I may be some time...

Second weekend in December and, yipee, sunshine and blue skies again. It is a bit cold though. No need to mop up the water in the engine bay this time, I just had to pick it up and throw it out of the window. I suppose the cold has some advantages.

I managed to get the first coat of white bilge paint in the engine bay. Is this the light at the end of the tunnel ?

VAT is going up at the end of the month, so I have ordered and paid for the engine. Isuzu 42 and a PRM 150 gearbox. This should arrive in the new year, so that gives me christmas to get the last coat of bilge paint on and get some doors built.

Handy Andy has never re-appeared with his price for the hardwood doors, so it is the usual case of, If you want a job doing, do it yourself.

Went to the timber yard and had a rummage through the hardwood sections to see what I could find. I will have a think over the next week about how to build the hatch and rear doors.

I read the instructions for the bilge paint (!) and it recommends that below 10 deg C allow at least five days between coats! Next weekend for the next coat then.

Sunday night went down to Telfords Warehouse on the canal at Chester to see the Family Mahone in Concert. Absolutely brilliant. They are by far the best band I have seen all week.

Sunshine (and a rainy day)

"Hey there Mr Blue,
We're so pleased to be with you,
Look around see what you do,
Everybody smiles at you.."

First weekend in December and the Sun has come out.

Saturday, and two coats of grey primer in the engine bay (plus water to be mopped out again).

Is it possible to get RSI from a sponge ?

Put a heavier tarp over the lightweight B&Q one. I want to get the engine before Christmas, so I need to get on with it...

Sunday morning there was still some water has got in through two tarpaulins, to be mopped up off the nice grey floor ready for a coat of red primer.

While the sun was out I decided to start on the hull fittings. I am using stainless fittings so I will be using stainless screws to hold them in place. Once the large hole had been cut for the water inlet, I could mark up for the fixings. Three 4.5mm Drill holes, and three M5 taps later and the first of the Skin fittings is bolted in place with stainless Screws.

Had to finish then because I was going to see a live recording of I'm Sorry I haven't a clue in Scarborough. Brilliant.

November rain

I would go on about the rain, but I don't want people to think I'm some kind of anorak.


But it's been raining.


I haven't got much painting done.




It has been raining though.


I still havent got the doors on.


It has been raining though.



I managed to get a tarp over the back of the boat, and to stop it blowing off. The rainwas still getting in though. I got the engine bay dry enough for one coat of zinc phosphate primer, but the following day the eninge room had "filled up" again.




Last weekend we went up to the lakes, yes, the weekend of the floods - it was very quiet. Had to go up anyway to scatter Troggs' ashes. And drink some beer of course.



I've just bought a generator off ebay for £160 theat will give me mains 2.8kW and 12v for battery charging. I will find a wet vac to clear out the rain, and I can rig up some lighting. Hopefully I will then be able to get some painting done.




Tempting though it is to get the engine in, I want to get plenty of coats of white paint in the engine bay beforehand.

Time only goes backwards on the last Sunday in October...

Spent sunday covering all the battens with Parcel tape, so that they would be easier to clean up after the spray foaming. I also covered where the rear hatch is going with a tarpaulin to try and keep some of the weather out.
When I tried cutting the holes in the shell for the water filler, I found all the teeth snapped of the cheap and nasty B&Q hole saw. Went to Screwfix & got a decent couple of holesaw blades and they are just the job.
The weather is really taking the *!**. The Sun came out, so I removed the windows from one side of the boat. Got the sander ready and - it started raining. By the time I had put the windows back in the sun came out again.
The engine bay had dried out reasonably well, so I managed to get a coat of Vactan on the areas that had started to rust. Hopefully if the tarp can keep the weather out, I can get the engine bay painted, then get the engine in soon, and I will have power and light.

The spray foaming was done during the week, so I could start cleaning up inside. What a huge difference, the inside seems so much bigger and lighter now the spray foam is done. Cleaned up one side of the boat before it started getting dark. Now the clocks have gone back I have to finish earlier.

Who knows, where the time goes...

Forwards is apparently a good direction.

....much swearing later, the Stainless water tank is at the front end of the boat, where it should be. Tight squeeze.

I have some stainless fillers and stainless fittings to plumb it up. I thought, for the small price difference, I may as well get stainless rather than brass to go with the nice stainless tank.

