So Much To Confirm and Some Up and Coming Retail Therapy

Hi all,
Not posted of late as there was not much news to write about up to now.

Chris and I went to visit Fernwoods on Wednesday to have our latest design meeting and see how things were progressing.  We spent the day finalising all sorts of things so AmyJo's fit out can progress.  

We settled on the final colours for the livery, as you know will be two tone greys and discussed how the side panels would be painted.  A few other ideas were firmed up on the outside livery and this meant AmyJo's external features could be painted to completion.  We now need to talk to Andy Russel about getting him to do our artwork.  We did talk to him at Crick and he agreed to do AmyJo so we need to work out something with him fairly soon.  For now I played with Photoshop and came up with this artists impression to give you an idea

Meanwhile Chris and Julia were in deep discussions on finalising much of AmyJo's interior layout, fabrics and so on though Chris has a lot more homework to do for curtain/bung material before we can complete the styling inside.  

The layout for the saloon and galley are now pretty much set with a few remaining tweaks by Julia on the front entrance to finish that off.  The galley colour and worktops have been chosen as have the style of the cupboards and drawer fronts

The colours scheme is now set for the wet room and fittings chosen apart from sink and tap.

Throughout the day our list of things to think about and to buy was steadily growing.  We discussed our electrical need in particular our need to have internet access and the power consumption that would entail.  We are settling on an M2M 3g/4g router with wifi coupled to external antennas.  This means when in range we can use local wifi hotspots and when out of range use the 3G to connect.  The router is spec'd so when 4G becomes more readily available we just need to change the SIM card and we're done.

We also have to think about TV, Washing Machine, tumble dryer to remember but a few.  We'll post more on these as we get them.

As for progress on AmyJo, work is moving forward yet it still does not look much has been done but again, closer inspection reveals much has been going on :-

All the outlets for the sinks, washing machine and so on have been installed.

The engine bed and surrounding area has been under coated in dark grey.

More Roof battening has been finished and floor bearers and Pipe mounts installed

Chris and I got to stand inside AmyJo and here Chris is standing roughly where the wet room will be.  Looks extremely long here but when  the bulkheads are in that will make things look different.

I had a comment from Anonymous on my last post (I do not publish if you don't leave a name), they were concerned the spray foam looks inadequate.  Whilst aboard this time I was able to check the depth and am happy to say its more than enough.  AmyJo's hull ribs and cabin side struts are quite large at my request to give extra strength and is why the foam looks at though there is not enough. 

Not much more has been done outside but AmyJo's roof has now received the anti slip surface and a coat of undercoat on that.  Now we have finalised the livery The outside painting can  progress much further.  

The other boat in the picture is Fernwoods latest creation called Dubel Dutch owned by Martin and Annmarie.  As you may have guessed they come from the Netherlands hence the name. Dubel Dutch is nearing completion and is looking pretty smart with some fantastic artwork by Andy Russel.  Look out for her on the cut in the next month or so, she looks stunning.

We will be visiting again and of course will let you know how things are progressing.

Fernwoods open day and a pleasant surprise

Having spent a pleasant night at the Blue Cow Inn not far from Fernwoods workshop, Chris and I made our way over to Sewstern to help out at the Fernwoods open day.  I believe it was the first they have held and judging from the response will not be their last.

The day started in glorious sunshine and the temperatures started to rise as soon as the sun came up.  It was so nice to leave the coats and jumpers at home.  On our arrival we were amazed to see they had laid on a buffet and Pimms.  This was added to later by a barrel of rather nice local ale that in the  heat was most welcome.

We could simply not wait to take a look at AmyJo and so we walked into the workshop and were pleasantly surprised.  At first glance there did not appear to be too much done on her but closer inspection revealled in fact much had been done.

Holes have been cut for the pump out and rinse fittings (a pair each side), the mushroom vents in the roof

A complete covering of undercoat has been applied to her cabin, roof and gunnels.

But the most obvious is inside AmyJo.   She has now been battened out and spray foamed.

What is not obvious from the photos is the fact cable runs have been installed in the form of trunking along the ceiling and sides along the length of her interior.

I also got to try out our deck fittings for size and they fit perfectly, however, as the pump out is being installed on both sides I need to order another fitting.

After spending the whole day with the visitors and generally taking about our journey we said our goodbyes and headed home.  We have another meeting planned in a few weeks so will have some more photos of  AmyJo's progress.