Week Twenty-Four

We hope that everyone enjoyed a lovely Easter break and if you were cruising enjoyed the beautiful weather. After the Easter break it was back to work on Hadar. With this warm spell it means it is warm in the paintshed.

Primered Bow.

The coat of red oxide paint, that Hadar received last week to her roof is the final coat, as it dried ok over the long weekend. Tina then primered the bow and the roof of the saloon, and then started the undercoat, with the red hinges of the front hatch cover.

Roger is continuing with the tedious task of cutting and fitting all the beading to the galley and saloon woodwork. Just one of the fiddly jobs which seem to take ages, but as will be seen when I can take a photo inside, some of the mitred corners are quite difficult due to the acute angles created by the saloon roof under the cloths.

Primered Saloon Roof.

Primered Cabin Sides.

Tina primered the cabin sides in grey. It may seem like each process takes ages, but it has to be given a good length of time to dry, so patience is a virtue not just for us but also for Tina as she progresses through the job. I always think if something is worth doing it is worth doing well LOL. Tina is very, very good at what she does.

Painted Counter.

Tina gloss painted the 2 bands on the counter, the upper being white and the lower red. The small Northwich is unusual in that it has an extra guard rail between the lower two. The painting of the red band ignores this, assuming it doesn't exist, apart from painting it black the same as the other 3. It will all become clear when the guards are finally painted black.

Bow Coachline.

The bow was masked off and the white coachline applied. Then Tina started the tedious task of masking off the coachlines on the port cabinside. This can take a long time to get right to ensure that all the lines are straight, the vertical ones are vertical, that the horizontal ones are horizontal and all line up with the adjacent one. It doesn't help when these coachlines cross hinges, etc. This stage is important as apart from the coachlines themselves, the rest of the painting hinges on this being right first time. I don't envy Tina at this point, not something I would want to do.

Masking Off for Cabinside Coachline.

Week Twenty-Three.

Finished Castles.

A week in which we saw a lot of different things going on. Tina put the final touches to the remaining castles on the rear doors .

Painting of Roof Details.

Tina has painted the roof details such the chimney collars, pigeonbox 'ole, engine exhaust collar, hatch slide and roof cross beams.

Galley Drawer Fitted.

Roger has made and fitted the galley drawer underneath and to the right of the galley sink. Hhe was also working on all the edging strips around the cherry. It is of course looking fantastic and exactly what we wanted.

Tina also primered the counter.

Primered Counter.

Final Roof Coat?

Hadar received what could be it's final coat of red oxide paint, depending on how well it dries. We will know on Tuesday if it is ok.

Red Undercoat on Counter.

The counter received a coat of red undercoat on the lower band.
In between painting and rubbing down, Tina has completed the castle on the coal bunker. There is still a red edging strip to go around the castle picture, which will be added later. The coal bunker goes in the boatmans cabin underneath the step. The coal bunker also serves as a step upto the counter level step.

The Finished Coal Bunker.

As you can see it has been a week where a lot of different things have been happening. It is all the bits and pieces which go together to make a wonderfully finished boat.

Week Twenty-Two

Stove now Fixed in Placed and Boiler Connected to Pipework.

Roger has been installing the radiator in the toilet/shower cubicle, and running through the pipework to the back boiler in the coal stove over the past few days. He has been grouting the tiles behind the stove as well and fixed the stove in place and connected it to the pipework. It looks absolutely fabulous. The picture tiles are hand painted are a scene of Coniston. We decided to go for some old Quarry Tiles for the base. Roger had some in the boat yard, which we sorted through until we found enough to cover the base. We think they look the part.

Radiator Fitted and Connected.

Tina has had a busy week finishing of the Castles on the back doors and painting the roof Red. It is a Red Oxide Colour but has an enamel finish.

Red Oxide Roof.

Week Twenty One

Painting of Rear Doors.

The rear doors and the doorway surround have started to receive their paintwork with the yellow base coat ready for scumbling. Quite a lot of the scumbling inside the cabin which had been left until she was in the paintshed has also been finished off.

Start of Cabin Door Castles.

Tina has progressed with the castles on the rear cabin doors throughout the week.

Cabin Door Castles Progress.

