Author Archives: Pip

Repaint Week 11. W/C 24th August

Redhill Marina / Scarboreugh

No news from Redhill this week. The way Tom had written his message last Sunday suggested that he was unlikely to be about, maybe he and his family had headed off on holiday before the schools go back.

In Scarborough we planned to see Handbagged for a second time, sadly late afternoon I got the indications that I was in for a migraine! Luckily tickets hadn’t been booked and the evening was spent sitting quite still and taking pills.

Tuesday questions came through from the people who we are wanting to print cloths for panto, my brain wasn’t functioning too well, so I passed this on to the Production Manager to answer. I’m still not sure if she’s been in touch with them. I got confirmation through that my digs have been booked in Chippy, although with no contact details for my new host. Very sadly the host I stayed with last year, Rachel, passed away just before Christmas, so instead of being in the old bakehouse with the ghosts, I’ll be staying in a modern house with Spiderman keeping me safe whilst I sleep.

**Tilly getting back into tree climbing ready for being back on the boat**

A hire car was sorted for Wednesday afternoon, we opted to have it for a week with the hope that with three trips to Oleanna we’d be able to move everything back without too much problem. First job once we had wheels was to check on prescriptions for Frank and deliver any that had gone rogue. Then drop off the camp beds we’d borrowed when the house was extremely full of lodgers and ourselves.

Dinette cushions were loaded into the car followed by bags of possessions and then smart clothes for a party in the south.

The two and a half hour drive to Redhill turned into nearer three and a half due to the torrential rain and accidents on the M1. We ended up doing a detour and approaching Ratcliffe-on-Soar Power Station from the other side, the cooling towers suddenly looming out from the low cloud.

**Redundant rollers now our neighboring boat has gone**

At the paint shed the shutters were down. Bertie was chatting to someone about our neighbouring boat. A few last minute bits for him to do, then the roller door was raised ready for the boat to exit and be launched. Have to say our thoughts were, ‘why isn’t that us?!’ After all, we’d been in the shed a few more weeks than them!

We had a walk through Oleanna. Our plan had been to do a deeper clean in a couple of areas, dinette and under the bed so that we could offload and stow some of our stuff. The final hoover through the boat by the painters was still to come. We could have done it ourselves, but Oleanna wasn’t hooked up, we’d need power from elsewhere and now the tractor had arrived to pull the other boat out of the shed. I decided there was too much for us to clean to be able to leave the dinette cushions on the dinette, and after all why should we do a job we were paying someone else to do.

Cupboards were checked for space in the bedroom. I managed to stow a few bags of things and then the remaining bags were left on the bed, everything enclosed away from dust. The dinette cushions would now need bending to squeeze into the boot to allow us to have passengers tomorrow, but that job could wait.

**Rain water on the gunnels from the leaking shed**

I had a good look round Oleanna, making notes of a few places where things would need touching up. Nothing unexpected, a little bit of overspray on the cream, one or two places where the tape hasn’t stopped the paint from bleeding.

**Stern locker lids now with a wood surround**

The new locker lids are just as we’d wanted. They will now need a few coats of varnish to keep them waterproof. But now the surrounding paintwork will be far less likely to get marked when accessing the lockers. If marks now appear, it will be down to operator error and deserve a telling off!

Sat on a bench next to Oleanna were all the external fittings ready to go back on Oleanna. We added to it the new lockable diesel cap we’ve finally remembered to bring down. We’ve wanted one of these from before Oleanna was built, but it was one of those things Finesse didn’t do.

A sheet of paper had Tom’s list of jobs on it. It’s quite a long list. Some won’t take long, others will. My guestimate means she won’t be ready to go back in the water just after the bank holiday as had been suggested, but we’d already known that. There was a suggestion that some items were on order, replacing fittings so Oleanna would look smarter.

We had lunch at the cafe. Sadly the cafe is closing sometime in September, the lady who runs it is heading off to do new things. I wonder if anyone else will take it over, or will that be the end of a very handy cafe riverside?

**Unloading the car in the shelter of the paint shed**

Back at the paint shed we managed a brief chat with Bertie. He thought the jobs list will take them a couple of days to complete. Nothing would happen over the weekend or Friday as he is an organiser for the vintage vehicle rally over the weekend. Hopefully people will still come despite the rain! The other boat was back in the water but a bilge pump was required to help keep up with the amount of rain, so we left Bertie to it.

Back in the car we drove to Loughborough Travelodge for the night. Our room overlooked the basin and a building site where it looks like a tall building will be going up. The pontoons were surrounded by pennywort and there wasn’t a boat in sight.

I headed off for a walk to Queen’s Park. The museum closed for the day, but I had chance to admire the lovely little tower at the library, try to make out the bandstand underneath all the hanging baskets. I chatted to the birds in the aviary and listened to the bells chiming in the Carillion and bell tower. Loughborough was the home to the foundry which made the Great Paul, E-flat bourdon bell that hangs in St Pauls.

I wiggled my way round streets, found a few restaurants we might visit and checked out menus. Thankfully, the rain had now passed and I didn’t get wet.

We chose to eat at a Turkish Restaurant, Antalya Kitchen. A huge basket of bread arrived which Mick filled himself up on, followed by lamb and chicken kebabs with rice and salad. All very nice and we didn’t really mind that they didn’t have an alcohol licence as we’d got a bottle back at the hotel. We were offered a complimentary Turkish tea, but they didn’t do decaff, so we turned it down. I asked if we could call in in the morning then we’d try it. Shortly before we left, the chap turned up with a container of tea for us to make it at home.

Back at the hotel just in time before the thunder and lightening started. We compared notes with Brian on NB Harnser who was moored in Coventry, the storm arriving with us around about an hour after they’d had the deluge.

Friday morning we headed into M&S food hall to find things for breakfast and then set off to drive south. The satnav wanted us to do one route, but Mick had had his eyes on another. This meant skirting round Coventry, having deluges of rain hit us as we arrived in the Cotswolds, sitting in a LONG line of traffic at Stow on the Wold with people heading to Feastival a festival involving Michelin starred chefs!

A rendezvous at a B&B to pick up Andrew and Jac in the torrential rain, not helped by having to rearrange the car for them to have seats to sit on, then we drove the mile to my cousins house where there was to be an 80th birthday lunch for Ian.

We were here a few years ago for the Royal International Air Tatoo as their garden is half a mile away from the runway at Fairford. That day we couldn’t hear anything said as planes soared over head. This year there hasn’t been an airshow due to the base being used for bombing missions in Iran, the runway was too full of B52 bombers. Thankfully they have all left, but during the day we did have a few occasions of planes taking off and stopping the conversation.

**Wonderful food, well it was a Leckenby do!**

It’s been around 42 years since I’ve seen Jo, my cousins son, he has shot since he was 3 years old, up to around 7ft! He was a very good bbq chef, cooking some wonderful lamb cutlets and gorgeous steaks. Salads came out of our ears as did meringues and strawberries followed by cheese as a birthday cake. A very good afternoon with family and their friends. We were grilled about boating by one of Ian’s friends who has recently had a narrowboating holiday and he now wants to do more, we suggested share boats if he didn’t want to buy his own.

As guests left, family hunkered down with a few more carafes of wine in the marquee chatting away until almost 10pm. We dropped the London Leckenbys back at their B&B and then headed to Faringdon for that night’s Travelodge. This one had a cafe, bar and the room was actually cool, but it also came with boy racers in the car park!

**Hello Kingley Vale and the Oxford Canal**

Breakfast consumed, no gf bread so I made up for it with hash browns from the buffet. Then we called in at Waitrose for a sandwich for lunch. Course was set for Scarborough. We considered stopping to look at the vintage vehicles at Redhill, but as we approached it was peeing it down again, so we opted for a pit stop a little further along the M1.

Now we wonder when our next visit to Redhill should be. Tuesday or Wednesday? An early phone call on Tuesday is needed to see if it’s worth a trip or not. Here’s hoping the leaks in the paint shed don’t delay the anti-slip from going onto the gunnels.

