Little bits that please me

The new and improved engine control mount.

Extra little shelf in the engine room with lip so phone doesn't slide off and the coving in place

Trying out the loo for size.  See my knees!

It's the little touches that please me.  Andy felt that the gap under the pipe was too ugly so he made that little piece to slot in.  Cute.

I have acres of oiling to do in the week that Andy is roofing.

Dear Boots

If you promise not to use me as a chew toy I will show you a picture of myself looking just as cool.

This was admittedly in my younger days however I can still pull off the look if I need to.

My support staff keep telling me I'm going to be a ship's cat.  Not sure what that means exactly.

Yours
Sweets

'dont diss the name futhermucker'

For Bob in Seattle?

Hi Bob (not sure which post you put your comment on so you have a post all of your very own!)

Way back in the beginning when they make the steel hull there are angle irons sticking up from the floor and out from the sides of the hull as well as down from the ceiling.  They are part of the strengthening process as well as necessary for the fit out.  You have to know where you are going to put portholes/windows/hatches/chimneys and vents etc as you don't want to find out later that you have to go through welds and extra thickness beams!

These then have wooden battens attached (so you don't have to drill into the hull itself - no risk of holes under the waterline - a useful feature I find).  In between the battens on the side and ceiling you fit the insulation.  In my case I had it sprayfoamed but there are other ways.  Some run their electrics and pipes at this stage before covering with the panels.

The floor bearers have the ballast fitted between them then the subfloor.  I wanted to have extra thickness base plate but was talked out of it.  I wish I had stuck to my guns as due to a mathematical cock up on my part I am now underballasted (and have spare bricks with nowhere to go) so have had to buy iron weights to place strategically around the boat!

There should be pictures of the progress back at the shell building stage.

Hope that helps.

Sofa so good

Piece of mattress 2' by 4'6" in foreground.  Masterpiece in background.

Doors, Parents and Mattresses

I have had an odd week which meant I hadn't been down to the boat since Wednesday morning.  Andy had been busy in my absence.  (Some cruel people might say 'because of my absence').  He has put some trims in, including the trim around the front window/hatch.  He has fitted the loo in place before making the wall between loo and corridor and hanging the door.

So door across corridor shutting off the bedroom.

 

And across the loo.  You can see the extra panel he has put in as I haven't oiled it yet.  Now when he hung the door because it has to do two things when it was across the loo there was an enormous gap down the hinge side which would have been very worrying to the occupant!

He has solved this with some metal strip which doubles up as both of the edges for the door to close to in either position and also the privacy issue. 

The type of handles I have chosen don't lend themselves to a door with two jobs this means that the finger has to revolve further than normal to clear the door jamb and shut the door on the loo side.  Andy has chopped the top off the keep and there is a cut out in the metal strip that the door claps to for this to pass between.  It all makes perfect sense really.

As you can see when the door is closing off the loo it is at a slight angle to the corridor.  Bonus.  Now the door handle is less likely to grab your clothing on the way past!

There has been much chuntering at how plumbers never consider the joiner when they run their pipework.  Andy has made a lovely job of hiding the pipework and also covered over the inspection hatch to the pipework where it goes to the washing machine.

Parents.

Well what can I say...

Wednesday afternoon I took himself back to his house to make room for my parents to come and stay on Thursday so that my mum can make my sofa covers.  We were able to tie this in with a visit to the people who are making my bath/shower screens in Bakewell.  Andy had made my hardboard templates on Tuesday so that was perfect timing.  We tweaked the fixed panels and moving panels slightly because the hinges they are using lock in the 90 and 180 degree positions something fierce and I was concerned for the taps!  We discussed ways of firming up the fixed panels so everything is not reliant on the wall fixings.  Luckily using my google sketchup diagrams, Andy's templates and also photographs of the bathroom we were able (hopefully) make them understand the position.  To firm up the panel on the cabin side they are making a notch in the top of the glass so we don't lose any height but the fixing can still come out of the top.  (I will of course post pictures when the panels are on board).

