Katona

Rebuilding a narrowboat.

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Nick

Nick

"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

By Nick 15 Dec 2024

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

By Nick 8 Dec 2024

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’

By Nick 1 Dec 2024

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:

By Nick 24 Nov 2024

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

By Nick 17 Nov 2024

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

By Nick 10 Nov 2024

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

By Nick 3 Nov 2024

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

By Nick 27 Oct 2024

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

By Nick 20 Oct 2024

Auroric tile rolling

G’day, from the UK. Happy Sunday! Not much boat time this week, but on Thursday I started working on some tile samples: These by hand, but I’ll get a pasta-maker type thing (a “slab roller”) for the rest, and I’ll spend a few weeks experimenting with clays,

By Nick 13 Oct 2024

Surfin’ U.S.A.

Sat on the balcony of my room, listening to Shania with the boys (my brother and cousin), nothing but blue sky and ocean waves; this week I’m in North Carolina, U.S.A, for a wedding. I would have said hungover, but thanks to magical chemistry it’s only

By Nick 6 Oct 2024

The bell then beating one

Hello! Flooding season is upon us. This is 4 feet above normal, and I’m staying on the other side of the Avon, which I can no longer reach by foot along the river path. In fact I’m staying by the church, and on Tuesday evening I went along

By Nick 29 Sep 2024
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Katona

Rebuilding a narrowboat.