Ballast and cunning squirrels...

Don't worry - the two are NOT related!

It's typical isn't it? - Friday was a lovely dry (if windy) day that'd have been perfect for sawing wood on the tow-path... Saturday on the other hand was grim at best - ruddy awful for most of the time.

AS such, it rather put paid to my original plan to do some more boxing in of the pipework.

Instead however, I decided to fit come recessed handles I'd ordered from our Chinese friends (at less than half the price of the identical things from Ironmongery direct).    I can't for the life of me find a photo of them but they're about 50mm in diameter that sit flush with the front of the door...of course even though they're now fitted, HABIT means we are still opening doors using the top and bottom corners!  These are the things....  http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/112127760933?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&var=411738915767&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AITvery good value for money

Having taken a good look at the doors it occurred to me it was no wonder they were looking grubby....I remembered that I never got around to varnishing them properly... SO - I made a note to do them on the next dry day... mainly because they'd need to go outside for a proper sanding.

As the weather was still manky, in a bid to progress with the "gas" I finally got around to making  list of the the various adaptors I think I'll need to connect it all up... spending the best part of 100 quid before the bubble tester and regulator.  With this in mind, Andy decided that whilst I THINK I am capable of doing it, he would be happier with a proper man on the job (the cheek) so I was ordered encouraged to find a gas-safe registered chappy with the appropriate "tick" in the boat box!  - he's coming at the weekend to quote... I know when to concede defeat.

THAT said, I decided to sort out the wiring and switches for the ignitions  - 230v for the hob and 12v for the oven.  That meant a trip to Halfords for some more fuses and B & Q for a couple of single patress boxs and spurs.

Whilst buying fuses, I also got sufficient for the various 12v car sockets/usb feeds that have been popping up around the boat (ahem - which up until now I've ignored
)

This is in the back of one of the kitchen cupboards - ignore the slightly wonky socket... my back is bad at the moment so it was a bit of a struggle.

I've gone around the other ones and connected in-line fuses with a 10 amp mini fuse in each.

Feeling rather pleased with my "electrickery" connections I finally got around to looking at the ballast. 

Soon the gas will be connected and cooking will be more civilized... although I must admit, on Friday night I again, cooked dinner on the fire -

this time a stew with dumplings and various vegetables... and I suppose using FREE energy given the fire was on to heat the boat anyway.  On a morning now, I'm able to get out of bed to a warm boat, chuck a few sticks on and a log and within 15 mins, have a cup of tea from water boiled on the fire...

. . . . . . . . . . 

So about this ballast...LIKE most boats, Ellis sits lower to the rear thanks to the engine /fuel tank and calorifier.  The builder had ballasted it accordingly but didn't take into account the extra weight the dinettes and 3 or 4 bags of coal/3 jerry cans of diesel sitting in the rear lockers.  With this in mind, I took my multi-tool to the floor in a bid to remove some of the blocks.

WHAT an awful job that was.  Having built the cupboards and dinette seats on top of the floor, it meant I could only cut a small section under the rear hatch.

Access to the blocks was difficult to say the least... in the end we managed to take out the 3 you can see here, followed by 1 each side "under the floor".  It's only an estimate but I should think they weigh somewhere between 20-25kg each and for now they are in the gas locker.  The effect has been to allow the rear (skeg I think it's called) to lift about an inch - it "looks" less severe now but could still do with a few more blocks taking out to lift it further.

Given that we can't reach any more from this section, it'll mean ANOTHER hole being cut a further forwards to gain access...it'll have to wait until the weekend though as it's too physical a job to do after a hard days work - work which we're not talking about presently as grinding us all down.

With the 5 blocks in the bow gas locker, the boat IS sitting much nicer at the front which leaves me with a bit of a dilemma .  Ideally, I'd like to keep the weight in there but they blocks are a bit bulky.  I intend taking up some floor in the front bedroom to see if there is any space to accommodate the blocks but I very much doubt it ... I DO recall seeing an advert somewhere for some steel ballast that purports to be heavier and smaller than the blocks.  This might either sit in the locker better, or be able to fit on top of the blocks under the floor...  Another job for the weekend.

Oh -before I go (the bath is nearly run now and it's been a very long day) on Sunday morning, about 7 am I was opening the shutters and spotted a ruddy squirrel helping itself to Andy's "squirrel proof" bird feeders.

