10th April

Over the weekend we’ve been compiling a list of snagging jobs and we returned to the boat yard in the morning.

Ricky was in a meeting with some clients but popped out to check on things and have a quick check through our list. Soon we had Kris and Chris/Kev (he’s called Chris but everyone calls him Kev) on board armed with tools. They worked quickly through our list.

With four people on board on Sunday and things now in cupboards and drawers things were opening very easily as the boat moved. Just pushing off from the side would open drawers so Kris fixed a couple of magnetic catches on the top ones. We’ll have to see if this fully holds them in place once we start cruising properly.

Kris fixed a bin that we’d bought at the weekend on the cupboard door under the sink. On our old boat we’ve made do with an Ikea box hung on screws, but this one is far superior. It took him all of a minute to do, rather than an hour by us.

On Sunday morning Mick had had a shower and when it was my turn I noticed that there was a small puddle on the bathroom floor. Mick said he’d already mopped it up, maybe he’d missed a bit. So I did a thorough girl mop and made sure everywhere was dry before I had my shower. The puddle had returned so I mopped it again only for it to come back. Possibly there was a little bit of flex on the shower tray and the sealant hadn’t held. Kris scraped off the old sealant with a wedge of wood. I’d not see this before, but it worked far better than a stanley blade as there was little chance of it marking the shower tray or the doors, just a bit of brute force needed. Then a wider bead of sealant was applied. This will need at least eight hours to go off before either of us has a shower.

We had ordered a barge pole and boat hook through CV Marine at the basin. Of course the hook had come as a pole and a hook separately and the pole needed to be chamfered down to be able to fix the hook on. Kris took this away for us and returned with it all sorted for us.

Meanwhile Chris/Kev got on with problems we were having elsewhere. As we’d been on shore power we’d tried to use the immersion water heater, but it didn’t want to work. A nosy at the calorifier found the problem quickly, the thermostat on it had been turned right down so it wasn’t going to produce any heat. Once turned up we were put on a shore line and the immersion was turned on, after a couple of hours the water was definitely hot.

The freezer under the dinette had power but didn’t want to do anything. The cause was that the voltage had been reversed, easily solved. Although since this was solved we’ve discovered that the cable to the power socket has a tendency to get caught on the back of the drawer runners as you pull it out, this means that the spade connectors get pulled out. A little bit of thought needs to go into solving that one. We also suspect some ventilation holes will be needed to help keep the freezer cool.

The radio was receiving FM but not DAB. With the cricket season having started this would be very important to get solved. Mick didn’t know how to remove the radio from it’s housing so Chris/Kev managed to pull it out and an adaptor was needed to connect the aerial cable. Once one of these was sourced it all worked fine.

I’d spotted a big paint chip down to the steel on the well deck which got touched in with a blob of blue paint. One of our poppered blinds for the bow doors had lost a popper which meant it couldn’t be rolled up, this was redone, a bit like a rivet.The TV aerial had arrived but we were lacking the right connectors for it. Chris said he would pop to Maplins on his way home and get some that we could pick up the following day. We were given a rather nice looking cap for the stove flue, we’ll use this in summer to keep the rain out.

When we’d lit the stove the night before with a small fire we’d had quite a lot of smoke come off it. This is normal as the paint and cement need heat to help them cure. The first few fires should be small ones to help with this, then we can have a bigger fire and keep it in longer. Having checked through the instructions for the stove we’d noticed that we were lacking a riddler (this agitates the grate to remove ash from the fire into the ash box) and poker that should have come with the stove. A call was made to the manufacturers and they would be sent arriving on Wednesday. Ricky would catch up with us to deliver them as we were planning to move off down the Tinsley flight by then.

The gaps under the bathroom doors had on Friday caused me some concern as our cat Tilly had managed to squeeze herself under the door into the cabin from the bathroom. Later on in the day I had checked the height of each door to see if the gaps were the same. Luckily they weren’t, the one to the bedroom was lower, too low for her. I had been toying with asking if it would be possible to put a thin rod across the openings, not reducing the ventilation of them but barring any cat limbo dancing. But with one door capable of being a barrier we should be alright.

Ken and Julia had been in meetings with clients and when they finished they came over to have a look round and meet Tilly. We hadn’t seen Julia since October and I’m not sure she’d seen the interior finished. With all the jobs done Chris came on board with a huge hamper full of goodies for the three of us, yes Tilly had treats and a toy too.

On Tuesday we’ll pick up the adaptors for the TV aerial, Wednesday Ricky will deliver the fire irons and then that just leaves the lithium batteries. Once these arrive Ricky will bring them to meet us and swap them for the AGM batteries and reprogram the invertor. This hopefully will be in a couple of weeks time.

It was certainly worth staying in the basin for a few days getting to use everything and finding any problems as this meant they were a lot easier to solve at the yard rather than the boat being miles away.

Tomorrow we will start our cruise southwards.

9th April

As we haven’t had a launch as such we have decided to have several celebrations on our cruise to Crick.