I have been looking at the gauges from MSC on t'internet, and worked out how to fit these now. When finished I should have an LCD readout for Fresh & waste tank level in the living accomodation, and Deisel, fresh & waste in the back cabin. If you are sailing past a watering hole, it is nice to see the tank levels from the "driving seat".

Well, just a bit more tidying up and I'm ready for the spray foam. In the mean time I need to get on with the painting. Decided I am going to have an entire weekend at the boat. Get the windows out, and have a weekend long painting marathon.

However...

Following a quick phone call, and many long ones, a business idea has appeared on the (very near) horizon. I am from a very working class family, and don't generally have money, so this sort of idea has to take priority.

Bugger!

There may be a large pause in the progress, while I earn some money...

Captains Dog September 2009

The plan is this...

1. Give the shell 2 full coats of Phosphate primer. This will help protect the metal and is quite good active anti-rust.
2. Give the shell another couple of coats of blacking. Easier to do now, while it is out of the water.
3. Once happy with the grey shell, and all holes etc are cut, and primed, give the whole shell a coat of Red Oxide. This is a coarser primer, and will give a better key to the top coats.
4. Start with 2 coats of undercoat. I have decided on a two colour scheme, so the undercoats will be the first stage where I decide where the different colours are.
5. Seal the windows, and get on with the remaining fit-out.
6. Once most of the major work is out of the way, two coats of top coat, piping and lettering.
7. Dump it in the water, and its launch party time...
   
   

There, I have a plan, We are heading into winter, what could possibly go wrong...

Last week in September Lady P found a sunny day and (with the help of the puppies) put a coat of grey primer on the roof. The problem then is, when all of one area is the same colour you can see just how bad all the welds are finished. So, I waited until she left, and got the grinder out. Oops, made a mess of the nice shiny roof. A quick lick of paint and she'll never know.

Handy Andy finally turned up to measure up for a set of Hardwood front doors. Decided to go for a hardwood hatch as well. I got these "ball bearing transfer units" from t'internet which will make the hatch slide beautifully.

Chinese Puzzle

Beer, Folk music and swearing...

Well, Friday I was supposed to be up at the Old, for the Langdale Folk Festival. Raising money for mountain rescue support dogs. However, due to the IDIOTS driving on the motorways, and the holdups on the A1, M1, M6, etc. I didn't get home till 7:00pm.
Grabbed my rucksack (permanently packed!) and dived back out the door. When I crossed the M61 it was at a standstill. I crossed the M6 and it was also at a standstill. Last time I was late heading to the lakes, and both motorways were at a standstill, a motorcyclist was killed on the sideroads in front of me. Not wishing to tempt fate, a quick U-turn, and back to the pub.

Saturday morning I managed to finish cleaning up and blacking the Port side of the hull, which I couldn't do previously due to the boat next to me being painted. Don't think he would have appreciated the sparks off the wire brush.

Dinnertime, and Mr. Kedian turned up with the stainless water tank. It looks a lot bigger than it did on the drawing (well, the drawing was only A4).
The tank was put out of the way, while I got a lift from mr Kedian to Birmingham to pick up a new car for Luke. I'm getting quite good at buying cars that I've never seen off ebay! Stuck on the M6 again, so I got back at 6.00.

Grabbed my rucksack (permanently packed!) and dived back out the door. Got to the Old at 7:40 to find the campsite was full. Only seen that happen twice before. Never mind, had a pint, and some superb food. Bought a couple of T-shirts and won a painting in the Auction. The pub was heaving, and the fund-raising seemed to be doing really well.

Nowhere to camp, so said my goodbyes and set off home again. So much for a weekend off in the lakes!

Sunday, and luke joined me in the great chinese puzzle. We have to get a 6 foot by 5 foot by 20 inch water tank through the rear hatch (5 foot by 26") into the Back cabin (6 foot long), swing it around and through the side doorway (5 foot tall, 18 to 20 inch wide), into the boat interior. ****!, *****!, and ****** **** ***** ***!. We got the tank on the roof, dropped it diagonally through the hatch and into the boat. Don't know how, but it worked.

Note to self, next time (!) put the water tank in before the shell is finished.

Hatching out

Do I hear Bells????

Well, this weekend lukes baby sister is getting married, so we have to have a stag night on thursday evening/Friday morning don't we....