Today, Sunday, we’ve waved goodbye to Alex, Angie and Polly their woofer, Handbagged is now moving to Theatre Clwyd for a couple of weeks. The barrier separating the two houses has been removed now Polly has headed home and Tilly has reclaimed the other side of the house. We’ve moved living rooms freeing up space for our other lodger who has been happy to share one side of the house with us, Anna now has more space than she knows what to do with. We’ve arranged to meet up with her in the kitchen later today.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire car for a week, 1 filthy boat, 1 boot full of cushions, 1 brother and sister-in-law squashed in there too, 2 days or 1 week? 0 neighbour, 2 Travelodges, 80th birthday, 4 cats, 3 woofers, 2 horses, 2 goats, 21 people, 2 much to eat and drink, 1 marquee held down by human weight, B1’s, 1 year since proposal, 4 hash browns, 1 spoonful of egg, 2 wet for cars, 5 now down to 3, 1 cat free to roam, 1 boat’s tentative smile returned.

Repaint Week 10. W/C 17th August

4 Replies

Redhill Marina / Scarboreugh!

Another week.

**Deserted beaches now the temperature has dropped**

Monday we sent a message asking when it might be possible to start moving things back on board, would this be the week it would happen?

Don’t be daft!!!

The roof was anti slipped, all the mushroom vents masked off, edges taped and the gritty paint applied.

Tom wasn’t 100% happy with how the blue on the bow and stern bulkheads had dried, the hot weather having speeded up the drying process, so it had gone a touch matt. When we were there a little while ago, I’d mentioned that the blue on the bow bulkhead didn’t look as shiny as that on the bow, at least Tom agreed. There was a choice between cut and polishing the blue, or give it a sand back and respray. The latter was chosen for a better use of time and to stop the top coats becoming thin.

Tuesday the masking on the roof had been removed and Matt the solar chap must have visited as on Wednesday morning we were sent photos of the solar panels installed on the roof. Cables held down by magnets.

The boat was then masked off again to respray the bulkheads and by 5:30pm we had photos through from Tom showing how much shinier they were.

Thursday morning all the masking was removed, including the brown paper that has been keeping the blacking black. The first sight of Oleanna in her new livery. Very nice. The tiller was also painted in the three colours.

Zooming in on the photos I could see that the cratch board is still to be sanded and varnished and there was no sign of any anti slip on the gunnels yet.

We sent a message asking if there was a plan for the remaining jobs including a time scale for which they’d be happening. Would we be able to move things back on board, stay over and be there for her to go back in the water?

Friday came and we nudged Tom for an answer. It was his son’s birthday, so he’d rightly been busy with celebrations. There was a list of some of the remaining jobs, we checked he’d got repainting the lockers on his list. He could see us climbing back on board mid to late next week with Oleanna being launched after the bank holiday weekend. He’d give us a call tomorrow as he’d be down at the paint shed.

An invoice arrived from Matt for the solar. Of course we can’t check if it works until we’re out in daylight! The fuse for the panels has been added on the roof as there is no space for it in the electrics cupboard.

So we started to make plans around next week, adding in a trip to the south, which had been another destination we’d aimed to go to by boat. Canal time eh! I went for a walk to think about the logistics of hiring a car/van, when should we get it from and for how long? We’d need it before the weekend and after, but not during. The hire car we’d arranged from East Midlands Airport would now need cancelling, or should we keep it as it could be returned on Saturday afternoon? This would not be possible if we hired anything from Scarborough.

We had several possible plans, but would need confirmation from Tom before we went ahead and booked anything.

Saturday morning we decided which plan we preferred and relayed it to Tom. This would involve us moving things onto the boat one day, staying overnight and then heading south from Redhill, returning the following week for the launch with more of our possessions, then a third trip to return our second mate back to her floating home.

**Second Mate and Design Assistant Tilly**

Unfortunately, the day we’d planned is also a day when the base plate is likely to be sprayed. So the paint will be gassing overnight, so it wouldn’t be possible for us to stay overnight. However, we could drop things off at the boat that day. We’ll book ourselves a Travelodge somewhere nearby, which will be cheaper than the fuel to return to Scarborough only to drive southwards again the following day.

Pete the joiner has done the locker lids and the inspection hatch, although we’ve not had photos, but they are more jobs off the list.

So we gradually inch closer. We’d rather it was quicker, and we’d rather know which day Oleanna will go back in the water as there are hire cars and Tilly to think about. The only fortunate thing about not going back in the water until after the Bank Holiday is that our new licence will start close to the start of a month rather than having to pay for the full month of August and only achieving a few days afloat.

**Anyone got an old hook up I could have please?**

In panto news, new prices have come in for the printing of cloths, 2/3rds the previous quote. A new version of part of the set will come in cheaper. We’ve given the go ahead to Jamie to build the show before he got offered another job.

I’ve had a full day of props meetings with Helen who is the main props person this year and then Min who has lots of things to make at home for one very busy scene. Hopefully soon I will know if we’re on budget. Late on Friday, draft four of the script arrived, just as I thought I was ticking off the last few jobs I needed to do. Well at least I’ll be able to find the time to read it now.

There has been more walking and catching up with friends. Mick planned to visit Headingley on Saturday for the fourth day of the test match with Pakistan. Unfortunately play ended on Friday, fortunately England won and Mick will get a refund on his ticket.

**Is chilled medication going out of fashion?!**

So we continue to wait. The boxes I’d packed a month ago, have now been raided and will need repacking. At least we’ll be here to reset one side of the house after Alex leaves.

0 locks, 0 miles, 2 more friends seen, 1 more supporter sorted, 1 hire car cancelled, 1 hire car booked, 2 hotels booked, 3rd destination not reached by boat, 1 HMRC webinar, 1st decent rain in ages, 1 waterproof at the house, 1 waterproof in Redhill, 1 painting started, 4th draft, 6 hours props meetings, 1 list of jobs, £139 saved, 7 years old, 1 bank holiday, I remember when things were going to start happening after Easter!

Repaint Week 9 W/C 10th August

1 Reply

Redhill Marina / Scarboreugh!

Monday morning a message was sent to Tom to see if we could pay a visit this week. Wednesday was to be a spraying day, so not a good day to visit, but Tuesday was looking good. As both of us wanted to visit Mick tried to hire a car or van for the day, but all hire companies in Scarborough were fully booked. Not one vehicle to be had in town. So he then spent a while susing out trains. With some flexibility built into our tickets we were booked on an early train via Hull, hopefully we’d manage a quick change at Sheffield.

Tuesday morning and we were the first up in the house. A cuppa each was consumed whilst packing a bag for the day with a sandwich breakfast, knitting and plenty of water. Our journey through the Yorkshire Wolds was a very golden one, all the fields now harvested. A few also very black following field fires last week. In Sheffield our next train sat on the next platform waiting for us and there was just enough time to buy a decaff tea, Mick says I jumped in front of a couple, but they were dillydallying too much and my need for tea was obviously far greater than theirs!

We arrived at East Midlands Parkway just before 11am, I’d finished a sock and cast on the toe of the next one. It was a pretty warm walk down to the marina.

So what had changed since the last photos we’d received? Oleanna’s gunnels were now matt black. The paint applied with a roller, so when it comes to touch-up time, the touch-ups will match and not be so obvious. The matt paint dries really quite quickly. Oleanna’s neighbour had also come on, more or less in the same state as Oleanna. Sign written and masked out for the final colour on the coach lines.

Windows were in. Paul and Spec, the joiners had been busy redrilling the holes on the window frames and then filling them with oak dowels to hide the screw holes. One job we’d omitted to think about has been to have the frames sanded back and revarnished. Sadly the water stains from condensation and rain are there, now with the windows in the way! Oh well, we’ll see what happens this winter before I consider doing something about the stains.

**Different frosting on the bathroom windows**

The new windows are double glazed and have a thermal break. We also opted for the stays or rests to have two positions to them. This will mean we can have the windows just cracked open as well as the usual opening. The frames sit into the boat more than the single glazed ones did, but that’s due to the frames being thicker to accommodate the two layers of glass.

The galley windows are still only single glazed as they are sliding windows which are not available in double glazing, The frames of our new windows are that little bit wider than the old frames, at least both sides of the boat look the same and I suspect not many people would notice at first glance.