After spending Saturday shopping and tidying up we had the first guests on board Oleanna. Friends, Steve and Frank, drove down from Scarborough to spend the afternoon with us. After plenty of chatting inside over cups of tea, sausage rolls and boat biscuits we went outside to officially give NB Oleanna her name.

A 1979 bottle of Bollinger champagne was opened and then poured over the bow. Sadly we already knew that this vintage bottle would be undrinkable but it was a suitable bottle for the job. We then opened a bottle that Frank had brought with him to toast Oleanna, it didn’t take long to finish it!

Steve and Frank were both impressed with her. Frank a skilled carpenter by trade gave the woodwork a big thumbs up. We now have the Matthews seal of approval. We’ll be happy to stop and share some bubbles with people on our cruise south.

7th April

Up early to finish packing and loading the van. We had originally only planned on taking the essentials for cruising, but having a van meant we could take a bit more of everything. So with about a third of our possessions we drove up to Sheffield arriving at about 12.30 pm our final stage payment having beaten us to Finesse as planned.

On arriving the first thing was to let Tilly our cat out of her carrier. With a bathroom door closed either side of us I let her out of the carrier and put out some food and some litter. Naturally nervous of the situation Tilly was running around all over and somehow managed to squeeze herself under the door leading into the main cabin. Fortunately the stern doors were closed and I was able to pick her up. A large box was put in front of the gap to save any escapes whilst our belongings came on board.

Most of the jobs had been completed on board ready for our arrival. The TV aerial and hook up cable were on order and not due to arrive until Monday.We were also missing fire extinguishers. The Boat Safety Examiner had said we’d need three large ones due to our boiler being inside the cabin, on most boats the boiler is in the engine bay. Paul one of the carpenters came on board and we found positions for two of them. Both went in the nearest cupboard to the doors, out of sight, they will need a label on the outside of the door. The position of the fire blanket was chosen on the triangular shelves next to the cooker. Here it won’t be in your eye line, but is very handy for swift deployment. We will have to think about the third extinguisher as there is nowhere obvious for it.

On board we now have two 12volt 100AH AGM batteries these will be on loan until our second Lithium battery arrives which should be in a couple of weeks. The original battery has been taken off and will be given a full charge and brought to meet us with the new one. This will mean that both batteries start at the same level of charge as each other.

Our plan was to stay in the basin for the weekend and work our way through NB Oleanna finding any glitches so that we could compile a snagging list. So with hook up possible in the basin we needed a cable. Ricky headed off to pick one up for us locally, whilst we went to the winding hole to wind. I stayed below with Tilly trying to calm the situation as Mick pushed off down the cut. I heard a short blast of the bow thruster and then we were off. At the winding hole Mick turned her without using the girlie button and returned us to the boat yard.

Below I wasn’t aware that the bow thruster had actually stopped working as we pulled out, so Mick hadn’t the option to use it as he turned. After we’d moored up he tried pressing the buttons, but still nothing. Chris and Ricky came to have a look. Ricky first checked the isolation switch in the bowthruster locker, it was off. Turned on, problem solved, phew!

With a hook up cable now on board we could move off to the basin. Except Oleanna wouldn’t start! Ricky returned and started to eliminate causes, she had started every time up to now. Isolation switches were turned off then on, engine board lifted. A look in the electrics cupboard behind all the isolation switches and a bit of waggling of cables. One was loose, a check with a volt meter confirmed it needed re-terminating. Huge bolt cutters were brought in to chop the connector off the cable, then it was re-crimped back on, this time with a crimper that took both Ricky and Chris to operate. Everything back to how it should be the engine started. Switched off and then it wouldn’t start again! Another cable needed re-terminating too. These two cables had been done by the chap who fits the engines and it seems his crimper isn’t up to scratch.

With the engine started we cruised into the basin with me at the helm and Mick operating the swing bridge. Over the weekend we would be unpacking and make a snagging list, then return on Monday to have things sorted and pick up the TV aerial.

After almost five years we were finally cruising with our very own boat built to our spec, admittedly it wasn’t very far. A bottle of bubbly was opened in the evening once we’d found enough room to sit down amongst all our bags and Tilly decided that she should sit all neat and tidy in her new home.

Visit 5th April

Today we headed back to Sheffield to have a detailed walk through and check on anything that still needed doing. The AGM batteries were due to arrive today so would be fitted on Thursday and all being well we would then get the keys on Friday.

We have decided to cruise her away from Sheffield, my ankle is improving and standing at the helm in locks will be achievable, so we’ll be saving on transportation and craning. Just hope that the weather stays good for our trip on the rivers Trent and Soar.

The hooks on the back doors have been adjusted so locker lids don’t interfere with them anymore. The bolts holding the back doors closed are still to be extended or a catch added so that we can cruise with the back doors closed. The radio aerial needs an adaptor so that it can be plugged into the socket on the stern. A TV aerial will be ordered in for us. The plank and pole rack position was discussed and decided on. The black band on the stern still needs painting black to separate the cream and red bands.