Unfortunately, my old Nokia (think "Fisher-pricer my first phone") doesn't take very good videos but if you DO  have good eyes, you can JUST about make out the little git  cutie, having his breakfast.

Of course I made the appropriate noises pretending to try scare him off but if the truth be known, I like squirrels so will just buy MORE nuts to even things out!

Until next time...

Boxing pipework in...

I can't believe tomorrow is Friday already...  this week has flown.

We've finally dismantled the racing track ride at work and have now dragged the Caterpillar off the shelving to restore.

It's a total wreck.

Realistically there's not a snowballs chance in hell it'll be done in the allotted 8 weeks - it'll take that long to get the bottom spider re-made and painted, let alone the cars, canopy's and gratings.

HAVING to keep the racing tack in the unit along side this is also going to be tricky as the Caterpillar is 60ft in diameter

Within days we're going to falling over ourselves again.

ANYWAY - Back on the boat, although I've called in each night on the way home from work, I've not had to run the engine since Sunday to top the batteries up... this is because the Solar is now keeping up with the fridge/freezer AND the nightly electric kettle boil for my tea whilst I get the fire going.  Tonight, even with storm Doris doing her worst, the panels were still inputting just under 5amps at 4pm.  

I DID however have a bit of a smoke bomb thanks to the tip cat (if that's the correct term for the hat thing on top of the chimney outside) acting like a funnel in the wind  - which in the end blew my newly lit fire out.  I re-angled it and then lit it again with much better results.

Earlier in the week, I cut some of the ash board at work (where there is more space to manoeuvre) and last night HAD planned on making a start at boxing in the pipework in the lounge.  It might have been an idea to measure the height rather than "guess" as I'd cut it too big, meaning the boxing was higher than the mains power sockets DOH!... 

Having learned my lesson, today I cut a couple of sections for the bathroom to the correct dimensions and began the boxing in.  

I HAD planned to screw the section in to place but decided we'd just end up with screw holes full of dust in no time...  Instead, I  plugged in the glue gun and applied a reasonable sized blob to each of the 4 battens I 'd screwed to the wall earlier...  THAT way, there'll be no obvious "fixings" on display but it will still be possible to remove and re-attach the boxing without causing any damage.

Sometimes doing things the simple way is best.

Ignoring the mess on the floor, I think the end result is ok.  At the weekend, I'll try and do some more and get this varnished.

Until next time...

A matter of drainage...

After a week from hell at work, I stood my ground again and refused to go in on Saturday...  The ride is still only half taken down (even after today's effort) but everyone is worn out and as we don't yet have the steel for the next one, we'll not fall any further behind!

SO - on Friday night after work, I went straight to the boat and had a bit of a tidy up - when I'm calling in during the week and doing "stuff" I tend to leave both tools and detritus everywhere.

You may recall, we still haven't got the gas connected up and I planned to work out how many of what kind of connectors will be needed to do it.

It appears the builder when requested to fit a single length of pipe from the locker to the oven, opted for 3/8ths rather than 10 mm.  Which turns out to be a pain as finding the fittings is proving very difficult.  NOT helped by the fact, the blooming hob is 1/2inch!😒

I've abandoned it again for now and will come back to it soon.

ANYWAY - Drainage.  FOR whatever reason, when the boat builders were assembling Ellis' hull, they put a drain at the FRONT of each of the rear lockers...(I think it must have been the YTS).... as such, due to the angle the boat sits in the water they don't do their namesake.  Instead, approximately an inch of water builds up and eventually I get around to mopping it out.  I've managed to ignore this until I began keeping bags of coal in them... and of course now I end up with a right old mess.

Having mopped out one of them (note the sponge on a bungy cord I bought at Crick last year) I set to and drilled a new hole at the back where the water had been pooling...  well not exactly at the deepest point I admit but THAT was directly over the webasto and I figured if it went wrong, I might break it...

SO, a 20mm hole was cut through and I then "wedged" a small section of 15mm plastic pipe through the hole and held it in place with some epoxy putty I bought for emergency use.  

It looks a bit rough now, but once it's had a few coats of paint will blend in well (I hope).