**Tape to protect the new paintwork as we talked lids**

Inside Paul and Spec were starting to be briefed by Tom regarding the stern locker lids. I decided that I should go and check what was being discussed. The idea was to trim around an inch and a half off around the two sides and the back edge of the wooden locker lids. The trimmed off border would then be fixed to the steelwork and we’d be left with a lift out lid that still sits on the steelwork but is far FAR less likely to bump and scrape the fresh paintwork, as it did with the original lids.

**Smile still sat inside. Hope my paintwork from last year matches**

Paul was concerned that trimming the ends of the lids would mean that the wood for the border would be made up of end grain, so liable to split. He then suggested making the opening smaller, therefore keeping a larger surround which would be more stable. This however would make the opening of the locker a really small size and actually make using the lockers almost impossible. We stow buckets, ropes mooring items and all sorts in there, the lockers are used daily. Placing the locker lids on the lockers helped, suggesting that the border was not made from the offcuts, but new timber with the grain running the length of each side would be better. Soon I believed we’d be getting what we wanted.

**A straight transition between black and blue, it used to be curved**

The other job we wanted them to do was to cut an inspection hatch at the stern under the treads. When Oleanna was being built Finesse were really reluctant to do this for some reason. We’d however like to be able to check the bilges every now and again without taking the fridge out! So hopefully this will also get done. The chaps then moved on to work on our neighbouring boat, putting the windows back together there. A full day for the joiners working on two boats makes more sense than just turning up to work on one, but I suspect that has added to the length of time Oleanna has been in the shed.

The lower tunnel band was ready for the last colour to be sprayed, the red. The roof was having the mushroom vents fitted back on by Bertie. Items had arrived for the solar installation however, the panels were still in transit.

**Seyella moored up under trees on the other bank**

We headed down to the cafe for lunch. Which blogging boater might we have chance to have missed today. Well across the way was what looked like a familiar boat, however with new owners. NB Seyella was moored under a few trees, looking in good order from a distance, Geoff and Mags now living on a Dutch barge further up the River Soar.

After jacket potatoes, yes it was hot, but we’d already had smoked salmon sandwiches for breakfast, we returned to the paint shed. Here we mentioned the lock we’ve bought for the diesel tank which we’ve so far forgotten to bring down.

Then we talked about the time scale to completion. We don’t want to be in a situation of not being able to hire a van in Scarborough to move everything else back to the boat. Tom said once certain jobs were done he’d be able to give us a better idea. Then if we wanted to move things back on in the paint shed as they finished things off outside, we’d be able to stay overnight and then be there for Oleanna going back in the water. There was a subtle caveat that it would be dependent on how hot the next two days were and what they managed to get done. Really high temperatures would mean any paint would turn matt.

So hopefully next week sometime! Our return journey on the train proved that a single carriage can be both a sauna and a freezer within 2 meters, we chose the cool section and just managed to catch the connecting train in Sheffield back to Scarborough.

Wednesday. Would the red be finally sprayed? We waited for news.

At around 5pm, photos started to come in. The red had been sprayed, a good deep bright red. Tom signed off for the day with the comment ‘Lets see what tomorrow brings’.

Thursday at just gone 8:30 the first photo came through. The gas locker lid, masking removed and the hinges red on the blue.

Then views of the cabin sides, plastic still over the roof, the tunnel band now red and the dollies and bottom of the tiller.

By 11:15 we got to see her without any masking, her cream roof and grabrail red. ‘Looking really boaty now’. She certainly is. But you’ll have to wait a while longer before I show you, she needs to be out in daylight

Next will be anti-slip, dry enough for Matt to fit the solar panels next week. The tiller needs finishing, doors fitting, hatch doors fitting and marking up to match the stripes on the cabin sides, woodwork sanding back and varnishing. The base plate finished blacking. There’s also the two new T studs to be fitted. Then all the fixtures and fittings back on, including for the cratch and pram covers, sadly these will for the time being be the old ones rather than new. We’ll have to be careful when we drop the pram cover to make sure it doesn’t harm the paintwork, as one of the connectors tends to slip out.

No news of Friday sadly. So we’ll be getting in touch on Monday to see if Tom now has a plan of which day we can start to move back onboard. We know we’ll have a lot of cleaning to do in cupboards, so it will be a long day for us.

During the week I’ve had a couple of panto meetings and chats, been tidying up some of the print images. We also ticked off a meal out with Mark at the Taj, meaning we missed watching the eclipse. I’ve also caught up with my girl friends here in Scarborough over lots of nibbles and conversation. Thank you Duncan for being a good doorman.

0 locks, 0 miles, 6 return tickets each, 24 tickets in all, 1 boat edging her way to being finished, 1 packet sad gits smoked salmon, 1 sad gits crispy aromatic duck, 1 £3 duck now in the freezer, 60 brisk minute walks minimum each day, 1 cat now getting used to being in the house, 1 woofer visitor returned, 2 boaters having unpacked a bit about to have to repack, we HOPE!

Repaint Week 8 W/C 3rd August

Repaint Week 7 W/C 27th July

Scarboreugh / Redhill Marina

Patience is a virtue, it’s also getting VERY boring now!

**Taking the weight off whilst the IT department sort out a problem**

Last Sunday we waved goodbye to the Calendar Girls who have been staying with us. Almost as soon as Fenella had pulled away in a car Mick and I got busy moving ourselves from my workroom and The Shed into the back bedroom. This is now my third bedroom in three weeks and Mick’s forth! I had to promise Tilly that this was the last time we’d be moving the inside until we moved back to the inside where the outside moves. We were now left with one lodger, Alex who had headed home for the weekend.

Monday the cleaners arrived to give one side of the house a spruce up. No news or photos from Redhill.

**Camenbert and smoked salmon quiche to help use up pastry**

Tuesday, a message was sent to Tom to see how things were going. A while ago he’d said he was aiming to be finished this week, we’d taken that to mean the end of the week at the earliest. I’d done a tot up of the jobs still to be done and reckoned it would actually end up being next week.

A message came through from Tom. Next job would be to prepare the grabrail for the red, he’d realised the black he’d been sent was actually gloss and we’d asked for matt, so he was waiting for that to be delivered. The joiner was going to get back to him on timings for his jobs, he’d be in touch later with a better idea. Definitely not this week then.

The day, however, improved with a visitor all the way from Bristol bearing boaty bootie! Paul Balmer from Waterway Routes had decided to have a day out to deliver various boaty items he no longer needs as he has sold his boat NB Waterways Routes sometime ago now. (Note: he has only sold his boat not the Waterway Routes maps business.) Last weeks blog post had landed at just the right time as Paul had spare blue ropes which needed a new home. So early in the morning he’d packed up a bag and set forth to venture northwards. We popped down to the station to meet his train, decanted his boaters bootie into a couple of bags and then walked down to the Cats Pyjamas, we’ve never been to this cafe before, but it is close to southbay so at least Paul would get to see the sea before he headed back southwards.

After inspection by Tilly, the boat hook was put to use to fish things out of the high cupboard in the kitchen. Sadly the custard container was empty.

**Thank you very much Paul for the goodies**

A very nice hour and a half was spent hearing about his recent trip on the Mon and Brec, us filling him in on the boat repaint and general boaty conversation, all accompanied by butties and cuppas. Then it was time to wave goodbye again, hopefully our paths will cross should we be able to cruise anywhere as he and Christine are itching to help work locks. They may be able to help Mick should we manage to get south for me to go to Panto.

Wednesday. A catch up message from Tom. Tomorrow they’d be fitting the windows and then putting black on the gunwales. Other bits would go back on Oleanna, but the red wouldn’t happen until next week.

School holidays will now add to delays, there’s a family festival to attend next week so only a few things will get done on Oleanna. So he’s now looking at the week after for completion. Another disappointing day really. We checked to see how the solar was going, Matt is going away for two weeks from next week. The roof gland had been fitted, where the panels are going marked out and the panels are in transit. Patience!

**First thermal break window frame going in**

Thursday we got a photo of one of the new windows having gone in, our picture window in the bedroom. The brown paper having been removed from that section. They apparently were going in well. The frames inside will require some joinery. They should slot in around the frames, but then will need wooden plugs putting in over their screws.

Friday, the plan was for Oleanna’s doors to go back on today along with mushroom vents. However, Whatsap was quite quiet.