Thursday my parents were due in Chesterfield at 1.30pm.  I am my father's daughter and got there a good 1/2 hour early.  Checked my phone messages and was surprised to hear they had caught the coach okay at Heathrow.  This was a little confusing as they were catching it at Gatwick!

Spoke to my mother and basically the coach from Gatwick was cancelled so they were sent to Heathrow to catch the one to Coventry, changing there again for the one to Chesterfield.  With me so far?

The driver was a Sikh who didn't speak much English and got lost twice.  He missed out Warwick and as a passenger wanted to get off there they had to go back and find it.  In either Coventry or Warwick they couldn't find the bus station so all the passengers (it sounds like anyway) piled off and into an estate agents to find the way!  I understood that they were arriving imminently so entertained myself for an hour.  Then I found out when the bus from Coventry was due in which was not until 3.30pm so I went into town.  My mother phoned again to say they still hadn't made it to Coventry.  Ie they were not on the one arriving at 3.30pm - at this point I went home as I needed to check the signwriting proofs.  At about 4pm I am told that they are still on the original bus and being taken to Leicester Forest East  where they will transfer to one to Chesterfield etc.  At 4.30pm I am told they are going to Trowell and are on the next bus due in 40 mins.  Mad dash to Chesterfield and they arrived at 5.30pm.  First coach had no loo on board and as they were running late all the time the passengers didn't get toilet breaks.  My parents being prepared had a picnic with them and my father munched biscuits all day.  In fact he handed out most of his biscuits to the other passengers who weren't so prepared.  Dib Dib Dib.

Everysooften my Dad giggles remembering the trip. 

My mother is hard at work sewing my mattress cover for the sofa end of the bed.  She is a good girl she is.

Love 'em or hate 'em

Love 'em because they buy you a lovely orange kettle for no reason that can be used on the gas and the stove.  Bonus is it matches my Whittard plates. 

Hate 'em because when you buy a 5 rung rope ladder that came out of a small box, and you spend ages trying to get it to fit back in to the larger bag that the ladder is to be stored in, with no success and you are getting very frustrated and stroppy they come down the stairs and in 2 seconds flat cleverly twist it and voila it fits in the bag with room to spare.  Curses!

You may not  believe it but I was struggling to get it to fit into that bag!  Easy when you know how.  Apparently.


I am pleased to say that our material arrived yesterday and I have sourced the foam for the sofa back / headboard and fetched that today.  All is ready for my mum to do her stuff!  I have also cleaned the house a little in readiness of her arrival.

Choices choices

So after spending an hour Wed evening and about 3 hours on Thursday morning we chose our fabric for the sofa in the office.  Narrowing it down from about 30 possibles to 7 or 8 which we checked were still available.  Hoping that this would help reduce the shortlist - it didn't as all were available - so we used stricter criteria to reduce it to three and then to one.  We ordered and paid for it and set off to the Marina to see the electrician.  On the way I got a call on the mobile but was too late to answer it and we didn't know who it was from anyway.  At the marina I played back my messages.   Oh fiddlesticks I said when I heard that the choice we had made which we had checked was available had - in the time between checking and ordering - been snaffled by someone else.  Bar stewards was my other thought.  It had been a remnant just our size and was discontinued.  As it was imperative that we ordered in time for it to arrive for my mum to make the covers while they were visiting next week I had to go back.

The girls at the shop were so embarressed and had laid out on the table a selection based on the shortlist we had asked them to check and some new ones we hadn't seen.  So after all that I chose the one she had found for me!  I took the photo so that himself could see the final result as he was exhausted and had been dropped off at home on the way back from the Marina.

A more intimate examination of my open drawers

Here I have pulled one set of drawers right out.  Each one is a metre long and currently they are screwed together whilst we work out a neater option.  To be honest as they come out so far I can probably access anything stored at the back of the end ones quite easily.  So probably a nut and bolt type arrangement will work fine.  I will discuss further with Andy when he is back on Tuesday.  They run on steel runners and are 'smooth'.  Nice.