My original plan HAD been to cut into the existing pipe in the engine bay and fit some kind of "T" to keep the exiting hole connected.  On closer inspection in the engine bay, I discovered the steel pipe was a bit big to use any of the bits and bobs left over so  I had a quick design review.  The outcome being and elbow (increasing/reducing) connecting a bit of 22mm pipe with another elbow on the other end slotted over the lip and into the existing counter drain.

I also reinforced the piping with some more epoxy putty and some self amalgamating tape (I'm tending to use this on EVERY water connection on the boat... just as a back up).

AS yet it's not rained so I don't know if it works... I had thought about tipping a load of water in to see but got distracted by a sheep dog that suddenely appeared on the back of the boat - it was Daisy, Mick's dog who wanted a doggy treat... which (even despite NOT having a dog) I seem to buy whenever I go shopping...  to give to various dogs that come to say hello.

Writing of feeding the wildlife - Andy bought some bird feeders the other day - along with a nesting box which he's put opposite the side hatch... it's a perfect position to sit down in the boat and watch what's going on.

Alas SO far, all he's attracted is a flying rat but I'm sure "proper" birds will come...

On Sunday morning, once I'd stoked up the fire - I decided to have a go at breakfast on it rather than the camping stove.  It may look a bit precarious ... (and I wouldnt do it if the boat was in motion) but it was perfectly easy to fry some bacon and boil the kettle .

I'm going to HAVE to get organised and sort out the hard wood flooring asap - using off cuts of carpet is driving us both mad.  BEFORE then however I REALLY do need to get the gas connected.  Perhaps it's time to look for a "proper" man to do it

Until next time...

Fairground update...

Hello.

It's Thursday night and we're worn out -having had the week from hell trying to get the ride we've been working on (for what seems like forever) since the end of May to "test state" and out of the door.

Today, the adips chap has been for a good look around and in principle has "passed" the working car.  This means it's time to dismantle the thing so we can get on with the Caterpillar and refurbishment of the Speedway we brought back from Margate the other week.

To be honest, it all feels like a bit of an anti-climax.... having spent months of our lives trying to get this thing done as best we could (from a pile of scrap in a field) to be taking it down with only 1 operational car (and even THAT isn't all there) is a bit pants.

Such is life I suppose...  I've been digging around looking for old photos of the thing - in reality, aside from the car bodies, axles and chassis, just about everything else had been re-made.

Hmmf.

To recap - it's a 1930s "electric racetrack" with 1950s cars on it.

The track is a tilted into saucer shape (like the original Brooklands I suppose hence the name) and the power is delivered to the cars via pick ups under their floor.  A bit like a dodgem track - the difference being that bother positive AND negative are dlivered from the floor.  

This is achieved by having strips of metal on the floor, separated by  wood and 4 pick ups on the car spaced at the corners and centre of an equilateral triangle... supposedly this avoids the risk of being stuck on dead spots (wood) on the track.

We had to re-make ALL the track using 1 section of "straight and 3 cheese sections dragged from under a hedge as templates...  in hind-sight, it appears this wasn't the best idea as the 'templates' turned out to be a bit ropey.

We've made the best of it though- culminating in a track 100 by 40 ft (give or take) ...

To get the power to the motors, we've attached steel to the top surface and bus-bars under each section which are joined together with thick wires.   As it's DC it's been handy having read my boat bible as I could calculate the voltage drop for each section etc.  USING my boating brain, I've doubled the thickness of wire "just to be on the safe side" and it's more than capable.  

One of the chaps at work spotted a potential danger however of NOT having the top of the busbars insulated... in that someone could drop something onto the track which half fell through the holes and then touched opposing piece of track and either give them a shock or blow a fuse- the latter being preferable... generally. SO we used damp-proof membrane to create the insulation.

Once the 3 pieces of track have been connected together, they are then attached (via a big fuse) to the "big bus-bars" running down the centre of the track.

the corners get a bit congested though...

Note the fuses ...

TODAY during a test, a cro-bar was accidentally left on the track (by Andy as it happens but we're not pointing the finger of blame) and it a) welded itself to the track and b) blew the MAIN fuse.

So that's good!

The power is supplied now by a 3phase feed going into a transformer which outputs 110vdc.  This is "turned down" in chunks to give 5 speed settings.

As I mentioned earlier, there are 4 pick ups on each car - here you can see 3 that are being attached - the 4ths goes in the middle...

