Narrowboat Tug Lyra

Winter project

2008-05-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

Thats my winter 2007 to 2008 project completed. I wanted to create a cosier saloon area while at the same time rework the kitchen so that I could utilise the worktop better for reading/computer work.

This is what I did;

new bulkhead

new worktops

moved tap to opposite side of sink

reworked all cupboards to form breakfast bar

large double cupboard to house fold up bed

smaller double door cupboard to side, hides gas pipes and usefull for storing bottles

form new end of worktop run at saloon end

Hull blacking

2007-10-07T12:51:00.000-07:00

The boat had been in the water for 2 years so it was time to attend to the blacking. I used the Preston Brook Tunnel covered dry dock and Tim Leach power washed off the hull and used a wire brush attachment to get any lose material off. The hull was in excellent condition with no pitting to be concerned about

Once dry I used the following

One coat Fertox

Once coat at waterline of primer

Two coats Comastic

One coat of anti fouling, would have put on a second coat but ran out of time

Summer trip 2007

2007-08-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

Lyra was worked during summer 2007 from the Bridgewater canal to the Leeds and Liverpool, Calder and Hebble, Rochdale canal and back on to the Bridgewater using weekends and holidays. The floods in the Leeds area halted progress as the city was impassible so we abandoned that week, leaving the boat in the CV Marine marina Apperley Bridge 8 miles short of Leeds. The stages were, Skipton, Leeds, Dewsbury and Sowerby Bridge

L&L trusting ducks

Bottom lock Bingley 5 Rise

Wet day Apperley Bridge

Sun shines for a change

Automated locks on the C & H

Another big one

Leeds basin from Royal Armouries Museum

Pound below summit west bound, a leaker

May 2007 update

2007-05-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Been doing various maintenance and improvement jobs of late

Paintwork was polished using Mer

Chimney cover for summer use when I dont use the stove with satellite dish mount to right.

Brass chimney in place, its bolted on with coach bolts to deter theft

New roof colour RAL Coral Red gloss. New deck colour RAL Oxide Red gloss

Solar panels in background with newly painted hatch decoration

New corner shelves with drawers below

"D" shackle and mount bolted to bulkhead

The chimney is in the centre, about 1 ft high

Free heat from the engine, under cupboard heat exchanger

Paintwork

Its that time of year again but finding the right weather is not easy. I put 3 coats on the roof, only intended 2 but the second one went matt in places due to me painting it in the evening and the dew coming down and spoiling the paint finish. Nothing for it but to rub it flat and give it a second coat. I repainted the decks and roof, both different although similar colours to those before. Also painted the two hatch covers. very difficult to get a good finish when doing the painting outside. I used enamel paint with some "Owatrol" paint conditioner, foam roller then laid off with brush. Has some brush marks but it the best I could do and am quite pleased with the finish

Chimney

I made a brass chimney from a large artillery shell case, (must take a picture of it in place). In the summer I use the base of the shell as a cap over the stove flue as I don't use the fire except in the winter. You can see the chimney and its liner ready for fitting. Both the chimney and the cap are bolted in place to deter the thieves. I am really pleased with how it looks. There is a risk of knocking it off but as the tug is low in the water and the chimney not tall I should be okay, just have to watch it

"D" shackle

Just a fancy bit of finishing, no real purpose to it, but it looks good. I found this solid steel bracket that fitted the shackle and drilled and tapped the fixing

Bedroom

Internal to the bedroom I have added shelves and matched them in the the drawers in the corner scumbled finish to match the main doors. Also have carpet tiles the floor (picture to follow)

Solar panels

I added 2 flexible solar panels to the roof that I picked up at reduced price, they have been glued in place, the output is not great, probably no more 5 amps per day at this time of year, not decided yet whether they are worthwhile for this size of panel output yet, will know more with the longer days to come

Engine heater

I have made a heater that is located under the kitchen units that blows hot air into the saloon. Its quite a long run of heater hose from the engine but all works fine however I don't think the heat exchange units I used are big enough. Will probably try and find bigger ones at some point