As with the castles she painted inside the cabin, they are built up gradually, waiting for each layer to dry before progressing further.

Cabin Door Castles Progress Further.

She has also sanded down the roof, cabin sides and the counter stern. She has also primered the roof.

Freshly Primered Roof.

Week Twenty... Hadar is Craned Out to go into the Paintshed

Hadar is Craned Out to go into the Paintshed. For any boat owner this can be a tense time, but it actually went really well.

Hadar is Craned Out.

Hadar was craned out yesterday, to be lifted into the paintshed for her external paintwork. she creaked a bit, but everything went very well. At least we know she weighs less than 25tons, as that is the limit of Rogers crane!

Jetwashing the Grime Off.

Before the final lift into the paintshed. Tina needed to get the grime off of Hadar, which had built up since her launch, it had to be jet washed off. Then after lunch she finally slid the last few feet into the shed, where she will stay until her paintwork is finished.

The Final Push.

Week Twenty

Another week of high excitement.

Painted Engine Room.

The final coat of paint was applied to the engine room, the green is to match the engine and the background of the roses in the boatmans cabin. Keith spent sometime with Tina the boat painter to choose the colours for our Grand Union Canal Carrying Boat, we are going with the Red, White and Blue colour scheme, and have choosen from International Paints obviously White, the Blue is Bondi Blue and the Red is Rochelle Red. It will look fabulous.

Diesel Generator ready to be Installed.

The diesel generator was installed in the engine room today. It took quite a while to prepare the night before, removing all the soundproof casing, as it would not fit in the engine room with the casing on. It took quite a lot of effort and careful maneuvering to ease it in through the engine room doorway. Once inside the engine room it then had to be maneuvered around the engine to the other side of the boat, and the corner where it will reside.

The Generator goes Slowly in through the Engine Room Doorway.

The generator is to supply the power requirement for the washing machine and/or the tumble dryer, which is higher than that which the invertor will supply. But the major reason is that it will be used to charge batteries when moored in a location for a few days, rather than running the vintage National engine, I would rather wear out an easily replacable generator than a very rare vintage engine.

Installed in the Corner of the Engine Room.

Week Nineteen.

We have had another week of excitement with the fit out of Hadar and with the boat we live on Misty Lady. Roger had been making the door for the shower, and the top half of the walls in the engine room got a coat of Ivory Gloss (photos to come next week).

Water Tank Goes In.

The water tank was fitted this week. The weather was right so we could drop the sheeting to allow access, but also Roger wanted to make room in the shed for a steel delivery which was due, so the tank had to go in. With a little heaving and hooing the water tank moved into it's home.

Water Tank in Postion in the Bow.

We put Misty Lady up for sale with Longport Brokerage and no sooner was Misty Lady on the market, than we sold her, it only took one week. It is one less worry for when Hadar is completed knowing that we have a new owner for Misty Lady . Once Hadar is finished and we have moved on to her, the new owner can take over Misty Lady. It will be sad to see her go as she has been our home for 2 yrs and our first boat. But we will be fulfiling a dream with Hadar and that is extra special.

Misty Lady Sold

Week Eighteen

Shower Cubicle Tiles.

Roger has now tiled the shower/toilet cubicle, and we are very pleased with the way the tiles compliment the colour of the timber.

Toilet Cubicle Tiles.

The granite then arrived for the galley work tops and Roger filled those and began the tiling of the galley walls. The green and cream tiles go really well with the Cherry timber work.

Port Granite Worktop and Tiling.

Starboard Granite Worktop and Tiling.

The galley now has a country kitchen feel to it, and that is exactly what I wanted. Yes that is me in the back ground. Keith and I are so pleased with the way things have progressed so far. Roger has worked really hard on Hadar and we look forward to another exciting week ahead.

Week Seventeen

Completed Roses & Castles.

Tina has now completed the Roses in the Boatmans Cabin. She still has some of the small Castles to do, but she will do these once Hadar is in the paintshed.
Roger has now lined and framed the galley side doors. This now completes the major carpentry in the fore cabin. The galley side doors are for ventilation and light only, there is no physical access through them as they are above the galley worktops.

Galley Side Doors.

