Katona

There’ve been a few checklists during this project for major milestones, the first being “move back onboard” for getting the bow habitable last year. No stranger to camping, on Tuesday I did that again, airbed and sleeping bag in tow.

It still feels a bit homeless but compared to last year my goodness, the luxury: 24/7/365 mooring, no moving every fortnight; 24/7 mains power, no generator required; a 2-minute walk to a nice shower block, no bottle on the towpath or driving to a nearby gym.

Living like a king, I’ve started on the next milestone: the first night in my new bed, and I am hyped. That means building the bedroom entirely, as the mattress is one of the last items — it depends on the walls for width, and the flooring for length as it’ll sit on a cupboard at the end of the water tank.

And for the walls, wiring… I started looking into that this week, and unlike some of the other work this is one place I can’t screw up. Accidentally using a lower gauge wire, or the wrong fuse? Fire, destruction, death.

So I got the technical spec for boat wiring — ISO 13297 — and it starts out strong:

General requirements, DC and AC systems

The hull of a metallic hull craft shall not be used as a circuit conductor.

I would love to know which poor soul thought saving some cable by turning their boat into a live wire was a good idea.

These specs are not free. And normally, fine — it takes work and expertise to create them. But for the government to then require you comply with them is ridiculous. “Here’re the rules, but first — what’s your card details?” What a racket!!

Also god bless canalworld.net — boat nerds arguing about what regs apply, which circuits are best and how not to fuck-up.

Back onboard, this weekend I built the walls to the bedroom and bathroom, using the pocket door frames. Given I’ve never built a stud wall, nor did I look up instructions, my brother’s voice kept going through my head: “Single-piece flow! Single-piece flow! Single-piece flow!” One wall at a time, piece-by-piece.

(The metal-wrapped timber is where the door slides into.)

Getting them straight wasn’t easy nor are they millimetre-perfect, and gravity wasn’t much help because straightness is according to the boat, which itself tilts on the x and z axes.

Even so, I have zones! I’ve been imagining this geometry for over a year, and it’s suddenly real. I can stand in the bathroom and see where the shower fits, or where I’ll put the wardrobe in the bedroom.

And finally, I finished the stern battens this morning to then empty the insulation tanks this afternoon:

Until next Sunday!

- Nick

When I pressure-washed the water tank last Sunday, I dried it out but not quickly enough: it started flash rusting… but this time I only needed a quick angle grind with a wire brush, followed by a regular vacuum and wipe-down before it was ready to paint.

The paint I’m using — the right one this time! — is Acothane, a 2-component polyurethane designed for water tanks. It’s the weirdest paint I’ve used; the first thing you notice (besides the beautiful cerulean blue) is the clotted cream-like base. The hardener is like syrup, and together they make a whipped cream.

Then the timing: you have 24 hours to overcoat it, and after mixing you have 30 minutes until it becomes unpaintable molasses (of course the data sheet says “DO NOT THIN”). It’s a real workout, and with the time limit and some morning coffee shits you really start to sweat.

Because of all the odd metal bits and joins in there, a full coat takes about 90 minutes, and I needed 3 coats: 9 painting sessions, all tightly packed. It’s the most painting logistics fun I’ve had, and will maybe ever have. And I didn’t get thinners either, so I couldn’t clean brushes, rollers or myself:

It needed a special “Thinner No. 4”; your regular acetone or white spirit won’t cut it. But this morning I finished coat #9 on the floor, and it is done! I have a potable drinking water tank, wide enough to sleep in!!

The hatch gives you a better idea of the colour:

When my time comes I don’t expect a burial, but if I were buried then I’d like the inside of the coffin to be cerulean blue, from experience. It’s delightful.

In some other exciting news, insurance got back to me about the sinking and agreed to cover it citing “an extensive chine.” They said they wouldn’t cover me for any other chine-related sinkings until I ensmallen it, and then my renewal quote came through for £2.17 less than last year?!

I’ve also started designing the kitchen, and making plans for the underfloor heating. The unknowns are starting to crystallize which just fuels the momentum. There’ll be two heating zones — bedroom/bathroom and lounge/kitchen — as I’d like warm tiles in the summer without heating the whole boat. To make it more complicated there’ll be two heat sources: a diesel water heater in the engine bay, and there’s also a back-boiler on the multi fuel stove. I’ll have to be careful with the stove though, as that can boil water instead of just warming it.

On Wednesday I finalised the window order — 10 of them, double-glazed “thermal break” — followed by ordering some kits for the pocket doors (ones that slide into walls). This is when the rebuild gets expensive… although I’m having a lot of fun, no longer the dread of a horrible day cleaning that tank.

Then with some odd spots of insulation to do in the bow, on Saturday I finished off the battens:

Followed by masking tape:

Which really accentuates the strong Steiner angles, and they give me +3 points when I sleep. Then today, after painting the tank, insulation!

