Houdini’s & Portholes

Well they have been fitted for the last time!
Darren spent the whole day working on Waiouru.  I removed the three Houdini hatches and took them to the workshop where all the old tape and adhesive was removed with white spirits and elbow grease.  Meanwhile Darren gave the new steel frame a first coat of gloss. 
Then we commenced installing the portholes.  Waiouru’s original portholes weren’t recovered from Ben Harp and the holes in the new portholes don’t match the screw holes in the steel shell.  The adopted strategy was to find as many matching holes as possible and then drill new holes where necessary.

I was scared the drill might slip and scratch the new paintwork so I let Darren do this part of the task.  I let Darren do the more mundane task whilst I provided critical comment and advice!  The reverse face of the porthole had a rubberised flat double sided tape applied to it and stainless steel wood screws were used to compress the tape between the steel shell and the porthole.

To ensure no water leaks in around the screw the tip of each one was coated with a bead of construction adhesive before it was screwed into the hole (my task).

Once the porthole was fitted a rubber seal was pressed into a groove around the outer circumference of the porthole concealing the screw heads.

The same technique was used to fit the Houdini hatches except stainless steel machine screws were used instead of wood screws.
Darren then went on to give the rear sliding hatch and runners a first coat of graphite gloss.

Whilst he was painting I lightly sanded the oak front door frame and gave it a third (and final) coat of gloss varnish.  After that I managed to fit the toilet control switch into the oak trim.  The day ended with Jan and me vacuuming Waiouru’s roof to remove all the swarf and other rubbish.
Tim returns tomorrow to finish the sign writing whilst Jan and I will give Waiouru its fourth (and final) coat of blacking.  Darren still has some minor painting to do and by 4:00pm it will probably be time to remove the inflatable shelter off Waiouru.

Black & White

Oh my back and what’s that sticky stuff in my hair!

Jan and I managed to get the third coat of two pack epoxy black onto Waiouru today.  Jan did the ‘fiddly bits’ with the paintbrush whilst I welded the narrow roller.  Rather than continually bending over I adopted a squatting position.  Saved my back but I’m sure my thighs will tell me all about it tomorrow. 

Towards the end of the pot the blacking became a glutinous thick porridge making it extremely difficult to apply.  No blacking on Sunday but we had so much fun we’ve decided to paint the final coat of blacking on Monday

After a very late lunch and being a glutton for punishment, I couldn’t contain myself and decided to start splashing around the white bilge paint in the weed hatch.

It was so stimulating that I had to continue on and apply a first coat to the 56 pound cast iron ingot I found in the rubbish skip.

“What are you going to do with that?”  I hear you ask.  Well the toilet and water tanks are central in the boat.  As is the heavy domestic battery bank.  We even have a central corridor!  So Waiouru should sit fairly level in the water.

Being an optimist I’m anticipating there will be plenty of beer on the boat and this might affect the trim.  So the 56 pound weight will be moved around Waiouru to adjust the trim.  It would probably make a damned good secondary improvised anchor….. if I was able to carry it!

Andy and Mark spent a few hours on the roof fitting the new steel surrounds for the Houdini hatches. 

Every screw hole had to be drilled and then threaded with a 4mm tap.  Stainless steel machine screws were then used to secure the steel frame to the roof of Waiouru. Once that was done all the screws were removed and the frame lifted off before sealer was applied to the underside of the frame.  It was then screwed back down.  Each machine screw was dipped in sealer before being screwed into the hole to ensure the entire frame was bonded to the roof.  The Houdini hatch was then inserted into the frame and again all the holes were drilled and threaded with a 4mm tap.  This time the holes went into the steel surround rather than the roof. 

Tomorrow Darren and I will remove the three Houdini hatches and apply window tape to the underside of the Houdini frame.  Concurrently Darren will give the steel frames a first coat of light grey gloss topcoat.  We will then refit the Houdini's into the surround and screw them down.  This should give a watertight seal.  Darren will probably be able to give the steel frame a second coat of gloss in Monday. 

The portholes will have to be fitted either tomorrow or Monday.  Probably the latter!

We found the Black Pig

As Waiouru is starting to get close to completion our thoughts have turned to all the essential cruising equipment we need to purchase.  An order has been placed via eBay for an anchor, chain and rope.  eBay also produced a supplier of competitively priced mooring ropes.  We are going to need side fenders when moored against a hard edge consequentially we’ve been looking at how to secure them to Waiouru.  I recall from our hire boating days that the plastic sausage style of fender appeared to easily snap off when secured to the mounting points below the gunwale.  Consequentially we’ve decided to secure the side fenders from a holder on the handrail where they will be more accessible.  Time will tell whether this was a sound decision.  After some Google searching we found Black Pig Fenders could supply plastic handrail hooks at a good price.  The four hooks arrived today.

