Wall Lights

The wall lights for the saloon arrived today. This isn't it on the wall.

Wiring the 12 volt lighting...

Completed wiring the 12 volt lighting today but finished a bit earlier today as it hasn't been the warmest of days.

Insulating the Water Tank...

We removed the water tank today and insulated it with a layer of 75mm Celotex insulation boards to all side filling any voids around and up to the hull with tightly packed Rockwool.

Two more boards needed to finish the front.

Ceiling batten fixings…

Today we put additional screws in the ceiling battens at 400mm centres, aching necks and arms again, can’t wait for all the high level work to be complete. Today Charlie came with us to the boat for the first time as no one was available to look after him today, I think he was probably bored.

12 volt containment...

It's been a lot warmer today, started with the containment for the 12 volt electrics.

Supports for wiring…

What seemed like a boring day today, we started drilling and fixing the supports that will eventually carry the 12v wiring. Finding it difficult working above head height for hour at a time, aching pretty bad tonight.

Satellite Receiver…

We’ve gone for a flat sat antenna to get a TV signal, when closed it’s apparently only 150mm high so should miss those low bridges, doesn’t auto track the satellite but you're talking silly money for one that does. They look easy enough to set up. Just hope it’s good because we have bad memories of trying to watch TV with crappy hire boat aerials.

I know it may seem like we’ve got this a bit early but I needed to have the cabling so it can be built into the lining.

Insulation…

Popped down to the boat this afternoon for a couple of hours and completed the second layer of insulation to the roof, horrible stuff to cut even with a mask and safety spec’s on.

Painting…

Today we took advantage of the lovely weather and touched up the outside that was starting to rust in places where the primer had been damaged.

Still more battening…

We haven’t been down to the boat for a couple of days due to one thing and another, mainly waiting for things to arrive. Today we did and yet more battening, it never seems to end, almost finished the ceiling though.

Need to keep warm…

After waiting in most of the day for the toilet delivery to arrive, we went for a trip down to Midland chandlers to get a Morso squirrel and a few other things, picked up a bonus card while there so get 15% off everything for the next six months, can’t be bad.

Fitting the stove will be a priority now it’s almost winter.

Decision time...

I think one of the hardest decisions to make when fitting out a new boat is what toilet waste system to go for, cassette or pump out. Now we’ve read lots on the forums about this subject over the years and have come to the usual conclusion, it’s all down to personal choice, someone will always disagree and argue the pros and cons, to be honest we‘ve changed our minds several times.

Finally going for a cassette toilet. After caravanning for many years the thought of emptying a cassette every couple of days doesn’t bother us at all, and with a couple of spare cassettes we should get a week between empties, plus it’s free to empty, takes up less room and when your boat is stuck in icy water you can still empty it.

Had to shop around but finally found someone that did the one we wanted, a Thetford C250S with no cistern and a ceramic bowl, first one came smashed but today’s replacement was ok.

Roof Insulation...

We arrived at the boat this morning to find our delivery of insulation boards waiting for us, I ordered them yesterday and was told it would be an afternoon drop, but the driver said they had another delivery in the area so did them together. I wasn’t complaining it meant we were able to start work right away. It took most of the day fitting the boards between the ribs to the roofs soffit, but it’s another good job done.

We left for home around 3pm, the weather today has been dull and was starting to get a bit dark by then.

Gas locker primed by Corinne.

Felt the cold today...

Today we haven't stopped but can't see much progress for all our efforts, resulting in no photo's! It's been a lot colder too which didn't help morale. Done all those horrible little jobs that get left  to the last. Hopefully tomorrow will be a bit warmer.