Ricky talked Mick and myself through everything in the electrics cupboard. Alde boiler control, inverter, battery monitor. A lot of information to take in, I think we got more than the basics and will soon understand it all after going through the reading matter.

I walked through the whole of the interior checking that cupboards and drawers opened correctly. Only a couple were sticking a little, just small tweaks to hinges.

The cabin floor had been given a coat of oil. It had been covered in cardboard for protection for so long that it had gone dull and one or two marks showed up. But as I’d hoped when I chose the flooring a coat of oil brought it back to life and any small marks disappeared.

As we will be cruising NB Oleanna to Crick the first two servicing jobs will need doing. At 25 hours of running in gear the gear box oil will need changing and at 50 hours the engine oil and filter will need changing. Mick had a good look round in the engine bay. He currently services Lillyanne which has a Barrus Shire, Oleanna has a Beta 43 so things are in different places. He asked Ricky if he could get in the correct oil and filters for the services, this will not only save time on our cruise south but having actual filters means we’ll have good references for the future.

We have ended up ordering poles through Paul at CV Marine in Sheffield, this saves us worrying how to get them from Crick to Sheffield in a car. Prices of planks were extortionate so we plan on buying a scaff plank which I will paint and antislip at some point. We’ll also need a hook up cable so we asked Ricky if they could order one in for us. The diesel tank will have enough in it for us to get to Thorne where we will fill her up. She has a fuel gauge which will need to be recalibrated when we do this as the tank hasn’t as yet been filled. Then we’ll need two gas bottles, we may end up having to pay the deposit on two unless we see a some lying around!

All the jobs would be done for Friday when we can pick her up and sail her away!

With this in mind we stopped at some services on our way back to Crick so that we could make arrangements. NB Lillyanne would need to be put into the marina whilst we are away, Noel said he’d find room for us. A one way car hire was sorted to be picked up on Thursday swapping it for the van we currently had. This would give us a day to pack essentials for a two week cruise. Insurance and Licence needed paying for and then it would be the final stage payment to Finesse.

Visit 28th March
With a hire car potentially sitting around doing nothing for the day we had contacted Ricky at Finesse to see if it would be possible to do a test cruise. A few things were happening at the yard on Tuesday, but as long as they had been able to take NB Oleanna out themselves to check her out then we’d be welcome.
Ricky had heard from the battery distributors. The good news was that a battery had been made, but it was going to take longer to arrive than first thought! So the two week deadline couldn’t be met. However they were offering to loan us two AGM 12 volt 100 amp hour batteries that would fit in the existing battery tray until the lithium one arrives. This we thought on over night.
On arriving in Sheffield the yard felt bare. Whenever we’ve visited before there have been shells everywhere, but today it felt quite empty. An old narrowboat had arrived, this had been bought by the owner of NB Muddy Waters along with it’s mooring in London. This boat was now surplus to his requirements so was going to be blacked and then put up for sale.Only one other boat was on hard standing, but then there were two in the fabrication shed, two in fit out and we didn’t get to see the paint shed.
NB Oleanna had been turned round in the morning and was waiting for us. A coat of paint had been applied to the inside of the weed hatch. Our current weed hatch opens into the engine bay and the locking lid is above water level. However on Tyler Wilson shells the weed hatch is totally separate to the engine bay and the locking lid is below the water level. This means that there is no way you would be able to flood your engine bay having left the lid loose as on our current boat. Also the lid being under water helps reduce noise.
Chris handed over the ignition key to Mick, no float on it, he had to be careful not to drop it in the cut. Once we were on the stern, Mick started her up, a quieter engine than NB Lillyanne our current boat. Chris untied the bow and gave her a push, Ricky the stern. Once all four of us were on board Mick put her in gear. The test cruise wasn’t far about 2.5 miles round trip towards the top of the Tinsley flight.

In tick over she glided through the water effortlessly with very little wake, the bow wave was almost non existent. This may change when her water tank is full though. Increasing the revs brought with it a bit of singing from below. Ricky thought that the stern gland greaser might need an extra turn as it was all bedding in. The engine hours only read 1.6 when we set out. With the revs higher the noise vanished.
The morse control was easier than our current one which in comparison is quite stiff. In fact watching Mick it seemed like he was hardly making any effort at the helm and she was responding. He also had a very big smile on his face, we were at last moving on our long awaited for boat.
Reaching the winding hole the bow thruster had to be tested, so the girlie button was pressed for the first time by us, Ricky had used it a lot to turn her in the basin earlier in the day. Sorry to those from our old syndicate of NB Winding Down, but NB Oleannas’ bow thruster is far more powerful and she responded, turning with just two very short blasts.
On our return Mick brought her to a halt and then popped her in reverse. After a little bit of initial straightening up she moved through the water as straight as a die in reverse, we were impressed as that never happens, it might be the only time!
By the time we returned there was a little bit of rudder judder, most probably something around the prop, but she still responded well. Mick brought her in very slowly and carefully so as not to leave any marks on the gunnels. A very enjoyable test even if it had started to rain part way. It was a shame that I’d not had a turn on the tiller, but as I’m still wearing a protective boot on my broken foot and on crutches it would have been a bit hard.
When it had started to rain I closed the back doors into the cabin and pulled the hatch shut. This did make me realise that the only way to have both doors shut was if they were locked either with the yale or bolted from inside. We don’t cruise with the back doors open due to our cat (she’s not trusted up on deck) and it would be a pain to always have to have a key with us. So Ricky and Chris are going to see if they can add a catch or a bolt that is accessible from the top of the doors to keep them closed.
We chatted through the battery situation again. Having two AGM batteries would mean that we could move on board, we’d soon work out if our power needs exceeded what they could supply us with. Running the batteries low wouldn’t be a problem to us in the long run as we’d be handing them back. When the second battery arrives someone from Finesse would come out to meet us to fit them, most probably have to adjust the ballast. At least it would mean that the engine bay wouldn’t have to be reorganised around different batteries. So decision made.

