Sold (we hope)

Well today an offer was made on the house and we have accepted. We are so pleased, as this is difficult times for everyone.
We still have to sign contracts, but the couple who are buying can't wait so there shouldn't be any problems, as it is a very small chain.

This should move things along nicely, as we will soon be able to get on with selling our furniture to all our friends and family. (They will be pleased)

Quick Quick Slow (guess who the slow is!)

Fernwood were working fast to get one boat out of the workshop three weeks ago, and then it was all speed ahead to get the Whitefield boat (which was shown on Waterworld) out last week.

But Derwent6 is still coming on very slowly.....not much has happened over the last three weeks as Fernwood have still been trying to get another boat out, and doing snagging on the ones which have gone out. The good news is that that boat is near completion, and for some, is that it has now made some space in the workshop, but there is alot of work to do for those who are waiting to get in the workshop.
As for Derwent6 the waste tank had been put into place, but thats about it.

As for us we have been busy. What with our Wedding Anniversary and planning our holiday and selling the house, let alone building a boat.

All good fun!!!!!!!!!!!

Surprise!!!!!!!!!!

And there we were, thinking we were going to have a nice quite Wedding Anniversary....Not!

The plan was that we were going to be taken out for a nice meal with our friends, Rich and Lisa but on arriving at our favorite beeches restaurant , it turned out we had a party of twenty.. What a lovely surprise!

So much work had gone into this since December last year and we knew nothing about it... We thank you all...................

What did we learn? All friends and family are liers.............

This was the best thing that could of happened to us, as we always wanted to have a bit of a bash, and boy did we get it.

We would just like to thank everyone who made this day so special for us, and it will remain a memory for ever.

It was the icing on the cake!

Reminisce the best day of our lives

What did we do for our Silver wedding anniversary then...

We had a lovely day, starting with a early morning bike ride around the lakes next to where we live, (at the moment,) and then onto our local gym for a sauna and a swim.

After something to eat we went on to the church we got married in. We were fortunate to find that it was open, and were able to go inside and reminisce the ceremony 25 years ago.

It was such a nice thing to do as we had the time to look at everything inside, in great detail, and found out a bit more history about the church, which has been around since 1242. You don't get time for this on your wedding day, or any service for that matter.

After walking around the village all afternoon, using the paths we used to go courting on, we made our way back to Alison's parents. There we got out all our wedding photos and paper cuttings and reminisced again. It was quite moving to see photos of our wedding cake, with the same flowers as Alison's parent's wedding cake photos, when they got married,(something borrowed, and old I believe)

In the evening we went out for a meal to the old resturant we had our reception in (the Monte Carlo) This used to be a Italian resturant, but is now a Indian (aren't they all), but what a fantastic night we had. With plenty to drink and a live band we reminisced again all through the night.

We now plan to reminisce the honeymoon!!!!!!!!!

25th Wedding Anniversary

It's our 25th Wedding Anniversary Today

Special memories, so much laughter and fun, and a new adventure hopefully for the next 25 years.

One out of three ain't bad (but it's driving us mad)

Well one out of the three boats at Fernwood is in the water. They are still working on the other two which should be out by April. The boat in the water looks just great and we bet that the owners will be over the moon with it.
As for Derwent6 things are still a bit slow (well not fast enough for us) as Fernwood have been working on these two other boats......We have been updated, but there has not been enough work carried out for us to travel up and take pictures....(so there aren't any!)

We should know more this week as we are making a visit to get an update, and we do feel that progress will move on quickly, very soon.

Lets hope so!!!!!! (fingers crossed)

Slow but sure

Not much to report on Derwent6 this week as Fernwood are concentrating (and rightly so) on getting two of their completed boats out and on the water One of those boats going out is whitefield's ( the boat shown on last weeks ITV's Central Waterworld at 7.30).

News this week ...... is that RedDiesel is here to stay, all be it with different pricing.

Freezing Fog on the Aire & Calder

We have been busy travelling all over the country, so it's nice to be back home.(although we could get used to it)

We haven't got much to report on Derwent6 as Fernwood are still working hard on those nearly finished boats they have in the workshop. We think they want to get them all finished so that the lifting crane can be used to move all three in one day. Derwent6 will also be moved, so it will be in prime position to be the next boat they crack on with when these other boats go out. The people behind us must be spitting feathers

The bulkheads are being made to go in and the floor fitted, but these are being worked on with what time is left in the day.

On our travels we popped down to have a look at the Aire and Calder, as this is where the two canals meet, and as you can see the conditions were none too clever. It was minus four when this photo was taken.

Gingerly going along and breaking the ice and then one of these comes towards you, a bit daunting don't you think.....................

