nb Imagine - progress?

[DHutch]

Have a look at this http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=3965

Edited March 24, 2006 by dhutch

[alan_fincher]

By the way, does anybody have a way of working out how much fuel is left in the tank?

 

I must admit we have nothing more than a lenth of old dowelling that we put in as a dipstick.

 

We should probably find a non-absorbent alternative, as it does tend to reek of diesel - so is kept in front locker to stop it stinking out the boat cabin.

 

If you do use a dipstick method, have a cloth ready to wipe it off quickly.

 

If even a couple of drops are spilt overboard, it spreads an embarrasingly long way - and looks like a lot more than a couple of drops......

[Keeping Up]

I must admit we have nothing more than a lenth of old dowelling that we put in as a dipstick.

 

We should probably find a non-absorbent alternative, as it does tend to reek of diesel - so is kept in front locker to stop it stinking out the boat cabin.

 

If you do use a dipstick method, have a cloth ready to wipe it off quickly.

 

If even a couple of drops are spilt overboard, it spreads an embarrasingly long way - and looks like a lot more than a couple of drops......

If you can see into the tank through the filler, you can avoid covering the dipstick in diesel by watching the surface of the fuel as you slowly lower the dipstick towards it. It will reflect like a mirror, but the reflection will be upset bt ripples the moment the tip of the dipstick touches the surface. You then know the distance from the top of the tank to the surface, so if you know the depth of the tank (measured from outside) you know how much fuel is left.

 

Result, the dipstick doesn't reek of diesel - also you won't have risked damaging the tank (I never believed this risk was significant, you'd have one heck of a job wearing it out that way, but the old version of the BSS seemed to think it was a danger).

 

Allan

[wrigglefingers]

Hello folks,

 

This weekend has been really good but in a 'I'm really enjoying myself' rather than hugely productive kind of way. So lots of socialising with work inbetween visits. Ellen brought two of her friends to help this weekend and in fairness they all worked really hard eventually, although there was a fair amount of giggling through both days.

 

We officially opened for visitors on Friday when two friends from school rolled up with champagne and curry. We spent a cheery evening contemplating the stove and the iniquities of life at school. All of three of us very tired - it's been a long week with two parents' evenings. Ellen and some friends disappeared off for a pyjama party (don't ask). No work achieved except that I managed to light the Squirrel first time and with no added fuss.

 

We had a really early start for Ellen, Megan and Emily at 11.30am. All girls were too groggy to complain and they managed to make a cup of tea quite successfully in their terms; brown but stone-cold. They then spent 20 minutes discovering the re-heating potential of a fully fired-up Squirrel. "'S'mazing, 's hot an' everythink". I, meanwhile demonstrated the superiority of my intelligence by making a brown and hot cup of tea by the simply expedient of boiling the kettle and soaking another teabag. Thus armed with my superior intelligence I set forth to conquer the Rinnai heater. Thanks to Canalshop Man I knew there was gas. But after 30 minutes of checking pipework, Hep2 plumbing and, owing to the less than commodious space in the undersink cupboard, developing a fairly intense relationship with an ancient spare tank for the portapotti (now described by Elly as an 'evolved bucket'), I still couldn't work out why there was no hot water. It mut be the thermocouple I decided as I peered closely at the pilot light as .......... suddenly the whole system roared into life. I shot backwards into the bath and my heart rate must have reached an all-time high. Ellen and the girls had decided to wash up in the kitchen and had wrenched on the mixer tap. I later discovered that there is a micro-switch attached to the kitchen tap and it's a little clicky. The bathroom taps were simply the wrong way round. But hey! we have hot water and Ellen's done her first washing up session on the boat (and I didn't need to ask either).

 

The girls were now ready for their first major task so they got the job of washing down the t & g roof with sugar soap. ("does it take off nail polish? No? pity") Working as a team they took off a layer of grime down the entire length of the boat. Well, actually they cleaned one end and made the other end worse as they forgot to change the water. Rectified by a re-think and a re-do. The paintwork is now clearly gloss white and is ready for re-painting in mid week. I topped up the header tank which was empty and hauled up the engine bay covers.

