Monday 23 August 2010

The boat is named.


'Eleana' is officially named.

The boat gets ballast and a floor.

Well I started this in December 2009 and seemed to struggle a bit. Having been diagnosed as Bipolar with traces of SAD, winter can take its toll. I don't mind the cold, it's the constant grey and the short short days and long nights. Anyway, once the floods has passed, the process of fitting out began. The plank floor was put down after the ballast in the form of broken slabs. Here's my first tip. Visit your local builders merchant and ask about broken slabs. They can't sell them and generally pay to have them removed. Speak to them nicely, buy the coffees and you never know! With the flooring down and screwed to the batton bearers, the boat suddenly looked less daunting then before. This is a really important job. Get it done as quickly as possible. You'll feel you've achieved something which is really important as you have a very long way to go still. I enhanced this 'feel-good' factor several fold by lighting the woodburner and burning off-cuts. Nothing matches the smell of a woodfire, and with an old copper kettle constantly on the boil for tea and the sun streaming in through the windows life is suddenly very very good. I'll start posting photos soon. Cheers!