We started this morning with a shopping expedition, going to EH Smith to pick up a total of six full sheets of Selotex insulation in varying thicknesses - not quite as cheap as I expected! The boat'll be holding the heat well I suspect when all this goes in.
The last, hopefully, timber purchase was to collect the Oak-faced ply which has turned up courtesy of Johnson's in Tyseley. It looks okay and was well wrapped, although two of the boards seem to have a reddish hue, so we'll see. Ben wanted some more 2"x1" lath timber for the side battening, which was cheap enough, as well as another skeleton gun after the plastic one self-destructed yesterday.
On site, Ben got on with installing the side battening:
We put some of the first-fix wiring in place, mostly for lighting, and for feeds to the corners of the bedroom for speakers to be fitted at some point in the future. Wiring supplies have come from Vehicle Wiring Products, and are all calculated to minimise volt-drop, which has meant some large cables and a large bill!
Whilst Ben was getting on with that, and having removed the old cooker to the skip, I got on with stripping out these gas pipes, and capping them off just after the Morco on the other side of the galley. Much credit goes to Ben for thinking about reusing the old taps and fittings for capping off.
Ben working hard with the insulation and cabling:
I managed, finally, to remove the tool cupboard on the end wall, near the main steps from the stern - this was a right faff to get out, well attached from inaccessible places... With it out, I could stand the cylinder in place. Going to knock up a mounting frame for this tomorrow, and install the header tank above it, which is the whole reason the wall needed moving...
Incidentally, I calculated the capacity of the cylinder at around 85L - so huge by boat standards. It has one coil and apparently two main inputs, which is a bit odd. Oh well, beggars can't be choosers. The main plumbing plan is now done, this eve, so I should be able to get things on the go tomorrow.
The boat apparently does have some ballast, although only at the stern it seems...
And by the end of the day, most of the insulation and all of the battening was in place, thanks to hard work by Ben.
It seems that we've spent a lot of time doing preparation on these rooms, but I reckon it'll all fly together now that that's done.
Ben wants to winch the new Aga-like cooker into place tomorrow, so that'll be interesting. Then it's my job to get an oil line to it, and get it connected up. Should be interesting! Watch this space...
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