 

I located the source of the leak in the engine bay. The light covering of rust has dried except directly under the calorifier. I checked the piping but there doesn't seem to be major leak, just a drip drip ooze from the flexible pipe from the water tank. I decided that there didn't seem to need to haul off the tubing but settling for tightening the jubilee clip and wrapping it in PTFE tape for the time being. Besides which, if I stopped the water Ellen might be discouraged from doing the washing up spontaneously again. I suspect that some of the water may be condensation from some unlagged pipework. I'll monitor and see if it improves over the next week.

 

The girls had got bored with the washing down and were busy getting busy with the Brasso and the brasswork. I'm not sure what's in Brasso but the giggling rate seemed to get much louder during this phase. All three play brass instruments so the world of Brasso is a familar one and they certainly have a far more vigorous technique than me. The tiller extension is a sparkly sight to behold and the kettle is a wonder of copperiness. The ducks came to visit and the rain hammered down. Dinner at the the Lock Inn beckoned and we all went to see the Bismarcks play at our local ceildh. A fantastic day.......

 

Sunday morning. Ellen went off to choir and I decided to celebrate Mothering Sunday by leaping off to Ikea for curtain rods. We currently have white (well, yellowy) curtain track and it just looks wrong. Still, they're not suitable from Ikea 'cos the brackets are too deep. I tried at Homebase later but they didn't have enough of any description so that was a bit of a dead end for today. I collected the girls who all proclaimed they were exhausted and proved it by curling up on Ellen's berth and going to sleep. Various friends came in the afternoon so progress was slow and we didn't go out again today. The weather was warmer but still vile with a blustery wind. The girls repainted the bathroom tiles in a bright yellow paint which is an enormous improvement. The Squirrel chugged away merrily and everybody sat on the floor and drank coffee.

 

Imagine is looking much better for a wash and brush up. I've gently polished off the last varnish/polish with Brasso, re-waxed and buffed so she's really beginning to shine in places. I think she'll be lovely when we finish in her curiously old-fashioned way, but it's not a job to rush or panic over at the moment. Bet I'm not saying that at the end of April when we move aboard ..........

 

I'm sorry there's no photos this week - I forgot to charge up the camera. I'll take some on Tuesday when Richard-the-boat-engineer comes to look at the rudder, stern gland and battery problems. And I'm sorry this post is so long. Too tired to edit properly so I'm off to bed! Last week at school next week too......

 

Jill

 

PS I forgot to mention I tried to dip for fuel using the methods suggested by Alan and Allan but no success so I concluded I had no diesel. An opinion shared by one of my visitors (who teaches engine mechanics to the youth at a local college). "Nope, not much in that tank, Shep". After some discussion as to whether I stirred up much crud when I ran the engine last, he and his wife left only to return with some 10 gallons of red diesel in the back of their Volvo. I'm sure we broke every rule in the book but we funnelled it in anyway. Should get me to the pump when I finally pluck up the courage to get going. John refused payment for the fuel and gave the address of his farmer mate who has a storage tank. Aren't friends great?!

Edited March 26, 2006 by wrigglefingers

[Bones]

ooh aaaar! I enjoyed reading that. It sounds good fun.

[wrigglefingers]

Hello forum-readers (does that make us forees or just five fs for effort?),

 

another swift update.

 

The boat engineer came last night to have peer at various problems and make some repair decisions.

 

The electrics are officially a mess, safe enough but a mess. Some of the wiring is under-sized and potentially dangerous under high load, especially around the batteries and inverter. All the wires need to be enclosed in conduit and/or clipped under the gunnels. The car charger arrangement is probably okay but is a stop-gap solution at best and needs to be in safer place than at present. The new batteries are to be restrained, strapped and the terminals covered to comfortably make BSC standards.

 

The bottom bearing and cup on the skeg need cutting out and re-welding and he thought that Ellen and I would benefit from having the swanneck and tiller shortened and amended as it's far too high to steer comfortably and safely (we're both short-ar*es).