They appear to be machine cut and (of course) don’t fit the profile of the handrail on Waiouru.  After some measuring and marking they were taken to the workshop where I used a jigsaw and file to reshape them.

Some fine sandpaper was then used to remove the sharp edges.  Initially we were only going to purchase two.  But then realised we might need fenders on both sides of Waiouru when moored.

The other task we completed today was to cut all but two of the ventilation holes in the furniture and doors.

Vents under the bed so the heat from the central heating copper piping can escape

Vents in the top of the wardrobes

Vent outlet in the wet locker door. This will allow the heat from the inverter and freezer to escape. 

Hopefully the chrome vent covers will arrive in the next couple of days.

However the most exciting part of the day was the arrival of Tim Bird of Merlin Signs.  Tim is doing the sign writing on the rear panels.  In preparation for the task he had made up a large paper template of the sign writing.  The reverse of the paper sheet was dusted with chalk and then taped to the panel.  Tim then carefully over-drew the lines on the template which left faint chalk lines on the panel.

The upper and lower extremities of the lettering were then marked with thin red plastic masking tape.

Tim then proceeded to paint the letters in off-white.

Once he had completed both sides Tim went back to paint the shadow.  The style Jan has chosen is a graduated two tone shadow using the light grey and graphite colours from the boat colour scheme.

Tim will need to return on Monday and apply a second coat plus some touching–up

The shadow has really given the name a 3D effect.

The blacking didn’t get done today which means it has to be done tomorrow!  Andy is also going to fit the Houdini hatches and their new steel frames.  Hopefully the portholes will also be fitted.

Quidco

Jan is feeling rather pleased.  Some time ago she had been reading a post about Quidco by Sue of nb No Problem.  Whilst she had subscribed to Quidco Jan didn’t take it much further.  However in the last two days her interest has been renewed and today she saved almost 20% on some wool she purchased online plus she received free delivery.  Checking Quidco is now going to be a regular event!

On the boat front…… Overnight I became more unhappy with the location of the camera monitor.  It was almost fouling the morse controller (The combine accelerator and gear stick).  Today I repositioned it and filled in the screw old holes.

The new position

That out of the way and it was time to get some silicon around the cables for the solar panels and the mobile phone aerial.  They need to be sealed where they exit from the plastic entry boxes on the roof.  It was only a quick job and then both Jan and brushed down the blacking before scrubbing it down with warm water ready for the second coat tomorrow.

Nick started the day by fitting the sliding hatch in the rear cabin.  The yard had intended to have the hatch slide with brass on brass.  However the brass fitting wouldn’t fit.  Our specifications stipulate roller bearing.  So that is what Nick has now fitted.

The hatch has four small sealed roller bearing which run on the brass strip.  As a result the hatch moves very easily.

Perhaps too easily!  It’s quite heavy and could decapitate someone should it move violently.  Nick is looking at fitting a '”soft close” mechanism to slow the hatch down when it reaches the end of the open position.  We are also going to need a couple of chute bolts to hold it in both the open and closed positions.  The bow of Waiouru will usually be higher than the stern so the hatch will have a tendency to roll to the closed position.

After fitting the hatch Nick moved on the the central heating system.  He finished the installation of the double radiator panel in the bathroom and ran the pipes to the two finrads in our bed footlocker.  I will have to cut two ventilation holes and fit louvered plates over them so the heat can escape from the locker.  The idea is to have lovely dry warm clothes in winter rather than damp and mouldy!

Nick then fitted the radiator he had made from copper pipe into the bedroom starboard (right) wardrobe.

The radiator has the same function as those in the footlocker.  I’ll need to fit a high level ventilation louvre.  Nick then went on to make a second radiator for the port wardrobe.

Late in the day he measured the wet locker wardrobe for the third custom made radiator. We are also going to fit a small radiator on the wall under the workstation in the back cabin.

Whilst Nick was doing this I cut out the remaining cavities behind the power socket locations and then fitted the 240v sockets in the front and rear cabins as well as the bathroom.  The 12v socket fitting haven’t arrived which means only the 240v circuits could be activated. One unexpected consequence was the washer/dryer burst into life and we had a back cabin full of flashing red LED lights.  Sometime during the last four months one of the knobs had been turned! <phew> 

Having electricity from some of the 240v sockets means we can start to remove the extensions leads trailing through Waiouru.

The 12v socket isn’t installed and the fancy socket surrounds won’t be fitted until the varnishing is completed.

