Winter At The Rocking Horse Works

Now that the Christmas rush has finished work carries on apace at the Rocking Horse Works.

New horses continue to be handmade from scratch, and restorations of old rocking horses are a growing part of the business that I love helping out with in the winter and early spring when I take a break from my narrowboat work.

Something quite unique has begun to happen in our little Shropshire workshop however...

Our last Pegasus, The winged mythological steed of Perseus, was sold last year. The boss has begun making another as an ongoing creative project... 

 The new Pegasus is all the work of the proprietor, Steve Bulcock. It currently stands taller than I am and we haven't even made its bow rockers yet! 

The wings are much more intricate than the last Pegasus from the brochure; they have been constructed and carved to appear as if in mid wing beat.  

 

 Now that the main body has been carved off it dosen't take two of us to lift it anymore thank goodness!

As Far as we know it is the only Pegasus rocking horse under construction in the country, if not the world!!

I cant wait to see the progress over the coming months. But for me It's back to work on Narrowboats for the spring and summer season!

NB "Barden" Boatmans Cabin

Finding some time between bookings to sort out our back cabin has become a priority. The first officer has threatened a mutiny if we spend another night on our rather unremarkable ikea sofa bed! (just to clarify from the point of view of any subsequent litigation we have had more comfortable nights sleep camping in the Australian outback with the tent accidentally pitched on a nest of giant killer ants!)

Thats it... Just a matter of remembering where i was up to. Cutting out the apertures for the table cupboard.

Table cupboards should be good and chunky in my opinion. 3/4" floorboards make a good table surface when glued and screwed onto the panel cut out of the bulkhead.

Lots of rummaging round in piles of offcuts and kindling to make loads of odd shaped doors and twiddly bits..... sometimes wonder why i bother... IT WILL ALL BE WORTH IT IN THE END! (mutinous behaviour amongst the crew reaching its peak... once the woodwork is finished it will still take a fornight to paint!)

First coat of primer takes eight hours. Once sanded down i can look forward to doing it all again twice in undercoat before scumbling and varnishing. Can hear murmurings and cutlasses being rattled up the front of the boat!!

I've gone for a very pale undercoat to upset the traditionalists. Reckon it will look great with a thin light oak scumble oil. All grey undercoated areas will be painted either green or blue and the beading red but i suspect that won't happen until late 2015 when the first officer incites the next rebellion!

Scumbled and varnished the cabin is cosy yet light even with the doors closed.

Good enough to move into and pacify the crew for the moment. Five inch high density foam in three sections makes a 6'2" x 4'6" bed when the cupboard is folded down. 
Other notable features about this cabin that are absolutely not traditional are:
-It is 9 feet long leaving room for a large bed as well as a small stove and table cupboard.
-It is not damp or mouldy
-There are no bed bugs
-There is electric light
-We don't have to live off tinned pineapple

(Last comments a small tribute to an anonymous boat captain who worked a boat in the late 60's)

Boatmans Cabins

Opinions vary on the benefits of a boatmans cabin. Some people hate them, others like me appreciate the multi functional space and flexibility of a traditional cabin. Styles vary tremendously but its worth playing around with the original dimensions to create a modern living cabin, giving you the benefit of having a bedroom, study, day cabin and separate chill out room all rolled into one, especially important if you live aboard!

"Katy"

Working boat cabins had to serve as living accommodation for the whole family. The cross beds were narrow, about three feet. These days its much better to make a four foot cross bed which can sleep two comfortably. 

"Katy"

There is a huge amount of storage in a back cabin, with cupboards over and under the bed, the bench seat, table cupboard, and even the "ticket" drawer where the captain would have kept all of the paperwork associated with his cargo. Ours houses the indispensable stanley knife fitted with a hooked blade and a rubber band to go round your wrist for the inevitable prop clearing, keys, D shackles and associated tat.

Heres a few snaps of different boatmans cabins in various stages of completion.

NB "Owl"

 

 

NB "Isis"

 

NB Barden

Barden is my current boat, and our Third in a Colecraft shell. This boat is a similar design to Isis a with couple of notable differences, namely a 9 foot open "hold" area at the front of the boat designed to be covered with sheets.

Oh no not again!!!

Spray foam and underfloor insulation ensure good heat retention without condensation, though Ive nothing against other forms of insulation such as rockwool, polystyrene or celotex having used all of them in the past.

Jumping a bit to the line out; grooves routed in the plywood cabin lining provide a pleasing effect that wont shrink!! Panels are recycled from the offcuts from each sheet.

The boatmans cabin will benifit from a 4'6" wide bed (may not mean much to you house dwellers but to a boatwife that means luxury with a capital L")

This reconditioned rayburn has already had a winters use with this gravity fed system. It provides all of the heating, hot water and 90% of the cooking for our family of four and costs on average about £2 a day to run
. Once the system is up and running it is totally maintenence free and requires no external power source.

This galley is 2' shorter than the Isis version at 8' but we still managed to squeeze everything in.

The colour scheme however is no longer in my hands!

NB Hazel

Hazel is another Ron Turner boat. A 70ft boat powered by a Lister JP2 its an enthusiasts dream, but suffered from the traditional boatmans problem of a leaky wooden cabin! In 2008 I was commissioned to replace it.

Ahem! No wonder the captains feet were wet!

The Boatmans cabin interior had to be preserved which meant cutting back all of the rotten structure then scarfing in replacement roof beams before recladding the cabin in sturdy 1" tongue and groove.

The whole cabin was then securely clad in marine plywood coated with west system epoxy resin.

A satisfying bit of traditional detail in the new hardwood slide runners

The completed work sealed with two coats of red oxide complete with new handrails and brassware.

Narrowboat Owl

 Owl is a 45 foot Ron Turner Tug. A well known and popular little boat around the canal system, I took it over in 2006 to refit it and give it a new lease of life. The boatmans cabin had been pulled out years ago, and the boat needed significant restoration inside and out on the tightest of budgets.

Back cabin area after gutting.

New back cabin in bare wood.

Finished decorated back cabin.

Boat finished with a full repaint.