It's a noisy ride with even just 1 car going around... by the time all 11 are up and running it'll be deafening

I SAID IT WILL BE DEAFENING 😁.

Alas, tomorrow we continue taking it to bits and will "assemble" the remaining cars in the coming weeks - along side re-constructing the caterpillar.  

We're all very tired, fed up and not enjoying it...  

On the plus side, when this run of orders is completed, I'm going to begin working 4 day weeks and take on a conversion project... turning 2 apartments into 1 house.  Grade 1 listed which is a bit of a pain but it'll be different.

MEANWHILE - here is Roger today's "crash test dummy" having a go.

BOAT wise, tomorrow night we'll head straight from work and I plan to make some shelves for my electric cupboard (mainly to hold tools and the like) and make a start on working out what gas connectors I need to buy.  I've also got a new fuel tank "washer" to fit as the original one seems to have been damaged - I've currently got a bit of plastic held down by chain over the fuel filler cap... not pretty but it's been doing the trick (I hope) 

Until next time...

School boy error.

As promised, on Friday night I arrived at the boat after work (with my weekend bag) - *read 2 pairs of pants and socks...* planning to rake out the seal between the flue and roof collar.

I thought I'd set the heating to come on so that at least I'd have a warm boat to go into once the job was done...  fat fingers struck (striked?) again - in that I'd NOT set it to come on.    Undeterred however, I stuck to the plan and climbed on the roof and began raking it all out (again)...

This is the stuff that's appearing on the inside

IT looks worse in the photos than it was until I tried removing it with kitchen roll... It still shouldn't be there though as surely if tar can run down the inside then fumes/the deadly co gas can blow back down too?

Another cafuffle of a job - I used a tent peg to remove the now "set" fire cement I'd initially jammed between the flue and the collar.  Once removed, I  began with a layer of heat proof silicone and then rammed fire-rope in... lots of it.  I carried on filling with the silicone and then another length of fire rope and topping off with a final layer of heatproof silicone... a bit like making a lasagne I suppose.

Just as I was finishing it, a chap a couple of boats back came home from work and on enquiring what I was up to, pointed out I was wasting my time and that if I left it about 6 months or so to bed in,  all would be fine... in the meantime,  he suggested wrapping kitchen roll around the top of the flue and changing it daily.  

I'm  NOT going to do this - I'll clean it up each day by all means but risking kitchen roll on a very hot flue doesn't sit comfortably with me.

ANYWAY -  he must have a point as it's back again this morning!

JOB wise on the boat, we've done nothing this weekend... On Saturday we went off for a chug - mainly to charge batteries.  THIS time, we switched roles leaving Andy to steer and me do locks.   It went well enough but the wind got up on our return journey so we decided  rather than go back to our mooring we'd moor for the night the other side of Stanley Ferry... so that we could do a water fill and rubbish disposal run on route back Sunday morning.

In hindsight, this wasn't such a good idea - we "picked" a spot against the metal piling and thought  it'd be ok.  How wrong we were.... the wind increased and proceeded to slam us into the side time and time again all night...  At 2am I was outside in my undies and raincoat trying to tighten the ropes enough to stop the constant noise.  To no avail so I sat up watching rubbish tv all night unable to sleep - by 4.30am even Andy (who could sleep on a washing line) had given up and between us (this time fully dressed) we bow-hauled the boat further along into a more sheltered area and the noise finally abated.

Next time we'll do it sooner!

By morning proper, we moved the boat to the service point and carried out the planned chores - I must admit to being proud of my mooring in the strong wind... AND at being able to cast off again on my own.

Whilst the tank was filling, Andy's brother called to say they were bout 40 mins away so we stoked the fire up and went home to meet them.

On returning to the boat with them, we'd planned on a little chug out - AS the weather was now Windy AND wet, we got as far as the pub for lunch hoping it would improve whilst we ate... it didn't so we turned and went back home.

Other than keeping the fire in and doing a bit of charging I've not got much planned for this week on board - we're taking the ride down at work  so it's going to be full on.

Until next time...

Do Not feed the ducks...

Well not on your home mooring... CERTAINLY not if you intend to live on it.

