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THE FITTING OUT OF
CARLTON - THE BEGINNING
Links to other pages on the
fitting out of CARLTON
| THE
FITTING OUT PROCESS FOR THE NARROW BOAT CARLTON - THE BEGINNING We thought that the hirers of our narrowboats, and those with an interest in canal and canal boats in general might like to follow the fitting out of the new boat to the fleet, CARLTON. These pages will not be comprehensive but will be placed on the website as and when time permits, and with photographs that we have been able to obtain because we were in the right place at the right time. We hope you find following the "fit-out" of interest, even though the images are much compacted to allow relatively speedy (not quick) access to the page for the "dial-up" connections, who are still the majority of internet users. Text to the pictures will follow as I, the one who writes the web pages, learn more about the process. |
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| Rob
Bryan, Boat Services, also based on the Ashby Canal at Stoke Golding, is responsible for
the overall fitout of the canal boat CARLTON. This means he, or his team, will be responsible for the majority of the fitting out of the interior of the narrowboat. However as with all things these days "specialists" will be employed to undertake some parts of the work, e.g. the foam insulation. Also the marine engineer of the Ashby Boat Company will supervise the installation of the "electrics" and "pipe work" to ensure maximum reliability and ease of future maintenance. The engineer will also be responsible for fitting the engine and associated controls. |
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Links to informative
websites if you are considering fitting out a narrowboat
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The weather is calm and sunny
today. But the previous day when the boat had been "dropped in" to the canal, as boaters say, the weather was horrendous with the rain lashing down, hence no pictures of the hull actually being lowered into the Ashby Canal at Shackerstone. The process is really done very carefully and gently, despite the terminology used. |
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The inside of the bare hull
looking towards the rear, aft, back, of the boat.
Information on the fabrication
of a steel narrowboat shell can be found on the website of, |
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Looking to the front of the boat,
the bow, (the pointy end). You can see the already fitted stainless steel water tank under the forward deck. You can also see a pipe passing down each side of the hull, these are to allow water (rain) that falls in the forward cockpit to pass through to the engine compartment where the automatic bilge pump will pump it out of the boat. |
| There
is some real interest here for none boaters like myself. The hull is sitting high in the water as shown, it has not yet been "ballasted". So, you are able to see the propeller, the round gold coloured (bronze) item in front of the rudder. The rudder and the rudder post, to which it is attached come as one item. The "swan's neck" tiller arm is attached to the rudder post. With this image you are able to understand how the boat steers, with the force of the water coming from the propeller being deflected by the rudder either left or right. With the tiller arm pushed to the right as you look forward the rudder will deflect the force of the water to the left, and the back of the boat will move right. The forward movement of the boat then tends to "pivot" somewhere in the centre of the length of the boat, according to design, and the front of the boat will move to the left. |
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though there will be a large amount of weight added to the boat during the
fitting out process, extra weight is needed in the form of ballast to
establish the correct level in the water for the boat. This is usually somewhere around the level of the lower "rubbing strip". This strip can be seen at the top of the "blacked" area of the boat hull. On CARLTON the ballast used was "seconds" engineering bricks. When using bricks they must of engineering quality as engineering bricks will not absorb water. House facing bricks will absorb large amounts of water depending upon the type of brick. This is a necessary precaution just in case water should get below the floor it will not be absorbed by the ballast. Concrete slabs are an alternative ballast. |
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| I
am told the pallet of bricks weighs over two tonnes, and nearly all the
bricks were used as shown in the photograph. A layer of good quality thick bituminous roofing felt was laid on the floor of the hull before placing the bricks. Here you can see that the battening of the steel reinforcing cross members has already taken place. Practically all the reinforcing steel sections will be battened before fitting out, i.e. wooden battens will be attached to the steel cross sections by screwing through the wood into the steel, after first drilling a pilot hole into the steel. |
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The
floor is then laid on to the battens, the floor sections are cut so that
they begin and end in the middle of the batten, to ensure a rigid floor. While I have the space I can point out all hidden battening is tanalised with Cuprinol to prevent any future problems. |
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The floor sections can be seen to span two steel cross sections |
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Here the floor battens are being screwed to the steel cross sections of the floor. |
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Here
you can see the roof battening completed and some of the side battening. It will become clearer later in the series of pages, but it is far easier and creates a stronger "fit-out" by using the wooden battens as an intermediate stage between the steel and the finished veneered ply cladding. It also allows greater flexibility in the design of the interior of the boat, such as the size of the rooms and other internal fittings. |
| The forward anodised windows and wooden frames being prepared ready for fitting. |  |
| A fitted window and internal wooden frame. |  |
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The traditional brass "mushrooms" being fitted to ensure ventilation throughout the boat without the weather getting in. |
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The outer collar is bolted into the steel of the roof, and then the top hemisphere is bolted to the collar. |
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The outside appearance of the ventilators. |
| Ashby
Boat Company, Canal Wharf, Stoke Golding, NUNEATON, Warwickshire CV13 6EY |
Tel.
01455 212671 Fax. 01455 213 255 Email - sales@ashbyboats.co.uk |