 

The leak into the engine bay from the calorifier has been stopped by the quick-fix repair I did at the weekend but then Richard showed me the PRV and how to tighten it up as it started steadily dripping away after we rattled a few pipes. He said I could scour out the engine bay and get rid of the superficial rust but as the plate is nearly 12mm thick at that point though I probably could leave for a while and the fitout needed my attention sooner.

 

One of the major problems, though, is with the flue on the Squirrel. Although I filled the joint between the stove and the flue he pointed out that the collar that should have been there was in fact missing. I should have realised in retrospect that there should have been a collar but it never crossed my mind. I just shoved filler in. Anyway, it's dangerous and I must replace the collar by; scraping out the the filler at the bottom, chipping out the fire cement at the roof, lifting the flue pipe over the collar after brushing out the flue properly and getting rid of as much tar as I can. Resealing all of it and then testing. It needs to be done on Saturday as we are going out on Sunday for a break with my nephew, and whilst poisoning one child would be careless, gassing two would be irresponsible.

 

She's going to have the electrics tested at the end of next week and I think I'll settle for a rewire if they're dodgy. It'll probably be cheaper and a heck of lot safer than constantly trying to re-bodge repairs in the long run. All the metalwork will be done when she's dry-docked in June.

 

Any thoughts on doing the flue would be welcomed.

 

Jill

Edited March 29, 2006 by wrigglefingers

[wrigglefingers]

Okay,

 

Swift update today. It was my mother's birthday today and as I didn't fancy doing the flue much but knew I had too, I decided to find Mum a birthday present. Don't know whether any of you has to suffer this but her whole attitude to birthday presents runs along these lines.....

 

"It's lovely, sweetheart, but you really should spend your money on me; you know I'd be happy with just a birthday card." As this is a patent lie and she is more than capable of pulling a face that would make a lemon sourer, the birthday present is a must-buy and we go to Bedford tomorrow for the ritual that is Mum's birthday lunch. Love her really (yes I do, no really, I do...)

 

Still, the flue had to be done. I eventually found the collar, fixing bolts (monstrously expensive) and fire rope and set forth this evening to look at the job. I scraped out the filler and found the original 'collar' buried in yet more fire cement attached to the end of the flue. It was an under-sized terracotta pot rim, the body had been roughly broken off and the flue wedged into the taper. It probably worked well some time ago but had broken into at least four pieces and been re-cemented. I've smashed it all off with a hammer and chisel and cleaned the flue end. I chipped out the old fire cement at the roof level, raked out the soot and brushed the flue and gently dropped it down. The top of the flue revealed it's previous life as a cast-iron drainage pipe. The top was jagged and it seemed like it had been roughly cut to size by someone taking a lump hammer to it and hoping it'd be the right size. Mercifully, it was slightly too long originally, so when I dropped it down an inch or so to fit into the new collar it still comfortably fitted inside the roof fitting. I fixed with flexible filler at both ends and then packed out the roof collar with fire cement to make a smooth joint.

 

I also discovered a white plastic box near the floor I hadn't spotted before, so I unscrewed the cover and BINGO! the missing RCD was revealed in front of my very eyes! I was still trying to draw up a wiring diagram and it wasn't making much sense at all. I hastily covered it over and added it to the diagram in making. I've sorted out the water and I've also found a receipt that shows that the shower and water pumps were replaced last year.

 

Owing to my lazy start, I did most of this in failing light this evening so I'll check and do a smoke test in the morning before I go to Bedford. I rewarded myself with a glass of spring beer from our local brewery (very hoppy and lovely) and fed the ducks from the cratch. It was all remarkably fine until the heavens opened just as I sat down. Out on Monday with over-excited teenagers weaving a wobbly path to Bathampton - do steer clear of us!

 

Jill

[Bones]

Did you put the fire cement on the outside of the roof collar? remember fire cement isn't waterproof.. I made this mistake but mercifully it rained and I noticed!!!!

[wrigglefingers]

Hello folks,

 

Feeling a bit early morningish but I needed to get up to feed the cats so this is a quick update.

