So the roof is painted and the bows

Basically anywhere you are likely to walk is the sand colour (with integral grit)

You can see the glass inserts in the pigeon boxes that are currently causing me grief.

Still it is sortable.

Just the stern area and a few other bits to do and the painting is complete.

Did I say waterproof?

Apparently not!























Whilst Jim was doing the plumbing for the little basin in the loo via the bathroom he was getting severely dripped on courtesy of the pigeon box in the bathroom.







The one in the saloon is also dripping but the middle one in the galley over the waterproof tiles is not...




I have covered them over with plastic again until Bryan can refit them with better sealant.







I guess pigeons in all their guises - just like to let us know they are up there.

Tiger Tails

A while ago I made up some short stories about a Tiger, his adventures and the friends he meets on the way as bed time stories for my son.

My mother then illustrated them.

As it is not very pc we were unable to find a publisher for it as a childrens book - although kids of all ages do enjoy them - so I found out about Lulu and put them all into one volume.

In order to get it available elsewhere I then had to give it an ISBN number which made it expensive. However it is available with black and white pictures inside, or as a download.

My mother and I had a lot of fun doing it.

Boxes of many kinds

My pigeon boxes are once more watertight. Bit of a relief as they have been full of very large holes since Thursday.

Not that I whittle mind you!

As you can see they and the hatch lids are now black and shiny.

Plenty of light shining down into my boat.

Not a brilliant photo but you can get the idea. Basically if ever the glass breaks we can undo the nuts to release the wooden inserts and replace the glass.

These are my electric boxes. The DC one if you remember goes above the step and the AC one below.

Bryan has made it easy for the electrician to get to the back of the DC panel. You wont actually see these beauties most of the time as they are going to be behind false cupboard doors.

I now have them at home to oil.

These are my current pride and joy. Two more of my hatch window sills and the mushroom vent liner made out of a small left over bit of the Greenheart. Marcus Day from MD Woodtech made it for me. He was the one who has made my chestnut porthole liners.

As a wood it is an absolute joy to oil as it just comes up so shiny. These are dry by the way not still wet from oiling. It will be a such a shame to stand on them.

String

I like playing with string and knots etc so I had a field day today.

I folded over one of the large white tarpaulins (actually I did both of them but the one in better nick had two holes that when it was folded fell in exactly the same place - mutter mutter spit spit). The one did I use had an enormous hole where we had got frustrated taking it down and attacked it with a pair of scissors - I digress - again. This one when folded did not have a matching hole therefore a result. Of sorts.

You must remember these tarps are HUGE. I attached the bottom double ends to Bryans frame farm side and one end to the bottom field side and then with Bryan's help managed to get it up and over to recover his frame. (His tarps had got so many holes in them now that it was virtually useless in keeping the rain out of the engine bay). Let me tell you it was not easy working out which bit of billowing white tarp to pull and which to leave well alone. Eventually it did start to make sense.

I then spent hours playing with string (rope) to hold it down. Some round turns and several half hitches - the more the merrier in my book.

Dearly beloved has bought me a lovely book of knots and by carefully following the diagrams I have managed to do a bit of splicing but you know when it comes down to it you can't beat a good granny knot.

Plan c

or is it d?




Psst 'Don't let Liz see this on her gunwales!'



Mikuni Man aka Jim was back to fit the gas hob, the hearth for the Chilli Penguin and various plumbing jobs including making my lovely boat look like swiss cheese (his words not mine). We discovered we needed ways of getting from the sink waste to a 1 1/4 inch hose and from the bath to a 1/2 inch hose (I may have the dimensions wrong on the bath) I digress.





So off I rushed to my favourite shop in Mansfield - Tubes, Fittings and Valves. This little place fascinates all who enter it's portals. The building is about to collapse which just adds to its attractions.





You go in with your various bits and you say you want to get from a to b in the most efficient way possible. Nothing fazes them. They disappear into the back and are gone for ages and then like magic they reappear with exactly what you need.





Having found the fitting that would empty the bath into the hose I wasn't happy with the plastic to plastic screw fit. Due to it's location if it somehow threaded or failed in anyway I would be none the wiser until the boat filled up with soapy water. So I asked for a replacement of the waste itself in chrome. This is better because it isn't as long as the original but does mean that the overflow is no longer required. Hence plan c. Find a way of blocking the bath overflow.





Plumb Centre - nope


PTS - nope


Spinks - nope


Travis Perkins - yeah - just not in the Worksop branch where I ended up but at their Sheffield branch. Quick phone call, paid over the phone, in the post no trouble.





Must now buy the larger skin fitting before I forget.

The wind the wind

It blew my house down.

Well maybe not my house but the gazebo couldn't take the 25mph winds plus whatever the gusts were!

I had planned to take the frame down this weekend but as Liz didn't want me anywhere near her gunwales until at least 48 hours had passed we decided Sunday would be better.

However the wind decided otherwise so in order to save her paintwork Rob and I rushed to the rescue once Mel had told us the gazebo had collapsed completely. We took the tarps down Saturday evening and adjusted the frame on Sunday. So that Liz still had some cover over the front end to finish painting that area now that the gazebo is an ex gazebo. (Needs two new poles and a corner piece!) Rob and I re jigged the main frame today.

There she is all black and sleek.

And the 'new' cover over the front. No more wind please.

Bryan has finally put all the hatch door liners on that he finished ages ago and also the lid cover which he finished this week. Just needs the glazed inner windows and the lovely greenheart sill and it be done. Oh and the steps.

In detail. That tiny hole in the middle is for the key to go through and lock the hatch lid down.

Took a fair bit of head scratching before he worked out what needed to be done. Looks simple from this side but the side you can't see? Different story. Still the boy done good and it looks lovely. The hatch lid is nearly square so when it is open it looks different again. Behind the semicircle he has put some polystyrene insulation to fill in the gap between the wood and the hatch lid itself.


It has been a good weekend but boy am I pooped.

Rob also wants to re negotiate his boyfriend contract. He is pretty sure none of this was in the original agreement.