Progress!

[galadhir]

Apologies again for fading in and out so much more lengthily than on previous occasions. First there was the boat moving, and now there is the boat painting. All of which requires all electronic devices to be kept in a safe (inaccessible) place so they won't accidentally be dropped in the canal/river.

(We've already lost one phone, one powerbank and one pair of prescription glasses to the water, as they fell out of pockets and even off my face. Hopefully that lesson is learned.)

Catching up from the last post, we waited for three days for an engineer to come out to us. He was like 'well, I can do you a quick fix which is good enough to get you to a boatyard, but it won't be good enough for permanent use.' So he did that and we thanked him.

Then we cancelled the painting dock that we had been heading for, that we would not now be able to reach in time. They said 'Oh, I'm sorry to hear your news, but you can get it fixed and then re-book, no problem.' Which was great.

So we turned the boat around (again, very blessed to have had this happen within winching distance of a turning hole,) and headed a day's journey back upstream to Fox's boatyard in March. They took us in, said, "Yeah, we can fix that tomorrow," and then did fix it by 9.30 am the very next day.

We thought 'hurray! We'll re-book the painting dock and we can get there by Monday next week, with one week of DH's pre-booked holiday still to go and not too much time lost.'

So we phoned the painting dock to re-book and they said, 'Oh yeah, we're not doing that any more. Sorry.'

By this time we'd been travelling 6 hours a day for a month to try to get to this damn dock (a place which was covered so you could paint in the rain, there was access to both sides of the boat at once, and electricity on tap for power tools.) We had been two days travel away from the plan going like clockwork, and now we had nothing, and had moved the boat all this way for nothing.

We loudly expressed this to anyone who was listening. Which happened to be the guys from Fox's boatyard who had been fixing the tiller. They said "We have a painting dock, you know. I mean it doesn't have cover, so you'll have to stop when it rains, and you have to turn the boat around to get to the other side, but..."

We said, "Taken! Thanks!"

And now we are moored up at Fox's boatyard for the month, and we've spent a full week getting the paint off the roof. It is so thick it had to be scraped off with an angle-grinder, (while working in 30C heat) and it really needs a final sanding before we start to put paint back on it.

But we're due thunderstorms today, so last night we put a coat of rust-proofing oil on it, which should be dry by now, and we'll pick up with sanding the gutters and then the sides tomorrow when the weather should allow it again.

Amazing progress, considering the pit of despair we were in on Friday, and massive recommendations for Fox's boatyard and marina in March, who continue to be immensely friendly and helpful.

Comments

[watervole]

REally glad to hear the boatyard came through for you.

[vriddy]

Wow!! Glad the boatyard came through but what an ordeal. Good luck with the painting!

[galadhir]

Thank you! Yes, it's been such a relief to finally actually be at the painting stage after what feels like months. After the first week of sanding, I'm sure the painting stage is going to feel like months too, but it's still coming along :)

[galadhir]

Thank you! Yes, they were absolute lifesavers, and it's a great place too. He's moored up near three other boats and their owners, who have all been spectating and offering advice. I've managed to get a commission for some rose and castle painting too :)

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>We've already lost one phone, one powerbank and one pair of prescription glasses to the water, as they fell out of pockets and even off my face. Hopefully that lesson is learned.<<

I don't know if they have these over here, but locally there are little floats you can clip on things so you don't lose them overboard. Most are sized as keychains for boat keys, but there are other sizes. Foam ones are simple, but I've also seen hollow canisters you can store other stuff in.

[mistressofmuses]

I am SO glad that things are going better. And it seems like it works out for the best that you wound up at Fox's, despite it only being because of one emergency and then other things falling through.

Be careful with the angle grinder!

[vriddy]

Oooh so cool that people want to commission you after seeing your work :D

[galadhir]

Thank you! Yes, we're very impressed with Fox boatyard, who are both very efficient and very laid back at the same time - a great combination. Now if we could only stop having random thunderstorms we should be set ;) (And even with them there's still an awful lot of sanding down to do.)

Re: Thoughts

[galadhir]

G Yes, we've got the boat keys on a keychain with a big lump of cork on the end, and I've now bought a waterproof container with a flotation pocket and a lanyard into which he puts his phone when he's on deck. (Designed for surfers so they can take their phone with them into the sea.) But the rest of us are on there infrequently enough that it's easier just keeping everything inside.

[galadhir]

Thank you! And yes, I definitely think the tiller coming off where it did was a blessing. It meant we didn't have to go on the tidal stretch of the river at all, and we were dreading that. Fox's have been so great, and all the people moored around Son's boat are nice and friendly. If we could only have a few fewer roving thunderstorms, everything would be perfect :)

The angle grinder is my new best friend, but I am still terrified of it!

[sunshine304]

What a hassle! I’m so glad it worked out for you in the end and you can now get to painting the boat! Hopefully without losing anything else to the canal’s depths! XD

[mistressofmuses]

I'm with you on the roving thunderstorms! We've had the same for the last few days, right after two weeks of steady rain. Too much!

But I'm glad that the people there have been good, and that the boat-neighbors are good as well!

[galadhir]

As I half suspected nobody has actually materialized with any requests or commissions, but it was a nice thought ;)

[galadhir]

Thank you! Yes, so far I've only knocked one extension cord (recovered) and a can of rust converter into the stream (lost), but I'm sure that total will only increase with time.

[vriddy]

Haha, argh! Good you were somewhat expecting it. It's kind of frustrating but sometimes I think that's how people just want to say "this is nice" without meaning to actually commit themselves. Even when expecting it though, I find it a bit hard not to get grumbly about the lack of promised follow-up!! :D

[galadhir]

Indeed! It has pushed me to start a facebook page with some examples of my work, though. And I'm going to get some business cards and see if I can drop a stack off at the marina in case anyone asks at the reception. So it's given me the impetus I needed to actually do the things I need to do to get commissions in future. (But it's still annoying even though I was half expecting it!)

[vriddy]

That's a nice outcome!! Best of luck with the Facebook page :)