wynd lass(nb.Black Pearl)

praise beeeeeeeee!!!! it floats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! as you can guess..........its now in the water......saw her being craned in, was hellishly windy and showery.....but thats that now, just to wait for the boat safety inspection next wednesday, then i can't see much holding us back......except she is moored on the river at the side of the boatbuilders and its in flood at this time....anyway who cares! he he eeeee!

cheers oliver dudes well, they said that they weren't happy with the paint job, so it was to be done again....(fair enough probably) they said they want it to be right. I have no problem with that, its just that they keep saying right! its off in....then not... The boat looks 99% done, and baring in mind that once launched, they get another £8K, so I should imagine they are telling the truth....(sometimes)! One thing, we are now in the position of actually being in front re monies owing them now, and not the other way round (once the engine was fitted we were up to date with the money situation).....they have have the main bulk of money for this boat since may!!!!!.(90%) oh aye, they now say its going in on thursday 21st! (3rd time lucky???), but we wont be able to move it, because the BCC man isn't coming till wednesday the week after, (27th october) Cutting it fine or what (re closures)? Once again I have to say, on one hand, they have made a totally fantastic job of this boat....BUT anyone wanting a boat from this company MUST be aware they could be 4 or 5 months late in getting it.

The launch has been cancelled..........looks like it won't be in the water till next week now........I just don't know what to say anymore! this is twice now......why do they keep getting our hopes up then cancelling it!!!!!!....This is getting like ground hog day, or catch 22, of the boating world.

he he no,workings strange shifts do that! fortunately, we haven't got too far to take her to the mooring.....only a couple of days cruise.

Surely I don't have to tell you where Black Pearl came from:) Well for those who haven't seen the film,"Pirates of the caribbean", it was captain Jack Sparrow's long lost pirate ship. We wanted something a bit diffrent for the name, other than the obvious, I suppose. So we trawled film names, etc for ours. There' splenty of those names to go through for sure!. It nearly was Lord of the Rings.....or something from the film, like "strider", or the name of Gandalfs Horse....but we settled on that.

Well, they have booked the crane for next tue(19th october) early doors. hopefully by that weekend, we should be on our way to the mooring.....there are still a few bit to do though, once she is in the water....so im still no wiser as to when we can move on really! its all "hopefully's" and "should be's", from the builders yard.....(slap's head and groans out loud)..... i think i must be on a downer(pre- boatal- depression) but with all the delay's and what have you, i feel its taken the shine off a bit...suppose i'll feel ok once the key's are handed over and we set off.

to be honest maff, if i'd have known it was going to be over 10 months, we would have made other arrangements!( i wouldn't do it again 4 sure-not, for this length of time)

yup....ditto! we go in the water on tuesday by the way (oliver)...long last!

Just been to see the final touches being added to the boat and whilst we were there, I asked, if we were to buy this boat now(at todays prices) what would it cost...............they told us, "just shy of £10,000 more!!!!!!!!".

Hi, We bought a caravan, and for the first few months(winter), we were on our friends spare driveway, then as soon as the season started we moved to a caravan site, near where I work. If you buy a caravan, and its fairly modern, like this one, you wont be cold, as it has warm air blown central heating and a shower cubical etc.....all mod cons. Only drawback is its a bit cramped, but we have lived in it for the last 10 months! I should say its the cheapest option, the caravan was about 8K and we pay £200 a month for the site, which includes all electric.

Hmmm nice ideas folks:)) We intend buying the lads who built the shell, a case of ale each, and prolly the same to the fitter out chappie:) As for the owners of the boatbuilders yard, after being 4 months late, and for them telling us a few pork pies before and during the build, it would stick im my craw, i think. I really think that they have caused quite a few people besides us to be a tad dissapointed by their lateness, and although they build a beautiful boat, I'd be sure to for-warn anyone who intended having them to build a boat for them, to watch out for a bit of sharp practice on their part. They have mis-led quite a few people into thinking their boats would definitely be built months ago, and morally that is wrong.....and knowing full well that a good few of those people had sold their houses to buy the boats from them, too! Anyway, I won' let this overshadow the day...

Ok , I thought as much....Thanks for that! You have just confirmed what was said a few years back when someone I used to know, had one fitted.

I look at it like this....Its not every day you launch a new boat, so "Push the boat out" I say, (pun intended)

Well, this happens every time there is an increase in house prices, it always stops, they always come down, etc, but if you sit it out they always go back up again, it might take a few years but they always do.... We are in the same situation, we sold late last year, (to buy said boat), we too have been lucky enough to be able to buy the boat outright, with monies made on the house sale. Now the boat is nearing completion, and I have to now ring up the insurance company to insure the new boat, its going to be interesting to ask our boat builder what our new boat is now worth,(as the price's have gone up since they started the build back in Feb). Personally, Im not bothered about whether its gone up or not, really, its a way of life Im buying into here anyway Roll on, I say, cos I have to admit having spent 10 months in a 14foot caravan, caravanning aint for me! (not for this length of time anyway! ). Unlike the new boat, there just isn't anywhere to put anything in this caravan....

Its funny you should ask that. We were just on about this very thing last night. Personaly, I think once the crane has lowered it into the water. Like Paul says.....hardly matters , as long as some champers is involved somewhere along the proceedure.

aye it looks like 'that' aquaduct......

Been yesterday and the inside had had a coat of sanding sealer. The outside is undercoated and I'm assured(yer yer...tell it to me! ), that by next weekend she will be in the water! The builder took us on one side and said that unfortunately, the 42hp engine we wanted fitted (isuzu), wasn't available, but at no extra cost to us, they were now fitting a 55hp model ! (well you can imagine my surprise folks), it will , be tick-over everywhere on the canals for sure...... On the river's.....well, it won't have any problems now, I can foresee.... Anyway, suffice to say, even though she is 4 months late, we are thrilled with her so far......all it has to do now is float. I have been checking up on champagne's at the local asda and have selected one with HMQ's crest upon it......if its good enough for her madge its good enough for Black Pearl ! Watch this space.....(click buZzzzzz)

Any one out there who has one?. Can someone tell me what the air regulator at the top of the stove window is for? On other stoves I have seen, they have only had one air regulator (round winding thinggy ) on them, and this new un has 2!!!