It wasn’t a lot so I only got a small kit, and there’s a little to do at the stern as well. For the last bit of work today, I installed a shiny new water filler cap:

Don’t mind the unsightly paint around it, all in due course…

In a final piece of incredibly exciting news: as of 10:04 this morning I officially own 100% of Katona. I had a loan to buy it, and today was the final payment.

Until next Sunday!

- Nick

The car won’t start, it’s falling apart. — Shania Twain

But I was not late for work: I took Monday off this week, starting with a trip to Tamworth — an hour away — to pick up some extra insulation. Not long after leaving I fell slightly forwards as the clutch pedal went limp… oh George:

We were back in business with a tow and a car rental, but… honestly. It was the clutch cable that went, so not major but I’d still like the van to last until the boat’s done.

Back onboard, Thursday evening I re-welded a loose angle bracket in the water tank, as well as some gaps around the edges. They were previously covered with sealant, but when you can fuse metal, everything looks fusible.

Then on Friday evening, I cleaned up the bow area to put some primer on before I can insulate the odd sections:

The next morning I took the boat outside the marina to keep the peace, starting with a new hole in the hull for the bathroom sink. Then, re-welding the failed hatch rail and finally the kitchen window frames. They were a mess, and leaked:

They still leak, but that’s now just missing sealant.

This Sunday I finished removing the paint from the water tank corners, with a screwdriver, followed by a good pressure wash until the water was clear. Very satisfying, followed by drying it out. The dehumidifier was snug:

In other news, I’ve decided to paint the boat orange (hence the blog’s new theme). Exact RAL TBD, but vibrant. Maybe RAL 2009, “Traffic Orange”…

And there’s now a gallery! All the photos I’ve uploaded, in chronological order, each linking to the post it came from.

Until next Sunday!

- Nick

Hello, and happy June’s end!

Chaotic is an understatement, as I’ll be moving back onboard a little sooner than I thought: 2 weeks to get all the messy work out of the way, with final bits of insulation ready for the re-build.

To start with on Monday evening, I went over to install the brass hatch sliders. I got one of them in, making a right mess in the process — sealant everywhere, which is too grippy. But, shiny!

Also, the roof! 😍

On Tuesday evening I went to do the other side, but first I broke the thread tap and had to drill it out, and then the welding on the guide rail failed… so, yep: that needs cleaning up, re-welding and 3 coats of the faff-to-mix paint. Another one for (near-)future Nick.

Then, what I’d been procrastinating on: back to the water tank. This weekend I spent many-an-hour in there, caked up in rust and paint dust. Grim, but I’ve finished the angle grinding part. A few corners to do manually before I can deep-clean it (with a pressure washer this time!), and then the paint. A little bit of progress, every day.

I also replaced one of the porthole windows that chipped in transit with a new piece of borosilicate glass, and… it’s chonky! 15mm deep! Completely over-engineered, as it should be.

(This is the old one, but the dimensions are identical.)

Until next Sunday!

- Nick

Roof or bust, I spent most evenings during the week getting it ready to paint, like masking it with the help of a duck:

And on Monday I also picked up the vents which I had powder coated, now in matt black:

Those I installed on Tuesday evening, and I had to move the boat across the marina when… the engine wouldn’t go. The started solenoid would engage, but not turn. Figuring this was post-sinking damage I took it to the same guy who replaced the solenoid a few months back, at Auto Electrics in Redditch. He was excellent, a joy to talk with and clearly knew his shit.

He started taking it apart, and quickly found the issue: the motor ran fine, but the solenoid contacts were covered in water and oil, starting to corrode. But… it’s only two months old?! I asked him to look at the motor itself, and that too was dripping in oil, which… eurgh. Likely cause: an oil leak from the crankshaft with a broken seal.

That, to replace, is a bitch: it means taking the gearbox out and who knows what else. We sighed, we laughed. But then I went for a walk and lay in a field of chamomile, so who’s really winning?

This can be a future Nick problem; I currently have a home to build and no travel plans. And then I bolted in the porthole window glass!

Just, wonderful. 🤌

Finally, on Friday, I got the first coat of paint on the roof. Very satisfying, although the anti-slip grit was a bit uneven… in hindsight it was insane to think I’d get a perfect distribution with a roller; of course not. Another one where my skill is simply no match for my expectations, but you know what? I still love it.

And it’s grippy! Compared to the near past it looks incredible, and I can only assume the local wildlife think so too because they just love taking a shit on it.

GET OFF MY ROOF!!

On Saturday I did the second coat — the masking tape took as long as the painting — and… that’s it! Done! THE ROOF IS DONE?! I’ve still to fit the hatch, but details, details…

To celebrate I got the angle grinder and spent an hour in the water tank:

It goes quickly but… damn, we suffer for the cause.

Until next Sunday!

- Nick