Endeavour
A Waterways World Trophy winner at the IWA National Rally in 1992
Editorial (below) is re-printed from Waterways World
Waterways World Trophy for the best amateur fitted-out narrowboat
(1992 National)
Before setting out for this year's National Waterways Festival, Brian and Christine Scott had never been on narrow canals, although they have been Fenland boaters for over ten years. Brian fitted out his first narrowboat in 1989. But a week after it was completed, a boatyard bet him he wouldn't sell it - so he did. The replacement, ENDEAVOUR, took just over a year to fit-out, and was cruised on the Fens until setting off for Wakefield. The trip was done in convoy with another narrowboat whose owner produced a computerised schedule, with times due at ever lock en-route. After 500 miles 200 locks they arrives at our rendezvous two minutes late.
Given this sort of introduction to canal cruising it is not surprising that Brian enjoys fitting-out quite as much as boating, Even though woodwork is a busman's holiday for him - he is a joiner by profession (as he pointed out to the Festival judges).
Endeavour's shell was ordered from local builder Pat Buckle. In the true manner of a oscar winner, Brian lists those who helped above and beyond the call of duty. Pat Buckle is mentioned: when asked what the charge would be for DIY fitting-out at the Stibbington yard, he stipulated £4 a week but only for the weeks the Scotts didn't work on their boat's Mitsubishi four-cylinder diesel, and midland Chandlers' Braunston shop are the others named for their advice and support.
The 58ft traditional-style shell is not nearly as remarkable as its interior. However ventilation grills set into the forward bulkhead are not simple cabin vents; they are ducted down to the under floor space, which is connected to a sealed box covering the engine. This draws its combustion air entirely through the bilge. So the bilge is kept dry and sweet; and the engine box stays cool without letting noise escape. Upper cabin ventilation is assisted by two solar fans (defined by brass cowls rather than usual plastic finish) and by a Houdini hatch over the galley - more effective than a previous electric vent fan, say the Scotts.
Back in the bilge, lift-up floor panels under the side corridor provide access to a water/central heating service duct. Not a difficult detail to copy, if you think about it; laying standard 8ft x 4ft ply sheets as floor boarding can leave a 2ft width on the corridor side; cutting panels to fill this remaining space is made little more complicated by inserting, say, 1ft wide lift-up sections. Particularly if, as in Endeavour, the floor covering is carpet tiles. At the aft end a perspex panel allows an instant check for bilge dryness. It also open to the joins of three drain-off points - which then leads back to the engine bilge pump sump.
As in Susie Too, fitting-out is mainly in ash, but with trim in a contrasting rather than matching timber. The dark wood, mainly utile (a kind of mahogany), is set on cabin sides as panelled beading; and in the deckhead (ceiling) as beams - with ash inserts. Joinery is professional standards. Edges are mostly capped not with solid timber, but with veneers -which might lack durability and conviction, were it not for the skill with which they are applied. The cabin is devoid of knobs and handles; doors and drawers are pulled by finger grips discreetly cut into the beading.
Cabin layout is for four - and two cats. These, Titus and Troy, have their own dedicated cabin, under the foredeck. It is fitted with sleeping recesses, light ventilation system (to evacuate litter tray smells) and central heating radiator. I kid you not. Even the box step under the cabin door sides has circular holes cut in opposite sides so that they can pass through it to their quarters.
The circle motif is spectacularly repeated in a cut-out through the galley bulkhead; and even the tops of settee backs are curved. These are purpose made box seat with a corner fill-in table. Upholstery is by christine and pegged rug is by the Scott's daughter. In the opposite corner of the saloon, a Heron heating radiators run off an Alde gas boiler in the aft cabin wardrobe. The settees do not convert to a double berth. But the u-shaped dinette on the other side of the galley does. Its lift-out seat-backs and hinged locker tops are carefully engineered for easy conversion. The table top is made professionally attractive by slightly curved edges. Past the toilet compartment (bath/shower, wash basin, pump-out loo, and lined in tile-effect Vymura) and into the main bedroom, which is actually longer than the saloon. The double bed is swathed in lace valance and drapes. Under-bed drawers are aired by the horizontal calorifier (lagged hot water tank - which is heated by engine an by gas boiler). Even the cupboard over the dressing table is fed with warm air from adjacent boiler. A set of drawers; here demonstrates Brian's skills well; beaded panelling (with drawer pulls set into it) unifies the drawers visually; while the gap between each is precisely a hair's breadth.
The engine room, lined in pipe boarding, includes a steerers step that can fold out to double depth, so that two can stand cosily in the hatch, and an angled instrument console, to be instantly readable from standing height. The engine box comes apart with, by now expected, precision, to reveal a white-painted bilge - which immediately shows any leaks or dropped parts. The box itself is faced internally with lino for easy cleaning and some sound absorption.
Where now? Like Albert Smith, Brian Scott is already keen to try fitting-out another narrowboat. But he and Christine do plan to take Endeavour to next year's National - without the aid of a computerised schedule, as the site is only three hours cruising from their mooring.