We checked through various items with Ricky to see if they were included. The plank and pole rest should arrive in the next few days, but because of Health and Safety we need to provide our own planks and poles. She comes with bow and stern fenders and ropes (but no centre line), Pipe fenders on each side attached to the gunnels. These are fine when you are moored and help protect the paint work when coming in to moor, but we have gained at least three of these around our prop from others that have lost them whilst in locks. We could lift them onto the gunnel, but I have to say we’re more likely to remove them and attach them to fender hooks and hang them from the grab rail once moored so there is no chance of loosing them or them getting in the way. So a shopping list has been made.
Not far off now, a few small jobs before handover. We just have to decide on how to get her to meet NB Lillyanne. No boats are due to be craned in or out in Sheffield so that would mean we couldn’t split the cost of a crane at one end. With transport and two cranes we are likely to be looking at around £2000 to move her. Another option is to hire a car or van and move cruising essentials on board (including the cat) and cruise her down the country. This however is dependant on the recovery of my broken ankle, as I don’t want to miss out on her first cruise, I need to be able to stand at the helm and drive with confidence. This however will mean we have to think creatively about her launch and how to celebrate with our friends.

Visit 15th March
An early start for us today turned out to not be quite early enough.

In Sheffield a crane had been brought in to move several boats, one of which was to be NB Oleanna. it turned out that she needed to be moved first and things had started very early. We could see the crane as we approached from a distance. Sadly we missed the strops being adjusted to get Oleanna centred for the lift, the nail biting moments of her being lifted into the air, swung over and then gently lowered into the cut. When we arrived we stood on Cadman Bridge where you can over look the yard and not get in the way. There was NB Oleanna sitting with quite a list in the water. She was having steel ballast added to the starboard side to level her up some.

Her ballast under the floor had been positioned to compensate for much of the internal fit out being on the starboard side. Just about all our storage is on this side so therefore we will be adding weight when we move on to her. Later on in the day we discussed with Ricky how much weight we would be adding, we had no idea really, but a figure of around 100kgs was thought suitable. The extra ballast added can be adjusted when we’ve moved on, being positioned under the galley units and elsewhere we’ll be shown how to get at it all.

We watched as NB Sheffield Maid was prepared and then craned out and swung right over onto a lorry to be moved to the other end of the yard. The crane was then retracted and repositioned so that it could lift NB Sheffield Maid off the lorry and be positioned by the paintshop. Then a sailaway Sheffield Keel was craned onto another lorry, this was heading to Scotland. NB Muddy Waters a Finesse boat was then craned out of the cut onto another lorry, this was heading to London. All this took some time with the repositioning of the crane, strapping down of boats. We did our best to keep out of the way.

When we got chance between crane moves, we walked down into the yard. With NB Oleanna now on the water getting on was going to be difficult for me as I am currently on crutches. With the help of a fork lift and a pallet I was assisted over the gap where I could then shuffle on board. Ricky wanted to show us the jobs that had been ticked off the list from our visit last week and we also wanted to look at the sofa bed that had arrived on Monday.

A double electric socket has been added into the rear port cupboard in the galley, this is so that we can have our hand held vacuum hidden away charging.

A yale lock has been added to the sliding hatch. As Oleanna is a reverse layout boat we really wanted some means of being able to lock the back doors from outside instead of only being able to do it from inside.

A couple of detectors have been put up on the ceiling. We are not sure if these are just smoke or Carbon Monoxide as well.

A slot in the back of the freezer drawer has been cut and the table legs now fit in there nicely.

Walking around on her in the water was very strange. She will be left to settle in the water for a few days and then all the cupboards and drawers will be checked to see if they are still square and that they open and close properly.  One thing that was obvious was that the freezer drawer would need a catch so that it doesn’t slide open. This will be done with magnetic catches so that the drawer can still sit flush.

The sofa bed had arrived on Monday afternoon from Sofabed Barn. Michael had adapted their Hampton sofa and pouffe for us. Made to fit into the space we had the sofa is just a little bit shorter than their 1400 one. The pouffe is normally the same length as the sofa and when made up into a bed the sofa lays flat and the pouffe extends it to the full width of your boat.