In the evening we headed to the SJT to watch Handbagged, a political satire which imagines what happened behind the Palace doors when Margaret Thatcher and the Queen met for their weekly meetings over eleven years. Alex our current lodger is playing the older Margaret Thatcher in the play. We’ve been hearing how things have been progressing during the production week and tonight was the first preview. We enjoyed the show, it’s amusing, very different from Calendar Girls and needs a few more shows to bed itself in, but as I say it was the first preview.

Saturday, we decided to unpack some clothes, it’s fine living out of bags for a couple of weeks, but not really for a month. We’ve welcomed in another lodger, Anna who is an Assistant Stage Manager for the new Ayckbourn which starts rehearsals on Monday.

We’ve installed a makeshift barrier on the landing where the two houses connect. This is because next week we will have two visitors, Angie and Polly, Polly is a woofer! So we’re giving Tilly some time to acclimatise, or do calculations to be able to climb it! We’re hoping the off cut of kitchen worktop is not scalable!

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 date moved again, 2 boaters moving around the house again, 2 lodgers out, 1 new one in, 1 feline/canine barrier built, 1 long distance visitor, 4 x 9m ropes, 1 escape ladder, 1 extendable boat hook, 1 pair pond gloves, 1 set of windows installed, 2 solar panels on their way, but not fitted, 1 family festival, 2 weeks holiday, 1 veg box, 1 GF focaccia, 2 Maggies, 2 Liz’s, 8 diddy quiches, 1 CD to pick up, £? is it Duncan?

Repaint Week 6 W/C 20th July

Redhill Marina / Scarboreugh

Living on land now involves creaky staircases, encouraging Tilly to sleep in a different room, making a list of things that need to be done before leaving Scarborough, starting to tick them off, unpacking boxes to find that thing or bag of sugar you didn’t think you’d need again until returned to the boat. It’s fine, but I’m glad we’re not having to do it for too long though. This weekend we may well have eight people in the house as one company of actors perform their last shows in Scarborough and have family to stay, good job we’ve got four toilets!

Anyhow, Monday morning we hired a van again, cheaper than a car for the day, sadly they didn’t give us a car, but the van did have aircon, so that was a bonus. Should we take a load of things down to the boat? We decided not to. When we do get to move back on board, I suspect even though the boat will have been cleaned through (we hope) there will be places that didn’t get done. All the cupboards that have crockery in will need a clean and tidy etc. Anything that we take down to the boat and put in the stores will need to be onboard before Oleanna goes in the water, so we’ve already got more than enough to move around as we get ourselves sorted. When we do move the next load can stay in the van until we’re ready for it.

At the paint shed our neighbouring boat had been prepped, blacked, and had it’s high build coats sprayed, the yellow layer quite obvious but nowhere near as yellow as Nb Lillyanne was. Also sat out the front of the workshop were four little engines for a fairground ride. They also had a coat of yellow highbuild waiting to be sanded back.

After spotting things other than Oleanna, our attention was grabbed by her bow flash.

Now here I now have a dilemma. Do I reveal Oleannas finished bits as they happen, or give you ambiguous photos for a while to then do a big reveal when she’s out of the paintshed? Hmm, not sure. Maybe we’ll stay ambiguous for a while!

Well her bow flash is wonderful, a lovely Mackintosh inspired nod to Oleanna’s previous livery. Claire has done a lovely job. The red sings on the dark blue, we’re very happy.

The sign writing at the stern is lovely, but at the moment under the lights in the shed and no natural daylight hitting her cabin side it looks a touch dark, but this may also be just the way colours sit against each other.

Have to say we’d hoped to see another colour sprayed, but other than the bow she looked pretty much as when Mick had been down last week. I’m aware of drying/curing times of paint and I suspect they also had to fit in with times Claire could work, plus having another boat to work on whilst the paint goes off on Oleanna.

Tom was busy marking out the long coachlines along the cabin side. Purple, blue and yellow tape were being applied in straight lines. When a cabin side isn’t actually just straight, it curves and kicks up at the rear, you can’t just do a few measurements and join the dots. Sometimes things need adjusting to look right.

**Brown paper being added to protect the cream**

Did we want the shadow to cut off at an angle, as it should or be square as it had been on her original paint job? We’re all for improvements so chose an angled shadow which would match the sign writing. As the day went on more lines of tape were added for both the blue and red lines on the cabin sides. Then once everything was in place a layer of brown paper was added over the sides to protect it from over spray.

**Doors, hatches, and locker lids ready to be painted**

Normally when spraying the main cabin colour, Tom would work his way round the sides of the boat and roof. Then have a little break as the paint goes off before following round with a second coat on all sides. However, the high temperatures on the day he was spraying the cream meant that by the time he’d worked his way round both cabin sides back to where he’d started, it was ready for it’s second coat, no time to spray the roof as any overspray would be noticable. So it had been left for another time. By the end of the day the roof was being sanded back ready for the top coats.

Lunch at the cafe, a cheese and salad cob and a tuna mayo sandwich with a cuppa each, sat watching the occasional boat on the River Soar. Maybe today was the day NB Bonjour would pass the marina? Maybe they’d already passed this morning? Another near miss with a blogging boat.

We loitered, trying to stay out of the sunshine, waiting to meet with Matt regarding our new solar panels. Our new bow and stern fenders had arrived, now our thoughts turned to new ropes. Oleanna has so far had two sets, we soon replaced the original thin weedy lines she came with, 16mm much better for my reduced grip bought from Tradline in Braunston. These showed their age a bit quicker than we’d expected and we replaced them 2 years later, also with ropes from Tradline. With a new paint job we’d like her to look smart and her current lines are now in need of replacement, not bad after about 7 years. Not being near a chandlery means we may have to purchase without being able to feel them. A choice, should we go for multifilament or polyester? A look back on the blog to see what we’d had previously, this only gave me the lengths not the type of rope. I think our current one’s float.

**CRT number with the logo from when she was launched**

Matt arrived and chat started about the size of solar panels for Oleanna. We’d originally wanted to up how much solar we can get, but panels need to fit on the roof between mushroom vents. The location of the old ones would be best then we’d not need to either rewire the boat or have numerous wires across the roof. Two manufacturers were looked at, one panel a touch tight, the other would only give us a bit more power. Matt would be in touch tomorrow with a quote. Time is now pressing as he and his colleague go on holiday soon for two weeks, we’d like them fitted before then, plus Tom needs the panels so he knows where to anti-slip the roof, avoiding where the panels will be stuck.

Tuesday. Matt got in touch. The panels we’d opted for were out of stock, but he’d found some others, 290 watts each, which would give us a bit more power and would fit the original spaces. A quote was sent through, we checked it over and approved it. Hopefully now the panels will arrive this week so as not to hold anything up.

Later in the afternoon photos came through from Tom. The roof had been sprayed plus the doors that are going cream along with all the mushroom vents. The mushrooms were originally chrome, in the hope that they’d stay shiny and not require polishing. However within a few months they started to tarnish and we could never get them to be shiny, so just gave up. Hopefully now being painted they will stay looking good far far longer. This now leaves red and blue to be done, followed by the gunnels going matt black, anti-slip, and the base plate getting sprayed, which apparently is the last thing to happen almost as she is wheeled out of the paint shed. However there is now a day to wait before they can cover up the roof with paper to protect it from over spray.

Wednesday. An expensive day! Claire sent through photos and an invoice for her work. This was soon followed by Tom asking for his next payment. He also sent ideas for the T studs for the bow. Two options which were okay, but Mick found one that would have a similar feel to the T studs already on Oleanna. The new ones however are stainless steel, so no painting required and will bolt on to the top of the gunnel, meaning should they ever need to be removed it would be an easier job. I doubt we’d ever remove them as they will be useful for river locks and give us an extra option when mooring at oddly spaced rings.

By the end of the day Oleanna was just about ready for the red to go on and money had been moved across from accounts leaving our pockets emptier than they were at the start of the day.

Thursday. Tom seemed to have changed his mind as to which colour should follow. Photos started to come through mid-morning. The mushroom vents were now very much mushroom coloured and waiting to go back on the roof. Then in the afternoon photos of all the doors and hatches came through all shiny and blue. Maybe Tom changed his mind about the red as things like the gas locker lid hinges and dollies will be going red and it’s far easier to spray a big area and then mask out the for the finer details.

