(XP) Rumpus - Weekly Progress Report
nbru...@lineone.net
After a bit of a break, back to work! As I hadn't had time to buy any
materials, I had to find a few jobs which I could do with the
materials at hand, so out came the sander and paint brushes. The
engine ‘ole got attacked, but not before I'd cleared it of all the
things you need to keep hung up in it: dipstick, old clothes, mooring
spikes, ropes and potable bilge pump. It's remarkable what will fit
alongside or round the gas bottle in the bow locker (not that you're
supposed to, of course).
Once I'd got a clear run, on went the sander and away went all the
mildew that had turned the engine ‘ole into such a dark and depressing
space. Having worked my way around all the engine controls (and
removed quite a few fittings that were in the way) on went some
brilliant white anti condensation primer, to hopefully prevent a
re-occurrence of the problem. The ‘ole now looks much brighter! The
table cupboard side nearest the side doors also got a coat of varnish,
leaving only the very front of the cabin below the front doors naked
of the stuff - a job for next week!
Tuesday, 2 April
Another shopping day today - I went to buy what I fervently hope will
be the last sheet of ply that I'll have to buy. The supplier did cut
it to size for me. But as it was raining ‘eavens ‘ard, I had to get it
all inside the 2CV. Most of the long pieces (wanted for the bed front)
went in lengthways OK, but there was one piece which was wider than
half of the front seat. This poses no great problem for seat belt,
handbrake or gear lever, as the latter two sprout out of the dash, but
it's rather more of a problem when you v'e got nowhere to put your
left foot once you've taken it off the clutch pedal! Fortunately, the
run to the boat was only about 20 minutes or so, so I coped.
Tuesday, 3 April
The ply I bought yesterday was an unmitigated nuisance: I couldn't do
anything as it was always getting in the way, so I decided to use some
of it PDQ, to give myself some space. The two pieces for the bed front
were cut to their finished size so they could be stowed away safely
and following this I tackled one of Susan's favourite niggles. One
thing I've been getting constantly has been "I don't want to be
looking at those batteries all the time when I'm on the boat........"
I had always said I'd hide ‘em when I'd got the timber - now I had n
excuse whatsoever! A suitable panel (with fretted-out door) was made
to fit in the usual fashion and now you can't see the batteries, but
you can still get at ‘em! I also cut a pair of pieces of ply for the
steerer's seats, and seeing as how the canopy material also arrived
today, I've now got to hunt some suitable foam down!
Sunday, 8 April
Yesterday was a bit frustrating: not only could I not lay hands on
some foam (not that this is a major problem - I know an upholsterer)
but a search for a shower tray proved equally fruitless. I think I'm
going to take a leaf out of the old boatbuilders' Instruction Manual
and make one out of ply. It should be easy enough to waterproof using
epoxy resin, it can be made exactly to fit, and it can be made to
allow access to the shower waste pump - something that would be
next-to-impossible buying in a bespoke one. Besides, it'll be
cheaper.............
Although the Trent and Soar are well over their banks at the moment, I
did see some boaters today - white water canoeists "playing" in the
massive standing wave at the foot of what would normally be Sawley
weir!
I have spent most of the day in deep communion with the sander.
Getting the primer in the engine ‘ole sanded wasn't too bad
(particularly when I bowed to the inevitable and removed the fittings
I'd tried to retain) and coats of magnolia undercoat (for the cream
roof) and chrome umber (for the scumbling) went on fairly easily.
Then it was time to prepare the front of the table cupboard for
priming. As this is going to be a Visible Feature in the cabin, a lot
of odd bits of wood filler were required. The variety I'd bought had
the same pungent smell I remember from my days of unsuccessfully
trying to build balsa model aircraft kits - I suspect the solvent was
the same. Anyway, this stuff went off as rapidly as the balsa cement
used to, and as is usually the case, I ended up sanding off about 97%
of what I'd put on and STILL found numerous bits I'd missed! Getting
it all right took a good time (with numerous breaks to get relief from
breathing the solvent in) but in due course I was satisfied and put on
a coat of primer before heading for home.
Brian L Dominic
NB Rumpus
Web Sites:
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Has the bottom fallen out of your world?
Take a tin of Andrew's and make the world fall out of your bottom.
Paul E. Bennett
nbru...@lineone.net writes:
> Yesterday was a bit frustrating: not only could I not lay hands on
> some foam (not that this is a major problem - I know an upholsterer)
> but a search for a shower tray proved equally fruitless. I think I'm
> going to take a leaf out of the old boatbuilders' Instruction Manual
> and make one out of ply. It should be easy enough to waterproof using
> epoxy resin, it can be made exactly to fit, and it can be made to
> allow access to the shower waste pump - something that would be
> next-to-impossible buying in a bespoke one. Besides, it'll be
> cheaper.............
I have seen shower trays built up using 18mm ply as the base-board. You
can waterproof the ply as you intend and then lay shower-base tiles in
to the resulting base-plate. The shower-base tiles are the non-slip
variety with nobbles and you can also get the edge peices. The tiles
cost a bit more than the plastic base but will do a nicer job.
