Perhaps a long day

The glass splashback was due to be delivered today and after emailing the manufacturer we were informed the delivery would take place between 8.30am and 6.30pm.  Consequentially I was positioned in the Barley Mow car park at 8.30 complete with folding chair, ebook reader and 2 way radio.  Unfortunately I was in the shade and a wind was blowing across the car park.  The plan was for Jan and I to each do a two hour cycle.  It’s been a few years since I have done sentry duty but it didn’t take long for me to remember how much I hated it.  After 90 minutes Jan arrived with a mug of hot chocolate and my rain jacket.  The latter kept out the wind.  Thirty minutes later Jan called me on the radio and informed me she had finally been able to contact the delivery company who had told her “Within two hours!”  I persevered with sentry duty and at 11.15am a large white truck lorry backed up the alleyway beside the pub.  It kept coming back, eventually I had to pick up the chair and move.  There was nothing on the lorry to indicate the company but when the driver got out of the cab and walked to the rear of the vehicle I noticed his safety vest had the name of the delivery company we were expecting.  He had our glass.  Great news as I wasn’t looking forward to spending the entire day waiting.

After moving the packages down the towpath to Waiouru we unpacked everything to make sure nothing was broken.

There has been some agonizing over the decision to fit glass splashbacks in the galley.  Initially it was the cost and subsequently there were discussions regarding availability and delivery.  At one stage Jan went back to the idea of ceramic tiles.  The problem we have with tiles isn’t the tile but the grout.  It stains!  In the end Daniel and I measured up the galley walls for the glass splashbacks.  These measurements need to be very precise because once the glass has been toughened it cannot be recut.  The next discussion was about the sealing.  Jan wants a sealer which is the same colour as the glass whilst I don’t want to use a silicone sealer.  Silicone tends to breakdown over time whereas construction adhesive doesn’t.  We have compromised.  I will seal the join between the base of each piece of glass and the granite worktop with a construction adhesive and all the others glass edges will be sealed with silicone.

I’m now looking for a very strong adhesive.  I’ll also do a “trial run” to ensure all the pieces will fit.  This isn’t going to be a one day job!

The second task for the day was to apply a bead of silicon between the Houdini timber framing and the actual aluminium frame.  I want to do this to avoid the possibility of condensation forming in the small gap  between the timber and aluminium.  I first masked the timber with tape and then gently squeezed a thin bead of clear silicone sealer into the gap.  After dabbing my index finger in white spirits I smoothed out the bead and removed the excess sealer.

Another couple of tasks were to dispose of all the cardboard from the glass and then give the paint on the cratch board a polish as it was starting to look dull.

The new TV is now all connected and the wiring tidied.  The TV has a ‘power brick’ which converts 240v AC to 14.2V DC.  So we have a 14.2V DC TV.  This got me thinking…….. We should be able to run the TV directly off the boat 12V supply if I make up a 12V to 14V adapter.  This would eliminate the need to run the inverter and cut out some of the current power loss.  Actually we would then only need to run the inverter for the washing machine, vacuum cleaner and microwave.  We should be able to make some significant energy savings.

Whilst the boat maintenance tasks were being done Jan made a Bramley apple sponge pudding and started a dough for a loaf we will eat for lunch tomorrow.  She also managed to wash and dry the last of the dirty laundry. 

Tomorrow we start summer cruising… hurrah!  I’ve been and dipped the propulsion tank.  It’s at least two thirds full so we have about 200 litres.  At one litre per hour (maybe I’m optimistic) and running the engine three hours daily, we have approximately two months fuel in the tank.  Plenty of time to find a cheap supplier.