Our first cruise completed. We can now reflect on the events of the last 10 months. From the excitement of designing "Alanne" and being involved in the build, to the devastating loss of Lucy, our beautiful Great Dane. "Alanne" was designed with an extended semi traditional stern to allow Lucy to be close to the action but in the safe environment of the enclosed stern area. Sadly this was not to be. The roller coaster ride continued right up to the day of departure for our first cruise.
We are very pleased with the finished boat. It has good lines and a high specification, but getting there was a real nightmare, the un-scheduled hold ups in the build left us feeling frustrated, the excuses and unkept promises, the wasted journeys to visit the boat yard only to find no work undertaken for many weeks. We should have employed a marine engineer to oversee the build, someone familiar with boat building, who could be on site to ensure work was carried out in a timely fashion, but hind sight is a wonderful thing. "Alanne" is likely to be our only venture in boat building and it's very unlikely we will ever have another boat, but if we did, would we go to Collingwood Boat Builders? WOULD YOU?
Friday, 10 October 2014
Saturday, 27 September 2014
Alanne Afloat - Day 230
Fuelled-up, engine checked, water tank full, food cupboards full and ready to go. I can hardly believe we are about to set sail and head south for winter. Only two jobs remain outstanding - - The fuel gauge and the replacement for damaged fridge door. Garry assures me they will be fitted soon, We will be going back to Orchard Marina to pick up my car -- eventually, so hopefully Garry will have the outstanding parts. Johnny came over to "Alanne" at 7.45am this morning, he came to mount the CE plates and wish us bon voyage, Johnny has been a great help over the last 9 weeks, it was his weekend off, but he still came over to put the finishing touches on "Alanne".
We fired up the engine and set off at 10.10am. I almost got out of the marina without a bump, but failed miserably when I hit the opposite bank of the canal, no damage to the boat, only my pride. The rest of the day went without problem and we negotiated locks and bridges without incident. We moored for the night near bridge 22 on the Shropshire Union Canal. We are at last getting into the swing of cruising and with no fixed plan for each day, we are going to chug along and if we see something of interest we will have a break and wander off for a close up look.
The story of "Alanne" is almost complete. We have had many ups and downs over the last 9 months and our problems have not been unique. Wrong drawings given to build team, wrong boat built, not kept in the loop, un-answered phone calls, no reply to text messages and wasted journeys. Amazingly we met Ken and Sandra who recently took delivery of a Collingwood boat, "Hummingbird" and all the above wheezes used with us were also visited on them. The finished boats are great, they have a high quality fit-out and look stunning, but the delays and mis-information will almost certainly grind you down. "Alanne" was originally going to take 6 to 8 weeks to complete and deliver, no show stopping modifications were added and the finished boat is almost exactly as my original drawing. Mid February was the original agreed finish date,but it was almost 8 months down the line before we could start our first real cruise.
We fired up the engine and set off at 10.10am. I almost got out of the marina without a bump, but failed miserably when I hit the opposite bank of the canal, no damage to the boat, only my pride. The rest of the day went without problem and we negotiated locks and bridges without incident. We moored for the night near bridge 22 on the Shropshire Union Canal. We are at last getting into the swing of cruising and with no fixed plan for each day, we are going to chug along and if we see something of interest we will have a break and wander off for a close up look.
The story of "Alanne" is almost complete. We have had many ups and downs over the last 9 months and our problems have not been unique. Wrong drawings given to build team, wrong boat built, not kept in the loop, un-answered phone calls, no reply to text messages and wasted journeys. Amazingly we met Ken and Sandra who recently took delivery of a Collingwood boat, "Hummingbird" and all the above wheezes used with us were also visited on them. The finished boats are great, they have a high quality fit-out and look stunning, but the delays and mis-information will almost certainly grind you down. "Alanne" was originally going to take 6 to 8 weeks to complete and deliver, no show stopping modifications were added and the finished boat is almost exactly as my original drawing. Mid February was the original agreed finish date,but it was almost 8 months down the line before we could start our first real cruise.
Thursday, 25 September 2014
Alanne Afloat - Day 229
Well here we are, almost another week has flashed past. Some progress has been made on "Alanne", the Bubble diesel stove has been replaced, but needed a fuel pump fitting before it worked correctly. The fire now burns with a clean blue flame and has a good heat output, (I had to open windows and doors when the stove was working, it was so hot). Thanks Garry for a good job.
