| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| james12345 |
Posted - 04 Jan 2012 : 09:39:13
I thought I'd share my journey so far since buying my Norman 20 back in August. I found the boat on the For Sale section here, and paid £1500 for a 20, a braked trailer and a 50HP Johnson 2 stroke. The gamble with all of this was that the boat had been out of the water for 25 years!
Once home, I decided that the best way forward would be to put off the cosmetic work needed, and concentrate on the mechanical / electrical work needed. I have pretty much rewired the whole low voltage side of the boat (not too bad, new fusebox, four new 12v lights, added a new fridge) as the old fusebox had all of its contacts rusted, and I couldn't trust any of the cables to be sound. Fairly straightforward, and only took a couple of weekends. I also had to buy new batteries, and have also constructed a basic battery box, primarily just to prevent the batteries from tipping over. A new ignition was put it (again, rusty contacts, no idea what the internals would be like).
Those 50HP engines are certainly quite a weight! But with the help of my wife, an car jack and some mild swearing, managed to reattach the engine to the transom. After several attempts at trying to work out why it wouldn't start, I decided that I'd rather have it looked at professionally for peace of mind (at least for the first service) to make sure everything was as it should be - the previous owner had had the engine serviced and run up intermittently, but the last time was 18 years ago. So the boat had a short(?) outing to Chertsey Marine, where they had problems sourcing a new impellor so the boat was with them for six weeks rather than the planned two.
Well, between Xmas and New Year, we had a spare day so my wfe and I decided that we ought to just bite the bullet and see if it floats, without any leaks!!! The hull looked perfectly sound, but you never know - there could have been a hairline crack that wasn't obvious. So off to the Thames we went. Launching was pretty straightforward. I decided to err on the side of caution, and leave the bow attached to the trailer and float the stern off, and have the wife on board to lift the floor to check for any sign of water ingress - after ten minutes in the water, the botton of the boat was still as dry as a bone, so pushed off the trailer, tied up and loaded up.
What a great hour on the water it was - the engine is pretty quiet for a 2 stroke, so had a gentle potter up and down river. There's not too much wander, although it did move about a small amount in the wind. I don't think I'll be needing any ballast - just small amounts of input from the steering seem to keep it on track. Recovery was a little more difficult that launching, being on a fairly fast flowing river with only a 8 inch wide target to get the keel onto the rollers. Still, it only took the third attempt to actually get it on, which I don't think is too bad from a pair of novices!
So what next? Well - the interior needs some tlc, rebuild of the kitchen cabinet, new cushion covers, carpetting, cleaning, sanding down and varnishing. This is the plan over the next couple of months, to have her ready for the spring. Oh, and then I need to decide on a name, as at the moment, there isn't one. Once I've started work on the interior, I'll post up some pics of the progress. |
| 4 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| tigtog |
Posted - 20 Jan 2012 : 20:12:01
will see you on the thames soon no doubt, great feeling when you get the bsc |
| james12345 |
Posted - 20 Jan 2012 : 12:26:02
It's all going even better now - BSC passed yesterday! :)
Now the hard work begins - the cosmetic stuff. Hopefully shouldn't be too bad - rebuild of the kitchen unit, rubbing down / varnish of all woodwork, new flooring, carpeting and soft furnishings will be enough for now. Plus a really, really good clean / polish of the GRP, then get out on the water!
I can't wait.... |
| tigtog |
Posted - 05 Jan 2012 : 23:27:54
good to hear its all going well |
| Deano |
Posted - 04 Jan 2012 : 17:41:00
Sounds great!! Boating over Xmas too!!
I'm sure you already know, but keep an eye on the BSS requirements as you go, its such a pain to have to alter things afterwards.
Something that can help with recovery onto a trailer is some plastic water pipe. The straight, hard stuff. Fix to the trailer on brackets so it holds the boat over the rollers somewhere just aft of the middle. It will have enough 'give' to not snap, but should be firm enough to hold the boat in a current / wind.
Dean - Boating on the Great Ouse.
Freeman 30 "Silver Gem"
See the photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/54758027@N00/ |
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