Anyway, I don't suffer from hangovers, so Friday Morning, brilliant sunshine, I start cutting out the old hatch. The problem with the current hatch is it is two, badly fitting, bent bits of metal welded to hinges in the side of the boat. There is a channel at the bottom to allow rain in, but it slopes inward. Besides which the rain will just go through the 1/2" gap on one side. Only on one side because the Stilton Cowboy could not be bothered cutting a straight door anywhere on this boat.

Never mind, I have a new prefabricated hatch from Martin Kedian, and it is superb. Properly formed doors, rain channels, and a 50mm flange to cover up the bits where I haven't cut the hole quite straight!
Several hours, and even more cutting disks later, there is a hole. I cleaned up all the edges and offered the hatch up to fit. Yipee, it fits!. There is a slight gap at the top, however, because the boat sides aren't straight. The hatch is well built enough that when it is bolted in it will pull the sides straight though.
Quick splash of primer on all the exposed metal, put the hatch in temporarily, then I'm finished for the night.

Saturday morning, a bead of silicon around the hatch, and it is bolted in for good. A bead of silicon around the join just to make sure and... bugger me its 1.30 pm, the wedding is at three and I haven't got a present yet!
High speed dash, Clitheroe shops, Shower, change and at the Wedding with 5 minutes to spare! Fantastic reception afterwords with Hog Roast, music, beer, and all.

Sunday morning its quiet, Am I the only one who still gets up early after a night on the lash ? Cleaned up all the welding on the port side of the hull and blacked all the welds. Decided to have a short day and watch the formula one. Great Result. I'm still rooting for Barrichello and I think he is in with a chance this year.
Sunday night was wasted waiting for a train that did not appear. When I rang, I found out it was cancelled. Taxi back home (£6.50) taxi back to the train station in the morning (£6.50) and then get told I have to buy a new ticket! £72.00! Then the train runs late, and does not stop at my station, dumping me in London! I ended up getting to work at 3.00 pm instead of 7.30 am., and it has cost me £85.00 for the privelidge!. Adolf had his bad points, but at least he got the trains to run on time!

The rainy season is here...

It might as well rain until September...

Saturday morning - rain. I have to deliver some beer up to the lake district, so I might as well do it while it's raining. It might clear up later.

Really slow journey up to Great Langdale stuck behind tourists. I don't mind if you like to drive at 20mph down the road admiring the view, but some of us on the road are working. At least pull over occasionally and let us past so we can finish work and get on with the boat! You know you are holding people up when you are driving a mercedes sport or saab turbo or something, and I am in a brewers van full of beer stuck behind you !

Sorry, rant over.

Dropped the beer off, and finally got back to the boat. It has just stopped raining, and it looks like brightening up.

Yipee!

The hatch opening at the back is now finished ready for doors and a lid. The stern tube is arriving Monday, and then that should be all the welding finished.

The remaining 'dry' time on Saturday was spent cleaning up all the welds on one side Then filling any indentations. Rain set in again at six, so all done till tomorrow.
I discovered the mini roller sets at B&Q for £1.95. Wow, the painting takes no time at all with these. A couple of hours of sunshine on sunday, I have got up to the gunwales on one side with primer.

Bloody Weather

"You can look at weather forecasts all you like, all that is certain is that there will be weather. Usually lots of it. It is then merely a matter of how hard it hits you"

Well, the shell is starting to look more like a proper shell now. I have been working on it fairly full on for the last couple of weekends, together with Kieth the Welder, and the long list of snags is now almost gone. At first glance it doesn't look like much has been done but...

The dished rear deck that was holding water is now fully drained. I have also added a hinged section to allow perfect access to the engine and weed hatch.

The rear door is now slightly wider to allow the engine to fit in, and as an added bonus, it is the same width at the top as at the bottom.


The rubbing strakes are now fully welded, and the tacky little brackets for holding the fenders on have been replaced with more substantial brackets made from steel bar.

The gas locker now has drains/vents and all of the dubious welding at the front has been redone.
The hole in the front deck has been welded up, and a new top has been put on the cross beam at the front of the well. Now all the front end needs (other than a load of paint) is Lady Penelope's son to build me some nice hardwood front doors to replace the useless and bad fitting steel ones fitted by the Stilton Cowboy.


I have a tiller bar made from 40mm bright steel bar.


