"BELCAMPO"

Model                       :                   Norman 20

Cockpit                    :                   Rear

Year                          :                   ??

Engine & Fuel        :                   Suzuki outboard petrol

Capacity                  :                   60 hp

Fridge                      :                   12v Cool Box

Warm Air Heater    :                   Diesel

Generator                :                  Solar panel

Toilet                        :                   Cactus dry toilet

Also has GPS, VHF radio and a depth sounder.

COMMENTS

This is Belcampo, a Norman 20 cruiser which I rebuilt after stripping her back to the bare hull. I bought her here in Holland at the beginning of 2006 when she  was in a completely rundown state. For the construction of the bulkheads, wheelhouse, cockpit, etc. I used sheets made from synthetic material (a leftover from the car industry) and aluminium frames, i.e. nothing that can rot. Nearly all these materials were new but usually bought very cheap at industrial recycling companies, via EBay or in second-hand shops. That's the reason why the windows in the sidewalls of the wheelhouse look a bit funny, they also are new but it took me quite some time to find two sets of windows that can be opened that together fitted in the sidewalls. The front windows which cannot be opened I made myself. The engine is a Suzuki 60 hp 4-stroke. The boat is intended to be used for long trips throughout Europe. Therefore she is fitted out with two large gasoline tanks (together good for 160  litres), a 70 Watt solar panel that keeps the battery full and runs the coolbox, and extras such as GPS and Navtex. But perhaps more important also with an (old) diesel heater of high capacity, for I know from experience that summers can be awfully cold at times. The boat was floated last winter and so far it meets all the expectations and I am very pleased with how she behaves. In calm weather she starts gliding at 3600 to 4000 revs and the top speed is about 24 knots at 5200 revs. When running the heater in nearly freezing weather the wheelhouse gets comfortably warm in a quarter of an hour. Before I started the job I asked for help here on the forum and got very useful advice, so thanks a lot folks for contributing to the success of this enterprise.