New Cushion covers, Xmas is over, bilge alarms on the river and New Horizons...

Hey up.

I appear to have been away (from here) for too long again...  I've been really busy doing jobs that shouldn't take long...which invariably do.

Take removing the shower sealant and redoing it.  It'd been on my list for months... in fact, back as far as the START of the (now over) cruising season... Anyway... I finally got around to doing it the other week.  All I can say is "plllr"...

ANYWAY - it's done now and being black construction adhesive, will at least look better for longer - time will tell.  I had received a message recommending some "strips" to glue in but having already bought the sika flex, I carried down the planned route.

It'll do.

I also got around to fitting the little turn buttons to the front seats... not a major thing I'll grant you but they do hold the side panels in place nicely.   Just a bit of paint to touch up on the frame behind and they'll ALSO do.

MEANWHILE, back in side the boat, now I'd painted the crew quarters, including the side panels (they were looking grubby with shoe marks etc) I decided to redo the non-slip on the steps AND give them a fresh coat of paint too... along with extra non-slip granules too.

Getting the "tape" off was a bit of a bugger... the use of a hairdryer did ease it's removal.  Once done, I stepped back and admired the result... realizing I'd effectively trapped myself on board unless I exited via the front doors and balanced down the gunwales.  The rubberized granules adhere really well and usually can take another couple of coats before losing their "non-slippy-ness".

Talking (well writing) of the front doors, THEY too are in need of some TLC.  The silicone around the glass externally had failed and what with a combination of that AND guests not quite 'getting' the need for ventilation when sleeping (ergo condensation forming there) the inside has become quite stained. I don't think the staining would be sand-out-able so as soon as weather conditions permit, I'm going to sand them down, prime and paint them grey too.

BEFORE then however,  I wanted to test out some door stops I'd found on ebay...  they DO hold the doors open (loosely) but due to the length down to the floor, they are not really up to the job.  IF I put  wooden lattice sub-floor under the grass that might help and tbh, I might just do that anyway... we'll see.

Back in side  at 'the other end' again...I got a message from Denise the friend who I'd asked to re-cover the dinette cushions the other month, to say she'd finished them and if I would be around, she'd drop them back off.  I'd no idea she'd do them so quickly... when asking a favor you just assume folk will fit it in around their other things -  Anyway, she very kindly did them and I had them back on the boat before Xmas.  I have to admit, I'm REALLY pleased with them... the new fabric being a lot more robust than it's predecessor.  It was a pig to work with apparently but she's made a grand job of them.  Obviously I thanked her and not being cash rich, have offered to take her and her husband (and perhaps grandchild) on boat trip from Wakefield to Leeds in the new year.  I'll keep an eye on forecasts and river levels and plan around that to suit them.

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Christmas itself was a difficult day.  I'd had a visit from 2 dear friends inviting me to come along and spend the period with them... it just didn't feel right to impose myself and expected misery on anyone else... aware my father was going to be alone (his choice too) I had a bit of a walk into town which was nice enough and exchanged a few messages with dad - both 'chocking' each other up I suppose...  he had intimated previously he might come down and visit in between xmas and new year but apparently he had things to do so would not be coming ... which is fair enough.  ANYWAY - Christmas day was complete and on Boxing day,  I decided to unplug the shore-line and make the trip to Leeds on the boat with my friend.

I had planned on a few days away as cabin fever had being setting in anyway, but the forecast for the weekend was not good so rather than chug for 6 hours in wind and rain, when boxing day looked "ok ish" we made a dash for it.

Having been tied up not moving for a few weeks, the alternator decided to play up the other day and not out put anything...  I think it didn't like being subjected to the charging currents from the combi inverter...  it had been sulking for a few days and then, magically when disconnected from shoreline with the inverter OFF, it began working again... MAJOR relief.

Whilst on the river, we spotted a boat marooned that must have broken loose in the last floods...

It'll take the next floods to dislodge it I suspect and then who knows it's fate... I hope something can be done to it before it ends up over Castleford weir further down stream.

NOT long after going passed this, we were thrown into a little panic... the bilge alarm began to buzz and on turning the bilge pump on manually, I was shocked to see a constant stream of water being evacuated from the engine bay.. the pump, rarely being able to pump anything out.  

THIS was not a thing you want in the middle of a river section with about an hour to go...  the alarm kept going off and the pump kept pumping constantly...  I seriously feared a weld on the swim had failed and we were sinking.    TO cut a long story short (and save you the dramatic hour we had) it turned out to be a sudden influx from a blocked drain in the rear locker that "cleared" and dumped a few weeks worth of water into the engine bilge in one go.  THIS didn't become apparent until the relatively safety of Lemmonroyd lock!

BEFORE then, I'd worked out a contingency of running the bilge pump constantly AND rigging up the mains powered "hippo" back up pump until we could get to Granary Wharf in Leeds, WHERE , we'd lower the level to sit on the bottom and make emergency calls... my theory being that any boaters in there, when faced with the knowledge that another boater was "sinking" would tolerate being stuck in an empty pound whilst a solution was found.

I'm sure you can imagine the relief when the alarm stopped, and the water being pumped out slowed to a trickle!

So then,  here we are in Leeds... and when I say we, I'm referring to David and I... David being a chap I've been dating for a short while - privately.    It's been a difficult year as I'm sure anyone who's followed this dribble throughout will agree.  

I started the year with my mother dying suddenly and then roughly halfway through, divorce proceedings commencing...  the latter being perfectly amicable with Andy going off and doing his own thing... sometimes a little too publicly (think Facebook postings) for my liking but I know, no malice has been intended.... life moves on and situations present themselves.  

To be frank, I didn't really think there'd be much chance of me meeting anyone new in my life for a long while... especially with my nomadic lifestyle.    Well it turns out I was wrong.  It's early days but for the first time in a long while, I'm able to look forward.  I don't know how things will progress romantically (I'm quietly optimistic)  but  "business wise" bookings are already looking good for the year ahead AND I've got a couple lined up for 2021  (despite not yet having completed my route plan)...  life is good... people are good and so long as you (and by you I REALLY mean me) continue to look at life through good eyes, with positivity and kindness, the world will occasionally smile back on you.

Happy New year - let's hope 2020 is good for all of us.