But we don’t have the luxury of all that space, the TV would be in the way and so would the pouffe. So he has made us a squarer one which pushes in under some shelving to keep the doorway clear. Then if you want to use it as a seat or foot rest it pulls out. If left at the end of the sofa it makes it long enough to be a single bed. The pouffe has a hinged lid so can be used for storage and the seat of the sofa can be lifted to reveal more storage below.

Once things had calmed down a bit with the moving of boats we sat down with Ricky to discuss the battery situation. He was now in touch with the main man at the UK distributors. Several phone calls were had whilst we were there, but still no solution was offered from them.
Now that she is in the water the final few jobs can be done and then we can take her out for a test, likely to be in about ten days time. Once this has been done and she is signed off we can arrange to get her to Crick for her launch where we are currently waiting on NB Lillyanne.

16th March phone call.

Ricky has at last heard back from the battery distributor today. They are saying that a battery is being manufactured for us in the States and will be air freighted over due to arrive in two weeks. We have all heard something similar to this several times before from them. So they are being given a deadline of when it has to have arrived by. If it does not arrive the original battery we’ve had since October will be returned and the battery trays will be removed, made bigger and AGM batteries will be installed instead.

Visit 7th March
It has been quite sometime since we paid a visit to Sheffield, in fact we’ve not visited since the end of November! Weekly phone calls have been taking place but all of them much the same regarding the Lithium batteries, or lack of one of them! Without the full complement of batteries it has not been worth Finesse putting NB Oleanna in the water as they wouldn’t be able to adjust the ballast or test the remaining systems without the extra battery.

But with several boats being moved next week by crane she will be getting her bottom wet, battery or not. We decided that a visit was worth doing as quite a lot has been done over the last few months and climbing on board next week we would only get in the way.

Chris and Ricky were on hand to show us round and answer questions. A couple of weeks ago NB Oleanna was moved out of the fitout shop and into the yard, she was taking up much needed space and with a full compliment of mushroom vents fitted she was water tight. She has had a bit of a clean up, but not the full works yet, as sitting in the yard she is bound to get dirty. There are also bits of tape left from masking on the hull.

Since our last visit the lower red and cream lines have been repainted, swapped over on the cabin sides to match the original design. The lines have had to be slightly thickened but the shadow of the previous paint is very faint. It may be a small thing to some but to me she looks better with all her red shadows in the right places.

The gunnels have had their top coats of satin black from the cratch board back to the feathers on the stern. This is the area that no matter how hard you try not to, it will always get marked in locks. So I chose the same paint that we have on our current boat NB Lillyanne as it is easy to touch up (when you get round to it!). The rubbing strake between the red and cream on the tunnel band is still to be painted black.

The bow and stern fenders have been fitted, chains hold them in position. On lengths where the chain may rub the paintwork plastic tubing has been added over the chain for protection. The stern counter, not in any photos has also had a coat of the gunnel black as this area will also get a lot of wear.

Below the gunnel there is one chrome surround on the shower outlet. We are not sure whether the other outlets will be getting these or that it has one because there is a pump on the other side. On the other cabin side the outlets for the urine tank have been labelled.

The internet aerial has been fitted onto the back of the cabin, this will fit under the pram cover when it is fitted. The other box on the back of the cabin is for the TV aerial. The Iroko locker lids are in position and a top has been put on the morse control. So should we want to we can sit there without getting a chilly bum.

 

The roof is looking cream and shiny with the neatly positioned mushroom vents and her tall chrome chimney. There was only enough room for the size of solar panel we wanted above the bathroom. It’s position here does mean that it is unlikely to get walked on much or have the centre line left on top of it, so hopefully it will stay cleaner longer and therefore be more efficient. There is the ability to be able to add a second panel when we can afford one.

At both the bow and stern we have a hook up point. Our current boat has one either end and we like the freedom of being able to moor either way round in marinas.

The locker lid on the floor is for the bow thruster.

The gas locker is all nice and clean, no canal water in there as yet! We will have to find ourselves two gas bottles and for the first time pay the deposit on them.

To the right of the picture you can see a fairlead on the bow. This is so that we can direct our ropes when mooring and not damage the paintwork, hopefully.

Sitting on the front of the cratch board all proud and slightly frog like are the horn and tunnel light. The cables for these go through the cratch board. The two plugs hanging down are so that should we want to remove the light or horn then we can cap off the power.

We didn’t expect a two trumpet tooting horn, it certainly looks like it means business. We haven’t tried it out yet.

On the front doors the coverings were in place. Here we couldn’t have a conventional blind as there wasn’t enough space above the doors to house one and the door handle sits too proud. I’m not a great fan of bungs as we’d need somewhere to store them and curtains would cut out too much of the light. So Kim suggested having panels that popper onto the doors and roll up when not in use. The closed effect is great neat and simple. I may have a little tinker with them to see how best to roll them up though.

