Fitting out for a liveaboard

[meekumslr]

Hi everyone. This is my first post as a new member, so any advice at all is very welcome.
I've recently bought an ex-lighthouse supply vessel (50' x 16') and when she is delivered in 6 weeks, I hope to convert her to a liveaboard. At present, she is a basic motor fishing vessel with large hold, so I want to add a coach house, rear cabin, staircases etc. Do any members know of useful books, literature, websites etc on fitting out boats and the 'cans and can't do's'?
Many thanks, Neil.

 

[roly_voya]

Sounds an interesting project but the question is a bit broard!! there are lots of books by liveaboard cruisers such as the pardies, annei hill etc etc which give advice on approaches to getting a boat ready for cruising. Is that what you are looking for or are you looking for something on how to carry out the work in which case its more difficult. There are some manual describing the structure but most are out of print so try local libery never seen anything on how to fit out exect 60/70's guides to self complete a plastic hull, mostly by sticking lumps of plywood to it. You dont say where you are based, might be local to someone else?

 

[tcm]

There can't be *too* many who have done as you plan to do, so I wd say you're going to have to invent your own plan to a large extent.

For more useful info, praps you could tell us outline things like where you plan to go or stay with the the boat, how many will liveaboard, budget for fitting out, how long you plan on the conversion, and how handy you are?

Three things for starters: down below in a fishing vesel i wd reckon there won't be much ventilation and there won't be much light and there won't be any insulation, - and hence these sorts of conversions can end up "grim" and cold down below, with twiddly lights and eventually, somewhere a blimmin striplight - tacit admission that the conversion didn't take the lighhting into acount.

So, imho, i wd address these early on and cut/install some opening windows/portholes into the sleeping living areas AND think of things like "sun pipes" to get light from the deck down into the hold. You can't do this later easily once loads of wood is fitted all around. Yiou'll surely want to wake up and see water outside, make cup of tea and see water, live below in manky weather and still see outside.

Even then, if the structure of the thing is going to be maintained, there can't be too many windows. So i wd plan on it being fairly plain and failry "white painted". Modernish, i suppose - white bounces some light around, and the floor coverings can be cheapish carpet or sisal which hides a multitude of sins and far easier for occasional access under floors.

Insuylationwise - living conditions will be awful (and expensive) if it isn't insulated properly, and i bet it hasn't got much if any insulation currently. Needs insulation above floor level behind walls and above ceilings. Insulation itself is cheap, but the installation needs to be planned right from the start. After getting openings for windows sorted, i wd tackweld fitings for vertical battens on the hull walls, fix battens and then fit insulation immediately after that betwen vertical battens.

Oh and in terms of the fitout - the doors are important. Even mass production boats recognise this and doors are interestingly shaped. Buy secondhand/scrap doors if poss and fit around these - they'll make the whole thing feel right - it's fine if the rest of the fitout is fairly basic, but if the doors are manky simple flat lunks of ply, it will always feel a bit too diyish.

any pix?

 

[HBL]

Hi

Go to www.Amazon.com and do a search for Ferenc Mate.
He has wrote a couple of good books about it, for instance "From a bare hull"

Good Luck

Cheers

Hans

 

[AndrewB]

Assuming this is steel, see if you can find a copy of "Small Steel Craft, Design, Construction and Maintenance" by Ian Nicholson. Good tips on steel boat conversion, strong on structural detail and best practice for welding.

 

[summerwind]

Assuming this is a steel boat, have a look at the website of The Metal Boat Society.

It is based in Canada but contributions come from the whole big bad world.

Having fitted out a steel boat and lived in it for a few years, I agree with the other contributor, get your insulation right before you do much else. Light is important and needs to be one of the first jobs. Helps a lot when you are working inside too.

If you are not confident in your ability to cut and fit large sheets of ply etc, maybe think about using T&G cladding. Its a lot more work but you can achieve curves in two planes and should the need occur, can easily be removed for inspection etc at a later date.

Get a decent sized generator, if you haven't already got one.

One of the biggest surprises when you move on board permanently is how much space you need, although you will have more than most.

Good luck with your project.

 

[meekumslr]

I've been away working for a while and am only now able to get back on the site.
I'm so grateful for the great information you've given me and it's only just over a week before I bring her down the east coast to London from Hartlepool and get prepared for the fit-out.
I'll send some pictures (does anyone know how to post pics on a profile?)
The first thing I really need to do (safely) is widen the two deck support beams so i'll have a smaller deck but more living area, nearer to the vessels sides.
For that, I really need to talk to a marine surveyor. What do you think?
Once that's done, i'll sand the deck, re-caulk it and build a new coach roof. Thats enough for this year, I think.