TIP: If you like feeling light headed try dangling upside down with your head in the gas locker while painting it!.

The engine beds are in, and there is loads of paint waiting for some painting weather. One whole bank holiday weekend, and all I have got done outside is eight feet of boat!

Music Maestro

"Pantone One Hundred and Eighty!"

Well, I went to Fairport Convention this weekend just because I have always done it. I went the "pretty way" via Braunston to pick up some zinc phosphate primer. Some good music on, but mostly it seems to be the only time in the year I have any time off work. Note to Self. Must get a life sometime.


Once the tent was up at Cropredy, it was time for a pint, so a quick walk down the canal to the Red Lion. I noticed Saddleworth on the side of a boat, and after a chat with the owner, learned that the Huddersfield canal goes all the way up to Saddleworth. The number of times I have driven through there and never realised that there was a canal there.


Friday morning got a coffee & sat by the canal waiting for the pub to open for breakfast (You can get a bad name for yourself sitting outside a pub at 7.00 am waiting for it to open). Saw a tug & butty coming down the canal carrying roofing materials. Interesting to watch it going through the locks.

I went into Banbury, first time I had been into the town for several years, and was very impressed by the Quay area redevelopment. I had a wander and looked at all the boats to get some idea of a colour scheme. I liked the blue and maroon, then again I like the Green. The Green and Red looks good. So does the Red. Ditto the red & gold. The green and blue looks good. So does the very dark green.


Sod it, I'm going to put all the pictures on a dartboard and pick the colour scheme the Eric Bristow Method.



Saturday Left the pub as it was getting a bit manic and sat by the lock drinking beer (it's a hobby i suppose). Saw a hire boat with a very direct means of opening lock gates. You just ram them!

Back to Work

"Get back on your horse and get the hell outa town!"

Start of August - definitely working on the boat. Friday night went out for a meal with Lady P & co. Well, I have to keep my strength up for the job in hand you know. Awful meal. Why do people think that Microwaving a wholesalers pie constitutes a good restaurant meal just because you cut the carrots chunky.

Had a strange dream. Don't get me wrong, I often get strange dreams, but this one seemed to be a happy dream. Normally I just get nightmares. Good portent possibly ?

Got myself a notebook and made a list of the snags that need sorting out on the shell. Getting organised at last. So now when the welder has some time free I have two full pages of snags for him to have a go at. Simple things like Welding the rubbing strakes on, rather than just tacking them and filling the gaps with silicon. Perhaps Mr Stilton doing a runner has been a good thing, as now I can get a professional job done.

In the meantime, I have spent the weekend shifting bricks about in the boat. By Saturday evening I have Eight "bays" bitumined ready for the bricks to go in their final resting place.

Sunday morning. Had breakfast with Lady P at a new farm shop we discovered. Good field mushrooms and nice sausages, but the usual mistake of using cheap sliced bread, and not cooking the tomatoes enough. We should start work on the definitive guide to where not to breakfast. Breakfast Nightmares ? No I don't think I could swear that much, besides I'm a better cook than Ramsey.

Put the bricks on the newly painted (or should that be bitumined ?) floor, and cleared the next few bays ready for the bitumin. Tried different patterns of laying the bricks but ended up with them on edge as the easiest way to fit them all in. This means that the bricks are resting on the floor, not on spacers, but I havent the clearance for the spacers. Never mind.

Bridge over the River Kwai time again as there have been sunflakes belting down on the shell all afternoon. Cleaned the new floor area, but I have had too much time in the sweat box, so I am legging it and leaving the bitumin until next weekend.

Interesting Times

"Jeez, I thought you guys were going to follow some kinda footpath...".

Well, I have finally got back to adding something to this blog, after an 'interesting' couple of months. A few years ago my life turned upside down. I called this interesting times after the Chinese curse "May you live in interesting times". Well, I suppose the last month or two has been interesting as well.

June:

Started putting the battens on the floor. This was then interrupted by a weekend at a medieval fayre. We're the beer tent, not the medievals. They are the sane ones.

Following a long weekend of drinking beer, setting up a bar, drinking beer, selling beer, drinking beer, taking down the bar, and drinking beer, I had a week off, then boat. Over the next week I managed to get some of the battening done in the evenings after work. This got a bit much, working 7:30 to 18:00, 40 mins driving, two hours working on the boat, then 40 mins driving to bed ready for the next day at work.

