Lounge Furniture Ordered

After much deliberation the sofas have been ordered.  In the end war was averted.

 We have 2 of these on the way

Also ordered today is the TV unit.

I have been working on the water tank, my brother the stone mason came Monday to do the template for the kitchen worktops.  We are having Star Galaxy.

Easy to see how it gets its name

I have started building the bedroom furniture now, all the kitchen appliances are on order, the bow thruster is in but I am waiting for the cables to be made before I blog it.

So things are moving in many directions and I can definitely see the light at the end of the tunnel.  So much so I am now searching for moorings.

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Stuff Is Arriving

Sam the canvas man arrived today for the second fitting of the pram cover.  The design of the cover will permit the screen to remain in place with the cover completely down but can also be lowered or fully removed if required.

 There will be more side windows on the finished cover

and a dodger around the base

 The front screen

I also collected the oak doors from the carpenters today.  The small set will replace the steel ones in the forward bulkhead.  The tall ones are the bedroom and bathroom doors.

While Sam was working on the cover I cut out all the holes for the additional electronics to be fitted. Photo of this in a few days when they are fitted.

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Shiny Stuff

I have been working with the pram cover maker to make the stainless steel tube frame to take the cover.  Normally he contracts this to a SS specialist.  He normally makes a light alli tube frame as templates then the SS guy does his bit.  Between us we have made the frame combining his know how and my metal skills.  This has saved over £500 in labour. So under the white cover at the back I now have a fully collapsible frame.  IMO the SS guy is on a nice little number.  The 316 SS tube was a dream to work. 

 The screen frame

 The front screen will be a self supporting structure.

More on this when it gets fitted

 Port side

The other shiny bits added are the mushroom vents.  Its one of those jobs I have held back to when I had nothing much else to.  Currently I am waiting for the internal doors and frames and the front doors.  I should get these next week.

6 fitted and one to do later once the hatch is finally fitted

If you look closely you can see the 3G aerial behind the 3rd vent.  The yellow bit is a cover blocking off the hole for the gas fire flue.

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and well because building stuff is fun

A little anarchy, about those death bets, and a whole lot of sense being made...

When I was a kid (and dinosaurs stalked the suburbs) people built stuff. In my neighborhood alone there was a guy building a in his garage, two guys were building boats in their back yards, and, Id hazard a guess, that over half the people with cars had car projects going.

Not only did people build and fix stuff when I was a kid the process of doing so provided a lot of people enjoyment and a sense of satisfaction.

It used to be when you picked up a copy of Mechanics Illustrated it was full of articles telling you how to build a boat, turbocharge your Buick, build a house or a BBQ for the house you already have, and how to make a go-cart.

My dad helped me build a go-cart from plans out of an old Mechanics Illustrated with a salvaged lawn mower engine, a bunch of reclaimed conduit from a building they tore down near us, and a seat from an aircraft salvage yard ... It wasnt pretty (in spite of the candy apple glitter paint I chose), it was LOUD, and more than likely would not be considered safe in these modern times we currently find ourselves in. Or you might just say it was AWESOME!

Building that go-cart and the parade of other projects that followed it pretty much colored my life as a kid.

Of course, if you pick up a copy of Mechanics Illustrated today, you wont find very much about fixing or building things anymore and its prety much all about buying stuff and suchlike with no plans for boats or dumb and dangerous go-carts.

That kind of sucks...

I mention all this because The Coastal Passage did an article about a 30-foot catamaran design some time ago that just about anybody could build and they even published plans (of sorts) for it. The magazine is free and you can download it here. Its the sort of very doable and affordable project  that in 1965 would be being built in backyards all across America.

My dad, for one, would have been all over it and it would have resulted in one of those days when you wake up to the riddle of a hundred sheet of plywood in the driveway, dad making pancakes in the kitchen, and a bunch of plans sitting on the kitchen table to talk about over breakfast.

Beats going to the mall for some recreational shopping all to hell...


Listening to Ranger Bob

So it goes...

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