The Future of The Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

A film from the Olympic Park Legacy Company.

The future playground of Docklands Canal Boat Trust.

Progress on New Wetroom

We are now moving at a fair rate of knots to get our new wetroom ready for the 2011 season. the collage shows the progress to date.

Next weekend we hope to have started the tiling and have the ceiling and walls fully insulated.

When this is complete we'll be moving on to the new galley which will enhance the overall facilities on the boat.

Operation Longboat - The Film

During 2010 the volunteers of Docklands Canal Boat Trust embarked on Operation Longboat in an attempt to modernise our Community River Boat.

The Short film takes us through the year when we created a new day room, started a complete painting programme, dry docked the boat to replace the prop & prop shaft and our mammoth battle to break out of the dry dock into the frozen River Lee.

A Year on the River with Challenge in 2010

This short film clip depicts the fantastic year we have had on Challenge.

During 2010 over 900 passengers with special needs experienced a day trip or holiday on our historic vessel.

The volunteers of DCBT provided over 2000 hours of their time to keep the boat operational.

Update On Operation Longboat

Welcome to our joint Guy Fawkes/Diwali edition of Operation Longboat. This week we want to talk to you about paint, in particular red oxide.

Earlier in the year we needed to get hold of some red oxide at short notice. Unfortunately it is quite expensive so we only bought one pot of 2.5Ltr. This time we need a lot more so we used the power of the internet to source the best price. We were able to source the paint at Tool Station for only £3.48 per litre.

Wait it gets better. We placed the order at 15:24 on Wednesday. At 15:26 we received a confirmation email that the order had been received. At 15:30 on Thursday Fed Ex knocked on the door with the order – 24 hours and 4 minutes later.

Any way, what have we done with all the paint we bought? Well we are moving so fast we have now completely painted the hull, wall, tank and framework that were under the former starboard side toilet.

We need to keep an eye on George as he’s already started to dismantle the port side toilet and shower. We’ve asked him to knock just in case someone’s on the loo when he wants to nick the door!

So how did we celebrate Guy Fawkes and Diwali? First off Brian made a delicious Indian Curry with loads of chicken and leeks. The leeks are a Welsh thing! Next Sean let off his own brand of fireworks.

The curry also sets the night on fire. Going in and coming out!

Operation Longboat Phase Two

We couldn’t hold back any longer knowing our experiences of last winter. With a crowbar in one hand and a claw hammer in the other we set about phase two of our major refurbishment programme.

In the first part of the programme we were able to:

• Create a spacious day room
• Provide new folding beds and chairs
• Create more under deck storage
• Strip back areas of paint to bare metal

In this second part of the programme we will be undertaking the following:

• A new wet room
• New LED lighting
• A new galley and refrigeration
• A new energy management system comprising:
  - 24 volt charging from the engine
  - Solar power & Charging
  - Wind Generator
  - Inverter to provide 240v power 24/7

In our first weekend of work we have already stripped out the starboard toilet, cupboards, hot water cylinder and part of the galley. Over the next couple of weekends we will continue to strip out the old before we start building the new facilities.

Working with us over the next few months on our energy management will be Jack Giles from FX Technology. Jack has recently installed new electrics on ‘Challenger’ at the Canal Boat Project. As our work progresses we’ll keep you updated with reports and photos.

More CCBM Training & Exam

So, the three volunteers who have ploughed through the training programme over the past year finally got to complete their CCBM at the Canal Boat Project in Harlow.

Joining Brian, George and Sean were David Powell of the steam narrowboat ‘President’ and Ron Abbott of Blackwater Boats Ron kept us well feed during the two days on board

For further information on ‘President or Blackwater Boats go to:

http://www.nb-president.org.uk/index.php

http://www.blackwater-boats.co.uk/index.html

The trainers/examiners over the two days were ‘Banny’ Banyard, the national voice of the NCBA and Tony Plunkett a trainer at CBP and Trustee of DCBT.

Monday Evening
Mainly going through the programme and a meal in a local pub

Tuesday
We started by getting Red Watch ready for the trip – pump out, water etc. Soon we were reversing up the river to the nearest winding hole so we could cruise up river.

For the first part of the trip we tried unsuccessfully to tow Banny’s own narrow boat that was going up river to be slipped at Kecksy's Farm. Once we had unhitched the boat it was plain sailing, until the rain started. Although we all own waterproofs of some description or other, in heavy rain they are quite useless. My £14 German Army Poncho gives more protection than my intergalactic storm proof jacket!

On Tuesday evening we moored at the entrance to Little Hallingbury Marina as they wouldn’t let us in, even though some of us were using the restaurant. Not sure who thought of mooring there as it was right under the flight path for Stanstead Airport!

Only got a few hours sleep that night as Sean snores like a steam train in a tunnel. Must be the reason the river was full of stunned fish early in the morning.

Wednesday
Yours truly was in charge of the boat when the trainers shouted man overboard and fire in the galley. This was our full blown evacuation test, which took 5 minutes. Getting the stern of the boat into the bank was a bitch as by this time reverse gear was acting up. We suspect it was a lack of gear oil. Needless to say the two supposed people in the water would have died as it was bitterly cold.

Anyway, the rest of the day went without incident and we’re glad the CCBM is over apart from a few loose ends next week.