I decided to spend a full weekend working on the boat and booked into the Travellodge at Stilton for the weekend. Finished off most of the battening, just the back half of the ceiling to do, but I ran out of wood. It is amazing how much wood it takes! Anyway, retire to the Bell at Stilton for an amazing meal and one or two pints of superb Fools Nook Ale from Digfield Brewery. If you are ever in Stilton, just off What used to be the Norman Cross roundabout on the A1, the Bell at Stilton cannot be recommended highly enough.

I have decided to use Engineering bricks for the ballast as they are easy to adjust, plus at £60 per tonne they are a bargain. Measured up the wood I needed to finish off the battening, and counted up 1200 bricks for the ballast.

July:

Well, I arrived at the boat to find that the remaining battens had been delivered together with three pallets of bricks, so far so good, and also the news that the Bailiffs had been around taking stock of what shells were there because the shell builder had "done a runner".

Wonderful.

It was Lady P's Birthday, so I had to go up North for a couple of days, calming down, but also wondering whether the shell would be there when I got back. Never mind - have a good couple of days at this barbeque/birthday party and leave sorting this out the following week because i am well and truly p****d off.

Monday. Back into work and loads of pointless hassle at work stops me doing anything for a few days. Probably as well because dealing with the mind-numbing tedium gets me riled into a solution.

Tuesday. Following various phone calls, I have found only one person I know with a trombone trailer needed to shift the shell. The wagon isn't the problem, but 58'6" needs a special 'extendable' trailer. Finally got in touch with him, and found he had sold it. Bugger. Rang Botony Bay, they had DIY bays available, and put me in touch with a narrowboat transport firm.

Wednesday Evening. Persuaded three blokes from work to come up to Stilton for a small amount of excercise. I removed one of the windows for easy access, and with two of us inside and two outside, one hour later there are three tons of bricks are inside the shell. Just time for a quick trip to treat these guys to a pint at the Bell at Stilton. the Fools Nook was even better than I remember, or is that just because of the brick shifting ? Anyway a fantastic meal and a few pints later, we returned home.

Thursday. £250 poorer a crane is booked.

Friday. A huge crane arrived at Stilton, and, during a thunderstorm no less, lifted the shell onto the waiting trailer. £450 poorer the trailer disapears with the shell on board, due to arrive at Botony bay on Monday.

Monday. Shell is craned off at Botony bay. I am now another £250 poorer for the crane off, making a total of £950.

Sod it I am off to the pub.

Following weekend I thought I might go to the lakes. Waited all Morning, but Luke had Flu & decided not to go. Set off late, but the roads were terrible. Turns out there was a 15 mile queue on the M6. Thought it was much easier popping up to the Lakes when I used to have a motorbike. Might consider getting another.

I went to the boat instead, but just outside the boatyard a Range Rover and a motorbike collided. Stuck for ages while the police & ambulance arrived, closed the road. the motorcylist didn't make it.

I hate days like this, I'm going to the Pub.

Last weekend in July I went up to the lakes with Luke. His sister is engaged to a great bloke from New York, so we decided to show him the Lake District the Hard Way. After we dragged him up Ravens Crag, Pavey Ark, Mill Gyll and part of the Dungeon Ghyll (I have never heard so much swearing from him), followed by the obligatory one or two pints in the 'Old', he slept for a week.

Maybe get back to the boat in August.

Timber....

If a man says something in the forest, and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

Well, what can I say ? There seems to be an awful lot of wood to batten the boat out. Not sure about the colour scheme though - red primer on grey primer - hmm.

Still got the first batten down, only 21 to go then I start on the walls....

Michelle

People say "One day all your dreams will come true". Bloody hope not, otherwise I really will be naked in the queue at Tesco.

The shell is now taking shape. Apparently it is unlucky to rename a boat, so I am resisting the urge to call it Michelle at the moment.

It is amazing to see how quickly a 10mm sheet of steel floor turns into a hull. Right at the moment the boat looks huge, although I'm not used to seeing them out of the water, so it is a lot taller.

I must also say that I am impressed by the techniques used to create quite a complex shape from sheet steel. Now I have something to see, I can start thinking about how to use every single cubic inch of space within the shell.

Horizontigo

"Does any of your family suffer from insanity ?"

"No we've always really enjoyed it!"

