A new wheelhouse roof

 

The new wheelhouse roof

When we bought Xavier, one of the lovely things about the boat was the wheelhouse. It has a really lovely wooden wheelhouse that was in pretty good shape when we bought the boat.  A little neglected like everything else, but solid and the summer it is like a greenhouse.  The heat in there is phenominal.  Like our welldeck, it is another place to soak up warmth when it is in no way warm enough to sit outside.

We can sip our tea and look out on the boatyard, wildlife, people and the Helford Esturay.

We noticed that in one corner the chip board (that was on the roof), was spongy.  We decided to take off the roof and replace it will layers of insulation, marine ply and a thick waterproof outer membrane.  

Old wheelhouse roof was in bad condition in one corner

Julian and Ben working on the wheelhouse roof

As always the job usually takes more time an effort than we thought, but a solid new roof will provide a base for solar panels if we decide to put any on this roof. Ben came down to help as he can jump on and off easier than we can.

New wheelhouse roof

The welldeck canopy next on the list. Summer 2023

Nice to have somewhere to sit in comfort

But we can't rest on our laurels.  We have a welldeck canopy to prepare for.

Very limited cover out of doors.  Our thoughts turn to covering the welldeck.

We somehow managed to refurbish our boat with very little outdoor covered space.  We have always wanted to recreate the conservatory that was on the boat when we first set eyes on it but without the rusty metal, stained glass and flapping plastic. 

We considered how we should treat this area and how we cover it in a way that looks right on a boat.  In the end we think that a purpose made canvas cover with windows that could be opened would be the best visually. 

To prepare for that we asked the Penzance Dry Dock to come up with a metal cage structure, and with very little fuss they made just what we wanted.  We definitelty did not want a square lego brick but something that followed the lines of the boat. 

Painting the canopy support structure and the welldeck floor that has been exposed to the
ellements whilst the renovation process has been ongoing.

This photo also shows the companion way with its brass portholes
 and the enlarged decksalon skylight.

After painting the structure, we are now in the position to commission the cover.  There is a waiting list of course! We chose a neutral beige because the boat colours are blue and off white and we did not want to introduce another colour.  We have commissioned SKB in Falmouth to do the work as they have a purpose made sail loft and it is quite a challenging job.  First we needed to decide for ourselves how we wanted it to fit and what parts of it should be opening windows.

SKB have made a fantastic job of our canopy

We are so pleased with the canopy.  We can't believe how warm it is in there?

Our canopy allows us to sit out and enjoy the scenery from early Spring right through to late Autumn.  It is warm in here long after it is too cold to sit outside.  The opening window panels allow us to have the entire thing open when it hot, or just one side or the other depending on the wind direction.  It is so cosy and although we are not party people, we do love sitting in here on our own or with our family or friends.

Refurbishment begins - at last!

 

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.  

Wall partitions and wiring going in.

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! 

We want to retain the beautiful original brass port holes and we have streamlined the boxing in to provide the maximun space. 

WC is taking shape

The main bathroom is well underway. 

We absolutely love our mooring spot!  The views and the wildlife.

Oak floor installation begins

Ceiling boards go up after insulating.

Master bedroom almost finished.  Roof lights and skylight.

Electrics checked and labelled.

Kitchen Instalation begins

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!

Very tiny cygnets hatched just near the wheelhouse.

Happy in our home!

Enjoying the Gweek Silver Band on Wednesday evenings

Work on House in Falmouth Summer 2022

We have spent the summer refurbishing a house in Falmouth for our daughter.  Although we are desperate to start work on the boat, the summer months were ideal for the outside work required.  We've had fun with the grandchildrens visits.

Nearly there

Picnic in front garden

We did all the external painting ourselves including errecting scaffold.  Neighbours impressed!

As the summer turns to autumn we are keen to finish and to plan our work on Xavier.

Dry Dock work in detail - whilst we enjoy Cornwall in the summer

The decision to have further work carried out has been made easier for us as we are not relying on the boat for our accommodation.  So in July 2022 Xavier took to the seas once again and captained by a skipper from the Penzance Dry dock, it made the voyage to Penzance.  

We are refurbishing a house in Falmouth and are also living there. So after everything is arranged with Penzance Dry Dock, we are busy working in Falmouth whilst making regulr visits to Penzance to keep up to date with the work going on there.