In Pantoland I had a go at scanning the cloths. Laptops have changed since I got good results last year and my old laptop has been defaulted. The scans weren’t going quite as large as I need and try as I did, I really couldn’t remember how I’d persuaded the scanner to go large last year. Of course the IT department was busy sitting around in Derby Hospital at the time so he has no recollection as to what I did either! Work in progress. I turned my attention to some visuals for a props maker instead.

Conversations have turned to our cruising plans. Firstly will we be able to go anywhere due to low water levels, CRT are filling up our inbox with lock flight restrictions. Should we move Oleanna back northwards where levels may be better? Or should we carry on with our hoped for destination and a canal we’ve not visited for quite some time?

We have two routes southwards we can choose from, both had restrictions imposed on them last summer. Both would give us somewhere an hours bus ride from Chippy for panto. Stoppage lists were studied, there’s still a few weeks before these are confirmed so they could still change. We also have to take into consideration whether Mick should be single handing this winter or not, this could well steer our cruising plans.

Friday morning, more photos from Tom. Lots more blue had been sprayed, the bow and stern and the cabin coach lines. Next will come the red. We wait for the next photos to arrive, nothing had arrived by the end of the day, so that is likely to happen on Monday now as the blue needs a day to go off before it can be masked out.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 van hired, 1 bow looking stunning, 2 panels on order, 9 doors and hatches, 4 choochoos, 3 coloured masking, 150 ft brown paper, 1 imp, 8 mushroom mushrooms, 1 visit to Sir and Lady A, 1 solicitor, 2 Eat Me burgers, 7 scans not big enough, 2 alternative plans, 1 Blackbird back to the nest? 1 assistant working hard, only 2 more shows of Calendar Girls, 2 boaters now at least 9 weeks behind the original plan for this year.

Repaint Week 5 W/C 13th July

Redhill Marina / Scarboreugh

**It could be fuller, but at least it’s a start**

We’d been in touch with Tom last week hoping that we’d be able to take a load of things down to the boat, a hire van was booked and first thing Monday morning Mick headed off on a bus to pick up a hire van. We then spent an hour loading it with definite boaty items that had been sat in the boat cupboard or on our dining room floor awaiting their return.

Unfortunately I had a panto deadline looming so needed to spend the day taking photos of my model box, checking over drawings and making a list of paints I’ll be needing in a few months time. Mick headed off on his own hoping to arrive before Claire the sign writer had finished for the day. His journey down wasn’t too bad and he arrived around lunchtime. Claire was busy giving Oleanna her name back.

**Claire busy giving Oleanna her name back**

Photos came through from Mick whilst I worked away back in Scarborough. Oleanna’s newly painted cream cabin sides had been marked up with tape where her lines and shadows will be, Tom will mask these out and spray them another day. But their positioning was important to get her name in the right place. My emailed instructions to Claire had requested the shadow on the letters to be towards the stern of Oleanna on both sides. Usually the shadow on lettering is either to the left or the right and is a constant side no matter which side of the boat you are on. However, because I’m me, I want the shadows to be constant as if the sun was in front of Oleanna. When originally sign written nobody had passed this information on to Andy Russell who ended up wiping off the paint thankfully before it had dried. Mick checked and the shadows were in the right place today.

Tom was found elsewhere working on hatch doors. These are taken off the boat and popped in a different room for spraying. Colours were checked for the rear sliding hatch. On my original model this had been red, but it had ended up being painted blue in Sheffield. Today the decision was should it be red, blue or cream? Red would only fade in time. Cream would be boring, so back to blue it would go. Only downside is that it will get hot in the sun.

A top shelf was cleared in the paint shed stores so that our possessions could be unloaded. Mick had taken some dust sheets to lay over them as even in a separate room from the paint shed they may well get dusty. By the end of the day Tom sent a photo of everything covered up, all our bedding ready to go back on board. Mick was back in Scarborough at a reasonable time. Our first load of possessions now back close to the boat, but most importantly, not in the house!

Tuesday was a very early start. Mick gave me a lift to catch the 5:44 train to York, model box and technical drawings packed away in my blue Ikea bag. I had time to scour the shelves of Sainsburys at York Station for things I could eat for breakfast/lunch. Some fruit, a nut bar and a quinoa salad.

Next train was direct to Banbury, I was so very glad I had a seat booked all the way, close to the luggage rack and didn’t have to stand like SO many others did. A lift from Helen who worked on props last year over to Chippy where I set up the model, requested a cuppa and was ready for our meeting at 11:30.

Helen (Props), Paul (Technician), John (Artistic Director), Caroline (Director) and Gemma (Production Manager were all in attendance. On Monday Gemma and I had met with Jamie the set builder and talked through the builds, we already knew the design was over budget. The build cost came in from Jamie, we’d need to prune some items and simplify others to get the price down. I never like doing this without the Director present as they may have different ideas as to what is really important, especially when a new section of script hadn’t come my way yet.

A good meeting, a few items cut, some discussed to be simpler and thankfully Caroline had the same opinion as me on other cuts that shouldn’t happen. Stocks of paint were checked. Props and staffing were chatted about, quite a full on few hours.

The theatre was full of small people doing a dress rehearsal for an end of term show. Astronauts, pumpkins, superheros and slices of cake amongst others were rounded up through the narrow corridors of backstage, if you wanted to reach front of house it was far Far simpler to walk around the outside of the building.

A lift back to the station where thankfully I had another reserved seat all the way to York, avoiding having to stand most of the way as so many others had to! Three quarters of an hour wait in York meant I could walk to Scarborough Bridge to count the number of boats on the River Ouse moored at Museum Gardens. The Minster was busy donging, celebrating it being Tuesday, the sixth since Mick and I became Civil Partners. Back to Scarborough for a well earned glass of wine before bed.

Early Wednesday morning we listened to two pixies delivering camp beds to our front door. The rest of the day was spent packing more of our possessions away in the house. The boat cupboard that had almost been emptied on Monday, now became groaningly full. Tilly got totally confused as wardrobes were emptied, spices and herbs packed into boxes, everything rationalised, our existence in the house moved into the room we call the Shed and the boat cupboard. Thursday followed with a visit from our cleaners who made our bedroom look very inviting for our next lodger, Tilly inspected everything before extra covers were added to protect the freshly made bed. Mick and I would now be sleeping in the Shed and my work room. Tilly persevered sitting on our bed overnight, not quite able to relax as for her our move back to Oleanna was imminent, to us it’s still at least a couple of weeks away.

I spent time working on alternative versions for one scene of panto, drawing them up and sending them on to Jamie to price up. A visit to Oleanna was hoped for, but during Friday they would be spraying paint, so it wouldn’t be a good day to visit. Instead we arranged to go down next Monday, hoping we’d be able to catch Claire finishing off the bow. No photos came through from Tom, maybe not much had changed, maybe they were masking things off.

On Saturday and Sunday Scarborough was celebrating Seafest and 400 years of being the first seaside resort. Seafest (an annual event) is normally held on one of the piers, but major works are happening there this year, so celebrations were held at The Spa instead. The community stage was in the Suncourt and the main acts/bands were inside in the Grand Hall. The Ocean Room was taken over with stalls from historical groups and Animated Objects.

A cardboard recreation of the Pump Room had been made, people were invited to colour in paper tiles to help decorate it. Lee gave a very good talk on the history of the spa waters in Scarborough and how their discovery led to the town becoming a tourist destination. Games stickers and a LOT of old work colleagues who turn up to work for Animated Objects at such big events. Lovely to see everyone, hear some of them sing and then enjoy some chilled medication before heading home (well the words on the steps told us we had too!).

**Seafest fireworks viewed from the Esplinade**

Sunday evening Alex, our third lodger arrived. Alex was one of our original lodgers back in 2021 when we first put our names on the theatre digs list, it’s lovely to have her back and we look forward to her performance as Margaret Thatcher in Handbagged at the SJT in a couple of weeks time.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire van filled, 1 visit, 1 boat with her name again, 1 confused cat, 1 full cupboard, 1 empty wardrobe, 1 pantry reduced, 1 Tom at the very top, 1 She squashed in the Shed, 1 Tilly uncertain where to go! 2 days of Seafest, 1 firework display, 6 in Raven, 20 ? Manhattan Voices, 100kg Lego Spa, 2 many old friends to mention, 1 CD required Duncan with the song about traveling to see someone a long way away please!

