Talk Morgan Forums Community General Photo Gallery Boat build

Another experiment in photo posting, this photo was taken yesterday, if this works I will add earlier pictures of the build and bore you all.

Fantastic, it worked, now I can add earlier pictures if there's any appetite for them out in TM land. I might even do it there's not.😂

Abso-bloomin-lutely, this thread is flippin' epic.

Very ingenious.

I'm sure it was also a delight to any other boaters waiting to use the lock....



No disrespect to your friend, but sadly, recent times have proved pretty conclusively that being a member of the clergy is no guarantee of trustworthiness or probity.

Gordon, some superb joinery skills, you would shame some so-called professional boat builders, where it's become a bit of an MDF festival

Firstly, sincere thanks for all the comments and interest shown by you all.
2020 was a strange year incase you didn't know the lockdown resulted in the business side of things grinding to a halt but it gave me a good go at pushing the build foreword.

These pictures are of the first half of the year.

The cabin side windows made in Iroko being test fitted, you can see into the shower room, this was prior to the sash being fitted in the frame.


Port side showing both Windows completed and the windscreen in place as well.


Back to the dreaded fibreglass and rubbing down! I wanted a big opening roof and considered glass, too expensive, Webasto canvas type, security issues, so worked out a design using two patio door tracks and two pairs of adjustable rollers. Where the sander sits is the well for the roof to slide back into. You can also see the drainage pipe to allow rainwater to escape from the track channel. Three either side.


A close up of how it works, prior to all the weather seals being fitted in the grooves.


The sliding part glassed and painted.


Transom step supports also glassed and painted.


Not sure I'll get away with posting this one as there isn't a boat in it this is Kytra locks near Fort Augustus, it's one of the possible berths we looked at in the summer. Unfortunately the road isn't very Morgan friendly and a chat with the extremely helpful locks keeper convinced me I should consider some other locations on the canal.


Fingers crossed, this will be my playground, Loch Ness viewed from Fort Augustus. One of the most beautiful and peaceful places in the world IMHO.


I'll go and select another few pictures to bring us right up to date.

As promised here is the final installment that brings you all up to date with the build.

The cabin top, glassed and painted.


The Iroko shelf that fills the gap between the windscreen and shower/toilet ceiling you see in the above photo. It's also glued and screwed to the windscreen to provide strength for the weight of the glass.


Cabin glazing installed. All toughened, double glazed with the windscreen being self cleaning glass.(yes, really, it does actually clean itself.) A chemical coating applied during manufacture allows the sun to break down the dirt and the rain beads off taking the dirt with it. Just like a well waxed Morgan.


The helm seat flipped up. Required when standing.


And the below helm seat locker lid that acts as a step up for people like me with ducks disease.


Cabin entrance with the outdoor lighting. The LED lying on the deck will be fitted into the water pump locker when it's fitted.


The Iroko bow piece from below.


And above, took the best part of a day to carve and router this part, a CNC router could probably do it in 15 minutes after programming.


The rope locker hatch, ready for teak planking. I'm not a total luddite, I'm selective like George 😄 the dovetails are done with a jig and router. Completed in a fraction of the time that it used to take me and same end result.


So, gentleman, this brings us bang up to date. I will continue to update this post but it won't be as frequent as in the past week or so.
Possibly my last post of 2020 so HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all wherever you are and here's hoping for a better 2021.

Ps, if there's any part of the build you'd like to see in more detail just ask and I'll do my best to post pictures.

Looks really good Gordon. thanks for all the updates and photos.
Lock Ness and Fort Augustus - a base for several Morgan owner holidays over the years, a couple of whom are on here

Thank you George.

Looking forward to the next instalments.

Thanks Gordon. It's been a really interesting thread. Sincere congratulations on an excellent build.

Can't wait to see some pictures of the completed boat on the water !!

Sorry Gordon - mis attribution of all your hard work. Looking at the time of my post, I suspect the rather splendid Barolo may have had some impact on my ability to get names correct.

Can't fault you for that Paul