 

We got back from Bedford yesterday, a little later than I'd planned. We had a great time, Parents were in fine form and I think Mum liked her present. She did cook a lovely dinner and we all toasted her happy birthday in traditional fashion. We collected Robert and after an overnight stay we wended our way back west via Ikea. We found a gateleg table which was a quarter of the price I'd been quoted for a custom-built one and Ellen found some white plastic chairs which she proclaimed to be the very acme of style. The kids road-tested for stability and height and thoughtfully added some orange crab chair pads to the pile. After buying the usual heap of totally useless stuff I paid the bill (much more than I thought - also as usual - how does that happen everytime I wonder?).

 

We got back to the boat only to discover we needed a Pozidrive screwdriver so I hopped off to B & Q to buy one. The kids had decided that they wanted to stay on the boat overnight so I then legged it back to the house to get stuff and find the cats. Thea-the-Cat couldn't be found, but I collected belongings and went back to the boat to discover that the kids had: made the table, sorted out the chairs and seat pads, made the beds and cooked tea. The table was a little wobbly ("couldn't get the screws tight enough, Mum") but it would be churlish to complain.

 

I spent a pleasant evening in charge of burning cardboard and drinking wine, Robert learnt how to use a Portapotti the hard way and the kids cheerfully played house and emptied carrier bags. Ellen has decided that we need an early start because Robert needs to learn how to use a lock, before she goes to orchestra school for the day. Robs is most indignant about this because he's been on a narrowboat before with us "but it was the Mon and Brec, you haven't done Tardebigge in the rain. On your own. When you were eight." I tried to persuade Ellen that she didn't do Tardebigge on her own, loads of people helped her, it wasn't raining (that was Hatton - which she did do on her own!) and in any case we don't need competitive locking competitions, but to no avail. Robs is clearly defeated on this one and wanders off to bed shouting that at least he's tall enough to see over the top of the boat to steer it. This, at least, is undeniably true.......

 

Jill

 

Edited to say (and was the reason I started to write this entry) that I tested the stove by smoke test. It was fine, no visible leaks, so I lit a a fire, gradually raised the temperature and cured the fire cement and filler. As it didn't set off the carbon monoxide alarm I inclined to think it's okay but I'll monitor for while for any leaks or cracks.

Edited April 4, 2006 by wrigglefingers

[wrigglefingers]

Update time.

 

I've just come back from a short break in the Netherlands so I'm feeling guilty on all sort of counts, largely because, as the the forum was down I spent too long looking at exciting tents and then decided to buy one. From a company that didn't accept plastic. That didn't ship to England. That needed me to pay in cash as they only had a domestic bank account. That had it's warehouse in North Holland. Still, it's a very nice tent if a little large to be stored on the boat. Still, I've sorted out the problem of the CDs and got Ellen to transfer the less played ones to an iPod. 20gb and still not enough space, but I've backed up the collection to a detachable hard drive and I'll transfer that to my Mac at school when I get back.

 

The big, big news is that I finally plucked up enough courage on one of the less windy days last week and set off for the maiden cruise. Yup, I did it - backed her out with a lot of random swearing and very sweaty palms and swung out of the marina onto the cut. It was unbelievably good, Ellen carefully and patiently instructed Robert in the finer art of dealing with a lock and then disappeared off up the hill to orchestra; still directing Rob's best efforts as she went. Rob and I wandered off down towards Bath, the silence broken by the thump of the Beta. "It's lovely" said Rob "mmm, yes, I've been looking forward to this for a very long time" said Jill dreamily. "What? doesn't she ever stop talking?"

 

We had a lovely time out, managed the aqueducts, successfully winded and came back to meet Ellen after orchestra so poor Rob (aged 14 and delightful in a 14 year old boyish way) had to endure Elly bossing him about again but we made it to the marina. I managed the turn really well and had her lined up beautifully for the pontoon when I decided that I might just catch the very smart boat moored next to me so I gave her a quick blip in reverse. Unfortunately, a gust just caught the rear end and she span round like a top. I must admit that I did swear loudly enough to wake the crew and with some trepidation, noisy manoeuvring and poling we did moor in the right place. We did it all again on Wednesday, going down to Hilperton to get fuel and gas and I made the mooring without hitting any thing at all.