 

The memory foam mattress has arrived. The infill section sits nicely in line with the bedside cupboards when the bed is folded away. The bed extends by pulling out the end and resting it on a ledge on the cabin side, the infill section will then slot into the gap. I suspect the infill will end up just being folded ontop of the rest of the bed so that it is easier to make it up at the end of a day.
The linen blue curtains are up and have small ties on them. These are very neat sitting on their brushed poles.

Ever since the floors were laid they have been covered in protective cardboard whilst work was on going. Today is the first time we’d seen the bathroom floor. It sits well with the blue and wood.

The urine tank pump has been tested with water, we will need a section of hose and a bottle to pump out into. The bucket however has not been tried or tested , that will be left for us.

The sink top has been mounted with a longer reaching tap than I’d originally specced as the rim of the sink was too thick for it. On the side of the under sink cupboard on the left is a shaver socket. Kim has made us cream bungs for the portholes in here. For much of the year I suspect we won’t bother with them, but they will certainly be used on those bright sunny spring mornings when light floods in and works its way into your sleepy eyes.

The gas pipe that sits under the gunnel behind the stove has had some fireboard put in front of it along with some stainless steel to protect it from the heat.

The top of the flue has been trimmed off with stainless steel.

We now have a TV. The one that we had specced has been superseded by one that was 5mm bigger! This meant that the housing for the radio had to be reduced in width for the TV to fit. The PVR is still to go in, we just hope that the space for it is still an okay size. The Houdini shelf is in which I know Tilly our cat will appreciate when she moves on board, just so long as her tail doesn’t get in the way!

From here on in there may be quite a lot of masking tape in the photos, this was used to help keep cupboards and drawers closed when they were moving her out from the workshop.

The wooden floor is now visible and needs a final sweep and clean.

The curtains are fitted in the main cabin. To be able to wash them I’ll have to undo the end brackets on the rails, but that should be easy enough.
The space for the sofa is ready, that will be delivered next Monday from Sofabed Barn.

The dinette cushions were in position. The red shows up as being paler in the photos. One extra cushion is needed to make this up into a bed which can live at other times behind the long side of the back. To make the bed you lift the front edge on the long side and pull the seat towards you. The cushions then lower flat onto the base and adding the extra cushion in behind them fills the gap.

The dinette table was in it’s storage position, but nowhere had been found to store the legs other than under the seating. The gap at the side of the freezer came to mind. They fit in width ways quite well, but the drawer was too short. Ricky is going to see if they can add a short extension to the end of the drawer so that the legs can be stored there. I’ll put a bit of felt in between them to stop them making any noise. The drawer extending further into the dinette won’t be a problem as that section will be for things that we rarely use.

The galley worktops and splash backs are in along with the sink and taps. The worktop looks better in the flesh and I’m glad we eventually found something with a vein to it. Grooves have been put in the worktop into the corner from the sink to act as a drainer. Apparently my choice of tap has been popular, other owners have asked for the same one as it nicely mirrors the angle of the cabin.

The blinds have been fitted and look great. They have hold downs in the bottom corners that keep them in line with the cabin sides. A twist of the wand and you can open and close the slats. Or you can pull them up out of the way totally. The wand and cord loop can be held out of the way with the fixings on the bottom right. Here’s hoping they are cat proof!

A pull out larder unit has been added into the 300mm wide cupboard next to the dishwasher. Depending on what food items go in here I might see if I can get another basket to fit it giving us three shelves.

Under the corner worktop by the cooker there is a panel that opens to access the gas isolation valve.

As the cooker had to be positioned slightly forward of the other units the worktop has been shaped to accommodate this.

Behind the cooker there is a gap in the splash back and a section of white stainless steel has been added to help deflect heat away from the cabin side from the hob and oven. The pan supports are still to be put on the cooker.

The electrics cupboard is finished neat and tidy.
The switches panel is all labelled up and it’s position inside this cupboard means that you can’t accidently knock anything off as you get in and out of the boat.

The water tank was partially full, but no diesel was registering on the gauge. We don’t think she’ll come with a full tank!

With power to everything on board and all the lights on, the solar panel was managing to bring in a bit more power than was being used
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A short list of jobs to be done was made. A surveyor did a BSC last week, everything passed but he requires us to have larger fire extinguishers due to our boiler being inside the cabin and not the engine bay. Positions for these were discussed along with the fire blanket.

Covers are still outstanding. When she was going to be launched in Macclesfield we were going to use All Seasons Covers as they were local. Now that we have reverted to the original plan of launching at Crick we are in other companies areas. But they all have waiting lists, some of months. So as soon as we decide which way we will be pointing her bow from Crick we shall book her in. We’ll most probably have most of the summer without covers, as long as they are with us by the autumn that will be okay.

The main missing factor is still the lithium battery. Several solutions were discussed with Ricky and we are all still hoping that the company will send the right battery before we are at the yard again next week. If not, we will have to chose which way to go with the power so that the remaining tests can be carried out and we can have our new boat.

Ending on a lighter note here is the galley again.

