Tag Archives: hull build

Winter Work

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Befur home for winter work

Befur home for winter work

Well, Befur is back in the fells for some winter work.

The pull-out and trip home was uneventful, thanks to Simon and Dean’s help, and the garage finally finding and fixing the leak in the Land Rover’s turbo pipes! Much less smoke and much more go!

Work to do

We have a tentative list of work we want to do, and the game plan is to try to get back into the water before Heggerscale freezes (the lake is a milder climate to over winter in)! However, as I write this post, and document the work, it seems questionable if we will finish the work in 2022!!!

The work falls into several groups, some just inspection/maintenance and some fixing/improving: Continue reading →

Sails, Cabin, Boiler & Gally – February ’20 update

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Just a note to record the things we have been doing over the last month or so.

Most importantly we have secured a berth at Ferry Nab on Winderemere, so Befur will be exploring new waters this year. So, as always, the cosh is upon us, with the berth being available from the 1st April (yes, we know, not an auspicious date!).

The work has divided into annual maintenance, finishing/installing the sailing rig and finishing the fit-out of the galley – and sundry diversions. Continue reading →

Late- yes, Embarrassed – some, Nearly There – maybe

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I noticed that I had not written anything since the end of March, and I guess (unconsciously) this was because I had intended to have Befur ready for the water on the first of April, and that clearly wasn’t happening – and addressing that fact in print was a bridge too far!

However, we have been far from idle, and I actually do think we should be there for the first week of June (fingers-crossed). So here is a quick review of progress in April and May.

Checking the Solar Panels

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More Electrics, “Decks” and Woodwork

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Having craned the engine and boiler into the hull we have now settled the position of the key components and can start to deal with some of the remaining fitting out tasks.

We are still aiming for an April Launch, but in true project planning style we had not said which day in April, so we have a few days left. The following items have been addressed so far:

Electrical Installation

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Engine Meets Hull

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Just a note to commemorate another milestone. Yesterday we (neighbour Mike and I) lifted the engine into the boat! Hurrah!

We had spent a deal of time debating how best to do this, with the hydraulic bucket on the tractor being the initial option – but in the end we both felt a bit “windy” about working under the engine held up by an ageing tractor, and instead opted for the “trusty” Chinese chain-hoist strapped to an RSJ in the roof of Mike’s barn. We then picked the engine up, and manoeuvred the boat under the engine. To make it more interesting, we really don’t know how heavy it is – but the two of us could not lift it by hand to get it to the engine crane to put on a trailer for the trip to the barn (200yd push in light snow!)

The decision as to installation was to epoxy four M10 studs into the engine bearers and then use nuts on the studs to secure the engine bed down. Continue reading →

Providing some Direction – Befur gains a rudder

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Rudder ready for fitting and varnish

The rudder with pintles ready for varnish and fitting

One of the major outstanding jobs on the hull was to build a suitable rudder. As Befur is meant to sail (as well as steam) we wanted to make sure we provided some thing effective.

Researching the subject covering everything from historic articles on Chinese Junk development to the Steamboat Associations’ handbook and designers from Selway Fisher to Dave Gerr’s excellent book on ship design and lots of trawling of the Junk Rig Association’s web site we discovered some important facts: Continue reading →

More fitting out – and symmetry

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Just a quick note, the last week or so have been dedicated to the building of the cabin on Befur, and the first stages of internal fit-out.

This has involved the fitting of the cabin sides (as seen in the last post’s pictures), and the fitting of internal bulkheads, (e.g. the walls of the loo and heads for the bunks.) This has involved more “spilling” to get the shapes from the hull for cutting of the bulkheads (a remarkably accurate process) and fitting these too the hull using epoxy filets. Continue reading →

Sculpture in Epoxy and Wood

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Boat building for botchers!

I have returned to work on finishing and fitting out the hull, and in the process come to the conclusion that boat building using strip-plank/epoxy is mostly a process of sculpture using wood and epoxy as the constructional elements. I must confess that this approach really rewards the botcher, as there seems to be no need for the kind and quality of woodworking skills traditionally needed – in fact I think they may be a disadvantage. 🙂 Continue reading →

Fuel Tank, Mast Structure and Galvanizing

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This is a hotchpotch of notes on progress we have made in the last few weeks.

I am now focusing my attention on the internal fit-out. We need to get Befur in a state to move her on a trailer to our new home in Cumbria in August, this is adding some needed pressure, to ensure we get everything done in time… Continue reading →