Let's talk electric guitars

First thing was to get a hole cut and a steel plinth made and welded to the roof to provide more light. I had 2 already.

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zedders attached the following image:

And fit the wooden liner to go through the insulation and ply I'd be fitting.
Then I ripped into what was there inside and chucked it all away, spent 2 days grinding the rust and treating the steel. Very unpleasant.
Looks like I can't insert the pictures with the text? And only one per post...oh well
After that I cut and fitted the first layer of insulation, taped the joints, TEK screwed some battens on top and another layer insulation between those. Wires in trunking under the gunnels etc, wiring cut into the ceiling for lights and finally onto the ply. Another couple of days will finish the lining ready to paint before adding oak trim to cover the gaps and make it look nice. If I could add a bunch of photos you'd see how grim it was.

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zedders attached the following image:

Rust was bad. All due to the original builder using cheap bonding which cracked and came adrift letting air in and form condensation against the steel hull. And rotted the panels. I get it, decent glue has cost as much as the insulation, the installers were probably on a price making savings where they could. Sad really, it was done with top quality oak ply. Sadly the whole boat is a story of top quality materials slapped together badly and lazily.
Here's some rust. lol

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zedders attached the following image:

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Edited by zedders on 22 août 2023 à 18:30

And after grinding it off with 40 grit flap discs and treating it.

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zedders attached the following image:

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Edited by zedders on 22 août 2023 à 18:31

Boat itself, My son and I bare metalled and painted it over the past few summers, about 8 coats. Nearly finished. My room/studio is down the far end past the side hatch which shows how perspective effects photos, there's about 12ft past that hatch. Son's end is the photos above (with the 2 middle portholes) with kitchen and bathroom between. Bathroom is being gutted and rebuilt next, I need it done as far as insulated before autumn because condensation will start to form on the steel inside which makes things more difficult.

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zedders attached the following image:

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Edited by zedders on 22 août 2023 à 18:44

Man, that is so cool!! A lot of work but it seems you are doing it the right way, now that think will last a long time!! Must be really cool to make music on such a boat :W

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so the ex didn't get the boat huh? :D

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I’m still debating whether or not I want to disappear off the face of the earth and live on a boat somewhere.

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We had quite a big paid for house which we sold. She bought a smaller one with her half, I bought the boat and have been living a simple life on the change ever since. If I'd bought a house I'd have had to work to support it. Eek. I wouldn't go back to living on land (or working), the slow peaceful boat life suits me. It has limitations of course - lack of space being the main one, but how much of the space in a house do you actually use? My ex had filled ours with junk so not a lot in my case.
On the to do list is solar and Lithium batteries - after I get those installed we'll be more self sufficient which is the aim.

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Of course nothing is as simple/cheap as it seems. For example I'm stuck on the UK canal network which requires a licence but provides you nothing much for that fee. If I park up on the canal the law requires I move every 14 days and the minimum distance (not actually stated in law) is a km. Nope, you can't to and fro between 2 places either, got to keep going for at least 50 miles in minimum chunks before you can turn around and come back. If you push the boundaries or try test the licensing authority in court they simply refuse to give you a licence when it runs out, the court rubber stamps "no licence" and you never get the chance to present any case you had, which could have been a winner. At that point they crane your boat out, transport it as far as they can to one of their compounds, charge you for the pleasure and charge you storage thereafter. You absolutely can not simply find a nice spot, tie up and chill for the rest of your life.
Marinas are the same, legally residential moorings are like hen's teeth so it's a keep your head down situation and don't be an arse. The management here could, without ANY notice, untie your boat and tow it out into the canal and dump it there, if you refused to get out yourself. No rights, none at all.
The reality of course is different, as long as you don't behave like a fool, don't disturb your fellow moorers, be polite and reasonable, it's fine. This lack of security puts most people off, but when it comes to it, here in the UK, renting a house has no security, owning a mortgaged house has none either if you default.

No idea what it's like in the US but you can bet someone owns every yard of river bank and short of anchoring off the coast there won't be much real freedom.

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I can wriggle out of anything, I'm a master of that sport. Some people assume they have some kind of moral right to behave how they like and get into trouble because the reality of life is you do not have any rights when the chips are down. You will loose so don't head butt stuff. :D

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Yep, it sounds like they can do whatever they like with you there, I guess the idea is they don't want to have a huge number of people doing just that, living without a permanent address. It's a control thing. Yes Europe is like that...

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In London it's very, very crowded with a lot of people breaking the rules. Some get around it by removing all distinguishing marks from the boat (name and registration number) because by law the authorities must contact you and sticking a notice to your boat without knowing it's number/name doesn't work. lol It's an exceptionally cheap way to live in London.
I'm out in the sticks in a really posh village where I had no hope of affording a decent house. If you live like a hermit in a cave it can be incredibly cheap. My son and I tried it for a few years and our combined all in life we got down to reliably well under 10k/year and our best ever was £6K a couple of years ago. That's total for 2 people eating well, heating, elec, gas, mooring fees, licence and insurance. Try that in a house!
We were eeking out my stash so I'd get to state pension age, we had zero income. Things have changed though, he now has income due to his mental health and my father died and left me some money hence sorting out the boat and a new guitar. Right now I could buy a nice house too but I find I have no interest in houses any more and the quiet setting is good for my son - a large part of why I chose this lifestyle.

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It's a bit off subject (Jaguar Guitar) but could you dare to cross the channel with this boat and enter the mainland boat channel system?

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Not a chance! It's been done by the odd nutcase but these things are more like a long skip with pointed ends than a boat. They are top heavy, not much draft and the first wave would sink it/roll it over. The way to Europe is on a lorry on a ferry but again, European waterways are serious business and a UK narrowboat is not ideal.

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I see. The major waterways are busy, like the Rhine river, probably like the Thames, but there are a whole lot of small channels that go all the way from north to south, where you could probably spend a long time. Not sure how it works now with Brexit for UK people. I fancy doing a couple of weeks on a rented boat with my buddies, sounds like fun

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the boat looks really cool zedders, keep us posted as you do mods, it looks great! i'll live vicariously through your boat life :W<3

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