Patches

Rust on Lady Jane is, I suppose, the equivalent of weeds to a gardener. A constant battle to keep the patches at bay.

One thing I do know, is that if you don't get all of the rust completely cleaned off before priming & painting, you are going to have a problem with that rust showing through again before too long.

The other thing is, as Seb says on his blog, the paint is thinnest on the sharp edges, such as corners of the steel, so the moisture can work it's way to the steel through there and therefore the inevitable rust starts showing through.

It seems that no matter how thorough the surface preparation, the rust eventually finds its way through somewhere, somehow.

Still, the touching up of the patches has been nothing like the Herculean effort required to get rid of the rust in the first place.

It would be good to have more reliable weather, so I can get this stuff done and Lady Jane looking smart again. It's been so wet and/or miserable most weekends recently.

Busy river

Bank holiday weekends generally mean the river is busier than usual.

Even with the poor weather we have been having, this last holiday weekend was no exception.

One odd thing though, I looked out of the wheelhouse window at about eight in the morning on Saturday, to see two people swimming in the river right by the side of one of the working quays opposite me.

Neither looked particularly distressed, but it's an odd place for people to be swimming. It must also have been pretty cold in the water there.

Once the second swimmer got out of the water I saw he was fully clothed, so I assume he had fallen in the water in the marina further up and was swept down river by the current.

I'm guessing his swimming companion, who was wearing only trunks, must have stripped off and jumped in after him to save him.

What a joke!

Every time I see this boat I have to laugh.

Carbon footprint reduction - on a powerboat like this?

At a consumption rate of 60-70 gallons per hour, these things cannot be called economical by any stretch of the imagination.

I would think that if they were that serious about reducing their carbon footprint, they would race sailboats.

Comfy chair

John, the skipper, dropped off this very comfy chair over the weekend.

A bit of a hint, as the wheelhouse has no seating for the skipper at the moment.

It's a huge chair, by any standards, and would be perfect for the job.

Trouble is, it won't get through either the doorway or the hatchway to the wheelhouse.

My first plan was to take the seat and back and use these on a newly constructed wooden chair that would fit.

After giving it some thought, I'm tending towards cutting the chair in half at the front and back, then bolting splints to either side of the cut.

Either way, it's clear that John is in for a more comfortable ride next time he skippers Lady Jane.

Cowes Fireworks

A huge fireworks display marks the end of Cowes week. In perfect viewing weather.

Patch and I were fortunate enough to get to go watch in the relative comfort of a friends Yacht.

This is not the actual fireworks, but a fireworks picture I took earlier in the year, as I've too many blurry firework pictures already.

We then motored around to Osbourne Bay, in the Solent, where we spent the night.

It's so hard for me not to peer, somewhat furtively, at how all the cupboards and seats etc. all fit so neatly into what is a relatively small space in their yacht.

Hmm, ideas, ideas.

Cable trays

Prgress in the stern accommodation space has been slow.

Painfully slow.

Here you see the cable trays have gone in, one down each side on the deckhead.

These will carry any of the necessary data and electric cables down there.

Some 2*4 up there to define the channel, then the ceiling should be able to go up.

At least something is happening....

Griddle

I thought I'd have a go at making myself a griddle for the barbeque.

It's been on my mind to give this a go for some time now.

After all I have all that steel plate on board, so why not?

I'm pleased to report that initial testing indicates a success.