Bacchus

"let the pain dry" - you have no idea what a pain this has been! There has been much profanity (c: Because it is so exposed and quite a large area, I don't know that my cutting in would be good enough, any slight imperfections will really show up. I have done one of the lines at the very rear edge by hand, but it is curved and easier to deceive the eye!

Now that sounds like a good call - never heard of it but it makes sense - have just looked at their website at the Scotch version and it gets good reviews

Yeah - I can put up with a little bit of ragged here and there, but I just need to be able to get the tape to stick for long enough for me to get the paint on! I think because it's textured, the tape is trying to adhere to the "tips of the texture", so only a tiny percentage of the area is actually stuck so the breeze just whips it off. I have waited most of the summer for a couple of dry days, I am not going to hold out for dry and still...!

Cool, ta, we have a Toolstation nearby - I have tried Homebase and Scotch so far...

Bit of a random one... can anyone recommend a good masking tape? I am trying to repaint my decks - the expanse of grey is broken up with white lines which I quite like. Last time I did it, I used the white gloss (International toplac) which gave a nice crisp finish but when wet it created a slippery line in the middle of the deck -- not ideal -- so this time I have put a texture paint underneath the toplac. I painted the lines ok, but am now trying to mask them to paint the grey "panels" and I cannot get the masking tape to stick! I smooth it down firmly - it sticks to some things (like itself, small flakes of paint which have resisted a wire brush and an electric sander, and my arm hair), but it simply blows away in the fierce down-draft from the savage beating of the wings of a passing butterfly... Any ideas or alternatives from painting experts? I think it would look awful if I try to paint the straight lines by hand (the curved corners are OK, but I could never get the lines straight enough) I suppose I could paint over the white then repaint the white lines, but the deck paint is quite thick and I want that to look like a panel on top of white rather than a panel with a white cross painted on it, so the boundaries make all the difference

er, because I will be the one selling the beer at the show, so I will be stopping at Marlow*... and picking up about ten kegs so that happy show-goers can enjoy a nice cold pint on draught and don't have to stagger about in a field carrying a case of beer, I will have done the hard work for them (c: Some money will be going to the brewery as they are a supplier, some will go to the owner of the Acorn Bar, and some will go to staff. Some may find its way into my pocket, but generally get paid in kind (the owner of the bar, who happens to be my ex-brother-in-law, has a vineyard a couple of miles up the road from Fawley Meadows and I do --occasionally-- sup glass or two of excellent English wine at his expense...). I generally do these events because, despite being really, really hard work, I enjoy it! *actually Rebellion deliver - they are a truly stunning company to do business with, I cannot praise them highly enough!

Anyone going to the Traditional Boat Rally in Henley on Thames over the August Bank Holiday weekend will be able to get a very nice pint of IPA or Rebellion Lager... it will cost a fiver, but to enjoy a pint in a field by the Thames whilst looking at vintage boats and Dunkirk Little Ships has to be worth a fiver...

You have a petrol powered Aunt? That's pretty cool.

Similar sort of thing I suppose, but not on a swivel - picture of the beta marine one (actually there would be a moving part through the hull, but sealed in a pod):-

I assumed that the pump could be mounted pretty much anywhere because all it has to do is drive fluid through a pipe, but, yes, it may end up being fairly inefficient. Probably not a major consideration for hire boats!

I will look further into it, especially after what @peterboat says, but my understanding was that the gearbox/drive can be mounted externally obviating the need for moving parts going through the hull - I could be completely wrong on that of course (c:

Is this the right thread to ask whether a hydraulic-drive boat be suitable for conversion to electric drive? I have been looking at broads-style single level cruisers recently (came very close to buying a Broom DC30 but it was just too much work to take on) and they seem to use a small-ish diesel engine to drive a hydraulic pump which turns the prop - would it be easy/feasible/possible to replace the diesel with an electric motor?

It is odd. You would think that they might mention it if they take the trouble to stick a video on YouTube The cottage is on their website though -- https://www.hunters.com/property-search/knosp223291

In your position I would be tempted to get a mortgage against the house; enough to buy a decent second hand boat over say 5-10 years, buy the boat, rent the house out (you will need to tell the mortgage company), try the life, pay the mortgage off and make the decision in a few years time when you will have a boat and a house

Morning Jen - I don't think you are allowed to "live" at Penton Hook, but there is no limit on the number of nights you can stay on your boat, and there is quite a community of "people who spend a lot of nights on their boats". The bar used to be a friendly place which was full of "regulars" not has-beens in Cowes red; it has just been refurbished -- I haven't been in since the refurb but have heard good reports There is a community of live-aboards just downstream from PH, can't remember the name of the wharf right now but easy to spot if you're there on your boat and seemed very friendly (I went there with a friend who was viewing a boat which, sadly, sold before he could speak to the vendor), and there is Bell Weir Boats up at Egham, again a very friendly community; run by a very approachable guy called Richard LLewelyn

Tea is wonderfully versatile. In the heat of summer I like to make a jug of lemon tea and chill it in the fridge. In the cold winter months (like this August...), piping hot and sweetened with a dash of milk, like the one I couldn't put down to write this or it would have got too cold (i.e <90C...)