Phone call 23rd January

Since our last update we have been in touch with Ricky nearly every week. The worktops were fitted when planned. There was one slight hiccup as the tap we had suggested for the bathroom sink didn’t have a long enough reach. So different taps were suggested, our choice was made and the new tap fitted which would manage to put water actually into the sink.

The central heating has now been commissioned. There was a slight problem with the water pump, but the chaps contacted Alde and talked it through with them and all is now in working order.

The repainting of the lines on the cabin sides has been done and the gunnels and stern deck have now been painted in a black that is easier to touch up.

There is a short list of jobs still to be done but for most of these NB Oleanna needs to be on the water and settled. The major thing lacking is still our second 24volt lithium battery. The manufacturers in the States eventually came back to Ricky with the news that they didn’t have one. The 12 volt versions have proved so popular that not many 24 volt ones are available. The batteries were originally ordered before the Brexit, since then the prices have gone up. Ricky has stuck to his guns with the company as the price he was given was pre-Brexit. A couple of weeks ago we were informed that a second battery had been found for us in Germany and should be with us by the end of last week. Well it still hasn’t shown up! Ricky is on the case and hopefully will come back to us soon with news.

Our concern now is that if we find that a third battery is needed to ease our power needs will we be able to get one!

We are wanting to time our next visit with NB Oleanna going in the water in Sheffield. A Tyler Wilson sailaway has been in the way for a while but has now moved. But until the battery arrives there is no point in her going into the water and sitting there, if a crane is needed at the yard for another boat then she will go in the water sooner.

So we sit and potter up and down the Macclesfield Canal waiting. The stoppage on the Bridgewater Canal still hasn’t happened and we have toyed with maybe crossing back over the Pennines and heading back to Sheffield to swap boats. But there is a closure due to start in Doncaster on the 6th February, we also would need rivers to behave level wise and the canals to not freeze to make it in time. But managing to do 8.5 hours cruising a day in winter would be cold, soggy and not fun. So we may change our plan of where to launch her and give ourselves more scope for cruising whilst we wait.

Phone call 8th December

With everyone likely to shut up shop in two weeks for Christmas we thought we’d best give Ricky a call over at Finesse. If Oleanna was going to be ready for a launch this side of Christmas we would need to be contacting Tuckeys to arrange transport.

Our new blinds had arrived, but hadn’t been checked to see if they would fit as yet. Keeping them wrapped up save having to dust them down!

The company doing the worktops had been to do templates last week when they said they would and were expected next Wednesday to fit them. At last I will have something to chop my veg on! The work tops we have gone for in the end are still a bit over budget, we will pay the difference.

After the worktops are fitted there will be a couple of days work for Kris to finish sockets, switches, fit the sink etc. All things that have had to wait for the worktops to be fitted. Then she will be ready to be craned into the canal next to the yard to check the ballast and systems out.

Craning can only happen when Jonathan Wilson is about and he is on holiday for a week, but his return is likely to be well timed for Oleanna to be ready to get a wet bottom.

There is one thing still missing though. Our second Lithium Battery, it still hasn’t arrived from the States! Ricky is trying to find out if it is possible to run a few cycles on one battery so that they can test the systems, or would that cause problems in the future. So this may well hold up the final stages of the build.

The red line has been repainted on the cabin side the cream line is still to be done. The temperatures haven’t helped over the last couple of weeks, but with the forecast getting better this should happen soon out of normal working hours.

Once Oleanna is in the water and ballast adjusted she will be left for a couple of days to settle. Weight distribution on land is very different to being afloat. Once she’s had some time then the snagging of cupboard doors etc can happen.

At some point with everything finished a surveyor will give her a look over and she will be given a Boat Safety Certificate, if everything meets with the regulations. We will also have a try out over in Sheffield before she’s handed over to us for launch.

So with all that still to happen we’d be cutting it very fine to launch her before Christmas.  A shame, but we don’t want to rush the last stage. So Oleanna will launch sometime in the first couple of weeks of January, if the battery turns up!

Visit 28th November

We were in Sheffield very early today so that we could meet up with Andy Russell the sign writer.

Andy had arrived before us and was starting to mark out Oleanna’s name on the cabin side in china graph. The pictures of my model had been printed out for him. Rather than measure up he had gauged the size I was after by eye and was using his mahl stick as a straight edge and to measure up. He worked quickly and efficiently.

I was wanting the lettering to match the cream and red that had been used on the boat already, these he would mix from his stock of paints as he went.

These photos are a little confusing due to reflections of the boat next door. Oleanna has had the lower lines masked and sprayed out blue on both sides. The rest of her had been covered in brown paper to mask out when the spraying happened.

The new lines will be sprayed in soon the right way round. If you stand in line with the cabin side and look along it you can just make out the shadow of the previous lines. This position, when she is in the water, will be a very unusual one for anyone to be at, so hopefully any shadow will not be obvious.