The electrician has been and I now have a fully functioning Tunnel light, horn, front diesel gauge and Mikuni.  (see little switch on portside cabinet).  He has also fitted the light under the office shelf, and the mirror (I think I haven't actually tested this one out)  Not sure what else he has done as he is a night owl.  He is returning sometime next week to finish off.

The bed is bolted in place so it doesn't wander in sofa mode.  There will be matching indentations to stop it wandering in bed mode as well.

Basically this room is nearly complete.  Just a few tweaks left to do.

My drawers for your inspection ...

 

There was a note on the bed stating that I was not to pull the bed out as the glue attaching the Ash fronts might not be completely set. 

He knows me so well. 

It really tried me as I could see the drawers through the slats but couldn't pull them out for close inspection.

Jim has cured the leak from the engine into the calorifier.  To make his journey worth while I set him to attaching some cabin hooks to the front bulkhead to hold the front hatch doors open. 

His favourite job with the tap and die set.  I think he was lieing though!


As himself is so remarkably ambulatory I dragged him with me to choose fabric for the mattress/sofa.  I misjudged where the shop was and parked too soon.  He had quite a walk to the shop! 

We ran out of time as there is too much choice.  So I am dragging him back out again tomorrow morning.  In the afternoon my electrician will be back to finish the last few little jobs. 

Hopefully by tomorrow afternoon Andy will let me play with my own drawers.

Willington Welcomes

Yesterday I had to drop himself off at Derby Hospital to have his famous knee cleaned out at 7am.  So we were up at sparrow fart and no breakfast for either of us.  It would have been mean to have eaten in front of him and besides I had a whole day to fill waiting for the summoning call to fetch him again.

I decided to check out Willington as eulogised by Granny Buttons.  He forgot to mention that there is also a public loo in the village.  A dieing breed in England I fear.  I was going to walk over to the boaters facilities but spotted them lurking by the canal bridge.  Anyway I digress.

I was at Willington Marina by 7.30am.  Not much going on at that time so I went for a walk along the canal towards Willington itself.  I chatted to various boaters walking their dogs including Sue and her Staffy.  In fact I walked with her back towards the marina.  The tea room was open and I think I was first in.  I had a latte and porridge.  The hungarian cook had never made porridge before so I think he was pleased that I eat it all and that he hadn't poisened me.  After two cups of tea I felt it was time I vacated my table as it was heaving in there.


I drove to Willington and walked the canal the otherway.  Discovered a house for sale backing onto the canal.  Bit big for what I will be wanting but ...

The sweet shop that normally only closes on Monday now closes on Tuesdays as well due to lack of footfall.  I really wanted sweets of a certain kind only found in sweet shops.  My footfall was despondent as I walked away.  I had crossed the road and everything!

I watched as a familiar man took hundreds of randomn photos and eventually did an 'Andrew Denny I presume' type of intro.  We had a long chat and if he is late with his deadline it is all my fault.  Blame me my shoulders are broad enough.

Lunch was had at the deli.  You can't go wrong with poached eggs on toast with lashings of butter.  They didn't go wrong.

Windsong and Serendipity Serenity (my mistake was in a hurry when I wrote the post!) arrived after Andrew had gone at about 2.30pm in glorious sunshine (sorry Andrew didn't want to rub it in!)  If I had had the capability I would have rung you up to call you back again!  Hey ho.

Sue walked past me again and invited me in for a cup of tea.  Whilst we were chatting I got the call that finally he was being allowed to leave having past all the relevant checks.

I was very pleased to see that he didn't need crutches.  I managed to squeeze him into the Panda and as the traffic was now horrendous we went back to his house for tea first and then home in the dark.

I slept well last night.

Andy meanwhile has been making the drawers under the bed.  Photos later.