Though we have got to say the towpaths were very good, and cycling from here into Leeds would not be a problem.

These guys don't seem to be bothered with any of it.

The best and most used room on Derwent6

Here is the bedroom sketch. As you can see the headboard will be carved into the bulkhead panel and there will be an end post, which will pull out to extend into a five foot wide bed.

The reason behind the chest of drawers was that it gave us flexibility in the bulkheads because you could easily lose six inches in the size of the drawers. There will be storage in the top lockers and in the wardrobe beside the chest of drawers, and also under the bed.

The space under the bed has to be well vented to stop condensation, so the bed base may be slatted. The rear under bed space is where the batteries will sit, but there will still be room for long term storage under here.

There will be porthole bungs which will block the portholes at night and these will act as cushions during the day. These will match the throw over the bed and there will be also be fly screens to fit in the double glazed portholes for those hot summer nights.

We have also fitted two LED reading lights in the overhead lockers over the headboard.

We intend to be spending alot of time in this room (for sleeping of course!).

Reasons for doing this!

Over last weekend we went for a walk along the Welford arm just took a few photos

Ain't this canal world just stunning........

The Derwent6 Grotto

We first got a picture text from Julia at Fernwood with a shot of the foam insulation taking place by Websters, which was very reassuring and excellent customer service.

We then couldn't wait to see for ourselves.....Fernwood only use top quality suppliers and we were really pleased with the foam work carried out on Derwent6.

When you went inside it was like walking into Santa's grotto and had a really warm feel to it. The echo and tinny effect had gone and a solid feeling of a home had appeared. Websters had done a great job, with an even layer all over the steel work, so not much cutting to do when the side panels are added. We were left alone for half a hour while we soaked it all up, running up and down like a couple of excited kids.

Because we had done a rough layout of the wiring requirements, Fernwood were able to run most of the cables before the foaming took place.

The plastic bags hanging down is the wiring which has been weighted to get it in the right position, and to allow the foam to get all around the wires at their foam exit point, and to protect the ends (and plugs) from getting foam all over them.

Here you can see the starboard bow corner in the saloon where the hifi and DVD equipment will go.

and where the television will be fitted.

The floor has been cutout to show the area where the shower tray will be fitted. This is to allow for a sunken shower tray, so we get maximum height in the shower.

So the next stage is that a mockup of the folding bike cupboard is going to be made so we can check the space available in the engine room, Stuart checked the measurements of the bikes so we have a realistic size required and the bulkheads can be adjusted accordingly.

The waxoil is now going to be added to the steel floor base plate and a rough floor fitted so it will be easier to work.

Bigger freezer

You can now see the dayroom/dining area drawings with the table up.... We are now also going to have a bigger freezer under the end cushion, which will now be 37 litre capacity. The slot in the leg is to allow for the pipe work which goes under the lockers and also if anything electrical is put on that end seat, it will reach the plug socket, even with the bed in the made up position.

Hopefully the foam insulation (foaming) will be done this week, so more pictures of that soon.

Engine room design

This is how we see the engine room....



It will hold the washing machine, tumble drier and the two folding mountain bikes. It will be done in the traditional style of roses and castles with a darker wooden floor, it will also be a den which we can use for computer work and other hobbies. A table will drop down over the washing machine and tumble drier to form a large table. We still have to find a compact computer chair to fit in this room, and space will need to be found for tools and sack barrow etc.

Here we have the same room with the doors closed on the bikes cupboard. This room has had to be extended to just over 10 foot and hopefully these compact machines will fit through the stern doors and in their places. (if not we'll just have to cut a hole in the roof to get them in) lol

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 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

To all our readers

So far the boat build has been a very enjoyable experience and we hope you all have enjoyed it with us..

We can't wait to get the interior of Derwent6 started.

Thank you for all your constructive comments you have given over the last year.

So we wish you all a

And a Happy 2008

The Eagle has landed

Press Release!!!!

Derwent6 has now been moved from Alexander Boats to Fernwood Craft.... this will now be her home for the next eight months (or so)

But this happened really late in the day, because on the way to Jim's, the truck got pulled up by the ministry of transport and had to have a new tyre fitted.

The truck was then put underneath, she weighed 10 and a half tonnes

We then set off at Dusk following the truck at a steady 50mph

We arrived at 7.30pm in foggy conditions so we couldn't get any decent photos of the lift into Fernwood. A B Tuckey was waiting patiently with the crane and skillfully unloaded Derwent6 off the trailer in the dark and into the workshop. (Sorry about the fog getting on the lens)

Now the work really begins !!!!!!