DVD player in bedroom

2007-01-14T13:20:00.000-08:00

Mrs C said she wanted a DVD player in the bedroom it could be watched in bed. I got one of those tablet DVD players designed for cars, they are coming down in price now, this one costing less than £100. I used an amperor voltage stabiliser so that I know no matter what the voltage output when the engine is running which can be up to 14.7 volts the voltage into the player is always less than 13 volts thus avoiding risk of damage to the player. I used a flat screen bracket to the player can be swung uot and viewed closer or further away as prefered and closes to the wall when not in use

Repairs to stove

2007-01-14T13:06:00.000-08:00

I have never got the stove to run well since I installed it but really did not want to give up on it since its a fine design feature. The problem was that it ran too hot, and I had to be carefull not to add too much coal as I was concerned it would overheat the ajoining panel to the hull side. The problem I figured out was the ash drawer that was a poor fit and letting in too much air. I took the stove off the boat and welded a strip to the base of the drawer so that it would seat more closely to the frame of the stove. I then added a counter weight inside the drawer and welded it place as this now keeps the drawer tight against the body of the stove, finally I added heatproof rope round the edge of the drawer to provide a good seal and it works perfectly. If I want more air in to stoke up the fire or at the time of lighting I leave the drawer out by half an inch. The outer enameled doors close in front of the drawer and prevent it from coming open and letting too much air in. I also added a sheet of stainless steel to the wall as a precaution against overheating. I also bought a CO2 detecter and have that to fit shortly

Bathroom upgrade

2007-01-14T12:57:00.000-08:00

I decided that the mirror I had fitted did not look right and also there was a need to add some colour to the room to brighten it up. I therefore made a new mirror on the side wall. To get the angle right against the slope of the cabin side I used two speaker brackets that are designed to hold a speaker at any angle, so I screwed them to the back of the mirror and tightened up the setting screws with the allen key provided. I am pleased with the result as the size of the mirror looks in the right proportion to the room. I then painted one of the walls having found a colour I liked which is a rich brown/orange/red

November 2006

2006-11-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

Some update photos. I have been doing various small upgrades for example fitting holders for the porthole stops.
Also I have build a unit to house DVD's satelite decoder etc, this has been painted silver to match in with the silver theme throughout the saloon
Lyra also featured in the Sept 2006 issue of "Canal Boat" magazine in an article to do with owner fit out boats
There have been many other small improvements such as touching up the paintwork inside and out and fitting some flexible solar panels and a new lamp fitting in the bedroom

Wigan trip

2006-10-01T13:11:00.000-07:00

Summer trip August 2006

Glazing to front doors and hatch runners

2006-07-20T10:46:00.000-07:00

I decided to put windows into the front doors. This took some soul searching since I had taken a lot of trouble to make the inside of the oringinal doors that did not have windows doors look traditional and they turned out well. However there are advantages to seeing out of the front when cruising, moored up etc. Anyway I took the plunge and it turned out to be quite a tough job, especially cutting the window holes in 4 mm steel. I used 1.2 mm thick cutting discs which are incredibly thin but speed the job up. I spent 2 weekends off and on to cut the holes and burned out a disc cutter in the process. I used 5 mm laminated glass for the glazing.
On the inside of the steelwork, the doors are lined with timber and I have given them a grained and varnished finish to match in the the oak inside the boat.
I used brass rods and sockets to locate the curtains on the inside of the windows which holds them taught and can be slide open or closed on the rods.
The nice handles are antique sash window handles that add a bit of style
I had to move the two cast iron traditional style vents from the doors to each side of the doors, and this required cutting holes in the front bulkhead steelwork for the ventilation. I wanted something a bit different for the inside covers within the cabin from the standard louvre vents so found some nice brass vents normally used on floors.

One final job was to add wheeled runners under the hatch so it runs more smoothly. These came from the DIY store and are in fact runners designed for drawers. They are attached by drilling through the hatch and being bolted through having first taken the hatch right off. The hatch now only needs a couple of fingers pressure to open or close it. Because the hatch has now been raised by about 5CM to accommodate the runners I had to bolt on stop to the back of the hatch to stop it flying off, this you can see to the left of the photo.