Portholes and fabric

The new portholes done by Procast are just fantastic and set off the colours of Derwent6. This was the first thing that hit us when we turned up. We had a big list to go through with Julia and arrangements had been made with the upholstery man (Merick) and the lady (Irene) who was looking after all our fabric needs.

We had to go out to pick the flooring for the bathroom and it didn't take us long to find the one we wanted.

This should give us the stone effect we are after.

We then went out looking for fabric for the buttons, but this turned out a tad more difficult, so we ended up blowing it out for another day.

The dayroom seating framework had been fitted and also looked great. This will house the freezer and turn into the spare bedroom for guests on board.

In the engine room alot of the plumbing has been carried out and the shoreline wiring, but things are still a bit slow here.

We have decided to now go for brass porthole liners as we have seen the problems with the wooden ones blacking up with the condensation (we hope this is the right choice)

We sorted out the height of the cratch as A.J.Canopies are measuring the cover for fitment, they are also making a horn cover for us.

We lost alot of photos this time (don't ask us why) so we haven't got many to post.

Things just arn't happening fast enough for us, as we can't wait to get out on the cut, but we're sure it will all come together in the end.........we hope!!!!

While we were out on the cut at Crick we met up with Les on Valerie, happy cruising mate.

Dawn till Dusk

As Andy the painter has been on the mend, we have been taking the door inner frames and external hatches up to him for painting........And what a job he has done for us...

When we collected them we both had a tear in our eye, as it was just what we wanted. As you can see the castles are done at two times of day, dawn and dusk. The roses are traditional but modern.

We then trundled down to Fernwood with them and was pleased to see the top half of Derwent6 painted....We just had to try the door frames on, and don't they look fab.

We had a appointment to see Julia and Ken, but they had to go out on a field visit. We also wanted to see the upholstery guy and he was on holiday till next week. Still, we had the boat to ourselves and was able to crawl all over it and live it for a bit.

We could see that the dayroom seating frame had been worked on, with storage for the extra chairs to fit down the the side.

Also in the engine room the electrician had just turned up as we did, and was fitting the shoreline RCD unit. The heating boiler and immersion had been fitted and some work to the engine had been carried out (but still nowhere near running yet)

There still seems a hell of a lot to do if Derwent6 is to go out at the end of the month, so watch this space.

Cupboard, Bolts and Lighting, very very exciting.

Derwent6 is now the next boat out of the workshop at Fernwood and they have all hands to the pumps.

Rob and Chris have done a great job on the interior and Ken has carried on with the paintwork. We were also introduced to Simon the new guy on the team, who seems a really nice fella.

We had quite a nice shock when we walked into the saloon and saw the galley just how we imaged it.

As you can see the glass cupboards are fitted with their lights inside and underneath, and also the LED down lighters are now fitted in the roof.

The corner cupboard in the galley has now been changed from a hinged to a slide out version, due to the fact it wouldn't open fully and has allowed better access to the two drawers behind. This is held in place by the bolt to stop it sliding out on it's own.

The cream cupboard door fronts have also arrived and the cooker has now been ordered.

Also Sam has started on getting the engine wet fitted, which means fitting the engine cooling system to the central heating system and adding the fuel pipes, propeller etc.

Just as we imagined it

This is the Dayroom cupboard which we are thrilled to bits with, and it should hold all our bottles of booze!!!You can see from the original drawings that it is starting to look how we imagined it, and it is getting exciting now. We wanted a chunky style with a solid feel to it. We were going to have an arched top section, but on seeing it square, prefered it this way.If you look closely you can see that there is a small cupboard behind this for the storage of the fly and perspex screens.

In the bedroom the top has been done to the chest of drawers and the headboard infills have been done.

In the galley the two cupboards going on the bulkhead have been made up and as you can see from the drawings should look fab.

Oh! and the port side exterior has now been painted and Andy Russell the signwriter, has got the panels for the side doors for Roses and Castles.

Sink into the sofa

Things are moving on now. The two seater sofa has now been made up and with a squeeze will seat four, and the water tank has now at last been fitted.

In the galley on the starboard side, the tap and splashback has been fitted, and plug sockets and butler sink drainer installed. Also the integrated fridge has been fitted.

There is a corner cupboard fitted but this does not open fully, so we will have to redesign this to be a complete slide out unit with shelf behind it.
On the port side of the galley there has been a change to the width of the unit top. This has been altered to allow for a 500mm four burner gas hob to be fitted, and the cooker will fit under this. The drawers have been fitted, but all the units are still waiting for the doors.

In the Dayroom the corner cabinet has been started by Chris and should look great when finished. Behind this, will fit the perspex and fly screens for the side doors.

In the bedroom we were a bit disappointed to lose some of the space above the wardrobe as this had to be taken up by wiring, but it looks fantastic now the chest of drawers are in place. We're just fanatical about every nook and cranny!

The headboard has now been made and will be attached to the engine room bulkhead. As Julia is demonstrating, the height of this will be determined by the height of the memory foam mattress when made.

As for the exterior, the basecoat has now been applied to the starboard side and the water intake cap fitted in the gas locker.

Also some good and bad news about the signwriting and Roses and Castles for the engine room. As you may or may not know we have been trying to get hold of Andy Russell who is one of the best traditional signwriters in the country. But Andy has been doing a bit of Thai Boxing and fractured his skull. He is now on the mend, and has managed to book us a cancellation slot for the middle of September. This is very lucky, as he is booked up till 2010. Get well soon Andy.

Derwent6 Walkthrough

Here is the latest video of a walkthrough of Derwent6...

Hold on tight!

Bed and Breakfast

Things are really starting to move on now!

The Galley and the bed base has been fitted, the roof has been painted, but as you can see the water tank is still not fitted. We went up to confirm appliances and radiators, which will be ordered shortly.

The Butler sink has been fitted with the wooden worktops, and the cupboard you are looking at slides across to meet the other side to create another work surface.

The fridge will fit along side the sink and on the other side a draw and cupboard. We still have to finalise the taps and drainer, so another job next week.

The other advancement is the bedroom, which now has the base fitted with it's sliding mechanism to allow it to pull out to a five foot bed.

You can see that the leg pulls out with the frame. The mattress will be made out of layers of memory foam which will fold down under the gunnel. There are two drawers with space behind for long term storage.

The overhead lockers are now starting to look the part,with space for socks, pants and T shirts etc.

The Roof has now had it's first coat of paint, so you can get some idea for the colour.

The side doors have now been made up for painting, so we need to find a painter to do the Roses and Castles.

We have also got to find another gas hob, as the one we first picked is to big and does not have a flame device on all four burners. (just when you think you've got it sorted)

Anchor's Away

We have just picked up the 20kg Anchor for Derwent6. We have gone for a folding type which is very light and can be stowed away very easily. It comes in a small yellow bag and takes about 30 seconds to assemble.

We were very lucky with the price as they let us have it for last years price's and as we collected it there were no delivery charge's. This anchor can be used with weighted rope, so a chain does'nt have to be used. They also threw in a key saver floating key fob, Good service don't you think!

As for Derwent6 and Fernwood, we are up to the boat next week to see the progress, and we can't wait!!!!!