The Inspector Came to Call

Morse the cat, inpects the stern tube.

Update

Keith and bob have completed the new false floor which now makes the hold very servicable. In the cabain Bob and Laurence have been scratching heads over sorting out engine controls.

Laurence found out that he had forgot how to read his micrometer - having last used it in the 6thform! The bilge was a nasty surprise, BW employees had been emptying the stove ash and other waste into the bilge for a long time, this has caused a build up of damp and is not being viewed as the next most desirable job to undertake.

Masts and Stands

With the false floor down some of the standard running gear could be put back into Barnet. The Masts and Stands were fitted yesterday by Keith and Bob.

False Floor

Bob and Keith started putting down the false floor today. The floor is being made using bases that have been reclaimed from the previous floor and around 40 brand new scaffold planks. The planks were a bit of an eBay bargain!

Thanks to Laurence Hogg for the images.

Photo Update

A couple of photos of the recent back cabin repairs.

Update

Last week saw further progress on Barnet. Stuart of Barnowl Narrowboats, and his friend Damien came to the yard to start work on Barnet’s Back Cabin. You will have seen in previous posts the extent of work which needs doing in the Cabin, all of this will be repaired by Stuart and Damien. Well done lads.

Today Bob and Keith started work on the false floor in the hold. The previous floor was properly designed for the hold of Barnet and made at Bradley. The ply was rotten but the hardwood bearers were salvaged and we are able to use them for our new false floor.

Unfortunately access to Barnet isn't easy at the moment due to the weather but I will upload photographs as soon as I gain access.

Progress

I’ve been doing a bit of work on Barnet over the last couple of days. Barnet was craned out onto the dock last week so that we can get the hull checked out and black it. Here’s a fetching picture of me pressure washing the hull off.

As well as blacking we've decided to get rid of the Challenger Livery, the first step taken to remove it was sanding down the bands on the counter, I managed to get a coat of undercoat on today. As you can see the Livery will be based on British Waterways Livery, but will carry the name of Canalscape-BCN with the three diamonds of Yates Brothers on the bows.