Repaint Week 4, W/C 6th July

Redhill Marina / Scarboreugh

We were busy returning from the Dales on Monday, so having no news about Oleanna didn’t bother us.

But when Tuesday arrived we started to jump to look at our phones as photos started to come through from Tom.

**All back to bare steel and everything else masked off**

All the prep work was complete. She’d been stripped, filled where needed. Anodes, doors, cratch etc were all masked out, they were ready to start spraying on the blacking.

We couldn’t spot the new T studs we’d asked for on the bow, Tom reminded us that these were to be stainless steel and they would be bolted on later. New vents in the gas locker had been cut above the rubbing strake above the old ones. Hannah or BSS examiner said that she’d be happy with this location and that the old lower one (that always sits under water) should be left.

Oleanna was now ready to go black, all over! Yes cabin sides as well as below the gunnels. This is a 2 pack paint which is anti corrosive so should help protect the cabin sides. The base plate would also be sprayed. Oleanna sat on jacks so that she could be raised high enough for them to get underneath on a trolley to spray her bottom.

Three to four hours later she’d turned black.

Wednesday morning Oleanna’s bottom got skirted off with brown paper. We wonder how much brown paper they get through a year?

Areas that obviously needed filling got some attention and then were sanded back. The bedroom porthole being the main area needing this.

Then followed a coat of high build 2 pack, turning her grey. You can see this happening in the photo below. A chap stood in a protective suit with mask providing the wearer with fresh air as they worked their way along the cabin sides.

The bow lockers and well deck got coated too, the stern will have been done too.

Across the way from Oleanna sits the next boat, shot blasted ready to have the remaining paint stripped back around the windows. It’s covered in plastic whilst Oleanna is sprayed.

Thursday we had no photos sent. This was a day when a photo would have been one for the archive as the next coat of high build would be yellow! I wonder how yellow Oleanna went? I doubt she will have matched NB Lillyanne’s Rapeseed Yellow cabin sides.

Why yellow? Well this means that as they sand her back to get a smooth surface for the top coats they can see where they need to stop sanding when they reach grey.

Friday. It had been really good to see the progress being made this week, Oleanna changing colour just about every day. One thing we really needed to know though was when we’d be able to move on board and would Tilly be able to come with us?

Messages went back and forth between Tom and ourselves. We were pretty certain that we’d said when we would become homeless at the house, Tom had remembered a different date! Tilly living on board would add an extra complication to the final stages as we’d want her to be kept inside the boat whilst people would be coming and going all day long, putting Oleanna back together again. I’d also been thinking it would not be fair on Tilly to live in the paint shed, her preferred home the boat, surrounded by odd noises and fumes. She’s quite a jumpy cat normally and turning her home into a scary place would not be good. Tom was fine about us moving on board, but we’d have to find a different solution for Tilly.

We needed to put our thinking caps on. She could go to a cattery. A stressful journey there, then to the boat and we don’t have a completion date for the repaint and the other jobs we’ve asked for. If Tilly could stay in the house that would be the preferred choice. However the house is about to become really quite full and if we’re not about the house would also be a scary place.

Should we be living in the paint shed whilst major works were being carried out? This was another question. Dust, fumes would not be good for us either. Vacating Oleanna every day would be helped if we had a car, but we don’t have one. Mick checked out local to us hotels. Our nearest option (not a choice!) but out of interest was a few hundred pounds more than the Grand which comes with a sea view!

One of us could sleep in the room we call the shed, the other stay with friends. This would mean Tilly at least would have a familiar face in the house. But if that was the case, maybe both of us could stay, we’d just need to find something to sleep on in my work room. As we deliberated solutions two more photos arrived. Oleanna had turned cream! This will be her final colour to hopefully help keep us a little cooler in the summer months than we used to be when she was dark blue.

We checked when Clair is booked to do the sign writing, that will be early next week. With the cream cabin sides done this can go ahead, there will still be the red and blue lines and grab rail to add along with the bow and stern going blue. We’d asked if Clair could paint Oleanna’s CRT number back on the grabrail and do the new bow flash, but I suspect these areas won’t be ready for her.

No quote as yet for our new solar panels from Matt, we hope to hear from him next week.

By the end of the day we’d contacted our next lodger and explained our situation and our solution. Poor Alex has been having to move each week she’s been in Scarborough so far and at the end of next week she’s due to move in with us. There will be a bottle neck in the house for a week, one slightly confused cat not knowing who’s toes to snuggling up to in the night, or why normal doors are closed to her, but we believe this will be the least stressful situation for all concerned. We just need to find something to sleep on and move a lot of our possessions down to Oleanna to make room for a fifth person in the house. At least the house will only be chock a block for a week, then we can spread out a bit again.

0 locks, 0 miles, 4 colours, 120 ft plus of brown paper, 2 boaters thinking out of the boat, 2 boaters thinking about moving without moving, 1 cat oblivious, 1 panto model just about completed, 15 sheets of drawings to update, 1 little Frank faux pas, 1 cool seaside town 2 be stayed in for a while longer, 0 surprises this week.

Repaint Week 3 W/C 29th June

Plus a surprise!

Well, this week we’ve been waiting for news on progress from Tom. Mick tried giving him a call on Thursday, but got no answer. He was possibly being too noisy doing jobs, we hope.

A message was left regarding the leak into the bow thruster locker. We’ve heard nothing back from Finesse, which was expected, sadly.

**A pretty full diddy car for the weekend**

On Friday we packed up a hire car, full to the brim for a weekend away in the Dales with family. Fairly soon after we arrived at our destination, we got a message through from Tom saying he’d only just heard our message.

‘All well at the shop, pretty much ready for epoxy and high build, it’s going to be a productive week with the first main colour of cream on by the end of next week.’ He’s going to send photos at the end of each spray stage. He then wished us a great weekend. Did he know something that not many people knew !?!

**Edale and Kirk Yetholm are the opposite ends of the Pennine Way**

The weekend was billed as a ‘Not Quite Birthday Weekend’ up at the curly wurlys on the Leeds Liverpool Canal, above Bank Newton Locks. Back in January we’d been looking for a venue/location for a celebration. It is my 60th birthday this coming Christmas, and for at least a decade I’ve been wanting to hold a party to celebrate a big birthday. Nineteen years ago I had a 40.5 party at the beginning of July, this decade there is an extra reason to celebrate a year early.

Thank you for suggestions for venues from some of you. These were looked at, but none really grabbed us. I then remembered seeing a sign alongside the canal above Bank Newton Locks on the Leeds Liverpool, something to do with cottages. For my 50th this had been discounted, as I’d been looking for a location with a nearby pub, a campsite along with bricks and mortar accommodation for a party. But maybe, just maybe, it would be worth going to look at the holiday cottages and see if we’d be able to have a do a Grange Newton.

On a rather damp January day we drove over and met with Rachel and had a guided tour round most of the cottages, all six on site would accommodate 24 people. If we wanted to have more for a do then we’d be needing to have a marquee and extra toilets. We chatted through various options, two fields were possible locations, and a grassy area by the main car park. One field was almost below our all time favourite mooring on the whole network, which back in January was occupied by our friend Chris on NB Elektra (sorry we didn’t come to say hello it was really quite a soggy day). The price of catering, a mobile bar, marquee hire, were all considered whilst sat in the farmhouse kitchen having a cuppa with Rachel. We then walked up to stand on Bridge 164 and a decision was made. We’d keep the do just to family, they’d fill the cottages, there’d be room for us incase we couldn’t get there by boat, other options all felt a touch too weddingy.

Invites were sent out for the Not Quite Birthday Weekend, billed as 59.5 + 68.11. Thankfully everyone thought it was a great idea, Mick’s family tend to be up for such things and my family quite like Mick’s, so they were game for it too.