As the cream dried off a bit he painted on Oleanna’s C&RT number. We had applied for this a couple of weeks ago (cost of £20) so that it could be painted on rather than having the number plates propped up in the windows. Because we will be having a pram cover we decided that the position of this should be just forward of the drain on the roof, so there is no chance of it being covered over. We also asked for the C&RT swan and bridge symbol. The masking tape is masking out the box for this. I’m not sure whether Andy just freehands the symbol, suspect he does as he must do it very often.

The control panel is in position behind the little hatch at the stern. The engine temperature gauge has been installed above the electrics cupboard along with switches for Nav lights and the tunnel light, not sure what the third one is yet.

Here is the engine all green and shiny. There are still various things to happen in the engine bay to do with electrics which will happen this coming weekend.

The hospital silencer is installed, top right hand corner of the bottom photo, this basically makes the noise coming from the exhaust quieter, so less shouting at each other on the back deck will be needed.

Two batteries were on the trays. The one to the left is the starter and is a wet cell battery. The one on the right is one of the Lithium Batteries. The second one is still on it’s way from the States and is expected sometime this week. Space has been built in should we find we need a third battery.

The two brass fittings attached to pipes above the batteries are bleeding nipples! We think. They are on the same side as the radiators and are higher so we suspect these are valves for us to be able to bleed air out of the system.

In the starboard side rear locker there is the header tank for the Alde Boiler, tucked into the corner. The water level can be topped up here and anti freeze can also be added to the system.

The prop is now fitted.

Inside the electrics cupboard  more has been happening. The top panel of switches are for the 24 volt electrics, such as fridge, water, lights.

Below are switches for 12 volt electrics which is stepped down from the 24 volt supply.

The Victron Battery monitor sits next to the water tank gauge (held on with masking tape), the hole next to this is for the diesel tank gauge.

The Alde controller is on the lower door next to the battery isolators.

The white box in the photo on the right is the 240 volt distribution box. This will also go in the cupboard. There is a possibility that with the boiler running and all the electrics going that they may have to add some forced cooling from the engine  bay, by means of a fan. This won’t be known until everything is rigged up and working.  Next time we visit the spaghetti mountain in the cupboard should all be sorted and connected.

There is still the MPPT controller to be fitted and space for our router. The router may have to go below the boiler, dimensions have been passed onto Ricky and if the cables need routing to the lower portion of the cupboard then this will be done.

We had brought along one of our Brompton bikes to check on the areas where they will be stored. The slot next to the fridge has a gas pipe running through it and we wanted to check that the bike would not touch this. The small shelf created by the swim in the slot means that the bike cannot touch the pipe. The bike does slightly protrude from the slot, but we knew this would be the case. On our current boat the bike encroaches the corridor a little bit more than this, it hasn’t been a problem to us in the last couple of years. The bottom of the rear port side cupboard accommodates a bike wonderfully, this will be where our second less used bike lives.

The cable in the bike slot is for power to the fridge.

Some curtain poles were in place. Kim had managed to get them to put some up so that the curtains could be made. They will only be put on board once all the messy jobs have been completed.

What we call the Houdini shelf has now been fitted above the TV shelving. This is so that our cat can sit and watch the world go by and stalk passing ducks and we can keep a few bits and bobs ontop of the shelf unit. I’m hoping my model of Oleanna will fit there.

The blinds for the galley are having to be remade so that they fit in the recess of the window frame. The position of the extractor above the cooker was causing issues, so this is the best solution. So if you know of anyone who could do with two dark blue metal venetian blinds please put them in touch.

Worktops have been ordered. The sample that I selected only comes as a jumbo sheet therefore there is more wastage than normal. Once it arrives with the chap who will shape it, he will be able to see if a usable off cut can be left for a future client which will reduce the price. It will take two weeks for him to shape before it can be fitted. This is now what will hold us up getting Oleanna into the water. Various jobs cannot be done until the worktops are installed, final sockets in the galley, steel backing to the cooker etc.

Kris talked over positions for aerials at the stern and double checked where we would like the bow thruster control to be positioned. Both he and Ricky reckon that she should touch the water in Sheffield before Christmas, we are hoping that this will give us enough time to have her launched before Christmas in Macclesfield.

All the time things were being discussed Andy kept painting and we’d pop back into the workshop to have a look.

I’d discussed with him about the lettering having a red shadow as if the light source was at the bow. When I popped back in to see how he was doing the port side Oleanna had almost all of it’s shadowing done, but on the wrong side! He was painting the shadow on the left which (excuse me if I get this the wrong way round) is how boats in the north of the country traditionally have their shadows painted no matter which side of the boat. It turns out that the shadow will be northern on the starboard side and southern on the port as my interpretation of shadowing comes from one light source and not tradition.

Andy was very good about it and immediately got a rag out and with white spirit wiped the cabin side clean. My heart fell, he had to remove the cream as well as the red shadow. But he straight away redrew the lettering and started painting it back in. When I returned a while later he was just finishing off the port side shadowing and about to start on the other side. As he moved round he made sure which side the shadow would be on.

With shadows added to the bow Andy was finished and ready to move onto sign writing NB Muddy Waters one of Oleanna’s neighbours.