Well, that's it. Deposit paid, fag packet sketches handed over, and the steel is ordered. Last chance as a free man to go and do stupid things in the lakes for a weekend. Far easier the weekend before easter though...


This is Stickle Tarn as viewed from half way up Pavey Ark at 7pm The Sat before easter. The pubs are open and we are on our way...

Horizontigo is the fear of lack of heights, and a great song from the superb scottish folk band LAU - see them at http://www.lau-music.co.uk/

Taking a dive

"It's not Impossible! You're only saying that because nobody has ever done it before!"

One step I took was to draw up a wish list. This would then be a guide to the design of the boat. It also drew my attention to what I thought I wanted, but wasn't really bothered about after all, such as the bath. Any way the list is :

• Will go anywhere. Technically this means 55, or 57 foot, however looking at various websites, 58'6" seems to be about right, so that is what I will go for.
• Wet room rather than shower tray. Initially I thought that I would have liked a bath, however... They take a lot of water and a lot of room. I like a bath however, being 6'2" laid out, I also like a big bath, and I would rather 'spend' the room elsewhere in the boat. Remember that you are budgeting length when laying out a boat. We don't all spend all of our time in the bathroom. I have decided on the wet room approach because I find them far more pleasing than a shower cubicle.
• Storage for everything. Whatever I can't store (and whatever I haven't used for the last year, brain excepted) is going on eBay. If it doesn't sell on eBay, it's going in the skip.
• King sized bed. Well, I am having some luxuries.
• Trad Stern. This gives me an "engine room" area for running the boat, and psychologically separates the living areas into a separate living area. If that doesn't make sense to you, don't worry, I am not sure it makes sense to me either. I won't miss the open rear deck of a cruiser, as I will have a forward lounge area and front deck for "entertaining".
• Dining Area. I don't like eating with a plate on my knee. So we will have a dining table and seating, which can convert into a bed.
• Optimal use of space. This is easier these days with flat screen TVs and miniature electronics. However a lot of planning will go into where to hide the hide-able bits (water tanks, etc) and maximise the storage areas.
• A Kitchen (sorry, galley) built around me. I like to cook, but I like to be ordered in the kitchen. That is 'ordered' as in 'a tidy sort of organised' as opposed to 'ordered to cook the tea and cook it now'.
• A nice comfortable settee that I can slob out on of an evening, and would turn into another double berth for guests.
• A washing machine and possibly a tumble drier would be nice for our lovely summer weather.
  

I've also bought a new digital camera. Now all I need is something to photograph...

The name of the boat came about by listing names as i thought of them. It was then just a case of picking 1. The sequence of chosen names went something like this...

• Plan B - Everybody should have a plan B
• Fotheringay - Prison Castle and fantastic music by Sandy Denny.
• Scylla - Look at Scylla and Charybdis in your classical mythology (between a rock and a hard place)
• Hard Place - see above. Also a bit of a play with words on my name (which means 'the rock')
• A Walk in the Rain - Loads of experience here.
• Duck N Dive - Need I say more... Well, actually, yes. I am a scuba diver, and a brewer, and have run various bars, pubs beer tents and beer festivals in the past, and I like ducks, both as the most amazingly belligerent cute little animals and as crispy Chinese appetisers. I always said that if I won the lottery, I would buy a property in Grand Cayman (Which, incidentally, is tax free UK) and build a microbrewery/pub/restaurant/hotel on the beach with a jetty and scuba diving school (BSAC not PADI). I was going to call it the 'Duck and Dive'. I haven't won the lottery and it seems a shame to waste the name so....

Right, I'll drink to that. A vague plan and a good name. What can possibly go wrong...

Plan B

"Abandon all hope (of sanity) all ye who enter here..."

Over the last XX years I have done lots of different things, lived lots of different places, and had (and lost) many different jobs. Having tried (and failed) to settle down over the last 18 years or so, I have decided that in order to preserve my insanity a few things have got to change.
I have always had an affinity to water, swimming, scuba diving, climbing waterfalls, etc. So, I decided that it would be interesting to build a canal boat to live on.
Well, having scoured t'internet for information, it seems that the done thing is to do a 'blog'. So here it is, entry #1. Not a right good entry yet as you have learned nowt about the boat, but have patience (or should that be patients?) at this stage you know as much about it as me. Allegedly I'm a quick learner though...