Still here
Beautiful crisp winter’s day
Author: Carol Law
First coat
Still recovering and plagued by fatigue we are trying just to soldier on. Now we are racing to get the areas we have prepared painted and finished. It seems mad to worry but we are aware that it’s July and we’re at that point there is literally about 8 weeks to get things done. From that point the weather starts to be unpredictable ( as if summer here is !).
Last finishing preparations to the front and the paint goes on . It’s one of the biggest areas so getting it sorted will be major.
And first coat finally on . Very pleased with the results and after a quick light sand down a second will be all that’s needed to finish. It’s so white it’s gleaming!
So off to boat jumble tomorrow and more prep on the flybridge .
Unplanned break
So we try to get away from the boat every now and then to get a break from the work. You literally have to go somewhere else otherwise the temptation is to start doing a bit then your time off is gone.
Cue a concert . Fantastic, the ABBA concert with the CGI avatars of the group . Yep let’s go. Brilliant night out just what we needed ….then …. literally next day I’m feeling unwell. Then…. COVID!!! Two weeks later now negative but wrung out with fatigue. Everything has come to a halt T still positive. He’s a few days behind me and has been worse than me .
It is what it is and there is literally nothing you can do . We are just allowing ourselves the time to recover properly then it’s back to it.
Water Tank Cleaning
So water tank cleaning day is here again. We try to make sure we clean the tank about every 6 months or thereabouts.
Although we don’t use it as drinking water we use it for everything else. Given the age of the boat we have no idea how often if ever the tank was cleaned so it makes sense to keep on top of it.
It is however a protracted event . First we have to mix the powder with water and add to a reasonably empty tank then fill. Then we need to go to each tap and run it through into the system.
After several hours you have to run through the whole system until the tank empty. Then refill tank and drain through again before final fill.
Although it doesn’t sound very labour intensive it actually takes up most of a day but it’s a necessary part of boat maintenance. Once it’s done and settled we then do a test to check for any nasties for piece of mind.
So with that ticked off the checklist back onto decorating
The Halfway Point
We’re about halfway through the internal renovating and making headway on the exterior of the boat. Everything is a bit all over the place but heading to the point where it all suddenly comes together. At least that’s what I keep telling myself.
While finishing the kitchen diner area I’ve started stripping the old faux leather off the bridge. It’s so fragile and degraded it literally falls to pieces in some areas.
As the bridge is the business area of the boat we’ve decided to keep it fairly minimal replacing the area covered by material the same obviously with new fabric. Sanding and varnishing the wooden window frames ,replacing the ceiling new blinds , lights, and handles.
In the middle of all this the weather has been crazy. Big thunder storm and lightning torrential rain then hottest day of year so far. When the weather is this amazing and the tides are right there’s only one thing you can do and that’s get out on the water. So out on the other boat we go. Warm sun cool breeze and lunch on the way up to the harbour.
Much needed day off
Off to boat jumble today. Not for anything in particular but it’s always interesting to have a look , especially at the new ribs and new style moulded plastic boats with outboard selling at anything from about 8k up to 20k. It didn’t have as many stalls and sellers as hoped , it’s still early in the season so we did a bit of a road trip along the coast for the day . Calling in at little towns along the way finding hidden gems.
Artists selling coastal scenes and a lovely lady down a side street selling beach themed soft furnishings. We always have a quick trot around charity shops looking for boat themed items but often come away empty handed even though we are on the coast and you’d expect more. This time we came up trumps with this lovely little set.
A few days off doing other things is very much needed but now back to grafting. A last push to finish the kitchen then we are about halfway on the inside.
It Never Ends
I have to admit I am feeling pretty exhausted and have hit that bit of a slog point. With so much to do it’s hard not to get bogged down by it all.
Now the weather is improving the outside needs attention. A winter of storms has certainly left its mark . T started a few days ago on the cleaning and crikey it was black . So dirty it was unbelievable. Dirt , grime and slime with a dash of sandstorm thrown in .
As you can imagine it’s not a quick job as the boat is so big. One day you make headway only to be delayed by bad weather. A top to bottom stocktake of any damage has shown that as soon as possible we need to get our fingers out and do the flybridge . The paint is peeling badly and starting to damage the wood underneath.
On the inside I’m still battling to get the kitchen area finished. It seems like so much to do but hopefully almost at the point where it starts to come together.
Staples,staples and more staples
Whether you’re renovating a house or a boat you always come across something unexpected that drags your timeframe backwards and can grind you almost a halt .
For us we have been tied up in a war against staples! Part of our kitchen area is a large seating / eating area and desperately needs an upholstery update, so off the old fabric needed to come. However, as lovely and neat as it looks on the outside underneath it’s all held together by about 5,000 staples. Somebody clearly loved their staple gun .
It has taken literally hours over the past 2 weeks but am finally on the home straight then can get on with the new cushions and upholstery.
I’m pretty sure that the time and effort will be worth it in the end but staples have become my nemesis. I’ve stabbed myself in the hand and leg trying to get the things out and cut myself on small stubborn stubs of staple. My hands are aching and my wrist and back. I’ll be glad to see the back of it.
Kitchen update
Dishwasher now in and sink now out . We’ve had to cut and reshape for the new sink to slot in. Extractor fan hood for the cooker is now in place and some painting in areas around the sink so don’t risk covering the new sink in paint!
Now to get on with tiling lighting and getting cooker and hob in place.
Renovation in full swing
We’ve been updating at a pace recently but as you probably know everything takes about 3 times longer than you hope and there’s always unexpected problems.
Trying to change over large appliances is a nightmare. We’ve spent the past couple of days lugging fridge freezers and dishwashers off and on the boat. Due to the design of the boat there is only one way for them to go and at one point the old fridge freezer was hanging over the side!
In the middle of this is stormy weather and storm Dudley rocked through yesterday and through the night. Now Eunice is predicted to be even worse so it’s batten down the hatches for the end of the week.
Now onto sink and hob and oven change over so we can get onto the cosmetic things like painting and tiling .
To the Solent and beyond 