Hello! And happy November :)
I'm currently far from the boat, in Copenhagen, where I've just spent the last hour in a rooftop sauna overlooking a drizzly, misty city. It was epic.
On Monday with the arrival of some pallets (thank you Dad!), I started tidying the boat. It stressed me out walking back on, the complete carnage, and I desperately wanted some me space; a living room! I forgot to take a "before" but here's some of it:
I didn't quite realise how much paint and varnish I was hoarding:
Then on Tuesday the weather was gorgeous, and I tackled the port-side cabling on the roof. Starting with a fishing line and some cotton, I hoovered it down the rail followed by a thicker rope, then finally attached that to the cables and pulled those through:
It's so satisfying when they appear ! To the bow I needed a cable for the light and another for the horn, then a cable further back for the solar panels. It was a little finicky getting them in and along the ceiling, but 'tis done:
And then sealing the cable gland entry:
In other news, I'm stuck in Evesham until the new year. There's a closure in Bristol on the 8th November until the spring, and Gloucester Docks is still shut anyway. Going the other way there're winter works until Christmas, with some until early March a little further afield. So I'm going to stay put and set off on a wild goose chase in early February, hopefully making London by the Spring. Which works out great — I'm going to make the most of my place in London until the end of Jan, and I'll keep working on the boat to make it the ultimate cruiser before I leave. That means hot water, underfloor heating, new stairs, and whatever other side quests take my fancy...
But she is currently safe, and beached in a backwater with no chance of sinking:
I won't be there in the next week, so I'll write the next update in 2 weeks, on the 15th November.
Until soon!
- Nick