Jobs Done, Jobs To Do

Mixed bag during the week, though most of it has been around the home and garden except for Thursday which saw me on a work party with GCS and a couple of boaty afternoons varnishing(Now there’s a surprise) and refitting curtain rails after refurbishment.

Saturday. Early start to Crick boat show and had an enjoyable mooch round seeing a few familiar faces. Purchased two locking filler caps for the diesel, enough rope to hang myself and everybody else in the village as well as a water purifier system off the General Ecology stand.

Mowed the lawns in the evening after we got back

Today, spent the morning in the garden and after lunch took a bit more down to Pillings for the lounge cupboard. Fitted the bedroom cupboard carcase before  doing a bit more varnishing.

Varnishing in the lounge area complete (or as complete as it will be for the moment) with just a few panels in the galley area to do.

Now concentrating on re-hanging doors on wardrobes and bathroom, before moving onto the galley. The plan being to get everything liveable  in front of the engine bulkhead before staring in the engine bay and wheelhouse. The biggest job will be to rerun the gas supply between locker and cooker. At he moment it runs across the middle of the  floor of one of the kitchen cupboards which surely can’t be up to standard, but I think we’ll let a qualified gas fitter sort that one.

Yet More Varnishing

Slip, slap, slop, Friday was spent giving the cupboard its first coat of varnish and doing the odd job around the home.

Saturday was a long day down on Trudy-Ann, if it moved it got screwed and if it stood still it got varnished.

The shelves over the kitchen area are now complete and have the microwave installed.

The walls and ceiling in the lounge area have been given a coat and the furniture has been moved over to the side of the floor done on Wednesday. All set to be varnished as the cupboard is installed.

Took a shot of the skylight to show how light it is inside now

but with an even brighter sky it doesn’t show up too well.

Still lots if varnishing to do so I may have to start numbering these posts ( Day 97 and the varnishing is still not finished J )

Today has been giving the shelves a final coat of the clear paint like substance, before attacking the lawns with the mower. Couldn’t get the strimmer to run properly, looks like there may be a slight leak at the inlet manifold so it looks like a trip to the local motor factors for a tube of liquid gasket. Another job to add to the list. Now let me think – re-felt the shed roof, repair cracked pane in greenhouse, make shutters for front windows, new gates for driveway, wash car, tidy workshop, block pave drive – buggrit, it's sunny and I want to go cruising!!!

More Varnishing

Started working on the cupboard again yesterday and soon realised that all the catches , handles etc. were down on T-A so did what I could in the morning and popped over to Pillings Lock in the afternoon. Apart from going down to collect the ironmongery I was interested in seeing how the skylight had fared after all the rain on Tuesday night. This would be its first serious rainfall so had been keeping fingers crossed. Needn’t have worried the interior was fine, same could not be said about the wheelhouse, the sheeting was sagging under the weight of water  and a lot came in when I tried to push it over the side. Really must get a move on and get the new canopy made, we’ve been meaning to for ages but have been hanging on for the skylight because the plan now is to have a cover made for that as well. Spent the rest of the afternoon varnishing the microwave shelf and some more of the lounge area. Called time at five, having to get back and get changed for the beekeeping lesson in Grantham.

Kicked the lessons into touch last night when it was shown that hives should be inspected weekly and certainly no more than every nine days for the welfare of the bees and to forestall the bees swarming and having them clear off to a better hive. Once Karen retires then the idea is to include plenty of extended cruising into our plans so beekeeping is perhaps not the best idea for us.

Finished off the cupboard this morning and assembled it loosely.

The top two shelves have been made large enough to take wine glasses with a space to the left to take the owners manual and associated publications. The bottom is tall enough to take wine bottles and other containers waiting to go into the cool store under the steps. Think I am finally getting my priorities right.

Since the pictures it has been partly dismantled and has had the first coat of varnish.

All I want now is a break in the showers long enough to cut the grass.

Playing Dominoes

Still working on the lounge cupboard, though I’ve been slowed down a bit by trying to drill though my finger. No serous damage done but cleaning all the mess off the woodwork has taken some doing. All the parts are made now but I was faced with the dilemma of how to fix the side panel to the curved corner section as now it had been reduced from the original it was not possible to use screws without looking a mess.