I know this now...  I didn't know this a few weeks ago when Andy bought a big bag of bird seed and began feeding the swans, ducks and moor hens from the side hatch.    As a result of course, we're being terrorised by a couple of evil quackers that are frequently 'demanding food with menaces'.

I know it's a naff photo but I was too scared to open the window 😅

Seriously though, if I ignore them... for more than about 2 mins, she begins making an almighty noise and he begins trying to drill his way through the hull with his flat beak!

The swans are more direct when the window is open though, happily putting their heads through to have a look around and demand seed.   It'll be interesting how the cats react when they come on board!

Tonight was no exception - I called in on the way home from work to light the fire and charge the batteries... the solar has been keeping up with the fridge-freezer whilst we've not been on board until today when it dropped to 75% according to the smartgauge.  I'm not totally convinced of it's accuracy but it's better than just "guessing" their state of charge.  I ran the engine until they reached 90% and then switched to the generator whilst I did a few jobs.  It seems wasteful running the engine above 90% knowing the charging current has tailed off... the generator/charger will keep the oil-changes down.

Due to work being so all consuming at the moment, I've not done a lot this week on the boat  - mainly testing out the new loo (don't worry - I didn't take a video of the ACTUAL test ;-) ) - suffice to say I was quite amazed at how well it coped... especially as at one point  it  looked like  I needed to beat it with a big stick!

I HAVE tidied up the wiring/piping in the wardrobe with retaining ties so it's not quite so messy now.  

I've also raked out the initial attempt at sealing the flue into the roof collar as a bit or tar was running down the outside of the flue INSIDE the boat if you follow... this hasn't worked as I noticed a little mark again tonight.  

With this in mind, I've set the heating to come on tomorrow afternoon so when I decamp to the boat on my way home from work, it''ll be nice and warm inside whilst I have another go with fire rope and heat-proof silicone on the roof.

AS for the weekend - Andy's brother is planning a visit on Sunday we think so we're going to "play" on the boat rather than do anything... I might measure up how much flooring we need as a contact of mine has some Ash hardwood samples for us to look at - we'd considered bamboo or solid oak boards but if he can get ash, that might be preferable

MEANWHILE - tonight I need to catch up with "Unforgotten" on the tellybox ... I do like Nicola Walker.

Until next time...

Macerator (er?) toilet fitting... a crappy job!

What a blooming faff that was.

You may recall a few weeks ago the toilet tank (made by tec-tanks) arrived along with the Leesan fitting kit and hull fittings etc.

They've been languishing in the garage ever since waiting for me to get the courage up to tackle the fit.

On Friday night after work, I went to the boat and got everything ready... when I say got everything ready, what I mean is I opened a bottle of wine and lit the fire 😄.  AS a result, the Saturday morning "early start" didn't materialise.

When we eventually made it home to collect the tank, it was about 9 am as I needed to call into screwfix on route to purchase a couple more of the Bosch quick connect circular saw blades in the sizes required for the hull fittings...  they're very good.

The tank wouldn't fit in Andy's car so we strapped it to the roof 'clampet syle' of my old works Rav and were relieved when we arrived safely.  Andy suggested we go incognito but given that most people wouldn't know it was a poo tank anyway, that seemed a bit OTT.

I won't lie - it was quite a relief that it actually fit into the space under the bed... especially given as I'd never actually measured it!

I'd printed out the tank fitting instructions off the Leesan website but the photos appeared to contradict the narratives... for example, it stated several times it was best to have the rinse out and pump out at opposite ends of the tank whilst the photos had them all in the same corner?

SO, ignoring this, I applied ginger common sense and did my own thing.

from left to right:  Vent, Rinse, Pumpout and toilet connections.

IT took a lot of pressure to get the fittings through the "uniseals"  - even with plenty of fairy.  Eventually, I got them all in position and began cutting through the wardrobe to accommodate the pipe work.

That all went easily enough but of course when it came to cutting out the lining and insulation under the gunwhale, things went down hill...  in that, I cut through the power cables hidden behind the panelling to power the loo.  They were supposed to be down the side of the unit as per my wiring diagram but once again, the builder must have deviated... only slightly (well 8 inchs) but it meant I had to cut and re-connect them.  Luckily I have plenty of ferrules left and 30 amp choc block thingys...