--
********************************************************************
Paul E. Bennett ....................<email://p...@amleth.demon.co.uk>
Forth based HIDECS Consultancy .....<http://www.amleth.demon.co.uk/>
Mob: +44 (0)7811-639972 .........NOW AVAILABLE:- HIDECS COURSE......
Tel: +44 (0)1235-814586 .... see http://www.feabhas.com for details.
Going Forth Safely ..... EBA. www.electric-boat-association.org.uk..
********************************************************************
nbru...@lineone.net
frenetic dose of key-bashing and wrote:
>> Another shopping day today - I went to buy what I fervently hope will
>> be the last sheet of ply that I'll have to buy. The supplier did cut
>> it to size for me.
>
>do they charge for cutting ply Brian? we were charge 3 quid for
>cutting a sheet of ply into three pieces.
>
Yes - I get charged the same, but I wouldn't have liked to have
carried a a whole sheet on the roof for any distance. Carrying the
cabin roof the few miles from Long Eaton was bad enough!
>>The two pieces for the bed front
>
>bed front? bed+boat = bunk/berth or even birth if you are young.
>
Talking "non-boat" English for those (like my DLW) who wouldn't
understand.
Guy Morgan
<mar...@wanadoo.nl> writes
>do they charge for cutting ply Brian? we were charge 3 quid for
>cutting a sheet of ply into three pieces.
>
Buy from B&Q and they do the first 4 (I think) cuts free and then 50
pence per cut.
Good value
Guy
--
Guy Morgan
g...@first-light-services.co.uk
Tug Thorn and butty Persephone - WFB, Stockton, Grand Union
Guy Morgan
<mar...@wanadoo.nl> writes
>On Sun, 15 Apr 2001 15:00:02 +0100, Guy Morgan
><g...@first-light-services.co.uk> wrote:
>
>> In article <30q2dtc3tggfteppi...@4ax.com>, martinp
>> <mar...@wanadoo.nl> writes
>> >do they charge for cutting ply Brian? we were charge 3 quid for
>> >cutting a sheet of ply into three pieces.
>> >
>> Buy from B&Q and they do the first 4 (I think) cuts free and then 50
>> pence per cut.
>>
>> Good value
>>
>> Guy
>
She died several years ago much to the grief of Blue Peter fans :-)}
Guy - who actually thought Petra was amazing
nbru...@lineone.net
Why is it that the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry? I
need another tin of Chrome Buff primer, the undercoat to the scumble.
I knew that a store in Alfreton sells Ratcliffe's Scumble, so I
decided to call in there to pick one up, and support a local business.
When I got there, the shop was closed..........
Tuesday 10 April
........ and when I called back, they hadn't got any!
Wednesday 11 April
Today saw me on Derby's Canal Street, where there is a Dulux
Decorator's Centre - the very place to get scumble undercoat!
Thursday 12 April
Today, we were honoured by a foreign visitor - Ken Kroecker had kindly
offered to make some wooden porthole liners for inside the cabin. He'd
made up a prototype which he'd brought with him, and we tried it in
all the holes where they were going to fit. The one for the shower is
going to have to be different, as the glass is recessed into the
outside of the cabin side as the brass ring is flat. Having screwed
the liner into place (and been photographed doing it!) more photos
were taken and a gentle trip home via Trent Lock and Langley Mill was
followed by Ken seeing the full Waterworld II tape before the whole
family adjourned (giggling) to Nottingham for an excellent Indian meal
and drinks in the Trip to Jerusalem - the Waterside was far too noisy!
Saturday 14th April
After early start (0300 at East Midlands Airport to see No 2 Son off
to Spain for the summer) I eventually got to the boat around 1100 for
more sanding before lunch. After, undercoat on the table cupboard
front and primer on the battery cupboard front, shower door and shower
bulkhead. The tin of burgundy paint I'd bought for the steelwork in
the engine 双le had been sitting around for ages, so I decided to put
a bit on "just to see what it looks like". It looks fine! Finally, off
to B&Q for black paint and possibly the last batch of wood before a
short dose of kip and an evening's karioke.
Sunday, 15 April
More of the same - with its new cream gloss ceiling and burgundy
steelwork the engine 双le is now almost looking like the "F" word -
finished! The table cupboard also got its front panels glossed, but I
didn't undercoat the stuff I primed yesterday as there were a number
of holes left unfilled. At least using monogamy filler, it shows up
well against white primer when you want to sand it down! I've also
started work on the "outside" jobs that need doing before she goes
back in the water a week tomorrow. It was only as I was wire- brushing
those spots on the rubbing strakes which need re-painting that I
realised that I was becoming a "normal" boater and doing Normal
Routine Maintenance - the sort of stuff everybody else
does.............
I've also made a start on clearing the boat out - all the surplus ply
has come home and I'm taking back a couple of pieces of old stock to
get used on the shower tray, although the bed will come first!