When the technicians at British Ship Builders embarked on the construction
of MV. Challenge, they must have spent many hours designing and building the
configuration of bunks on the boat. They used top quality marine ply, some
melamine faced board, and a whole load of timber. The main problem was the screws
they used; they were a hot-potch of brass, steel, slotted and cross head.
Something you’d get from your old screw jar.
The most dismal area
of the old bunks was the four-bunk set up at the rear of the cabin. It was a
dark area shut in by walls and plagued by leaking windows and spiders.
In October 2013 we embarked on Operation Long Boat 5, the final part of our
five year refurbishment plan for MV. Challenge
This phase of the project was to rip out the old and outdated interior of
our central and front cabins and create a lovable warm environment. The key to
this was flexibility, not easy when the volunteers were all set in their ways
and extremely inflexible!!
Most of the walls and a lot of the timber was not recoverable and was sent
for recycling. The marine ply was still in good condition so this was used in
other projects.
The first thing to sort was the leaking windows that had been badly
fitted during the construction. We’d like to know where the supervisors where
when the window holes were being cut?
Before long we had repaired the damage and refitted the windows with
no leaks. Now it was time to start rebuilding, which included:- A new stronger framework
- New insulation
- New moisture resistant board
- New wiring and light
Once
we had clad the walls and fitted new lights we started building the new
bunks/seating. For this we would need to call on the extensive widget whittling
skills of our resident wood whittler George to invent some gadgets to hold the
bunks in place.
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| We did
some cladding on our new walls and windows and started building the bunks |
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| Both
bunks are built, varnished and waiting for new cushions |
The final stage was to fit
professionally made cushions that would give us years of service and double up
as seating and mattresses. For this we called on the expertise of Foam
for Comfort of Leeds who had previously made a bespoke mattress for our
crew’s cabin.
Once we agreed the design and
materials it took no time at all for the new cushions to be delivered to the
boat.
The top cushions and bunks were fitted with
Velcro on the slats to prevent them falling forward when in the seat position.
All
done and dusted and 4 fabulous bunks to sleep in
As we said previously, they are just not bunks;
they are also seats for our day trips and various educational events we hold
throughout the year.
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| With the widgets
removed and the top bunk lowered they convert into fantastic bench seats
Don't forget to have a look at Foam for Comfort's work on the web site at
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