 

Boatwise, I didn't do too much last week, The curtain poles have been replaced and the new curtains are up. The kitchen cupboards are nearly finished and Ellen has finished painting the bathroom tiles. I've found that our artist-in-residence wants to do the sign-writing on the boat at the end of the summer, so I'm trying to decide whether to re-paint her this year. The paintwork is really sound if a little dulled (I think it was done in 2003) so I'm considering whether to re-wax/polish it and just ask Mazy to paint the rear cream section for the time being.

 

I've made Ellen's bunk covers so they'll be fitted tomorrow. Richard-the-boat-engineer was due to come this week to sort out the wiring and fit the batteries for me, but I haven't been to the boat to check yet. I'll post the results and the new photos tomorrow.

 

Jill

[Golden Duck]

Glad all is going well with "Imagine".

Its well worth having one of those inflatable/air filled fenders or something similar close to hand in one of the forward lockers.

We have a white "yachty" fender on a metre of so of line, which we keep handy. If things go awry or an inexperienced helmsperson on another boat insists on doing their impression of a kamikaze pilot, it comes in handy to soften any inevitable impact. Its also useful as a portable fender when you have bits of piling sticking out or very low concrete walls to contend with, etc.

It's saved the blacking a few times.

 

Edited April 14, 2006 by Golden Duck

[wrigglefingers]

Hello Duck,

 

Excellent idea given my levels of steering skill at the mo'. We have pipe fenders on the sides but they don't offer too much protection to other boats. Bradford lock is quite tight though, and having had one near disaster in a friend's plastic pig (sorry cruiser) some years ago I've been a bit fender twitchy since.

 

I also wondered if one could be used as a solution to the perennial person overboard problem if it had some additional weight added to the non-line end. Imagine (or NB Lump as she's currently known) isn't particularly high on the hullsides but having had other peoples' offspring onboard is making me think about teenager safety. Despite my best efforts (largely shouting, pointing and sulking) all of Elly's friends and Rob have carefully shed their buoyancy aids within 10 minutes of being forced to wear them. The life ring we have is massive and frankly, a bloody nuisance on the roof where it slides about with gay abandon. Besides, my throwing skills are non-existent and it's heavy, so either, I throw it and it doesn't reach, or I throw it and it knocks out the intended target. I always wonder if I worry too much about these things but then my rational head says that it's better to be prepared.

 

It all needs some thought, so any ideas?

 

Jill

[Supermalc]

Jill, I don't think you're worrying too much. I can't swim, but thought I could manage a few strokes to get back onboard, when I got my little Norman.

 

Well while in Stamp End lock with a friend I fell in, and had a lot of trouble getting out, even with his help.

 

What happened was it was his first time into Lincoln by boat, despite living here all his life, so (like me) he was curious about the lock he had walked around for years.

 

However when we arrived the usual rubbish came out and I got a bag around the prop. No trouble of course on an outboard, so when I drifted in, I easily pushed the boat across to moor on the left side. I had gone to the trouble of making ropes with correct ends and lengths, so given normal water levels I could fasten the boat safely on these 2 locks as I was often on my own.

 

I looked up to see him reading the instructions, leaving me struggling to moor up. I called to him, and he started to come round. Despite being November it was a lovely day and we had the canopy down. There is a large cill, and I could of course safely moor over it with that boat, however I was in the local boat club, and it would be just my luck to have a member walk past. You can hear the comment can't you. "Blimey Malc, I thought you'd have learnt by now not to go over the cill in a lock" Obviously said with wicked grin

 

Also my friend like to be home for his meals, and I could just visualise him looking at his watch, asking how much longer we were going to be on the return journey.

 

I picked up the stern rope, but found it was too short to enable me to reach the ladder. We were penning up. So I stood on the side and holding safely onto the bollard I put the loop I had made over it. Only I had made them just a little tight so they did not come off.