Note that in this photo taken before going into the dry dock,  the companion way entrance and the well deck canopy supports have yet to be constructed 

Xavier waits at the side of Penzance harbour

Xavier is carefully settled on supports under and to the side and the water is drained away.
No canopy or companion way yet.

Work begins stripping away the paintwork

As soon as Xavier was settled in the dry dock, our surveyor was able to have a good look at the condition  of the hull .  The hull was steel rivetted and whilst it was considered sound by our surveyor in the Netherlands, due to the work and expense involved with working on a boat of this size in the UK, we have decided to have the entire hull overplated so that we can rest easy that we had a solid hull for years to come.  Our surveyor marked out exactly where the 6mm steel plates were to be welded on, and where 8mm was required, mainly down the spine of the stern. Penzance Dry Dock moulded steel plates to fit each section and welders carried out the uncormfortable task of welding under the boat in about 1 metre of space!

Sand balast is removed from the internal hull seen here on the welldeck.
Attempts are made to protect the superstructure from sandblasting of the hull. See the blue tarpaulin.  

Chats with project manager Bluey in the dry dock.

Steel plates are welded on. Priming and painting begins.

Meanwhile Julian and I take the opportunity to explore the Helford Estuary in between our work on the house in Falmouth.  Whilst we were desperate to live on board, we were happy with the programme of work we had agreed with Penzance Dry Dock and we were also happy to take some time to explore the area and enjoy visits from family and friends.  There would be plenty of time to work on the internal refurbishment in the Autumn and Winter of 2022/23.

The Shiprights Inn at Helford.

The Ferryboat Inn, Helford Passage

St Michael's Mount and Marazion with Rachel.  We can't resist organic cucumbers. 

Planning work at Penzance Dry Dock - a lot more than we bargained for!

 

Off again - this time to Penzance Dry Dock 

We bought Xavier from Holland in the middle of the Covid pandemic and so we only got to see the boat once before we bought it.  As a project boat, our concern has been that it is fit to cross the chanel and arrive in Cornwall. We realised that work would be needed before we could refurbish the inside and replace the continental electrics and the plumbing. The survey in the Netherlands had stated that the hull had 'no corrossion'.    

Now with the boat in our possession we were faced with the reality. As we began to uncover the layers of chipboard that covered the inside hull, to inspect it for ourselves, we discovered that despite our surveyor in Holland giving the hull a clean bill of health, there was actually a good deal of rust on the inside. This had to be removed. Although the hull was of thick steel and very solid, we found that there was corrossion inside and pitting which is in effect small pits that are weak spots on the exterior.  We needed professional advice.  

We asked a trusted surveyor to inspect the boat and he agreed that remedial work was necessary but that first the boat needed to be out of the water to inspect everything properly.  In the end our worries were confirmed when a small hole opened up and rather than plug this and any other holes that might appear, we decided to move the boat to Penzance dry dock immediately for remedial work.  In the end this turned out to involve overplating the entire hull and some way up the sides with 6mm and 8mm steel.

We were so reluctant to leave our mooring so soon after we had arrived and considered how we might tackle the problem in situ at Gweek.  In the end we decided that we needed to be totally confident that the hull is ready for another 100 years of service.  Penzance Dry Dock is near to us and we had already commissioned them to construct a canopy frame for the welldeck as well as a companionway entrance to improve access into the decksalon.  Although all this work is going to be expensive, we need the peace of mind that will come from a thorough professional examination and new steel to cover the hull. We had budgeted for the work hoping it would not be needed. If it was needed, so be it.

After many discussions about how to approach the problem, we decided the only safe way for us to proceed was to have the entire hull overplated with 6mm steel and 8mm thick steel in some areas.

Overplating on the rivetted hull

Extra thick plates on the supports in the middle

Steel plate shaped and craned into the dock ready for welding.

Thank goodness we had a myriad of distractions!  The house in Falmouth needed total refurbishment inside and out.  Including scaffolding and repainting the outside.  We were well and truly busy this summer and this helped as our minds were not then completely absorbed with the work on Xavier.

We still had regular site meetings and regular payments to make, but we could see the work with our own eyes, unlike the experience in the Netherlands, and we knew that this would give us the confidence that patching holes could never do.

We also pledged to rebuild the boat with every part of the hull below water level visible and accessible inside!