What's taken me only 15 minutes to type, had of course taken all day and by now it was dark.  SO - armed with head torch, once I'd drilled a guide hole up and out, I went outside to cut the holes in the gunwhale for the fittings.  Using the Bosch circular saws and plenty of oil to lubricate, it wasn't a bad job and my little cordless drill was fine... well it was on the "slow" setting.

Having done the pump out one, I then went on to do the rinse fitting.  I'm not sure if it's a little close (I suppose we'll find out when we do our first pump out) but it made sense to have them in the same place to me.

As usual, I slapped plenty of sikaflex around the fitting and through the holes before screwing them down.  I'll get some more expanding foam and squirt that around the area at the weekend to stop condensation forming AND to help support the pipes.  Note I used 2 hose-clips on each one - WHEN searching for them btw, you need to look for "worm clips"... or you don't get many results.  

By the time this was done, Andy was getting restless so we made the fire up and retired to the pub for tea. 

THIS morning once we were up and about, I went back to the job to sort out the internal plumbing and wiring.

ALL I can say is the Jabsco instructions are rubbish! - having followed them step by step, I noticed the minus feed to the pump was not connected to anything... NOR was there anything in the fitting guide telling you to.

I gave it the benefit of the doubt and did what it said - only to find when testing it, "nothing happened" - Applying my common sense again, I connect it up to the boat's negative feed and hey presto. 

Another thing that wasn't mentioned was the 19mm (ish) cold feed pipe required to connect the flush up...  I got lucky being able to modify some left over 'rinse' pipe to connect it to the solenoid.

I've had to "choc"up the pan on 40 mm of board so it's at the correct height when we get the oak flooring down and under it.  

For now, I've just fitted the vent and filter together and NOT cut any piping to the outside of the boat - IF the charcoal filter works as it's supposed to we won't notice any smells... the second we do, I'll be cutting another hole through and outside.  

This is the inaugural flush - 

I've added a sachet of brewers yeast to the tank and done a couple of flushes to mix it up - the theory being it will help "chomp up" the contents and remove the need for chemical additives like blue or green - no doubt we'll see if it works.

  Very pleased to have a "proper" toilet up and running.  I'll need to investigate how to use the pump-out machine at the services block shortly... perhaps enlisting the assistance of another boater the first time to show me the ropes.

Until next time...

Return from Margate...

What a week it's been!  I am too old for this kind of thing - the kind of thing I'm referring to being the pulling down of fairground rides in the middle of winter.

After the weekend on the boat, around lunchtime on Sunday I got in the car and drove down to Margate - it could have been worse but still took over 5 hours driving without a break.  I hate that road... SO tedious.

The plan was to meet up with the lads at work in the hotel bar around 8  and have a pint or 2 before an early night in preparation for dismantling and packing away 2 rides over the course of the week.

THAT didn't happen... mainly because everyone else set of an hour AFTER I did and their journies ended up taking around 8 hours thanks to a combination of road works, road closures and accidents.

MY evening wasn't much better though...

I had dinner in my cell  budget single room... it was grim!

On Monday we began dismantling the smaller ride first - the Austin cars... you might recall they're the ones we took to Beamish in the summer.  We've got them on Hire to Dreamland in Margate (or rather we did) but they're doing some ground works in February to install new drains so they wanted us to move them.

Once that was done, we also had to take down the Speedway we repaired  last year - it needs a proper service and repainting.  Due to the miserable conditions, I didn't take many photos... well that and the fact I was sulking quite a bit as the boss had been on the phone and made a comment along the lines of "is that all you've done?" - not REALLY the way to motivate 4 middle-aged men who were aching from head to toe and freezing to their bones in the drizzle.   I managed to bite my tongue... JUST.    I am SO close to walking away and leaving them all to it.  

The tilt (that's the name for the "canvas cover" that goes over the ride was rather heavy so Gav and I managed to cadge a lift with a passing tele-handler...  it's a good job we've not heard of "elf and Safety"...

We travelled back last night and went to work as normal this morning... all a bit fed up to be honest.  

I've decided to stand my ground and NOT work this weekend... instead, the plan is to fit the toilet tank and macerater toilet on the boat...  Tonight when I finished work, I called in to light the fire  and then filled with water and turned to bring the right side of the gunwale to the bank side in preparation... given the winds forecast for the weekend, it seemed a logical plan.

Until next time...