modem died

This would explain the problems I have been having getting online over the past couple of months!

I am waiting for replacement.  As soon as I do you can see the pictures of my lovely bamboo flooring, office desk etc etc that Andy has done for me.

It looks lurvely.

News from New Zealand

Small boy still not connected with his luggage. 

So near and yet so far apparently. 

He has been introduced to milking goats and driving a ute in the outback.  Apparently it is more forgiving than my car which he broke the last time he drove it.  (The engine mounting completely gave way on him). 

He swore he would never drive again!

Glad he has changed his mind.

Fully glazed

So today after work I called in to see what progress had happened on the boat since yesterday lunchtime.

I are fully glazed!

I have asked my hairdresser/ex nextdoor neighbour/ ex childminder's son to make me some shutter dogs to hold them in the open position.  He made my gate at home so this should be well within his capabilities!  I like keeping things in 'the family' so to speak.  When he and small boy were about 8 there was the craze for inline roller blades.  I got some too and often they would call at our house to ask if I could come out to play roller hockey in the cul de sac.  I am much more stable with a hockey stick in my hands I know they only wanted me to make up numbers but I am not proud.

Andy has nearly finished my loo overhead cupboard.  Just some catches required here.

And he has put a little shelf in too.

Do you know steering the boat from the launch site to the Marina would have been so much easier with my new step box.  You can see so far over the top of the boat without going on tippy toes.  I look forward to proper boating.  I really do.

Bouquet

Well they were here by 9am.  Would have been earlier but they got sent to the wrong village for their first drop off!

Wickes have gone way up in my estimation.

Cockahoop in a cocked hat ...

Well today Andy is having a family day with his kids so I thought whilst he was out of the way I would take off the boat items not required right now to make room for the bamboo flooring to go down.

I have been putting off buying the floor whenever there have been 'offers' as I didn't want to spend the money too early.

I thought I had made a mistake as now that we are ready to put the floor down

(as until it is down we can't make other things etc.) 

I was beginning to get despondent about the price. 

Then eureka on the TV it said that Wickes was taking 33% off all their hardwood floors. 

I hadn't even thought of Wickes as a potential source of flooring as our local one is pretty poor normally and never has anything I want.

Yes the offer includes Bamboo.  Result.

Also I get free delivery.

Downside?  I have to stay in all day tomorrow!  (edit no I don't they have just called to say it will be in the morning!)

Then when I finally get to the boat to remove the clutter I find I have a cocked hat!

It is the start of the overhead cupboard in the loo that Andy is making to cover the vent situation.

Isn't it cute?

Obviously not finished yet, there is still the lift up front to go on

I am such a happy bunny these days.

Spring is definitely sprunging.

Oh and the other good news was the three little bolts for the glazed windows arrived today.  This means that Andy can finish installing them.

Woo Hoo.

Pretty patterns

This morning I had pretty flowers on my windscreen.

So here is my engine room with all it's doors in place.

Shame the control panels etc made by LV have to come out and be redone better.

I wonder when he is going to take 'boat fitter' off his van?  Ha ha.

Andy is currently making my step box which is looking good, and then he will be turning his attention to the boxing in of the vent in the loo etc.

We had to invade him at lunchtime as I got a call from Terry saying he was at the Marina and could I show him around my boat.  I've never had 5 people on the boat at one time before. 

It may pass it's stabilisation test yet!

Chinese New Year

Today is the Chinese New Year heralding the year of the Metal Tiger.

Now I am a Water Tiger and my boat is metal. 

Hopefully this means that this is our year.

So Happy New Year to all you Tigers out there.

Grrrr

One engine room cupboard

as promised.

It is not finished as it needs the cupboard door making and some shelves to go above.

I have started varnishing it hence it looking so shiny (and patchy)

Varnishing is not my strong point.

I am going on the premise that it is better to be protected even if I can't manage perfection.

I have also varnished the electric cupboard side before the doors get put on.  Of course as I was leaving and leant over to turn the battery switches off what did I do?  You guessed it I supported myself on a varnished bit.  Leaving behind a palm print.  Idiot.

View showing the bathroom/galley door being oiled.

Now this might look a bit odd.

It is the bedroom/loo/bathroom door currently being oiled on the floor in the bedroom.

To show it the right way up I have turned the photo upside down!

Oil Fest

Once again I have been busy oiling whilst Andy has been toiling!

We have a starboard cupboard in the engine room which still needs a shelf above.

Photo to follow - once I have taken it!

One of the benefits of sending small boy across the world to visit his New Zealand relatives and hopefully gain some work experience is that I can use his bed base to store the cupboard doors for the engine room.  they have been oiled (three times) and varnished once (is that enough?) whilst the varnish dries.

This is so I can start oiling the frames for the inner glazed doors to my hatches.

As you can see my oiling table isn't big enough so I have had to be creative.

Andy is working far too quickly as I can't keep up with the oiling.  He has today made my doors.  They are going to remain on the boat as I have no room for them at home and I will oil them over the weekend. If I start after work Friday night I should get two coats on each side no problem.

What is a problem is my 3 mobile broadband. 

Up until a couple of weeks ago it was working fine in my study.  Now I am lucky if I get online once a day.  It tantalises me by offering a signal, 3g and 3 but then says that the remote computer could not be contacted and my port is therefore closed.  What does this mean?

first made last one in

So finally the first greenheart cill ever made plus the surround (also made by Lord Voldemort) have been installed.  They have been kicking around for ages but we didn't install them earlier because of risk of damage to the cill with all the works that had to be done to the water tank etc etc.

At last no need for the important little stick that held the bolt closed. 

Instead a neat black catch.

Lovely

Nice bit of trim to finish off plus the internal glazed windows and we are sorted.

Deja vu

It is all white outside.

Cills and walls

So both saloon greenheart cills are in place together with the hatch surrounds.  With this information Andy has measured for the inner glazed units which will be made by someone else.  He has also finished off panelling the engine room ready to make the corner cupboard at the top of the steps.

Andy will also remove the parts on the other unit with the control panels in that He Who Shall Not Be Named made that are coming apart at the seams and replace them with solid wood. 

It would have been nice to have used some of that Ash that went walkabout (£36 not £300 my mistake) which we had planned to have cut into planks at the local sawmill.  I am no longer bothered about that piece as it is likely that the wood would have twisted anyway and not done what we wanted to use it for.  So whoever has taken it is welcome to it.  Okay not really as cut the other way we would have had plenty of use for it but now I know it is £36 I can bear the loss a bit better.

The damp floor around my leaking calorifier are now completely dry.  Always good news!

I am looking forward to my summer cruising.

The Ash 'g'rove

The large lump of Ash that I had stored down at the Farm has gone walkabout - no one knows where it has gone a roving to.  It has remained there quite safely since He Who Shall Not Be Named bought it for me back in July.  It is worth about £300.  Hmmm wonder where it has gone to?