Johnny arrived this afternoon with the "magic corner" for the galley and had it fitted and operational in less than 2 hours. It was the first one he had installed so it was a steep learning curve for both of us, but he has made a fine job of installing it. Again thank you Johnny.
Anne and I intend to get underway on Saturday 27th September and start our first cruise. The outstanding work will have to be completed hopefully tomorrow (Friday 26th September). I am not convinced that this will happen but I live in hope. Everything is crossed in anticipation.
New fully functional, diesel fired "Bubble Stove"
External chimney replaced and looks 100% better than the original fitting.
Repainted roof looks great ---- it is now an even colour all over
Replacement tap now sends the water into the centre of the bowl
"Magic Corner" swings shelves out of cupboard for easy access.
Johnny arrived this afternoon with the "magic corner" for the galley and had it fitted and operational in less than 2 hours. It was the first one he had installed so it was a steep learning curve for both of us, but he has made a fine job of installing it. Again thank you Johnny.
Anne and I intend to get underway on Saturday 27th September and start our first cruise. The outstanding work will have to be completed hopefully tomorrow (Friday 26th September). I am not convinced that this will happen but I live in hope. Everything is crossed in anticipation.
New fully functional, diesel fired "Bubble Stove"
External chimney replaced and looks 100% better than the original fitting.
Repainted roof looks great ---- it is now an even colour all over
Replacement tap now sends the water into the centre of the bowl
"Magic Corner" swings shelves out of cupboard for easy access.
Tuesday, 16 September 2014
Alanne Afloat -Day 220
Its now Tuesday September 16th 2014. I have to pinch myself that this is in fact the correct date as I am stuck in a time warp. Everyday is much like the last. We have been waiting for various work to be completed on "Alanne" since delivery back in July. Some repairs have been completed although they have taken many hours, (mostly due to a lack of any workforce at Orchard Marina), they spend most of their working time at Collingwoods in Liverpool and if we are lucky, work out of hours on "Alanne". The delivery of the boat back in July is a distant memory and the opportunity to take "Alanne" on her maiden cruise is still a pipe dream.
Major jobs still outstanding include:-
1. Replace the "Bubble Stove" room heater, this also includes the chimney flue and the terminal on the roof. The stove has a back boiler for central heating. This was not requested and will not work correctly and would have a lower heat output. Garry is going to Doncaster today to pick up the replacement stove.
2. The "Magic Corner" has not been fitted in the galley cupboard to enable access to the back shelves in the corner cupboard.
3. The fridge freezer door was damaged prior to delivery and we were promised a replacement by Alan MacNaughton, but still no sign after nearly 8 weeks.
Johnny, as usual, has as always been a great help. He spent his own time repainting the boat roof and completely repainting one side of the boat due to a large chip in the paint caused by the exploding stove.
I am hoping that all will be finished before the end of September, but don't hold your breath.
Major jobs still outstanding include:-
1. Replace the "Bubble Stove" room heater, this also includes the chimney flue and the terminal on the roof. The stove has a back boiler for central heating. This was not requested and will not work correctly and would have a lower heat output. Garry is going to Doncaster today to pick up the replacement stove.
2. The "Magic Corner" has not been fitted in the galley cupboard to enable access to the back shelves in the corner cupboard.
3. The fridge freezer door was damaged prior to delivery and we were promised a replacement by Alan MacNaughton, but still no sign after nearly 8 weeks.
Johnny, as usual, has as always been a great help. He spent his own time repainting the boat roof and completely repainting one side of the boat due to a large chip in the paint caused by the exploding stove.
I am hoping that all will be finished before the end of September, but don't hold your breath.
Thursday, 28 August 2014
Alanne Afloat - Day 201
I have not added anything to the blog over the last week or
two, because as previously explained, boat builders have two speeds - slow and stop. We must be at stop again.
I get that feeling of deja vu. We are beginning to feel marooned in a
“Ground Hog” moment. The outstanding
work on “Alanne” has not been started, although vague promises have been made
that work will begin shortly.
Until the major outstanding jobs are completed we cannot
risk leaving “Orchard Marina”, or we could find ourselves in a position where
we have accepted the boat in its present condition.