Google Sketchup

Thanks to Herbie I have been introduced to google sketchup and have been using it ever since to show Andy what I want as sometimes my explanations and the excel drawings were a little confusing.

Also the ability to show items in 3d really helps to work out what will work and what wont.

I am nowhere near as proficient as Herbie but am getting there.

Designing the half dinette has proved interesting as you have to bear in mind the dimensions of the cushions relevant to sitting as well as in the lieing down positions!  All good clean fun and it keeps me off the streets.

Felt like a boater today

I spent the day cleaning out the boat taking out 4 full bags of shavings.  This was because I didn't clean it out last week for whatever reason.  I showed Philip (the boater behind) around my boat and in turn got to have a nosy around his.  He is fitting it out himself but has been working so hard he hasn't had time to work on the boat.  He therefore wanted Andy's number!  I told him on no uncertain terms that he wasn't allowed him until I had finished with him.  I think this fits in with his plans anyway so is not a problem.  He has done a nice job on his boat and like me all his equipment is rapidly dropping out of guarantee before we have even switched them on!  Such is life.

The reason I felt like a boater was I had got a voice message from my sister whilst in the bowls of his boat and I rang her back standing in the hatch of my boat in the glorious sunshine.  Felt fabulous.

Today I attached the licence plates (sticky back plastic ones). The one on the water side may be a little wonky but I can't tell for sure until I see it side on (by which time it will be too late to do anything about it.  I am confident that the one on the boardwalk side is straight but have not taken a ruler to it!

I also managed to not get any bubbles of air trapped.  Result.

Bed frame

So not yet finished as the front section still doesn't have it's wheels on nor the Ash facing but this gives you an idea.

Bed fully out into the room.  It is 4 foot 6 inches wide and 6 foot 6 inches long.

 

 I am pleased to note that fully extended I still have room to wriggle past the bottom of the bed.  

Before making the frame Andy and I re measured the space and it looked like we only had 9 inches at the end instead of the 12 inches I was expecting I ummed and ahhed as to whether I should reduce to 6'3" but decided length was more important in the bed department.  

So pleased I hadn't lost those 3 inches anywhere.  Very important those 3 inches!

And back in the sofa position.

All that untidiness under the window will be hidden by Ash plus there will be a hinged upholstered back board above the bed area.

The front legs etc will be hidden by Ash which will also form a lip to prevent the mattresses parting company in the middle of the night!

Drawers to go underneath.  Cubic capacity approx 74" x 50" x 8".

Unlikely voyage of Jack de Crow

Fabulous.   I notice that this book is now for sale in the IWA shop. 

I thoroughly recommend this book as being the funniest book I have ever read.  It will especially appeal to anyone who owned a Mirror Dinghy in their past.  This was the reason I bought the book for my Dad in the first place as he made one (also with red sail - kit form?) and we had many Swallow and Amazon type adventures on a resevoir called Barragem de St Lucia. Our dinghy was called Lucy II.  Another family also had a dinghy on the Barragem - different design - that we raced against.  They called their boat Bremner's Wake!  My position was that of Roger so I cannot take any of the kudos for sailing technique and results. 

When we moved to the Algarve for a bit my parents took part in Regattas on the sea and actually came second in one.  The silver cup they got is so enormous that it's role in life has been as an umbrella and walking stick stand ever since.  My brother was ill on that occasion so I was crew in the morning whilst my sister took care of him and then in the afternoon we swopped over.  He decided to take his own temperature and read it as being dangerously high so I had to mop his brow with wet towels.  I eventually got bored with this and left him a bowl and flannel to do it himself whilst I read a book.  When they came home I calmly informed them that he was dieing.  His pillow was totally drenched.  My mothers reading of the thermometer was within safe levels now whether it was due to my tender ministrations or he misread it we will never know for sure!

Whilst I hope I do not suffer the same ignomonies as Sandy I do hope that I set off on a voyage of discovery once Bobcat is finished and we are off.

