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| Return to Gweek, not such a nice day and the welding has taken it's toll on Xavier's paintwork! |
Finally in November 2022 Xavier arrives back in Gweek with a new bottom but a rather dirty greasy and rusty top! But we do have a wonderfull boat whose size and shape attracts many comments. The structure for the canvas conservatory is in place and the new companionway entrance looks smart with a new full size oak door.
We can't wait to start work on the boat and we love the workaday atmostphere of boatyard. The real work can now begin on the fit out of our beautiful 30 metre boat, which so many have said is the most beautiful barge in Cornwall if not the UK!
So many things to do, where do we start! We now have a pretty well empty shell. The outer hull is new and the inner hull has been sealed with wax oil to protect it. For hundreds of years, the inside of metal Dutch boats has been protected with grease. Its messy and there was a lot of it in Xavier. Wax oil does the same job but it dries hard.
We have decided on the new layout which is pretty much the same as the old layout but with less small rooms. Before we put up any walls we need to rewire and replumb everything. Julian is an absolute stickler for building regulations and every bit of wiring rests on its own tray under the floor of the salon and is secured every 30 cm and labelled at both ends. This seems a very boring and never ending task.
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| Wall partitions and wiring going in. |
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| Hard to avoid the power tools. |
The service room is laid out with all the technical boxes and the water tank and this is where all our laboriously laid wires end up.
In the forward section where there were 4 cabins and one toilet there will be 2 cabins a bathroom and a separate toilet. When the wiring and the plumbing is tested we can get on with insulating everything. We then construct room dividers, insert electrics or plumbing where necessary and then finally begin to get some paint on the walls!
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| We want to retain the beautiful original brass port holes and we have streamlined the boxing in to provide the maximun space. |
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| WC is taking shape |
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| The main bathroom is well underway. |
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| We absolutely love our mooring spot! The views and the wildlife. |
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| Oak floor installation begins |
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| Ceiling boards go up after insulating. |
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| Master bedroom almost finished. Roof lights and skylight. |
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| Electrics checked and labelled. |
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| Kitchen Instalation begins |
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| We're getting there! |
Spring has sprung and the hard work over the winter has paid off with a boat that we are finally able to live in. We are also enjoying our neighbours!
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| Very tiny cygnets hatched just near the wheelhouse. |
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| Happy in our home! |
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| Enjoying the Gweek Silver Band on Wednesday evenings |