Tomorrow is hire boat changeover day.  But that won’t stop Jan and me from giving Waiouru it’s second coat of two pack epoxy blacking.

Waiting for the Engine

Nick spent most of the day in the engine compartment finishing off all those little tasks which need to be completed before the engine can be fitted.

His first task was to fit the deck light followed by the four water resistant stainless steel button switches.  They have a ‘momentary’ action so they are compatible with the Empirbus system.  Whilst Nick was physically wiring the switches I reprogrammed the system so the correct switch operated the relevant consumer.  We had an initial problem with the deck light switch when it wouldn’t turn off.  Then I realised the Empirbus system was configured to turn the light on automatically when the system reset.  After that the camera system was wired followed by the bow thruster control panel.

The switches are mounted vertically (Horn, Headlamp, Navigation Lights, Deck light)  The Navigation light at the rear is a while light and by reprogramming the Empirbus system it should be possible to make it turn on/off with the deck light switch.  However the clever part is this action won’t affect the front port & starboard navigation lights.  Effectively we will make the rear navigation light a second deck light.

Nick has wired the bow thruster controller in reverse.  He has done this because the control panel is facing forward rather than on the side of the column.  The steerer will be able to reach forward and push the green arrow to move the bow to port (left) and the red arrow to starboard.

There was a problem with the camera system.  Somewhere there was a short circuit which had blown the fuse.  I told Nick to cut the conventional fuse out of the wiring and crimp the end together.  The Empirbus has digital fuses and the camera system is wired into it.  It’s a relatively easy operation to reset the digital fuses.  Eventually Nick found a hole in the cable which was creating the short.  Whilst he had lunch I cut out the damaged section of cable and re-wired the connections.  The camera then started to work correctly.  They appear to make a difference!

This is the conventional view from the stern.

OK, so Waiouru is in a tent. But you can see the view immediately in front of the boat is rather limited.

This next photo show the wide-angle close-up camera which is pointing down towards the bow.

Now it’s possible to see much more.

This next photo is the view from the narrow-angle long range camera.

If you go back to the photo taken from the stern it’s apparent the cameras provide more visibility.  Whether it is necessary is another question!

Towards the end of the day Nick fitted the Axiom propeller and the breather valves on the two stern fuel tanks.

We require a further two breather valves high on the exterior of the front bulkhead.  One for the diesel tank supplying the stove and the other for the water tank.

He also connected the water rose fitting on the rear bulkhead to the hot water system.  There is now a source of hot water on the exterior of Waiouru.  We will be able to fill a bucket, or wash muddly boots, dirty hands, etc

The last task completed today was to give the oak frame to the front doors their second coat of gloss varnish.  Hopefully I’ll get a third coat applied tomorrow.  However Darren is back tomorrow and I suspect it’s more likely he and I will be fitting portholes and the steel frames for the Houdini hatches.

Poor Jan had the job of catching the bus to Calcot and shopping in Sainsburys for essential supplies.  She returned with a replacement fleece top for me (discounted price) as my current top is starting to look very “battered”.  It will probably go in the bin once Waiouru is finished!  She also purchased a large bottle of homebrand ‘cola’.  Half of it has been tipped down the toilet and the other half will go down tomorrow.  It’s a trial to see how good a job it does removing the scale from the toilet.  If it does a satisfactory job then we can be reasonably confident it’s having the same impact along the sanitation hose on its way to the holding tank.

Cosy………..

It was a very cosy night in the bedroom with the new front doors having eliminated the usual draughts.  However it is a little exposed with all that glass in the doors.  Our first thought was it will be even more exposed when Waiouru is out of the paint tent.  However things should improve when the cratch cover is fitted.  So we have a temporary problem.

This morning we woke to find the doors like this……..

I was getting dressed in front of the doors (who wants to look at my wrinkly old body anyway) when I opened the starboard wardrobe door to get my fleece.  That’s when Jan said “That’s it… turn around!” I turned around and told her I couldn’t see anything.  Jan then said “Precisely!  Open the other wardrobe door!”

We appear to have stumbled upon a solution

Darren has been touching up the paint and removing the last of the masking tape.

The Tunnel Bands are now complete and he removed the tape from the bow panels

He and I then drilled and tapped the water tank hatch so the stainless steel securing bolts can be fitted.  We used an 8mm die to extend the threads on the bolts but then couldn’t find any stainless steel washers so left the remainder of the task until tomorrow.  The front door frame was then given it’s first coat of gloss varnish.  I’ll attempt to give it a second coat tomorrow.  The last task for the day was to discuss the blacking of the boat with Darren.  We need to get two more coats of two pack epoxy onto the hull by next Monday.  Darren is off tomorrow which only leave Thursday and Sunday.  Additionally, the portholes and Houdini hatches need to be fitted along with the plank and pole rack. 