 

Of course as I pushed the loop over the lip of the bollard I pushed the boat out. Now if you remember I have a lower back injury, just worn the disc above the coccyx so the last thing I must do is stand back heavily, or jump onto/into something. However when I pushed off the wall I didn't quite do it hard enough and toppled the wrong way. I wasn't too worried as I was holding the mooring line, now attached. The water was surprisingly less cold than I had thought, but my upper body strenght is not what it used to be, and you can't get a foothold. In the end he managed to lassoo my legs, pulling them on first. But I got a bit of a fright, and a lesson to be prepared.

 

I have 2 small life rings, and of course all you do it throw it to the person in the water, after attaching a rope. You can then pull them to the lock ladder, or the stern of the boat. The first thing I did with Wud-E-Nuff was fit a boarding ladder on the back.

 

I too thought of ropes around the side, probably looped around the bottom of the bollards, but these could catch on some protrusion (of which there are many) so I think this would be more a hinderance than an asset.

 

It still helps to be prepared though.

[wrigglefingers]

Hello Malc,

 

that must've given you quite a scare - it's the sort of thing we regard with defensive amusement later but really isn't funny at all. I suppose I get a bit over-anxious about safety - it's probably a result of doing so many risk-assessments at school and whilst I would argue that if kids don't try something hazardous they won't learn how to cope safely, I think that that should be a calculated risk with an escape strategy.

 

I'm amazed by how many people don't seem to have any idea how they would get out of or back onto their boat in an emergency let alone have practiced it. In a tight spot you need to think calmly and rationally, and like so many other things need to have practiced this to be good at it (IMHO).

 

There now I've got all sanctimonious on a Saturday morning. Best take Elly to optician and me to B & Q to get some ply instead.

 

Regards, Jill

[DHutch]

Dont have your fender down in a lock. Unless your on your own, in a wide lock.

 

We have 6 'pipe fenders' (the thicker rubber ones, about 50mm dia) 3 on each side on rope down from the handrails. The get lifted onto the roof when where crusing, and can be droped when we come into the side. (or if on our own in a wide lock) To stop the insesant grating when moored.

- Then we have 2/3 largish white inflatable fenders (as in the photo above) which are kept under the floor and used occatioaly where the piling/edge is more uneven than the smaller fenders can cope with.

 

However, narrowboats are designed to be fairly tough, and thats what the rubbing stakes are for. So in locks or just stoping to drop somone off for a lock, or when the helms man 'misses' the lock a little, or the rair occation boats touch, it really doesnt matter. Get over it, and carry on!.

[DHutch]

In terms of on-water saftey, everone is diffrent. And its really upto you what leval you pitch it at.

 

However a few thoughs.

- We can all swim competently, and quite a few of use have experenced swiming with cloths on.

- We have 2 orange liferings, and a suitable lenght of polyprop rope to hand.

- Our boat has a fairly well enclosed stern, and wide gunnels, and good handrails.

- We are all natureally carefull people, and all fairly expernced in/around boats.

 

Non of us were lifejackets or buoyancy aids when on canals or smallish rivers. And we also walk back/forth on the gunnels a lot as its the main way to our fordeck and also climb on the roof frequently to operate the funnel. Or just to get to the fordeck.

- As yet, non of us has ever fallen in. The only person who did fall in was a frend of my grandads duing a SBA rally. And he climbed into anther members boat. A smallish launch, with low sides, and an ali ladder hung over the side.

- Also, we have two C02 manual-inflate lifejackets which we were on occations such going up the preston estary from tarleton, etc.

 

The only major flour as fa as im aware is that its really very difficult to climb back into our boat over the highsides, if you did fall overboard and there was not a suitable bank. This is somthing we are aware of and somthing we would like improve in the future.

 

 

Daniel

[Supermalc]

Dont have your fender down in a lock. Unless your on your own, in a wide lock.

 

 

My boat is nearly 9ft wide, so will only fit in wide locks.

[DHutch]

My boat is nearly 9ft wide, so will only fit in wide locks.

Yeah thats diffrent, my comment was directed at Jill.

[Bones]

When my crew fall in (with frequent abandon) they get to the bow, hang on and I grab them and get them aboard. They aren't ever at the stern so I don't have to worry about that side of things. I also tell them, if they can't hang onto the bow they have to go to where they can, and then I grab them. many a time they have said they have felt in dire straight until they see me out of the corner of their eye - they count to ten, and then they are safe.

