Hello, and happy June’s end! Chaotic is an understatement, as I’ll be moving back onboard a little sooner than I thought: 2 weeks to get all the messy work out of the way, with final bits of insulation ready for the re-build. To start with on Monday evening,
Roof or bust, I spent most evenings during the week getting it ready to paint, like masking it with the help of a duck: And on Monday I also picked up the vents which I had powder coated, now in matt black: Those I installed on Tuesday evening, and I
Hello! This week, roof painting! Or attempts at it… because I’ve chosen to do it with 2 different colours, and some with anti-slip grit, that’s 3 combinations, each needing 2 coats, drying time and good weather. The paint I’m using is Sigmadur 520, a 2-pack that needs
28 weeks later, I made it! Katona is permanently moored for the first time in a year, what a trip. I spent a few evenings hopping up the river, reaching Stratford on Wednesday. I called a taxi to get back to the car — Tom’s taxis, in Bidford — and told
My neck, my back… happy June! As of writing I am nursing some herbal tea after a long day of sanding, painting, and re-floating Katona for a cruise: The last few days have been a crunch, but it all started on Monday with a 12-hour sanding sesh, stripping back another
There are many things where in order to do the thing, you spend a lot of time doing another thing in prep for the main thing. Painting is like this, just like welding, or sales. Eventually you need to pick up the phone, or a brush, yet this week I
Hallo! This week I finally unpacked the welder, to then find it was plug-less. The manual insisted you find a qualified electrician and only use a 16 amp circuit, so I wired it up to a 13 amp lead and hoped for the best. And it’s a wonder. But
Hallo! After the cleaning sesh last weekend, Monday morning felt light; it was satisfying to pressure wash again, although the engine oil was stubborn. Even with a few degreasing rounds it was truly soaked in, but everything is spick compared to last week and I’ll go over it with
This week I took a hiatus from Katona for a few days to pootle up the east coast on another red boat that’s joined the Goodall family: Que Sera, which my brother Tim bought last month. Besides a diesel engine and the concept of a “hull,” they couldn’t
There’s a twist to Murphy’s law for the clothes you wear while renovating, and a lesson I keep re-learning: no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, you will become dirty. Every time I’ve thought “I’m only tootling up the river,”nope: regret.
This week the lights were green, the river was open! Then on Tuesday I got an email asking me to move, and fair enough: it was a 2-day mooring, and I got there 2 weeks ago. So today, dad and I took the the boat southward to Tewkesbury at an
“The waiting is the hardest part.” – Tom Petty With the Severn still closed, le boat waits quietly, patiently, until the river is ready for careening. But that didn’t stop some progress! This morning I went over to clear things, run the engine and make some measurements for dry dock