Oleanna’s repaint being delayed meant that our first planned cruise up to York didn’t happen. Then on to Leeds and a climb up onto the Leeds Liverpool Canal also couldn’t happen, good job we’d made sure there’d be enough room for us too! Just a shame that Tilly would have to stay at the house and not be hunting for friends in the field that sits between the canal and the cottages.

So now back to Friday just gone, we packed the car with baked goods, clothes and two barbeques, the hope was that the weather would be fine enough to make use of them on Saturday night. We made it over to the cottages around 1pm and collected a key for one of the cottages where a gazebo had been erected to offer us some shade/cover depending on the weather. A visit to Robertshaws Farm Shop followed, here we bought ourselves some lunch and had hoped to stock up on meat for the barbeque, sadly nothing really took our fancy even though it was an interesting shop.

Back to the cottages to await various cars coming from across the UK and a very big Sainsbury’s order. The shopping arrived, as did most of our siblings, just one of Mick’s sisters and the London Leckenbys who were cutting it fine for a curry at the Bollywood Cottage down in Gargrave. But all twelve of the early arrivals managed a very nice sit down curry before heading back to meet with the next generation and their offspring, school and work having delayed their arrival. Sometime around 10pm the last car arrived and the youngest generation squealed and ran to greet each other.

**The youngest pushing and pulling lock gates**

Saturday was a day for people to do what they wanted until late afternoon. We popped into Skipton to purchase meat for the hoped for barbecue, the weather not playing ball in the morning or early afternoon. I set about icing cupcakes and prepping various bits of food for the feast later whilst others headed off to explore Barnoldswick, others walked down to Gargrave via the lock flight gongoozling and helping with gates as a hire boat made its way up. There was just enough time after handing out jobs for a quick stroll along the towpath to visit our favourite mooring. One boat occupied what has now become pole position, where the wall has collapsed giving a better view across to Newton Grange from inside a narrowboat. What a shame we couldn’t be there on Oleanna, but at least we were there.

Party clothes were left in bags, too damp for those! After my walk I did have to change as I’d got rather soggy, but warmth was the order of the evening.

Next problem was to collect everyone together on the terrace for a drink. Easier said than done, a Monopoly game was ongoing, potatoes being cooked for a salad, a shower being taken! I suggested that maybe a drink on the terrace would help whilst waiting for the potatoes to cool. Eventually everyone, bar Sean, was present. Mick tapped on a glass to get everyone’s attention.

‘Some of you may have guessed that we’ve had an ulterior motive for gathering you all together.’ Daphne (aged 4) had kind of guessed yesterday as her mum had been packing, asking if she was coming to a wedding!

On the 2nd of June, Mick and I became Civil Partners at York Registry Office at a simple standard ceremony with two witnesses, two of our best friends dating back to school days. We’d dressed up smart, new clothes, newly knitted cardie, some of Mum’s old buttons, Mick borrowed my belt and my dress was dark blue. Morag and Mark took photos whilst the registrar Gareth performed the ceremony. Fifteen minutes after arriving our partnership of 23.5 years had become Civil.

Thankfully the sun was out, so we walked down to the River Ouse for photos, plenty of space should we have brought Oleanna, but a film crew for the next series of Patience were taking up quite a bit of space. We then headed into the Museum Gardens for a few more photos, being followed by another couple who had also just tied the knot too.

A drink on the rear terrace of the Judges Lodgings, opposite where my Dad had his architectural practice. Then we walked over to The Refectory, a restaurant which used to be the Minster Song School, for a very nice meal. A very lovely afternoon with two very good friends celebrating. All they and we had to do now was to keep quiet until the family get together. When we arrived back in Scarborough the following day we took off our rings, popped them back in the box they’d come in.

After our announcement in the Dales, our rings came back out, now to remain on our fingers. I left a message for my best friend in Sydney for her to wake up to, she’d got married last weekend and I needed to tell her that we’d beaten them to it by three weeks!

A lovely lovely evening, with lots of food, four barbecues going, Josh’s tempura prawns and John doing his best to off load rocket! Once the sausages, kebabs and salmon had been consumed, it was time for cake, birthday cake, after all the weekend had been billed as a Not Quite Birthday weekend!

So everyone had to have a cake with their ages on them. Sadly it was a little bit too blowy to light everyone’s candles, but that didn’t stop all 22 of us singing Happy Birthday to US! at the top of our voices and blowing out our imaginary candles.

**Everyone, except Sean who was charging his car!**

Sunday morning was spent trying to return bowls, plates and glasses to the right cottages before we all headed out to various places. Three carloads headed to Malham Cove, a walk to the base of the cove to watch climbers, followed by some chilled medication. Kath, Sean, Fran, Mick and myself then carried on to find Malham Tarn above with a little walk from the car to find the lake.

Others had carried on to Settle, others explored Skipton Castle. Then it was time for the younger generations to head for home, school and work waiting for them the next day. An evening meal of left overs and the sausage rolls I’d made were enjoyed with a few more drinks.

Monday morning and it was time to pack the final cars and say our goodbyes to Mick’s siblings. Everyone pulled away from our celebratory weekend at 10.

The Leckenby contingency drove down into Skipton to catch up with the Hall family. Robert and Margie have lived in Skipton for a few years. Since our last visit Margie has moved into a care home, a very nice care home overlooking the canal. It was lovely to see both Robert and Margie, then we had lunch and a further catch up with Katy their daughter and Trevor her husband.

**Tilly having missed her bridesmaid duties twice**

We were back in Scarborough by 6 to unpack the even fuller car and give Tilly a very BIG hug.

What a wonderful weekend.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire car, 22 family members, 12 for curry, 23 cupcakes, 1 big cake, 1147.74 years between us, 1 average Richard, 2 jugs Pimms, 12 bottles wine, 35 bottles beer, 1 favourite mooring, 0 boat 🙁 , 0 cat bridesmaid, 1 announcement, 2 rings back where they should be, 1 car being charged in Skipton, 2 much food, 15 bookmarks, 1 klippy klippy, 12 bananas too many, 1 large bar of chocolate smuggled home, 3 birthday cards, 1 exceedingly good weekend, 1 Oleanna ready for Monday! 1 secret kept, 2 Civil Partners.

Repaint Week 2 W/C 22nd June

Scarboreugh / Redhill Marina

We’d hoped to be able to head down to see Oleanna on Monday, but we also wanted to coincide with Matt from Onboard Solar and he was busy. I worked the whole day model making for panto which meant I could afford to have a day off on Tuesday to accompany Mick to Redhill.

The temperatures in Scarborough were to remain below 30°C on Tuesday, well, they’ve managed to stay pretty low all week, but Redhill was in the Amber zone, so we opted to hire a car with air conditioning. I made sure I had plenty of knitting to keep me occupied in the car, casting on a second sock just in case I ran out.

The journey down was pretty pleasant, the temperature gradually rising the further south we ventured. An eye was kept out for the brief glimpse of the River Trent from the M1, just in case NB Alchemy had headed that way, but no boat was spotted, green or otherwise. Nb Alchemy had actually set off pretty early to avoid the heat of the day and headed for the River Soar, they were most probably already moored up in Zouch for the day the time we arrived at the marina a little before midday.

The roller shutters were rolled part way up at the front and back of the paint shed, almost a breeze rolling through past the two boats. One chap was busy sanding away the gunnels of the boat next to Oleanna, the blue paint on its bow a mirror finish. Not much left to do on this boat which is headed to AquaNarrowboats for fit out.

Stood in front of Oleanna we could now see where the blasting had happened and where had been left. The front bulkhead was just about untouched, which had been deceiving in the photos we’d had last week, but stood here in front of her it was now obvious why it had been left, the wooden front doors and hooks would need removing first.

**Big rusty patch where the wooden rest for the top of the cratch normally sits**

Tom was busy with a scabbler stripping the paint off around Oleanna’s starboard side gally window, the last of the paintwork to be stripped on the cabin sides and gunnels. Apparently under the top coats Oleanna had what I think Tom called a filling coat which was taking time to grind off to get back to the steel. This may have contributed to some of the rust patches we’d been getting as once chipped, water could easily get behind it and make it bubble up, the bond between it and the steel not so good.