 

of course, I tell them not falling in would be even better - but they look at me in that fashion that makes me know thye don't particulary like the whole water thing.

[wrigglefingers]

 

of course, I tell them not falling in would be even better - but they look at me in that fashion that makes me know thye don't particulary like the whole water thing.

 

I'm actually the only member of my family to have fallen in and all I did was to step backwards whilst clutching a cup of coffee when my mate swung the tiller over. Needless to say I ended up chest-deep still trying to keep the cutwater out of the mug. Luckily, he had his wits about him and killed the prop otherwise I could have been in trouble. This happened in the mid 90's, the week after a woman had gone over the back of a boat on the BCN under Spaghetti Junction and been killed by the prop action, all the other crew members had been inside the boat and not noticed. I think we were all a bit jumpy for a while after that even those of us who're waterbabies under the skin.

 

 

My boat is nearly 9ft wide, so will only fit in wide locks.

 

Our locks down here are wide but two up at Bradford is quite tight so you will have heard me impolitely bellowing at Elly to lift the fenders when we went through last time!

[Supermalc]

Yeah thats diffrent, my comment was directed at Jill.

 

I know m8. I was being pedantic.

[Guest]

Jill

Regarding your immortal and invincible young crew members, why not find an appropriate piece of water, of known depth, and invite (insist?) them to abandon ship and test their abilities to cope and get back on-board? If nothing else, it will mean that should it ever happen in ernest they will have been there before - always useful in an emergency.

Peter

[Roy n paula]

[

The only major flour as fa as im aware is that its really very difficult to climb back into our boat over the highsides, if you did fall overboard and there was not a suitable bank. This is somthing we are aware of and somthing we would like improve in the future.

Daniel

 

 

what about a short length of ladder,easy enough to store on the roof and if you secure your plank to it it can be dual purpose,I know this wont help in locks but out on the cut it should be benifical.

 

 

Roy n paula

[wrigglefingers]

Hello forum folks,

 

Thanks for your thoughts, I particularly like the idea of throwing Ellen overboard at the moment as she being rather teenagerish (blames exams and thens sulks). I've invested in a smaller, and lighter life ring for the rear for the time being. I've already got a short length of ladder and I'm contemplating how to jury-rig it to the sides in an emergency. We've thought out our escape plans through for emergencies inside and I've replaced the fire alarms which were all defunct. I must check the fire extinguishers as well.

 

I'm sorry I've not recorded any progress recently. Things have been ticking along slowly but we've hit the busiest time of the year for school really so work on the boat has been a little fragmented.

 

Principal news though. The new batteries have been fitted and the dodgy wiring in the engine has been renewed and clipped into position. I had to ask the boat engineer to do this as I couldn't safely lift the batteries into position in the end. They now look lovely and shiny and as I replaced 94 with 110ahs, should give me a little more life. They'll be boxed and secured next month when she goes into dry dock for blacking.

 

I've tidied up the electrical cables in the cabin. The electrix were given a clean bill of health by the sparks so I've clipped the loose and hanging cables into conduiting and fixed under gunwhales and other suitable places. I'd replaced the fairly random collection of fuse boxes and trunking into and out of those boxes into a more logical and sane layout, so now we have one fuse box for the 12v circuits with ceramic fuses for easy replacement. Ellen helped enormously with this as technical supervisor and so we were pretty chuffed when it passed muster. 'Smazing how much you can do with some conduit, a screwdriver and a logical mind. Sadly, I proved earlier it's not mine. Armed with Ellen's multimeter and a hazy grasp of how to use it I tested for voltage drop along the lighting circuit, thereby managing to blow the fuse wire every time. That's why we now have the new fusebox as she'd had to show me how to replace fusewire and I still don't think I could do it safely. Hangs head in shame .......

 

All the brasswork has been cleaned (by Ellen) who's put her french horn cleaning skills to good use. She managed to silence the manager of Hilperton Chandlery by engaging him with a lengthy discussion about the best way to clean filthy brass and has now started on the mushroom vents with great gusto. The copper kettle is gloriously coppery and all my saucepans glitter. Bit worried about her Brasso habit though ......

