Some end of season water fun. But thoughts turn to renovation of the Captain's Accommodation October 2023.

Here is the captain's accommodation from the outside.  Originally this is where the captain and family would have lived and we have photos of the boat when it was much longer with a car sitting on top of where there are now solar panels.

Wheelhouse and captains accommodation behind

Captains quarters. Xavier is only half finished!

As summer turned to Autumn, our thoughts turn to this area of our boat that is the most original and is currently rather unloved and unused.

We are having some lovely weather in late Autumn, so we are making the most of it before starting the dusty renovation work that is best left to less nice days

Balmy evenings extended by our canopy that gives us hours of enjoyment warm as toast in the cooler evenings

Still getting out on the water when we can.

I don't usually bother with a wetsuit, just get on fully clothed and hope I don't fall in!

Too many wannaby captains in this boat.

Slightly stressful with so many grandchildren all wanting to be where they aren't!

That's better. Everybody is happy.  Tide is coming in so all is well.

At some point the fun has to stop and the work has to begin, which we think is also fun.   We are planning to rent out the captain's accommodation as an Air B&B.  That will pay for its renovation.  Julian checked in the office if this is OK.  They said it was.  Great!

Here are photos of the captain's accommodation when we first viewed the boat.

Lots of junk and clutter in the old unloved skipper's accommodation.   Behind the mirror was a small bedroom.

The old arrangement of a high bed and a separate bedroom was quaint
but everything was very cheaply made. 
A high bed is fun for kids and teenagers, but we like the comfort of a solid floor both sides of the bed.

I like this little sink, but in the end you need hot and cold water and it is positioned
 so it is hard to get in the door.

This sea toilet is on a different level.  Before 2005 this was a working boat and
when fully laden the boat sat so low that the toilet needed to be raised or canal water
would flow into the boat! Now no longer a working boat the floor level can revert to floor level.

The Captain's accommodation has some fantastic original 1932 features.  Three etched sliding teak doors. A beautiful elm floor and some really good quality oak panelling.  We are going to keep or reuse all the original features and take away some of the later additions. We want to make a spacious self contained place for two people.  

A breather from renovation work. We are enjoying everything that the Helford Estuary has to offer.

 

Pedn Billy garden, Helford Passage.  Open for Cornwall Wildlife Trust.

Above Falmouth

Field above Gweek

We chose to live in Gweek because the Helford Estuary is the most beautiful and unspoiled place we have ever come across.  

On our row boat

Village shop and pub

The community in Gweek is so special. For a small village is has so many amenities.  Not least of which is our village shop where we get almost everything we need. Village hall and even a Silver Band that plays on the green on Wednesdays in the Summer.  This is also the day the Fish and Chip van visits.

Helford Village

Taken from Helford Ferry looking towards yatch club

.

Mylor Church taken in March.

Feock near Pandora Inn

Gillan beach

The beach at Gillan, opposite St Anthony.  The best beach in the world!

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