Visit 15 August

Its 3 weeks since we went up to see progress and were very pleasantly surprised by what we saw. The engine is in and mounted, the water tank and holding tank are in, the electrical wiring is all in place and the portholes are in and two bulkheads as well as the rear doors and floor over the engine are in place. Hey we could be sailing away in her in a week or so!!! (I think perhaps that's a little optimistic especially as David is going on holiday for a fortnight. How dare he!) But she is now beginning to come together and the excitement is certainly mounting.

 Below: Sarah and David discuss the siting of the built in vacuum cleaner

Latest visit

This post is a bit late as we went up to see Hoddie on 25 July.

As you will see from the photos she has had her engine installed and been sprayed with insulation. We spent a considerable time with David discussing the electrics and where we wanted power points, switches etc and left him with the task of installing them all!

The portholes were also fitted and a first glimpse of the woodwork with a window frame ready to go in

Visiting the workshop

As mentioned in our previous post unfortunately we were unable to see Hoddy delivered to the workshop but went up there earlier this week to see her for the first time where she will spend the next 6 months being fitted out. When we left her before she had no roof so it was exciting to see her hull and superstructure complete. Being totally empty inside gave a great sense of space and distance. Lurking inside we found the engine and water tank and holding tank all ready to be installed. The day following our visit she was due to be spray foamed so everything was covered and blocked up ready.

We discussed a few minor details with David and then went on to see how the marina build was progressing at Barby where she will be moored. Barby is now full of water and the jetty piles are all in. The owners are hoping to be open by the end of the month but I think that a tad optimistic. In the photos I've marked the mooring spot that we have reserved.

One really interesting point was the footbridge they are building to the island and its being done in the old fashioned way with a former of wood and then the bricks being laid on that. We think it will look incredibly smart when finished and its good to see that attention to detail.

Into the workshop!

We could not get to Crick to see tha actual arrival of 'Hoddie' so these pictures were very kindly sent to us by David and Jackie of D & J Narrowboats.

More progress

We went up to the boat fitter a few days ago to visit the shell builders and have a first personal look at "Hoddie" At first glance on entering the workshop we thought "H***" they've built it too long, - would have sworn it was at least 70feet - but to reassure us David  (of D & J Narrowboats who is fitting it out for us) got his tape and and assured us it was right. We did however spot a couple of omissions and mistakes so it was good job we had visited. The hull was due to be delivered to Davids workshop last Monday but probably due to the bits they had to put right it now wont be till next Monday which is a shame as we had intended to go up and watch it being delivered but due to other commitments on that day cant.

Anyway here's a few pics from out visit.

 Whilst up there we decided to have a look at the new marina which we are going to have as a base. Its at a small village called Barby - Doll of a place! (Bet they are fed up with that joke!) As you can see from the following couple of photos they still have a small amount of work to do before it opens! It was supposed to be ready by the Spring and they are now quoting Summer but that looks jolly optimistic to me. The water should be going in in a few weeks providing British Waterways allows them to take it, as due to the drought and the fact that they need something like 4 billion - or was it million? heck of a lot anway! - gallons they might have to wait for some more rain. In addition to that there is suppossed to be a restuarant and club house on site but I really cant see them being completed any time soon. Not that its a problem for us yet as as Hoddie is not scheduled to be completed until February next year anyway.

It Starts!

Great news, our new boat build is under way