 

As you'll see in Wobbly's question about the rusty engine 'ole problem I've made no progress with mine. It's pretty far down the priority list at the moment; although I had a very vivid dream on Sunday about the cabin bilge flooding in the middle of the night. I seemed to conflate it with a few scenes from Das Boot just for good measure and woke in a major stress, leaping out to make sure Elly was okay in her cabin. I was most surprised to find the floor not swimming in 6" of water and rising. Very odd - preferred the Vactan and blacking dreams really.

 

Inside the cabin; I finished the curtain poles and curtains, but dismantled them all because I thought the brackets were too deep. I re-bent the brackets but now think I might have overdone it because the curtains are now quite close to the windows. It's not a major disaster 'cos the brackets were dead cheap from Ikea (99p a pair) but it does mean another trip to Bristol (and another vast bill for useless 'stuff' - I need to be stronger-minded).

 

I've nearly finished re-painting the ceiling which was grim. I'd originally thought that this was going to take a few hours and look fabulous. All that was of course in my head. The t & g had been either been primed or colour washed but not properly sealed and certainly not re-done since fitting out. We sugar soaped the entire length of the cabin; which took a morning. Originally, I thought Elly's cabin was dull and dingy because it has portholes and medium oak lining. In fact it was just filthy; this is the third time it's been washed down and still the dirt keeps coming off. Elly then spent a while masking off the joint between the lining and the ceiling and I started painting overhead. Three days later I'm still at it. The main cabin is now on its fourth coat and is beginning to look nice and white (at last!). I ache from head to toe from arching back to paint and the whole experience is getting miserable. I was planning to paint a pattern on the roof but it might have to wait 'cos my back is hurting (Elly has no sympathy at all - "you're just getting old; you need more exercise" and "there you go; whining again"). I didn't help myself on Sunday by deciding to give myself a break by taking the three scrap batteries to the recycling area in Trowbridge. I carried them down the boat at arms length as they had very corroded terminals and then staggered off down the jetty. A very pleasant bloke stopped me as I came off the jetty and told me to put the first battery down. He had a crutch and was clearly in pain as he limped towards me offering help. In view of the crutch I politely declined but to no avail. Just to prove the stereotypes wrong (again) he picked up the battery easily with one hand and casually lobbed in the back of the Berlingo (which now contains a massive tent as well as all the other stuff) and did the same with the other two. He'd had an accident and injured his spine a few years ago; to compensate he regularly weight-trains his upper body to help him cope with everyday life. He's planning a two month cruise in the summer with his wife. I now feel very guilty about whining about my aching muscles but I was very glad to get the batteries into the recycling bin at the tip. It was funny how Elly disappeared at that precise moment, last seen in earnest conversation with a small dog.

 

I've also washed down the oak lining and re-polished it for the time being. I've liked to have limed or bleached it but time is short and as nearly every surface will be covered by some picture or artwork it hardly seems necessary. I've still got to sort out the kitchen bulkhead, but I have a plan and a design to paint on to it when the new ply is in place. I've also still got to replace the ply on Elly's berth, but I've elicted some help with that from our technician at work. The carpet in her cabin floor and sides needs to be replaced (too dirty for further life) and I'm thinking carpet tiles at the moment - any other thoughts? Other than that it's now just little jobs and getting organised. We're planning to move most of our stuff aboard next weekend, fingers crossed. I'll keep you informed ....... and thanks to Alec about the information about Freecycle. Our house furniture is being taken away by Marilyn and she's bringing a film crew from the BBC as they're preparing a short clip about Freecycle to be shown in the West. Apparently, they want to interview me about moving onboard a narrowboat!

 

Regards to you all (and back to coursework marking for me)

 

Jill

[Moley]

.... and I thought I went on a bit

 

Congratulations Jill, it sounds like you're working wonders.

 

I love your style of writing, sense of humour, and general attitude to life, the universe and everything, so I'm particularly enjoying this log.

 

Keep up the good work, and thanks for the update.

 

Mole.