Encouraging progress

Here she is in the paint shop with lots of bare metal.
The bow and stern have got undercoats and primer on them and look so different! All neat and tidy. The guys have used 17 gallons of industrial pain stripper. Not the most environmentally friendly of processes I've ever seen.
Unfortunately, taking the paint off has revealed a few horror stories where hatches have been cut out and then later filled in so the roof looks a bit like a patchwork quilt. The bodywork man has done his best but in the end we've decided that a high gloss finish on the roof was just going to look terrible because it would have ripples all over the place so non-slip paint will be the order of the day. This is probably a good choice anyway because it is rather easy to slip on wet, smooth surfaces.

The sides are less of a problem but have still required some good old filler to hide previous shoddy workmanship.

There have also been a couple of really nice surprises. There is a hatch in the side of the kids' bedroom that we thought was welded shut but it now opens perfectly and will be lots of fun in the summer months.

On my way to the boat yard I called in at Midland Chandlers and picked up the new inverter, hot water tank, wood burning stove and various other bits which are all now on-board ready to be fitted over the Easter holiday. I also met up with my sister who delivered the new fenders. Very smart.

And finally for today... Timescales. Graham didn't want to be pushed but he knew that I was going to ask so after a little tap dancing he's promised to be done in 2 weeks. Slightly longer than hoped for but not massively. Once the painting is done she needs to stay in the heated paint shop for a few days to get the paint to harden properly but during that time my dad, Josh and I will be able to stay on board and start work on the electrics and other things that need to be done for the boat safety certificate.

More soon.

An excuse to visit

Next Tuesday (the 24th) I'm going up to Norton Canes to have the final discussion on paint and finishing touches. They guys have got Relativity ready for the undercoats of paint and should have some of the top coat layers on by then. I can't wait to see her!

If you can't wait either then I shall be leaving Reading at about midday to head up there. Let me know soon and book your place in the car ;-)

Of toilets and central heating

Whilst the boys in the paintshop are busy with their brushes I've been researching toilets. I never knew how fascinating sanitation could be! After a lot of thinking I've decided to go for a vacuum system (a bit like on aircraft) which gets rid of smells very effectively and does away with the need for noxious chemicals. It is more expensive than others but it will make for a nicer environment for you all when you come to visit :-) Midland Chandlers have been very helpful especially as they have a 15% discount scheme if you're buying a pile of stuff. That has saved almost £500 so far!


We've come up with a really nifty way of doing the central heating and the shiny new boiler is currently sitting in a box at the foot of my bed courtesy of Ebay. Huge thanks are due to my dad for working out how we can use waste heat from the engine to heat the radiators and hot water instead of using the boiler if we're chugging along. Combined Power & Heat - how eco-friendly is that!


Of course there is a wood burning stove for those long winter nights and to add a homely touch. It can also be plummed in to the central heating and hot water so if I can find enough dead wood by the side of the canal I can have a hot shower for free ;-)

Electrics are also nearly designed. Dad has been collecting bits together so that we can move the batteries from the boys' bedroom into the engine bay. This really is where they should be and will make the bedroom usefully larger.

All we have to do now is fit everything and then we'll be warm on cold nights and have cool beer in the fridge!

Thank you to everyone who has been sending messages of encouragement and especially to my mum, sister and dad who have been helping so much.

Back in the water

Relativity went back into the water yesterday (after the blacking had set properly) and she didn't sink :-) Now she is in the paint shop (floating and heated - very impressive). All of her windows have been taken out and are being repaired - which was a non-trivial task as the bolts were all lumps of rust and had to be drilled out. The industrial paint stripper has done its job on her sides and she is all shiny metal. The roof will be stripped tomorrow followed by a little cosmetic welding surgery.

I'm hoping to have some pictures at the weekend.

A little progress

I spoke to the boat yard last night and they've got the new anodes on and the "blacking" applied to her bottom. That will take a couple of days to dry and then she can go back in to the water on Monday or Tuesday.

After that we're just waiting for the paint shop to become free which should be any day now and then it is out with the industrial paint stripper! Environmentally friendly this process isn't!

Slow news day

Well, there isn't much to say about progress on Relativity so I thought I'd post a picture of my boys getting used to their new bedroom...



;-)