We have had to be content with only going on short cruises from
the marina and returning the same day, in the hope that work really will commence *manyarna or maybe tomorrow.
* manyarna - Spanish for maybe tomorrow, but probably never.
The photos below show some of the outstanding jobs, some more serious
than others.
Bathroom tap only just manages to put water into the sink, Builders have agreed to replace tap for one with a longer reach. ------------- SOON
Galley cupboard should have swing out shelves for easy access @ a cost of £450.00. ----------------------- PAID UPFRONT
Fridge/Freezer door damaged during installation, builders agreed to replace. -- NO SIGN OF REPLACEMENT
Roof looks a bit like a beach with multi-colour sand. Agreed roof to be repainted. --------------------- ANYONE FOR BEACH VOLLEY BALL
Diesel stove roof outlet. A real bodged job. Builders agreed replacement with correct outlet. ------------- CANNOT USE STOVE TILL THIS IS FIXED
Hing on cover of control binnacle broke off after a couple of uses. Welding very poor quality. Builders agreed to repair. ------------------- BOAT CONTROLS CANNOT BE SECURED
Saturday, 9 August 2014
Alanne Afloat - Day 182
We spent the week at Orchard Marina in Northwich on "Alanne". We took the final bits and pieces with us and we now have 2 very comfy swivel chairs in our saloon. Its a pity that we are still unable to use the on-board TV, from our comfy chairs, as we have yet to receive the remote control.
Progress is still very slow and a number of jobs need to be cleared before we can sail off into the sunset. We had a very exciting morning, on Thursday, when Garry came over to demonstrate the diesel fired space heater, "Bubble Stove". He struggled to get the diesel to flow to the stove, but eventually it appeared to be coming through "ever so slowly". This was Garrys prompt to set it alight by adding some white spirit and throwing a lighted paper into the firebox. After an initial roar the stove started to evaporate and burn the diesel fuel. Garry got excited and opened the diesel valve fully and all seemed to be going according to plan, then very suddenly the gentle yellow flame inside the burner grew very large indeed, Garry said not to worry this was normal, well that was until there was a mighty bang, black smoke flooded into the cabin from the air intake and a couple of seconds later, came a splashing sound outside the boat. We discovered later that this was the external chimney doing its impression of an Apollo Moon Rocket trying to achieve Earth orbit, it shot up 8 feet in a plume of black smoke then came splashing down in the marina. The initial bang resulted in a stampede to leave the boat after turning off the diesel feed to the stove. After a suitable time loitering outside we ventured back inside to survey the stove, which was now coated with a thick layer of soot on the inside and the glass window blacked out. I'm sure Garry will get it right next time, he just needs to repair the chimney and give us plenty of warning so we can watch from a safe distance.
On Thursday Garry produced the Boat Safety Certificate and the Recreational Craft Directive paperwork, (it was a bit like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat). We were now able to get our Canal and River Licence from the Canal and River Trust office in Northwich. Hurrah, we can now legally chug along the canal network without getting our collars felt by the dreaded Canal Police.
We currently have around 16 outstanding jobs on the boat and it looks as if it will be several weeks before they get signed off. The covered workshop where the jobs will be sorted is currently on a short term rental to another boat owner, who is renovating his boat. I was thinking of asking Garry to chuck him out, but all the marina "live aboard" crowd are so nice it would be rude to upset them.
I guess we are getting used to the slower pace of life in the boat world. Cancel that last comment, There is no pace in the boat world.
On our way home this morning, we visited Aston Marina near Stone and finalised our permanent mooring as we now had the relevant paperwork care of Garry. Hopefully in the dim and misty future we will sail down to Aston marina and prepare for our circular excursions around the canal network. Lets hope its this year.
