Back To The Grind

A quiet week-end. Visited the RSPCA and Dogs Trust kennels near us to register, in the hopes of finding Sox a new playmate though now it seems he may not need one. He met up with a six month old boxer cross but that didn’t work out. When all said and done he appears to be quite happy on his own and is enjoying the extra attention he is getting.

Back down on T-A the bathroom has been cleared out except for the shower cubicle, so that he oak flooring could be removed.

At the same time as lifting the ply boarding for the clear out (soon need a new can of Waxoyl) I decided to re plumb the vanity unit.

The pipes will now come in from the side so we can use the cupboard under the sink once the new oak flooring is down.

Elsewhere I have run up a rough plan for some new steps down from the wheelhouse which will incorporate  a cool store and some storage for wellingtons. Cutting some template pieces to see how it will all fit in before laying the new floor.

Bringing home some bits that will go on the CGS stall at the Woolsthorpe depot Discovery Day on Sunday 6^th of October. Should be a good laugh with stalls, displays, boat trips and a duck race in the bywash of lock 16. What’s the betting I get roped into giving the depot the once over with a mower next week. :-)

A Miserable Day

The weather seemed quite appropriate yesterday.

Brock 2001 - 2012

 

 

Still Cleaning

All the floorboards in the lounge and kitchen areas have been lifted but the ply board split badly under the fridge and sink. Decided to replace a 4’x 4’ panel under the kitchen units. New panel made and taken down on Saturday, unfortunately it would not fit through the doors from the wheelhouse so it was a case of remove the cover over the skylight hole and drop it through – good job Karen was there to help me.

I try and not make too much noise over the week-ends that might upset the neighbours so it was a case of pop down to remove the top  of the port wheelhouse door and take it home to give it a trim, adjust the base angle by 1deg. and  move the hinge rebates forward by 3mm. Couple of coats of varnish and nip back to fit it before it got dark. Fits much more snugly now.

Yesterday spent trimming hedges for Karen’s mum after she managed to crack some ribs falling off the step ladder trying to do it herself.

Today down at T-A pulling up the galley floor and butting off the splintered section, that little Dremel saw is certainly earning it’s keep.

Flooring removed and things seem to be getting worse as we move back.

Five hours and three bin bags later

Waxoyled and timber treated. Flooring has now been replaced but not fixed down.

Next plan is to take up the bedroom and bathroom flooring but taking things on a daily basis at the moment as out old dog, Brock,

isn’t doing too well at the moment.

Spoke Too Soon

Well ever since reporting that there was just a bit of sawdust to remove, I’ve been turning up all sorts of crud.

 

 

Two bin liners have been filled up to now and there is still plenty more to go at.

Under the kitchen (galley?) units I have turned up some pieces of laminated ply  which look as though they should have filled the gap between floor and cupboard bottom. If we find the full set it will be installed as it should have been – if not should soon be able to make up some more.

Waxoyling the base plate is proving to be a slow job with lifting the floor,  cleaning, removing old ballast, cleaning again, waxing and then replacing the ballast or adding new into each section. Having to keep moving the furniture around is not helping either.

Lifted the  boxing over the radiator pipes to lift  the warped oak flooring and it looks like I may have to redo the plumbing as well. The pipes seem to run any old how and are secured in a haphazard fashion.

As you can see pulling up the flooring has damaged the ply laminate in some places where the water damage had not rotted the mastic. Not decided what to do with this yet as getting 8’x 4’ sheets of ply into the boat now it is fitted out is nigh on impossible, considering adding a layer of 6mm  ply cut into 2’x 8’ strips over the top to form a base for the new flooring. Been down to Wickes today and purchased 16 sq/m of oak flooring and a 5 litre can of wood preserver. The battens and ply base seem to be OK apart from staining caused by water ingress from the skylight and the delaminating caused by the mastic, so hopefully it can all be used again after being treated.

