Part 5 - Building the Boat
It was October 15th 2014 when Steve phoned to say that he urgently needed the CCTV cable (or gunshot cable as it’s called) that we wanted installed, as the walls had to be finished. Two days later, we arrived at the yard with the gunshot cable (simply called so because 2 insulated cables run parallel like a gunshot barrel).
The Beer Boat was there. Sitting on the water beside the paint shed, from what we could see, it looked like she had joined a production line - about 6 other boats lay beside her all in different stages of completion.
We stepped aboard and could see that the last stage of the fore & aft upper cabin walls were waiting to be lined out in the remaining oak boards. This could be finished once the gunshot cable I delivered had been installed.
The engine room and boatman’s cabin had been formed, as much as we could imagine. It had been lined in pine boards and the engine room floor area painted in a silky red oxide of sorts. An array of wires hung from the ceiling and walls; the brass porthole covers fitted to the outside and glass inserted. The side hatch frames were lined in hardwood. This all looked good. Very good.
Whilst there, we also took the opportunity to check on the engine progress, it was progressing well, the block and head had been rebuilt, the inlet manifold fitted - along with some control linkage and other components.
The next stage would be for the engine to be fitted, and the boatman’s cabin to be built. Our May 2015 completion date was looking very possible.