So much to do in so little time!

Jan–The Little Aussie Bleeder

The expression “Little Aussie Bleeder” comes from the Australian TV comic persona Norman Gunston who referred to himself as “The Little Aussie Bleeder” which is a play on the expression “Little Aussie Battler”.  Norman was usually seen on his TV show with bits of toilet paper over his face where supposedly he had cut himself shaving.

Having explained the term I must now mention Jan spent the morning cooking the plums we picked late yesterday.

Once cooked all the stones had to be removed by hand

Jan – “The Little Aussie Bleeder”

Of course it is no use having cooked plums if you don’t do anything with them.  The obvious choice is jam but before that could be done Jan needed to empty some of the old jam from a few of the jars.  There is no point in wasting the old jam and she therefore made a steamed pudding in the slow cooker.

What a pity Jan doesn’t like steamed pudding.  Looks like I have it all to myself for the next few days!

Meanwhile Richard arrived today with the front exterior doors.  He had taken them away to a dust free environment where they were given three coats of gloss varnish.  I assisted him to make the window beading and fit the glass panes before he reassembled all the door hardware and hung them for the second time.

The doors fit perfectly and are a tribute to his skill.  The ventilation grills need to be fitted into the lower doors and they still require hooks to hold them open.  Tomorrow I’ll give the doorframe a final light sand and then start applying three coats of gloss varnish.

Richard then went on to fit all the chute bolts on the inside.  My draughty temporary door (last 6 months) is now redundant.  No longer will we shiver in our sleep with the wind whistling through the gaps in the door!

Darren has returned from his weekend painting course which was conducted by Phil Speight.  He is looking at Waiouru with new eyes.  However we have decided not to rub her back to bare metal and start again!   Actually Darren told me he showed Phil some of the photos he had taken of Waiouru and Phil asked him “Why are you here?”

He has reached the stage where there are lots of minor painting tasks.  First it was the stern where the white tunnel band received its first coat of gloss.  Then Darren painted the first red undercoat on the dollies (anchor points for the mooring ropes).

At the bow he gave the lower section its first coat of light grey gloss and then painted the false heads of the rivets on the water hatch hinges.  A first top coat of off-white gloss was applied to the sides of the bow.  We still haven’t decided on the pattern that will go in this area.  Should it be a series of different coloured diamonds or a sole circle?  The final job was to paint red undercoat on the ‘T’ anchor point.

Andy gave me the contact details for the sign writer so we can liaise with him about what we should have on the rear panels.

More painting and joinery tomorrow. 

Pluming

No…it’s not a spelling error!  Nothing to do with pipes!

This is the post that should have been published yesterday…. if only there had been an internet connection!!

The day started with my usual Sunday walk. Only about 12 miles so I’m obviously getting lazy.

The route started by going south and then east before hitting the M4 motorway close to the ‘Services’ (Road House in Australia). An overgrown footpath took me around the end of a disused gravel pit which is now a lake, before I struck the canal at Garston Lock. From there is was a well know path back to Waiouru.

I had a slight surprise when I thought I’d come upon our first boat builder but quickly realised this lot were far cleaner and more friendly.

There is a lovely canalside property near Theale so I stopped to take a photo.

Back at Waiouru there was time for a quick shower and a change of clothes before Jan and I borrowed a boat hook from the yard and headed back down the lane to a clump of bushes I’d seen earlier.  After being scratched and torn by the thorns plus being stung by the high stinging nettles we retreated having stripped the trees of nearly all the accessible plums

They are small but very tasty and will make a delicious jam.

Whilst Jan recovered, I set to work with the oscillating saw and cut out the last three holes for the power sockets.  Normal work has now recommenced on Waiouru.

PayPal - I communicated with a human!

Well eventually I found a way of communicating with a human at Paypal and they very quickly answered my query. 

Jayne… This is how it was done!

1. Login to your Paypal account
2. Select the Help option at the far right on the menu bar
3. Ignore all the options and type in a query in the search window
4. Ignore all the options and look at the bottom left of the screen (you may have to scroll down).  Right at the bottom is an option to  ‘Contact Us by phone or email’
5. Click on Contact Us to bring up and email window.
6. Type your query into the window and send it.
7. You will get an automatic computer generated email offering a number of potential answers to your query
8. Ignore all the potential answers and down the bottom will be an option to reply if none of the above answers your query.
9. Select that option and resubmit your question.
10. Your email will now go to a human

I receive an answer from Juan in less than 24 hours.