Progress is still very slow and a number of jobs need to be cleared before we can sail off into the sunset. We had a very exciting morning, on Thursday, when Garry came over to demonstrate the diesel fired space heater, "Bubble Stove". He struggled to get the diesel to flow to the stove, but eventually it appeared to be coming through "ever so slowly". This was Garrys prompt to set it alight by adding some white spirit and throwing a lighted paper into the firebox. After an initial roar the stove started to evaporate and burn the diesel fuel. Garry got excited and opened the diesel valve fully and all seemed to be going according to plan, then very suddenly the gentle yellow flame inside the burner grew very large indeed, Garry said not to worry this was normal, well that was until there was a mighty bang, black smoke flooded into the cabin from the air intake and a couple of seconds later, came a splashing sound outside the boat. We discovered later that this was the external chimney doing its impression of an Apollo Moon Rocket trying to achieve Earth orbit, it shot up 8 feet in a plume of black smoke then came splashing down in the marina. The initial bang resulted in a stampede to leave the boat after turning off the diesel feed to the stove. After a suitable time loitering outside we ventured back inside to survey the stove, which was now coated with a thick layer of soot on the inside and the glass window blacked out. I'm sure Garry will get it right next time, he just needs to repair the chimney and give us plenty of warning so we can watch from a safe distance.
On Thursday Garry produced the Boat Safety Certificate and the Recreational Craft Directive paperwork, (it was a bit like a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat). We were now able to get our Canal and River Licence from the Canal and River Trust office in Northwich. Hurrah, we can now legally chug along the canal network without getting our collars felt by the dreaded Canal Police.
We currently have around 16 outstanding jobs on the boat and it looks as if it will be several weeks before they get signed off. The covered workshop where the jobs will be sorted is currently on a short term rental to another boat owner, who is renovating his boat. I was thinking of asking Garry to chuck him out, but all the marina "live aboard" crowd are so nice it would be rude to upset them.
I guess we are getting used to the slower pace of life in the boat world. Cancel that last comment, There is no pace in the boat world.
On our way home this morning, we visited Aston Marina near Stone and finalised our permanent mooring as we now had the relevant paperwork care of Garry. Hopefully in the dim and misty future we will sail down to Aston marina and prepare for our circular excursions around the canal network. Lets hope its this year.
Friday, 1 August 2014
Alanne Afloat - Day 174
We have been without Internet access since Tueday, so I am writing this blog from home on Friday 1 August 2014.
We returned to Orchard Marina on Tuesday morning, (29th July 2014 - Day 174). We had a telephone call from Ian at Collingwood Boats to tell us the money was now in their account and we could take possession of "Alanne". We set of from home at 09.30, determined that Alan McNaughton was not going to spoil our day after his antics of last Friday. When we arrived at Orchard Marina, a very helpful guy was there to handover the keys and give us a tour of the boat systems and engine. It was a delight to have someone around who actually cared and was willing to give as much time as we needed to understand the complexity of "the bits under the bonnet". A big thank you to Johnny. We spent the rest of Tuesday bringing all our "bits and bobs" onto the boat and Johnny was close at hand to give us help when needed.
Wednesday we took the boat for a short cruise to Anderton boat yard to refuel and have our first real chance to see how "Alanne" handled. She cut through the water with almost no bow wave or wash, which will please owners of moored boats who wont have to shout abuse because their boat is "rocking and rolling". Steering we found was very heavy and at times struggled to make tight bends in the canal and on our return to Orchard Marina, asked Johnny to take a look. He agreed it was on the heavy side and thought the "Skeg" might have been damaged when the boat was first lowered into the water, possibly catching the edge of the dock as it was lowered. Later in the day I looked into the Bow Thruster chamber and was alarmed to see a lot of canal water sloshing around, again Johnny came over and between us dried out the chamber and tried to spot where the water was coming from, but without success. Johnny suggested that we take the boat back to Wincham Wharf and he would arrange for the boat to be lifted out so that he could take a closer look at the welding done the previous Friday.
Thursday morning Johnny came aboard and we all cruised down to Wincham Wharf after checking to see if any more canal water had entered the Bow Thruster chamber. it remained dry so possibly the leak had sealed itself. "Alanne" was lifted out of the water and it was easy to see why the steering was so heavy. The bottom of the rudder shaft should have been sitting in a bearing in the "Skeg", but it was the point of the rudder which rested in the bearing housing. It took almost 30 seconds to fix and slot the shaft into the bearing and the rudder moved with the lightest of touches. The other problem could not be resolved, how can you fix something when no fault is apparent. After many attempt to contact Ian at Collingwood, he finally answered his phone and the mystery of the water in the Bow Thruster chamber was solved. The water in the chamber was from the first leak on Friday. Nobody had emptied the chamber at the time and Ian had not told anyone that the water was there. Oh well, just goes to show how poor communication can be so expensive. It cost a total of £500 to lift the boat out and back in the water. so someone will not be a happy bunny at Collingwood. The journey back to Orchard Marina was a joy, the steering was excellent and "Alanne" was responsive to all commands. The entrance to Orchard Marina is extremely tight and we had previously had a bump on the narrow opening. The boat needed to be at right angles to the canal which I estimate was only just over 60 feet wide. This time it was a breeze with everything working as it should and we entered without a bump and reversed into our mooring.
