Restoring The Lady Mary

I made a start on the interior this week. The interior was pretty much untouched since the 70s, so badly in need of some work. Here's what it looked like before the work started. These are iphone pano shots, so please forgive the distortion.





First job was to rip up the old lino which took a couple of minutes max. Good riddance. Next to go was the awful laminate floorboards that were used to panel the interior walls.





I'm replacing them with tongue and groove wall panelling which I'll seal and paint. I know pine is not a very long term solution on a boat, but I'll be happy if I get 2 to 3 years out of them.



Next to come out was the kitchen.







The floor and pipework behind was thankfully in great condition, so just a good scrub then we put the new units in. I just have to put the fridge unit and cutlery drawer in the space to the right.





It had a ridiculously large sink and draining board, so I put in a smaller sink and no draining board to give me a larger worktop space. The splashback slides back to the left to give access to the storage shelf behind (you can see the shelf in the first pic, before I fit the splashback). The worktop is a solid oak piece from IKEA (fantastic value) and gave me enough left over to make a new kitchen table.



All in all, not a bad couple of days work. Next small job is to cut and lay new carpet tiles. I picked up some nice 1m square rubber backed carpet tiles in Homebase for €13 each. 5 of them is enough for the front cabin. Next big job is the electrics which I hope to tackle in the next couple of weeks.

I got a couple of small jobs done today and crossed off the list. The first one was to replace the engine temperature sensor. The old one had the cable stuck to it with putty (seriously, it did) and didn't work at all, so running the engine for any length of time was risky. I got a replacement online for about €15. A 5/8" thread for anyone interested, the same ones used in old Mini Coopers. It was a straightforward swap of the sender, then crimping a new connector onto the cable and job done. There's a fairly big crack on the cable, so might add a new sleeve to it tomorrow.

Old one with the putty scraped off. Simply no way to attach the cable.




The new one.




Replaced...




...and working!



I also replaced the window wiper today, both motor and blade. I bought a 110 degree motor when I really should have got a 90, but I just about made it fit. No pics, forgot to take one!

Finally I fit the first of the LED lights. I got the lights from WISH (the iPhone app, Chinese store), four 50cm bars for €14. I fit two of them behind the curtain pelmet at the dining table/main seats/double bed. I'm very happy with the light they give, I went for warm white instead of the typical blue-ish LED white and it works well.

The LED light strip. They work individually or you can daisy chain them.




I used this switch, also bought from WISH, for €2.




The end result. The blue light at the top is actually the switch. I put it there to fill the hole left by the original light fitting, but I think I'll move it. The camera makes the switch extra bright, it's not that bright in reality.




You may notice the table is gone from the above pic. The same legend of a friend who fit the alternator has taken it away to sand it and treat it with Danish oil, and is dropping it back tomorrow.

I'm feeling pretty proud of myself right now, I'd never done any of the above before today, but with trial and error, I figured it out. I even jump started a car for a stranded family in the car park before I went home. Tomorrow I shall rescue a kitten from a tree, and on Thursday I'll sort out Donald Trump in the morning and world hunger in the afternoon if I've time.

sogood wrote: »

Lovely job, she's looking good. You'll have a lovely boat when you're done. Do you have a deadline of any sort with regard to actually getting out on it? It's a terrible thing when the itch sets in and you're busy working while the summer slips away!

Keep up the great work.

Oh I take it out 2 or 3 times a week! I'm only a few hundred yards from the mooring, so it's easy for me take it out for an hour in the evenings or a day at the weekend. We're doing our first overnighter next weekend.

So, 5 years since my last update!  Work on the boat ground to a halt, with a change in career, followed by having 3 kids in 5 years.



I took the boat out of the water in a boatyard in 2018, but through a combination of being badly covered, blocked drains, broken bilge pumps and sheer neglect on my part, it took on enough rainwater to submerge the cabin and engine bay in 2 feet of water.  


This was after the water was drained

I was devastated, I really don't want to give up on it, so I made the decision to go again.  The interior was badly assembled in parts - lots of unsealed non-marine ply, plumbing that defies logic, hundreds and hundreds of wires that went everywhere with no rhyme or reason, most of them to dead ends.

I see this as an opportunity to do it right, or at least try to.  I have completely pulled it back to the hull, ripping out 95% of the interior.  By rebuilding, rewiring, re-plumbing, I will (for the first time) know where everything is, what every wire does, every pipe etc.

She's back in the water now (it's just easier for me to work on it at that level) and my goal is to have it ready in time to get the 2022 season out of it.



The first few tasks, in no particular order:

Engine - the engine, a BMC 1.5, was submerged and took on a lot of water.  It is salvageable, but I'm having it lifted out of the boat next week to be fully serviced, and replacing the starter, alternator and belts.  I'm very excited about being able to get down into the engine bay once the engine is out, so I can put some order on the plumbing and electrics back there, tidy up some drains, and replace the sound insulation foam. Also, the engine is very difficult to work on when in the boat, so I'm going to add an access panel from inside the cabin, so I'll be able to work at eye level to change belts etc, rather than trying to do it from above.

Electrics - at the moment, working with the electrics is pure guesswork, as they are literally all over the place.  My plan is to do a full rewire, with multiple fuse-boards in key locations, and easy access trunking along the ceiling, so I no longer have to pull out cabinets or look under floors when I need access to wiring.  Great opportunity to do this right once the engine comes out.

Plumbing - There was a 500L water bag, which is complete overkill for my needs, and taking up enormous space, so I've replaced that with a much smaller 75L plastic tank.  We use the boat for day trips 99% of the time, so don't feel the need for a bigger tank.  Other than that, it's just a matter of tidying up some of the pipes and checking the calorifier still works.  BTW the 500L water bag is still perfect if anyone wants it - I'd hate to throw it away.

Drains - this was a huge problem.  Deck drains were simply not draining, so now that I've pared back to the hull, I've been able to figure out why. Most of the drains were either connected to the wrong drainage hole, had the wrong type of hoses, or had looping hoses that backed up easily.  In one case, 2 drains were simply joined to each other!  I have 80% of these sorted now with new hoses, and will do the remaining when the engine is lifted.

Fuel tank - the original 40 year old fuel tank was rusting badly, so I ripped it out and replaced it with a much smaller 75L plastic tank.  Again, smaller but absolutely fine for our needs.  I also fitted senders to both the fuel and water tanks, so we can now see our levels on each - a big luxury we didn't have before!



Insulation - The previous insulation was polystyrene - a mish-mash of original, plus chunks from packaging, all held together with Avonmore Dairies tape!  It was SOAKING wet.  I pulled it all out and replaced with 25mm foil backed closed cell insulation board.  I'm hoping this helps with condensation.  I have the sides done, continue along back wall and get a thinner solution for ceiling.



Ceiling - the old vinyl headliner was a magnet for mould and mildew, so I pulled it out.  I'm replacing with PVC tongue and groove cladding, with a few recessed spotlights in there.



Windows - the aluminium windows are structurally sound, just filthy, with layers and layers of sealant and paint all over them.  So we pulled the first one out to bring home and tidy it up.  I'm experimenting with sanding and polishing it.  Don't think I want a full mirror finish, but maybe a bright brushed finish.  I'll reseal and replace once ready.



I consider the above kind of a phase 1.  Afterwards, I'll tackle a rebuild of the kitchen, add vinyl flooring, redesign the dash, sand and paint the exterior, and replace grab rails and handles. It's a slow process with just 4 or 5 hours work a week, but I'm getting there.

This week's task is measuring for panels, cutting and sealing marine ply with epoxy, and time permitting, getting the first panels up on the walls.