Modifying the cratch and top-plank bracket

The newly fabricated foldable steel A-frame

The A-frame folded down, the cratch board hinges have been freed off and a new (possibly glazed) cratch board will be made and new carved hardwood upstands for the hinges. the top planks will be replaced with wider and thicker green oak planks.

Nadolig LLawen a Flwyddyn Newydd DDa!

Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year!

We hope you all have a happy, healthy New Year and a safe year's boating ;o)

A new forepeak 'cabin'

While we were welding the new gunwales it became necessary to move the badly rotted box and cratch board on the bow of Freyja, not surprisingly, it fell to bits!

All that was left of the box that was on Freyja's bow!

The 1st panel tacked into place

The three sides welded in and braced

We have our forepeak box / cabin back ;o)

My motorbike on our tugdeck

Bruce finished off welding the starboard gunwales and crane mount and we mounted the crane.

So, I finally brought my 1939 B.S.A. model G14 1,000cc v-twin down to the boat so that we could try the new crane in anger and also to check headroom and handlebar width in relation to the top plank and the tarpaulins.

Up she goes!

Starting to swing her around

Coping easily with my B.S.A.'s heavy forged steel girder frame

Almost there

Safely in place, but I'll be laying oak floorboards with recesses to help her stand up and to allow her to sit on the frame's underbelly. I'm also replacing the top planks with wider green oak boards which will give more clearance for those wide Indian handlebars (will still have to loosen the clamps and swing the bars downwards methinks.

My old B.S.A., minus it's engine, gets it's first introduction to it's future home. The crane coped easily with it ;o) All of the bow section wood and ply was rotten and has collapsed. We'll fabricate a new section in steel with oak panels to preserve the look. The front cratch board will be able to fold down as will the metal A-frame that we will fabricate to replace the grey one seen here, this will let us to lower the top plank when going under low bridges, tunnels and lock guillotines.

A new crane

My new crane arrived today, I intend to put two brackets, one each side, on Freyja's tugdeck, two on Christina's gunwales and one in the engine bay. We can lift my motorbike, delivery bike, generator etc. and lift the engine out if need be.

The new crane assembled in my workshop, it will lift up to 1,000lbs and cost less than £150 ;o) I bought it here :- http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/161482819970?_trksid=p2060778.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

1st mounting plate welded into the gunwhales, bolted the crane on and tested it by lifting my heavy Long-John delivery bike onto what is left of our tugdeck

The crane coped easily with lifting and swinging the Long-John onto the tugdeck, even though it's two feet longer than the large vintage motorbike I want to lift on ;o) we'll put a bracket each side of  Freyja's tugdeck. There will also be brackets each side of Christina's bow, these will be used to lift the chicken coup in and out. Two more will be welded each side of the storeroom, midships in Christina, enabling us to load and unload the generator, my delivery bike and other heavy items. Once out on the cut I will be able to lift out other people's engines etc.

EEEEK! Now I've gone and done it!

We couldn't figure out why a false gunwale had been slapped onto the port side of the tugdeck.

The large and ugly bit of metal that sat on and overhung the forward bow. The big surprise was that it sat on the tugdeck boards, which sat on the original gunwale. It was similar the on the starboard side the deck boards sat on the original gunwale but here they had been covered by wood and flashing tape.

The original gunwales revealed under the tugdeck floorboards, which in turn were under the false metal gunwale on the port side, and under some rotten wood and flashing tape on the starboard side. A strange way of doing things!

Removed the boards, Bruce will weld angle iron with the lip facing inboard then the boards will sit on that. I will replace the rockwool with thermal boards.

The cratch collapsed, I was intending to replace it in hardwood, now I may have to do that a little sooner! HoHum!

Looks like a shipwreck! ;o( It started to disintegrate 2 years ago and has got steadily worse, I will re-instate the folding cratchboard make wider top planks, do away with the grey metal frame which does not fold or detach as the cratch is too high to pass some bridges and lock guillotines without folding.

We are finally getting proper gunwales on our bows :o)

As the boats were hacked about and converted to the working boat-like semi-trad and butty, some very strange things have been done and some things seem to have been left unfinished, like the gunwales on both boats, on Christina there was a section missing towards the cratch board on both sides, with just a piece of flat bar with a bit of aluminium bent over it, this let in a lot of water, meant that the tarpaulins couldn't be fixed properly and also meant there was less gunwales to walk on (one of the reasons that I fell in a lock!)

Where there should be gunwale there is fresh air! 

We learnt by past mistakes, covering the tarpaulins with plastic sheeting to keep the metal filings off, or they sit on the canvas until it rains, then cause rusty streaks! Grrrrr!

There was not much metal left on the bits of gunwale that were there, I decided to replace it right back to the greenhouse.

Bruce offers up a newly fabricated section

The new sections welded in and ready to grind back

Pouring rain did not stop play! Looking a bit like a refugee camp!

One side of one boat almost finished, the port side section has also been welded in.