!

It was a nice feeling that Derwent6 was tucked inside over the festive season and we get the feeling things will really start to move now.

We have got some great things in the January sales, but we will tell you about them in more detail later.

Meanwhile all have a fantastic 2008 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!