An easier weekend

I fitted the new wash basin into Christina and plumbed in the mixer tap. Fitted the new gas regulator / level gauge to Freyja and then returned Christina's regulator, fired up Christina's Morco shower heater, lovely hot water, Great! Then turned on the hot tap on the basin and the Morco started pulsing, the water pulsed and the water pump wheezed, Grrrr! Cold water, bugger!

So I turned on both the shower and the basin tap and then got hot water at the basin, I think that the small bore flexi pipes that attach to the mixer tap are constricting the flow. I'm not a plumber so I need to make enquiries from someone who knows better than me.

Glenda then swung into action undercoating and painting the bathroom and the insides of the boatman's cupboard's etc.

I gave Freyja's starboard side a coat of enamel and re-painted her window frames.

It made a nice change to be doing things that weren't urgent.

Finished off the weekend by giving the tiller another coat of lacquer and made two new larger flanks for the elum, the first was perfect and the second was a complete failure after the long jigsaw blade twisted and left me with a mis-shapen block of firewood and a piece of wood left over that was too short to make a replacement. HoHum!

Fitting a wash basin and taps into Christina

Christina has a bath with a shower and she has a cassette toilet, but she didn't have any washing facilities.

We've set this porcelain bowl into the existing wash-stand and there is a mixer tap ready to be connected, I've already Tee'd off the shower feeds and run the piping under the floor.

 

Gas locker update and we've got a new BSS on Freyja ;o)

The guys at Nene Marine did a sterling job, cutting out the damaged gas locker, and then welding a shallower locker in, incorporating a gas drain that is not right on the waterline!

The bottle still fits fine but does not sit so low, this makes it easier to get in and out and gives more room under the locker so that I could clean, de-rust and paint the top of the counterplate and that is where our newly painted, large chunks of cast iron ballast now reside. I have now painted inside the locker and moved the bubble-tester to the side, unfortunately the regulator valve was leaking so we have used Christina's until our new valve with built in gauge arrives.

I also had to remove the redundant cat-flap and re-instate the air vents and swap two of the fire-extinguishers over to comply with the up and coming BSS. 

It was nice to meet Ian Jennings who did our safety examination and Freyja passed with flying colours ;o)

A replacement tiller for Christina's elum.

While we were bringing Freyja & Christina down from Nantwich, Christina's very rickety plywood tiller gave up and snapped into several pieces. 

Joe had to use the boat hook as a tiller.

I've been trying to get hold of a replacement tiller or an ash bough that I can shave down to a traditional tiller, so far, no luck.

So I decided to make another from laminated marine ply, I'll still make an ash tiller and keep this one as a spare.

The roughed out tiller still needs fettling and a steel strengthening collar fitted over the end that plugs into the elum (butty rudder)

We've started to spruce Christina up a bit, sealing a lot of leaks in her wooden cabin's roof and giving her a coat of enamel. we'll try to paint one side of each boat before we swap them over on our pontoon.

A final sand down

Offering up the metal collar that strengthens the the end that plugs into the elum's socket

Adding roses, diamonds and coloured bands using water-based leather dye

Here I've dyed in some roses, diamonds and added some coloured bands prior to treating it with some Le Tonkinois lacquer

I re-painted the elum, removed and re-painted the metal stays and strengtheners, washed and bleached the decorative ropework and treated the tiller with the first two coats of Tonkinois lacquer. Getting there ;o)