Back to the boat build.  The bed is coming on apace and I have ordered the mattress.  Woo Hoo.  Second time I have cycled to the boat this week (trying to get fit for the summer!) this time I went the road way and it was much quicker and no hills.  There are two going across country.  Downside of the road is you do have to share your space with cars and lorries!

Bed and bathroom mirror

Progress goes on in the bed making department.  We have sliding panels either side so can access space behind.  In the case of the starboard side obviously access to the water pipes etc.  And this afternoon Andy has started making the bed frame.

There is now a lovely panel separating off the water tank.  This will come down if we need to adjust the fittings at some time.

Looking quite civilised under there now.

And my led heated mirror is finally installed ready for the electrician to fire it up. 

As it were!

As you can see we also have Ash 'coving' and 'dado' installed so the bathroom almost looks finished.

A fest of oiling and varnishing over the weekend I think.

Perhaps I had better do evening stints as well now that the days are longer.

Beds etc

At the weekend himself and I spent a happy time lounging around on various mattresses.  We think we know what we want now so we can design the bed frame around the depth of mattress.  Then we go back with accurate dimensions for the mattress to be made in two sections.  Large square piece 4'6" for the lieing down part and 18" for the seating part.  To firm up the seat area this will have a solid base whilst the sleeping part will be slats.

Helped Andy load all the Ash onto the boat and discussed what needs doing in what order.  We have a deadline to meet after all!

Ran the engine for a bit on Saturday to check on the leaking joints in the calorifier (yes they leak quite badly!) I was disconcerted by how rough the engine sounded.  However I am hoping that it is only sounding like that because a nut on the engine is up against Lord Voldemort's sturdy leg totally nullifying the Noise Killer stuff we have put on.  Spit Spit Mutter Mutter.  Andy reckons not a problem to cut a notch out of this leg so they are no longer touching and hopefully the engine will sound a lot better. 

If I was like Bones I would of course attempt to remove and replace the two leaking joints myself.  Not a difficulty in themselves - I am confident I could manage that just fine.  I just don't want to empty all the contents of the engine cooling system all over my lovely interior!  I also want MM to listen to my engine and confirm that it is fine and dandy and that I am just a neurotic fool.

I wish I had bought High Fidelity I really do!

Honey I'm back!!!

So here are my pictures from my Grand Day Out

A dismal view of the canal in Nottingham (would have been better if it had been a sunny day)

I thought it appropriate to have my lunch at this pub.

View of my bamboo flooring in the bathroom.  It goes all the way under the tug deck at the front.

Office desk flap down.  Resting on the side shelf and the open door of the little cupboard.

And closed up ready for the 'bed' to be pulled out to turn the 'office' into the bedroom!

Start of bedside cabinets/sofa arms.

Today I have mostly been travelling on the bus.  My car's tax and insurance run out on the same day so when I tried to tax it on Saturday I couldn't because I had no insurance valid for the 1st.  Today I rang the insurance and I am valid as from midnight so I phoned dvla but you don't get to speak to a person so once again I fell at the 'no valid insurance hurdle'.  Hopefully tomorrow all systems will have been updated.

My replacement modem arrived over the weekend but it didn't work either so I took laptop into Worksop by bus to go to the 3 shop.  They couldn't get the modem to work in their machines either but at least my sim did work in one of theirs so that at least is a result of sorts.  I came home.

I rang 3 again and we tried all sorts reinstalling, changing cables etc but no good.  Lad at the 3 shop had said I was better off getting a different dongle (usb rather than cable) as they seemed to work better.  Man at call centre said okay go back to the 3 shop.  Try the different dongle in your laptop with your sim if it works buy it and we will refund you by putting cash into your account.  So a dash for the bus again.  Into shop, it works WAY HAY so while it was downloading all my emails I bought it!  Back on bus, nice man at the call centre called me back and put the money in my account.  Sorted.

My neck hurts.  I will definitely be buying a smaller laptop SOON.

I met lots of lovely people on the bus.