Friday morning we awoke to heavy rain and decided that cruising in the rain wasn't for us. We packed up and took the 90 minute drive home.
The saga continues as we are unable to register "Alanne" without the supporting paperwork and without a Canal and River Trust, (CRT) licence we are not legally permitted to cruise any canal. Garry Evans is back from his holiday on Monday, I hope he is refreshed because we have a list of faults and missing items, plus the urgency of some ownership paperwork and certificates of "sea worthiness".
We returned to Orchard Marina on Tuesday morning, (29th July 2014 - Day 174). We had a telephone call from Ian at Collingwood Boats to tell us the money was now in their account and we could take possession of "Alanne". We set of from home at 09.30, determined that Alan McNaughton was not going to spoil our day after his antics of last Friday. When we arrived at Orchard Marina, a very helpful guy was there to handover the keys and give us a tour of the boat systems and engine. It was a delight to have someone around who actually cared and was willing to give as much time as we needed to understand the complexity of "the bits under the bonnet". A big thank you to Johnny. We spent the rest of Tuesday bringing all our "bits and bobs" onto the boat and Johnny was close at hand to give us help when needed.
Wednesday we took the boat for a short cruise to Anderton boat yard to refuel and have our first real chance to see how "Alanne" handled. She cut through the water with almost no bow wave or wash, which will please owners of moored boats who wont have to shout abuse because their boat is "rocking and rolling". Steering we found was very heavy and at times struggled to make tight bends in the canal and on our return to Orchard Marina, asked Johnny to take a look. He agreed it was on the heavy side and thought the "Skeg" might have been damaged when the boat was first lowered into the water, possibly catching the edge of the dock as it was lowered. Later in the day I looked into the Bow Thruster chamber and was alarmed to see a lot of canal water sloshing around, again Johnny came over and between us dried out the chamber and tried to spot where the water was coming from, but without success. Johnny suggested that we take the boat back to Wincham Wharf and he would arrange for the boat to be lifted out so that he could take a closer look at the welding done the previous Friday.
Thursday morning Johnny came aboard and we all cruised down to Wincham Wharf after checking to see if any more canal water had entered the Bow Thruster chamber. it remained dry so possibly the leak had sealed itself. "Alanne" was lifted out of the water and it was easy to see why the steering was so heavy. The bottom of the rudder shaft should have been sitting in a bearing in the "Skeg", but it was the point of the rudder which rested in the bearing housing. It took almost 30 seconds to fix and slot the shaft into the bearing and the rudder moved with the lightest of touches. The other problem could not be resolved, how can you fix something when no fault is apparent. After many attempt to contact Ian at Collingwood, he finally answered his phone and the mystery of the water in the Bow Thruster chamber was solved. The water in the chamber was from the first leak on Friday. Nobody had emptied the chamber at the time and Ian had not told anyone that the water was there. Oh well, just goes to show how poor communication can be so expensive. It cost a total of £500 to lift the boat out and back in the water. so someone will not be a happy bunny at Collingwood. The journey back to Orchard Marina was a joy, the steering was excellent and "Alanne" was responsive to all commands. The entrance to Orchard Marina is extremely tight and we had previously had a bump on the narrow opening. The boat needed to be at right angles to the canal which I estimate was only just over 60 feet wide. This time it was a breeze with everything working as it should and we entered without a bump and reversed into our mooring.
Friday morning we awoke to heavy rain and decided that cruising in the rain wasn't for us. We packed up and took the 90 minute drive home.
The saga continues as we are unable to register "Alanne" without the supporting paperwork and without a Canal and River Trust, (CRT) licence we are not legally permitted to cruise any canal. Garry Evans is back from his holiday on Monday, I hope he is refreshed because we have a list of faults and missing items, plus the urgency of some ownership paperwork and certificates of "sea worthiness".
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