Roger has tiled the toilet floor and has started tiling the cubicle walls. He will leave the grouting until she is brought out of the paintshed, as craning her in and out could cause the grout to fall out. This cannot be avoided with a full length boat with an open hold, there will be a lot of flexing when she is craned out. In future we will only be able to dry dock her for maintenance purposes.
Tina has undercoated the engine room, and this is now ready for the gloss coats to go on, the upper walls will be cream and the lower walls green to match the engine colour. Tina is off next week, but upon her return the following week they hope to put Hadar in the paintshed, providing everything is completed that Roger wants done before she goes in there. It could be a busy week for him next week!

Toilet Floor Tiles.

Week Sixteen

Start of one of the Castles in the Boatmans Cabin, a pencil sketch.

Tina started painting the Castles in the Boatmans Cabin. She did 3 to begin with, the one on the table and the 2 on the cupboard doors over the bed'ole. I was very priviledged to be allowed to sit in at each stage to take photographs, always trying to make sure I did not get in Tina's way.

Sky and water is added first.

Once the basic castle and surrounding area is sketched out with a pencil, Tina then began adding the paint. The sky was the first to go on, blending blue and white . Tina then added the water. I found it fascinating to watch how the picture is built up.

Grass and Mountains added.

Once the water and sky were dry, it was then time to add in the mountains and grass, again blending in different colours.

Castles.

At each stage the paint is allowed to dry before heading to the next stage. Once the grass was dry, Tina then began adding the paint for the castles. It is a real skill to paint free hand like this and very impressive to watch. What I find amazing is that each castle and picture although similar is not identical and that is what makes each picture unique to each boat painter.

Fine details being painted in; grass, plants and swans.

I dare say a lot of people look at the castles on boats but never really appreciate how much work goes into it and the finer details. The work to build up the trees, bushes and flowers is wonderful and it does look very real, whether you are looking at them from near or afar.

Finer details added.

Both the swans were added along with the reed beds and boats in the background. The castles had roofs added to their turrets, and flag poles.

Bed 'Ole Castle painting all done.

Final details added are flags on flag poles, sails on the boats, brick work added to the castle walls, and tiles on the roofs. You can sit and pick out all the other things added and look in wonderment at how wonderful it looks. Both Keith and I absolutely love the work Tina has done so far. She will be doing some of the roses next so keep watching the diary for those pictures.
Roger in the meantime has also been very busy with the rest of Hadar's fit out. He made and fitted the door panels for the doors into the hold. He has also been adding the edging strips around the timber work.

Doors into the hold.

Our stove plinth was tiled with quarry tiles from the yard, they looked nice and aged. The wall tiles have a picture of Coniston hand painted on them, and although they were quite expensive at £8 each hand painted tile, they look fabulous and our only major extravagance. Once the stove is fitted into place it will look amazing.

Tiled Stove Plinth.

Roger then set about varnishing all the woodwork in the saloon and making the stable doors which are going between the engine room and galley. We chose stable doors so that we can have the bottom doors closed to keep Paddy (collie) shut in, but have the top doors open for ventilation when on the move. This past week has been wonderful and very interesting especially for me as I was given the opportunity to sit in and watch Tina paint. I did make sure I thanked her for allowing me this priviledge because I am well aware that not all boat painters would do this. So please always ask first.
Once all the paintwork is complete in the boatmans cabin I will make up an album of each stage, so you can sit and browse at your leisure LOL. So another week of excitement has drawn to a close ready for another to begin, and you can follow each step with us by coming back again next week to see the next installment.

Week Fifteen

Final Two Cupboards in the Saloon.

The last 2 cupboards have now been fitted in the saloon. This now completes all the major carpentry.

Tina has nearly completed the graining of the scumbling in the boatman's cabin. Once all the graining has been completed it will all need a couple of coats of varnish.

Keith has been resting as he put his back out on Tuesday, Ouch!! Still it is getting better.

Cupboard Table Grained and Knotted.

On Tuesday Roger and I took a trip to Nettlebank Granite People, in Stoke-on-Trent to select the granite for our worktops in the galley. Keith and I had already decided on the Emerald Pearl Granite, and thankfully Nettlebank did have some in stock, so now we wait for it to be cut and polished to fit our galley.

Emerald Pearl Granite