Staying cosy and keeping busy . . .

sheeted up fore n aft for the winter....lots of things to do indoors and this is just the weather for a log fire at home and Dennis to help me with some woodwork ! ! Decided to start with the front cratch board. The original had a large headlight in the top half and I painted the usual diamonds and roses as was originally done when we first bought her.

This time I have been graced with a considerable amount of 2 x 1 beech in 4 ft lengths so I thought it would be good to use it for all the woodwork and so here goes with my first bit of proper woodwork with its replacement. I have to say it finishes smooth as silk after sanding. I think I have much in common with Gibbs (NCIS), he builds boats in his basement and appreciates the feel of the wood........

Anyway this one is going to be able to have either glazed or painted panels or something, we shall see. But I thought it would be good to save any decorative painting until she is back on the water and all the living and sailing jobs are done, after all, that will be a delight to do in the lazy summers I intend to spend on her.....so until then, varnished Beech will look just fine.

Am slowly getting to grips with such things as woodwork tools, band saw, and all the different bit bits, countersinking screws, pegging, sanding, (wish I had taken more notice when I was Jims Apprentice ! !) The router however still has me foxed, I think I am scared of it really. I did give it a try out with the bit that I found in it. But the collet tightening nut was stuck and I had to get help to loosen it . Anyway now I have the correct bit in, I cant seem to get the thing to drop for the cut....Thank goodness for detailed diagrams and instructions and I will just have to keep practicing.......

Fortunately Dennis is keeping a close eye on all the work and checking the joints . . ha ha, pity he cant read .... yet ...

A Black Bottom for Christmas

And dont she look good. A nice thick layer of bitumen all round. Its been a good year for Wildrose, and she has kept me fit doing it....

Going for a break for a couple of months now to get the workshop sorted and practice on some woodwork , that will be fun ha ha.....
wish I could remember how to use the router though, want to be able to cut out circles .... portholes.
I have to say that Utube has been great for finding out how to do stuff, hasn't failed me yet

"Come on Rosie, Light my Fire" ... said Wildrose on a cold and frosty morning

Now whilst the boys were doing the front deck, I was building up the hearth ready to fit the stove.....having looked a lots of others, I decided once again to do it my own way and so have had a go at a small version of the one I did at home .......... so here goes and wacha think?

Base plate is a non-combustable sheet resting on ballast and floor supports. On top is a layer of small 10x10x5 cms concrete brickets supporting two 2ftx1ft welsh slate floor tiles, left over from my kitchen and bathroom update ha ( I just knew they would fit in somewhere special)

And the sweetest little stove you ever did see, now fitted, what a treat to light it and feel the warmth ... mmmm

a bit of a milesone too and well celebrates this years efforts.......

And thats what I call proper central heating ha ha
and the rather large looking hearth will show its purpose when I try out a bit of griddled chicken, stir fry & jacket potato yum yum
but need a floor in first...arriving on monday...

Meanwhile -------- the smoke goes up the chimley just the same ... Howzat Ha

Arghhhhhh .. now I remember choking on the smoke when sailing with the fire lit....harrumph......We did get a taller chimney, but when I checked them out at a brilliant little chandlers at Compton, I found them to be too heavy for me (any chimney is too tall to get under the bridge at the entrance to Bumble Hole arm !!!!!, it was my job to stear whilst Jim removed the chimney and dodged the bridge !!! ....)

So this is a medium sized chimney and the reason why I intend to fit an exhaust gas heat exchanger to pump hot water round the boat when travelling ... yeh baby ya gotta be cosy, "its the law" said Jim.

A Deck in Time

This front corner of the front deck may have looked motheaten, but the damage was caused by a Bumble Hole Moor-hen nesting there for years. She used to walk her baby chicks down the gunnels when they were first out of the nest ....... and what a treat that was watching from inside, trying to not rock the boat, ha ha.... oops splash.....but always landing fine then swimming around as if they had always been doing it.. The wildlife watching was terrific.











What a relief it was to get it all cut out, cleaned out, treated all over and replacement so neatly fitted with the 1/4 inch plate steel from Greens of Netherton ...It went in in 2 pieces, a welded seam down the middle and a neat hole for the water tank filler ...... Thank you fellas

And just look at it now, all black and shiney with a couple of coats of Hammerite and a thick layer of Bitumen round the edges.

Just before the winter sets in as well, phew.....and don't it look great.

Its got me thinking about the paint designs for the doors ..... that'll keep my mind busy in the bad weather when it arrives and I don't have to go out ..... whoopydoo. Got lots of firewood collected this autumn and practicing cooking on the home woodburner. Next entry will show what I have done fitting the woodburner on the boat, an excellent place to start on the inside methinks.

Another dirty week ha !

Water tank removed from its position and the hull well and truly cleaned out and treated.....it must be the first light of day in here since she was built (well appart from through the rusty holes harrumph). Still amazed at how well she has weathered her use and abuse, Wildrose is in great condition and its been a filthy pleasure to work on her.......

Roll on getting the new front deck in place before the weather breaks....just waiting for the steel to arrive.....

Off with her Deck !!! and on with the new Ha!

Smokey burning bitumen as the deck is cut orf .... pretty chokey too....phew


Nice tats Ross








and heave ho off it goes..












Measure three times .......













cos we can only cut once !!!!

but then it had to be cut in half down the middle to get it in place...with a hole for the water tank (now back in situ underneath) filler .

Many thanks to get this much needed job done. Much smoke from burning bitumen, but off it came to reveal a large triangular water tank .... still full of water !!! that was a surprise, but it does mean that it is sound and no leaks ha...syphoned it out and now ready to slide it out of the hull so that I can complete the Waxoil treatment.....

New fittings are all that is needed for the tank but the original brass filler might be recoverable hopefully.....So next week her new front deck will have its 2 coats of Hammerite smooth black whoooopydooooo......providing the weather allows me to get it done in time...

A blast of ballast

Jolly glad I have the pics to show where I started .......
and its a relief to see how well she is recovering from her 10 years of neglect ...getting quite excited....but still more dirty work yet to be done....

Back inside, spraying the Waxoil was a bit yukky and fumey (masks and goggles again) but with a pressure sprayer it went down a treat and into all those places no-one can reach......now to let it dry out and just made stepping stones with the ballast whilst it does.......
I feel like I know every square millimeter very very well ha ha

Ballast from Billington's, cant afford to use the firebricks that are often used but she had broken slabs before and it will be easier for me to handle ....good weight training and cheaper than going to the Gym - whoopydoo !!