I think I am my own worst enemy, pulling out all these bits and pieces and my mind is racing away – that would be a good spot for an under floor cool box – a broom cupboard would fit nicely in there – that’s a good spot for some shelves – will I ever get finished???? J

Probably not!  

Mundane work

Nothing significant happening at the moment. Wednesday morning was spent in Leicester for the regular railwaymen’s  reunion and down to Woolsthorpe in the afternoon getting the carpenters shop ready for the heritage day.

Thursday morning in the workshop and in the afternoon it was down to Woolsthorpe to help out with the trip boat. Not such a pleasant afternoon for me because I had decided to wear new safety shoes, and them thar steel toe caps got no give in ‘em, just about crippled by the end of the day.

The rest of the time has been ripping out more floorboards and lifting the ply liner below to see what muck is under there. So far pleasantly surprised as apart from an inch of sawdust under the joins things seem quite clear. Any ballast lifted and where I can the steel is treated with Waxoyl and the ballast replaced. I have purchased another 100 pavers to add to the ballast, which by my reckoning will only increase the draft by 9mm, but taking into account the 60 odd pavers under the bed once that lot is under the floor it should help lower the centre of gravity.

Apart from a bit of retail therapy from the Axminster Tools catalogue it has been a steady few days.

Expensive Firewood

Sunday was catching up with jobs round the home and Monday morning saw me in the workshop making up my cutting list from the previous visit.

One of those niggling little things pointed out was that the bathroom to lounge door had no jamb so  it could be pushed right through.

The BH solution was

It has now been replaced by this,

running floor to ceiling as it should.

Today I made use of the draw wire left in the gunwale after I realised I had forgotten the black water gauge. It’s stuck down the side of the bed where it is difficult to see and has never worked. Having downloaded the wiring diagram from the Vetus website I can see why. Any way the plan is to add the gauge to the control panel, it seems to be working OK after having been wired directly across the battery.

The rest of the time has been spent adding a few bits to the microwave shelf and plate rack.

 

More to go in but it is slowly taking shape. Plenty of plugs needed.

The rest of the time was ripping up floorboards, but had to stop to clear the debris.

Had thought about cutting it into blocks to make a parquet floor but there are so many screws that half the wood would be lost. If I can't find a way of using it at least it will keep me warm this winter.

About one third done so far, soon all the ballast under the bed will be under the floor where it belongs.

The Beast Is Dead

Once more I’m playing catch up. Monday was spent varnishing the cupboard doors before fitting handles and plate. Also fitted the handles to some of the other cupboard doors.

Tuesday cutting grass at Woolsthorpe depot ready for 6^th September Heritage Day and being as I was in the swing, mowed the lawns at home as well.

It’s been a funny old year in the garden. There are no pears whatsoever and very few plums but loads of apples. The sunflowers have gone ballistic – there should be plenty for the birds this winter.

and the sweet corn is looking good

but the squirrels have already started raiding the nuts.

Karen has really worked hard in the garden this year with virtually no help from me because I’ve been spending a fair bit of time on T-A.

Wednesday was catching up with jobs around the house and paperwork – I must like this boaty type of work because I’ve signed up for life membership with the GCS

From Thursday onwards it has been down to Trudy-Ann.

Stared rewiring the control for the Hurricane heating and whilst down in the engine bay chopped out the remaining cabling to the old trip panel and negative bus bar.

There is now nothing of Ben Harps wiring  live on the boat, not everything has been connected but the only bits waiting to be done have either only just been installed or are waiting to be installed at the stern such as rudder indicator and fuel gauges, everything forward of here is under new management. Result!

The bedroom is nearly complete and getting back to normal, the only thing left to do is re-hang the cupboard doors. The bedroom door itself is back in place.

Started lifting more floorboards and found a pile more crud.

 

It makes me wonder if the new bilge fans in the bow are having much effect but at least the one behind the fridge is moving some air.

Getting there slowly but plenty to keep me going, but this next month should see the back broken.