Rhyddid - live the questions now

Ecofan

One thing I did do on Saturday was to buy a Ecofan when I was at Heyford Wharf. Lots of people have been going on about Ecofan and I am a convert. If you are really interested you can read about how it works here. So with my ecofan and a hot water bottle I am nice and warm in bed, lovely!

The front doors

So Hugo has almost finished the front doors, but I had to publish the pictures as they just look so good. The front doors are really the best feature of Rhyddid and I am very pleased with how they have worked out. Now this is the place I would publish a link to Hugo's website so you can all rush off and order things from him, but so far no website. Apart from Hugo working on the doors I had a very slow day on Rhyddid, every time I started doing jobs, people would stop and chat, the down side of being on the towpath I guess, but it is a great excuse to show her off. I have got the back door locks in place and the cooker is now half-way down the cabin. So that's about it for now.

A long day

I have just sat down with, I feel a well deserved mug of tea after a long day working on Rhyddid. Hugo was due at about 10 o'clock to fit the front doors so I had to remove the temporary ones, grind the welds flat and prime the frame before then. I was all ready for him and got on with fitting the back door lock as Rhyddid is now on the towpath. I really did not want a hasp and staple so I have come up with an idea to use a Yale lock. It seems to work okay so far. Hugo finally arrived at gone 3 having arrived at his workshop this morning to find one of doors had fallen over! It meant he had to set to and make a new panel for that door. We decided that the best we could do was to get the doors hung and make them secure and then finish the task next weekend. It still took us until past 7 by which time it is dark so we were packing up by torch light and trying to avoid ending up in the canal! Anyway the good news is that finally the engine has been levelled and connected to the propshaft. The maiden voyage is getting closer.

The joy of boat life 2

So Friday evening and after a fifteen minute walk home I am enjoying a cup of tea sitting outside while I water An-me. Last week at this time I was fighting my way out of Reading to get home, and I think I might prefer this option. Boat life is growing on me.

Rhyddid takes to the water

Well at long last, Rhyddid has taken to the water. You can see a few pictures here. She is floating well and the ballast is good. A bit high at the stern but there is more weight to go in and that will bring it down. A strange but nice thing is she has taken a boat with a name rather than 'the boat', hence the change of category. The front doors should go in tomorrow and hopefully as I type this the engine is being connected to the prop shaft. We can hope! You take pictures of a big day like this but they just do not capture how you really feel at a moment like this. The project up to this point has been frustrating at times, but all that does disappear at the moment she touches the water. Now all I need is a rotating prop shaft and a tiller arm and we can make a maiden voyage! That will be a big day.

The joy of boat life!

At the beginning of the week I moved onto a boat called An-me. A very kind friend who I worked with has given me use of his boat until I get mine ready. Now Damo would be the first to admit he is not great at maintenance, tonight I am sitting in the boat with a mains lead coming in through the roof hatch because the very complicated arrangement of diesel engine powering a generator has given up. The problem seems to be a blocked fuel filter, but 8pm and no spare, hence the extension lead through the roof hatch.

The joy of boat life!

At the beginning of the week I moved onto a boat called An-me. A very kind friend who I worked with has given me use of his boat until I get mine ready. Now Damo would be the first to admit he is not great at maintenance, tonight I am sitting in the boat with a mains lead coming in through the roof hatch because the very complicated arrangement of diesel engine powering a generator has given up. The problem seems to be a blocked fuel filter, but 8pm and no spare, hence the extension lead through the roof hatch.

On a much lighter note!

Wonderful news story in The Register about teen drinking. Do read all the article though.

Lined out and frustration setting in

I should have added an update yesterday when I uploaded the latest pictures, but work got in the way! The line out is almost complete above the gunwale and looks rather good. The outside has been primed using Jotan Alkyd Primer. I have started to build the power cupboard mainly to get some practice before I get to the middle of the boat. The launch should have been tomorrow, the 3rd, but big surprise, it is now 11th. Well that's todays story, no doubt it will change. It must be said that the relationship between me and Steve the builder has reached an all time low and I would just like the boat in the water so I can move it to Reading. The is a closure planned for the Oxford canal from the 5th November and I would hope to get a couple of short trips in prior to moving the boat to Reading.