Blinding flash of the obvious.

Joints on both sides made using the new domino jointer.

Fitted, glued and as solid as a rock.

The shelves are in 18mm birch ply faced with ash forming a 3mm lip to stop bits sliding off.  Also incorporated a pocket to one side to hold the owners manual. The test construction is going well so far and hope to have some pictures tomorrow before it is taken apart again for varnishing and down to T-A for installation.

On the home front Karen has finished the planting bar one row of cabbages with are still a bit on the small side.

Lounge Cupboard

Friday morning saw me getting wet and smelly cleaning out the fishpond filters while Karen did more work in the garden. Spent the afternoon cutting and planning the top of the cupboard which will also make a shelf for the DVD player and other bits.

Before and after – only just fitted in the planer.

The new cupboard will be much deeper that before without the fancy columns so the footprint will hardly be any larger, in fact it will be a few centimetres narrower. Still using part of the columns to make the new rounded corners. Might as well use what I can seeing that it has been paid for.

Today has been spent making the cupboard framework in a form that can be dismantled and reassembled on the boat.

The second side is made, just in clamps waiting for the glue to go off. The cupboard doors are the originals, only shortened when I re-glued all the doors after they started coming apart. So you could say the cupboard has been made to fit the doors and not the doors to fit the cupboard.

Karen has been busy in the garden again today – now there are just a few brassicas ( Is that the correct plural?) left to go in.

Rain stopped play for her so she has been busy baking. I don’t know – must be one o’ them couch potatoes. J

 

The question has been raised as to why we didn’t go for a sailaway lined and fit it out ourselves. Well that was the original plan.

The idea being that while Karen was still working I would be down on T-A instead of being at work, but it was pointed out to us by several people that if the boat was fitted out professionally it would be ready sooner and with me having time to do more around the home we would be able to spend most of our free time cruising. Well I for one didn’t take much convincing that that was a good idea and it would have been if we hadn’t happened on a cowboy builder. With the benefit of hindsight it would have been better for me have fitted Trudy-Ann out from a sailaway, but at the same time it would be even better if it had been fitted out properly by a professional in the first place. I am happy with the work to date and I am enjoying doing it but I can not delude myself that I am anything other than an enthusiastic amateur. I just wish I found it as easy as a craftsman makes it look, but then I might not get the same sense of achievement. J

Falling Behind Again

I really must get to grips with keeping this blog up to date.

Been chasing my tail over the past days and the longer I leave things the harder it is to remember what happened.

Starting the day after the previous entry it was a day of catch up in the garden, new battery fitted to the mower and grass cut but unable to get the strimmer going to tidy up round the edges.

The following day it was down to T-A again to fit all the furniture on the skylight shuts but only managed to do the catches and the screw clamps to hold the skylight down but at least it is secure now.

The next few days catching up in the garden and round the house, with the late start to the season everything has been rather manic but Karen has got things back on track.

Concentrating on T-A again the black water tank gauge has now been rewired and the stops have been fitted round the tank to stop it sliding about.

The gauge had been mounted in the side of the bed where it was difficult to see but didn’t work anyway, with the gauge and sender connected in parallel across a supply from the bow thruster battery, I think the charred insulation says a lot.

Feed now taken from the control panel fused supply where the gauge will now be mounted. Woodwork in the galley area for the microwave and shelves has been finished off and given its first coat of varnish. The pipe work in the bedroom and lounge has been boxed in again and varnished. Plenty of varnish going on elsewhere on walls, ceilings and floors but loads more to do. Started to reconstruct the lounge cupboard in the workshop but not much to see so far. Things really seem to be moving forward at the moment.

Three days with the GCS during the last week.

Thursday cutting the grass at Woolsthorpe depot, Sunday with the WRG at Owthorpe pulling tree roots out of the canal bed

and on Monday running trips from Harlaxton wharf to raise funds for the society. Doing it next bank holiday as well  – it seems to be a resounding success considering Easter Monday was just an experiment.

Otherwise the bee keeping lessons are still taking place and we have been threatened with hands on experience in a weeks time.