Burning daylight
Hello, and Happy New Year! Inspired by my dad reminding me that 2025 is a perfect square (45², and I hope to live for the next one), I would also like to remind you it's the product of 2 squares (9² x 5²) and the sum of 3
In hindsight
Hello! I had a little time on Monday this week to fit the marine ply backboard for the bathroom electronics cupboard (no photo, sorry), but have been away for the rest of the week... To stretch that paragraph a little further, I thought it'd be fun to look
Scaling down
Hello! On Tuesday I did the final coat of varnish for the bathroom ceiling, followed by web surfing. It turns out people just cut veneer doors to size, then re-glue them, and... sure why not? I will do that too; it sounds messy but I'll make it work
"Not recommended for DIY"
Hello! All over the place this week, but on Tuesday I finished the bathroom ceiling, with a coat of varnish on Thursday: I went to do another coat on Friday, but "3 hours dry-to-touch" expands to 36 in this wet, cold weather. Instead I fitted some Munsen Rings
Integration testing
To ensure a system works, you have options: test the individual components ("unit testing"), or test the system as a whole, end-to-end ("integration testing"). Maybe a mix of both, depending on the context. In the case of pressure-testing the bathroom plumbing, I've done the
Take me home, country roads
Hello! And happy December. It feels good to be back in the homeland. While stateside I made it to the Shenandoah Valley, and it turns out the song was right, the Blue Ridge Mountains really do look blue! I only got back yesterday, and continued with chiselling concrete today. It’
Boatless and buoyant
Hello! Happy Sunday, happy boat-less week. Still in the USA, I’ve been on the road for work, now visiting some family in the capital. The bathroom plumbing will be fun to get back to, and until then, here’re some boats at sunset in front of the Washington Monument:
Step around the heart of it
Hello! Boat updates…?! I have found myself in New York, and didn’t sufficiently have my shit together beforehand to get any boat work done this week. The forecast at home is cold and wet, so I’m not too mad, and it gives me a chance to get parts
Sikaflex and a chisel
Hello! It didn’t feel like a huge boat progress week, but on Saturday I was back in the tank, sealing the crannies and nooks before I can fill it. I wouldn’t call it aesthetic, but a generous dose and I hope function prevails. And it wouldn’t be
For the love of Denmark
Hello, and happy November! The thought of building out the boat over winter didn’t excite me to start with, but there’s something wholesome about working when it’s dark, lit by lamps and nothing much happening outside in the cold. Speaking of, on Monday evening I re-did the
Every boy and every girl, light up your life
Slam it to the left… if you’re havin’ a good time? Mostly confident in my socket wiring last week, but I got a plug tester to be sure. The dopamine hit worked; there’s no substitute for the 2 green lights telling me “well done, you’re not an
Back on a boat
Hello! Moar varnish this week, and buoy was it boring. Also hard to see given it’s clear, but that is the bedroom done. Some new work lights helped, for day-round daylight inside: Then, lighting. Or at least the wire-y parts… I forgot fuses for the LED strips, so everything