A drain from the galley was dribbling, possibly where a damp trap had been emptied down the kitchen sink when she’d been stood out on the hard. Now Oleanna sits at a different angle, so what was left in the sinnk bend is able to leak out. Tom will put a bung in this and clean up before she is blacked.

Attention was given to the porthole above our crossbed. When Oleanna’s layout was designed we wanted a porthole behind our heads and a picture window at the foot of the bed, so we’d have a nice view to drink our morning cuppa’s infront of. Once the plans had been handed over to Finesse, we remembered that we’d wanted to have the stove chimney on the port side. A quick solution was to flip my tracing paper drawings over and rescan them so that the apertures could be cut in the correct places on the other cabin sides.

**You can see the rectangle of what was a hopper window**!

In early years I’d often stood looking down at Oleanna in a lock, her (then) shiny paintwork slightly rippling in the sunlight around the bedroom porthole. Then after she’d been sat on the bottom in Goole after the Aire and Calder breach, the sun had started to bleach the paintwork, revealing the reason for the ripples. Where the porthole was had originally had the picture window cut in it. Once the mistake had been spotted the hole was filled back in with steel. Thank goodness it was only one opening.

**Enough of the anodes left for a few more years**

The chap who does the welding had been to have a look at the couple of jobs we’re wanting doing. He’d walked all the way round Oleanna to check the state of the steel. No signs of any pitting, no dints from collisions and the prop dint free too.

The stick on solar panels had been removed. You hear so much about how the roof can rust underneath them, Tom said the roof wasn’t bad at all.

Now our attention turned to the bow thruster locker, the main reason for our visit, to try find the cause of all the water in there. First things first, empty the water out of it. A wet dry vac was found, but there was far too much water for that, so instead a bilge pump was set up with an added hose reaching out of the paintshed door. The pump was set going, it carried on for getting on for an hour, the colour of the water checked. If it was clear water, that would suggest it had come from the fresh water tank, but it had a tint of canal colour to it, so it had come from outside. Good in one way, bad in another!

**You can see where the water tends to sit in the gas locker**

The gas locker was emptied of gas bottles and hoovered out. The vents very visibly below the water line. Oleanna has always sat low in the water, most probably lower than thought when the gas locker floor was welded in. When Tom had been removing the windows and their liners he’d noted that above gunnel height the cabin sides had been lined with 18mm ply. This is usually 9mm. I wonder if my choice to not have any visible grain on the painted cabinsides meant they ended up using 18mm? Anyway all that extra weight will be helping her to sit low.

No obvious hole in the locker floor could be seen. So whilst the bilge pump continued to do its thing, we headed to the cafe for lunch. We managed to find a bench outside the portacabin just about in the shade to have our cuppas and sandwiches. Next we headed to the office to pay the remainder of our dues for sitting out on the hard for eight months. We chatted with Mandy about when we go back in the water and that we might need to be on one of their moorings for a couple of days, this was fine with her, if the boat that had been dumped would only move on, it’s been there for weeks!

Redhill is very much a working boat yard. One old wooden cruiser came past heading to sit out on the hard for a while. Then another narrowboat came past, this was laid off outside Tom’s paintshop. It had been jet washed on the hill and was now due to be blacked.

https://youtube.com/shorts/QQxCXD2FKFM

Whilst we’d been elsewhere Tom had managed to get his phone deep into the bow thruster locker to see if there was any sign of where water might have been coming in. He videoed a pan round, the depth the water had been obvious. Right at the pointy end of the bow, possibly the least accessible part of the hull. A rusty dribble from an inch under the gas locker floor which had then spread. Somehow the water was getting in here. Possibly a failed weld at the pointy end of the gas locker floor which always sits in the water. This leak I suspect has been happening for sometime, but Mick reckons he’d have noticed water on the bowthruster locker floor. When was the last time he’d looked in there? Just how long had the leak been leaking? How had the weld failed if that’s where the water is coming from? Well we just need a solution for it.

**That looks like where it’s been coming in!**

Can it be welded? Most probably not as this part of the boat is likely to have been made early on in the construction, working from bow to stern and getting in to weld it just about impossible. Tom could do a broad band of PU filler around the edge of the gas locker floor, sealing in the weld. Or maybe some two part epoxy putty could be pushed in where the hole might be. We planned on emailing Ricky at Finesse to see what his thoughts might be on a solution.

Matt from Onboard Solar arrived. Mick chatted away to him about solar panels. I’ll let him chat about those later.

The odd wiring, loose connections were chatted about. It looks like the cables from the electric cupboard to the junction on the roof had been cut too short on the original fitout, so short lengths had been chock blocked on the end, these were loose when Tom came to remove the junction. Matt will see if it’s possible to replace the wiring in the roof. We’ve dug out photos of the fitout and the cables should run in a conduit along the edge of the roof, but to access this will mean removing the covers which have been plugged with wooden dowels.

Matt is going to email through a quote for new panels and installation next week sometime

So Oleanna will continue to be prepared this week, it’s all in the preparation, After the preparation is completed she’ll have a good clean inside and out. She’s quite a state inside, so I strongly suspect we’ll be hoovering for a while once we start to move back onboard, maybe we should have removed EVERYTHING to make this easier, but we didn’t as that would have required several more trips in a van and then finding somewhere to store it all.

**Just because they are there, demolition due 2029/30**

Once Tom gets started with painting, the blacking will go on, the whole boat gets painted. Jacks will lift her so they can paint the base plate too, then below the gunnels will be skirted off with brown paper for them to work on the cabin sides and roof. The next coats will go on the day after so that there is a good bond between coats and no need to sand between them. Then layer on layer and sanding smooth will happen to get a mirror finish.

We reminded Tom of when we’ll be needing to move back on board. Claire the signwriter is booked for the beginning of that week so all the major painting will be done by then.

Will high temperatures affect the painting? Tom said that actually the heat will make the paint more viscus, so they shouldn’t need to thin it down. It’s more about keeping himself hydrated as he paints. He wears a suit and gloves, fresh air is pumped to his face behind his mask, so that is quite pleasant. But when he takes his gloves off they tend to be full of sweat! We wished him well, wanting to provide icelollies to keep moral up, but they’d melt before they got anywhere near the paintshed.

We headed back to Scarborough with a little list of jobs that need doing. New fenders, photos of the electrics to find, an email to Ricky.

Wednesday Mick put together an email with photos for Ricky at Finesse. Maybe he could come up with a solution to the leaking gas locker. On Saturday morning we’ve still not heard anything back.

Mick also chatted to Hannah our most recent BSS examiner regarding the vents from the gas locker. She’d be happy to leave the existing ones and then add new ones above the next rubbing strake which will be above the water line.

Friday morning an email came from Claire regarding the bow flash design. She has worked up the one we prefer, suggesting keeping lines parallel to each other rather than parallel to the shape of the bow, all of which we are very happy with, so she has been given a big thumbs up from us.

Little else to report this week. Hopefully sometime next week we will get info about the solar panels, finalise a solution for the leak and maybe just maybe Oleanna will start to change colour, but that may be the following week.

Meanwhile I continue to paint my panto model, being in a snowy world is helping with the heat, although we are very lucky not to have reached silly temperatures. The other evening we used the barbecue to roast a mass of root veg from our veg box, the aim of keeping things cool in the house, we however required jumpers as we watched things cooking. I’ve attended the last mosaic session I think I’ll be able to go to, things are nearing completion, and too many hands are trying to fill gaps now. Hopefully soon we’ll get time to think about starting to pack our belongings ready to move.

0 locks, 0 miles, 1 hire car, 30+C, 1 cool Scarborough, 1 almost naked Oleanna, 1 shiny neighbour, 1 leak! 1 welder with Gogo Gadget arms required, 10cm christmas tree, 18mm! 1 prospective lodger informed, 1 last mosaic, 1 set of bow and stern fenders to find.

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Author Archives: Pip

Repaint Week 11. W/C 24th August

Repaint Week 10. W/C 17th August

Repaint Week 9 W/C 10th August

Repaint Week 8 W/C 3rd August

Repaint Week 7 W/C 27th July

Repaint Week 6 W/C 20th July

Repaint Week 5 W/C 13th July

Repaint Week 4, W/C 6th July

Repaint Week 3 W/C 29th June

Repaint Week 2 W/C 22nd June