Little Red Pig and Coloured Cobwebs

Hi all,
Chris and I have just got back from Fernwoods and are happy to report AmyJo's build is coming along quite rapidly now.  We had a look over her and were very pleased with progress so far.  In fact we were pleasantly surprised at how much was done.

This was the scene that greeted us when we walked in to the workshop.

AmyJo's panels were masked off and Ken was finishing of the last panel ready for the paint.  We can now see them for size and they looked great.  I think I worried Ken a bit though when I said I quite like the gold cabin sides with light grey panels. For some time now we have worried over our choice of greys, especially the darker one.  Its one thing to see then on the internet or on a colour swatch board but it another to actually see them for real. 

We had originally chosen a different shade of grey for the panels but on the internet it looked too light, so had asked to change it to a darker one but then we worried if we had done the right thing.  Ken had been very thoughtful in this for us and had prepared a small area on AmyJo's cabin side to show us the colours we had chosen.  We need not have worried though as they are just what we wanted.

He had also painted a section of the piping in three colours for us to choose from.  What amused us was the little splash of red he had used as an alternative option, that if you click on the picture to enlarge it,  looks somewhat like a pig.  We had a giggle at that and we'll reveal which colour we chose later but would love to hear which you prefer.

Things are moving on inside, most noticeably the floor base is down and the first fix of wiring was in.

More amusement ensued when Chris commented the wiring reminded her of coloured cobwebs, now I can see we're going to have a few more analogies like this before AmyJo is complete so I apologise in advance.

The waste tank has been installed and the fresh water tank is ready to go aboard.  It looks a good size to me so we're quite happy as we do have a slightly lower well deck so knew this would restrict the tank size.

Meanwhile the boys have also been very busy with the joinery and already made the bed carcase and the roof panels though these are still to be finished off.

We spent quite a while finalising more of the design details for the log burner area and hifi cabinet etc, so now they have pretty much everything they need to crack on.  At the end of the visit we could not help but just stand soaking up AmyJo's presence not wanting to leave, but leave we had to.  Even now we still cannot believe that boat is really ours.

Our next visit will be in 4 weeks time and by then AmyJo's painting externally should be nearing completion and the joinery going in.  In the meantime we have a new, even bigger,shopping list and as we have the next few days off we're going out is see what we can tick off.

Act One Scene One

Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour draws on soon,
Four happy days bring in another moon;
But O methinks, how slow the old moon wanes,
Like a step-dame or a dowager, doddering with her canes.

Four days will quickly steep themselves in night;
Four nights will quickly, like dreams, take flight,
And then the new moon, like a silver bow bent on high
Shall behold the night of our solemnities draw nigh.

OK  we've not gone all Kultcharall.  No not really...... well sort of I suppose.  Chris and I went to the Grosvenor Park open air theatre (http://www.grosvenorparkopenairtheatre.co.uk) last night to see a performance of Shakespeare's Mid Summers Night Dream.  The theatre is in the grounds of the lovely Grosvenor Park in Chester and is modelled on a small Roman amphitheatre complete with overhead canopies.

The Grosvenor theatre in the Park

  I'd never really given Shakespeare much of a look before now, though I am aware of his plays, but as I work for Essar UK and they were sponsoring the whole event we were lucky to be given two tickets to attend a performance so we thought why not.  I had an idea what Mid Summers Night dream was about so booked for that performance and that came with a picnic hamper to enjoy during the show as well.

The two of us enjoying a picnic hamper before the show

Well I have to say the performance was spectacular and the acting absolutely fantastic.  The actors played their parts so well it was easy to forget they were not the actual characters they portrayed.   They clearly enjoyed their work and entertained everyone immensely.

Helena receiving amorous attention from spell bound
Lysander and Demetrius whilst the fairies look on

The whole play was carried out with much humour, so much so many of the audience, including us, had tears, streaming down our faces with laughter through most of the show.  We have never laughed so much at a show for a long time.

The final act was particularly funny.  Peter Quince and his band of performers stage a play in front of Lord Theseus with side splitting comedy

ending with a Morris dance like none other that had the audience in hysterics whilst clapping in time to the music.  A great night in all and well worth seeing if you can.  If you are ever in Chester next year whilst the theatre is running you must put it on your to do list, I assure you  you will enjoy the performance greatly.

Celebrity Boats

We went to Crick Marina last week to see Ferwoods latest boat launched.  Sorry no pictures just yet but I'll post some later.

There was also another reason for the visit and that was to check out if a winter mooring would be possible for AmyJo as we found out its looking like November/December for launching if all goes to plan.  Our plan was always to launch at either Debdale Wharf or Crick and cruise AmyJo home to Tattenhall.  The launch date means this would not be possible at that time of year so our thinking at this stage is leave to AmyJo at either Debdale or Crick until the spring and the stoppages are over.  May even try to stay for the boat show if they will allow us but I doubt it.

We arrived at Crick a little early so decided to have a coffee in the local brewery across the road in the moorings pub.  Was too early for a beer so coffee it was.  Umm must be getting old, was a time it was never too early for beer.

Afterwards we had a walk back via ABNB boats and spotted this well known boat moored in the marina

Not sure if Alan Herd was around but last time we saw Dover she was for sale in Braunston Marina.  I wonder if she now has new owners?  We also spotted other bloggers but did not have chance to talk with them.  Herbie was just leaving Crick marina as we got back.

Our next visit to see AmyJo is planned for next week so we'll have more news on her progress.  We understand all is going well and really look forward to seeing her again.

Bit of Retail Therapy

Hi all,
Chris and I started to look at our shopping list the other day and on Saturday we had a run out to Preston Brook to Midland chandlers to get a few items for AmyJo.

We want to cruise on the rivers at some point so AmyJo will have a set of Navigation lights installed.  We found Chromium ones similar to these and so bought Port, Starboard and stern lights

Not sure how often they will be used but we thought best have them should we do the rivers, one never knows.  

Whilst there we picked up a couple of Windlasses and some Folding roof steps as the cabin height is just a tad too tall for us both to easily climb onto if needed.

Whilst researching MIFI routers I came across a router that we can use with 3G and 4G just by replacing the SIM card.  The router I'm thinking of getting is a Proroute H685 4G LTE M2M Router

The router can take two external antenna, one for WIFI hotspots andi if none in range it uses the second to pick up the 3G signal.  I did not much like the look of the mag mount antenna so managed to source these which have a better gain and are more robust

After this Chris wanted to visit an upholsterers near Tattenhall to look at curtain material and discovered one she quite likes.  We'll be visiting Fernwoods in the next few weeks so will add this to the growing pile of samples Chris has acquired   I'm convinced she is going to make a patchwork quilt out of them at some point as there are so many.

Complete or finished?

No English dictionary has been able to adequately explain the difference between these two words: complete and finished.

In a recently held linguistic competition held in London, England, and attended by the best in the world, Samsundar Balgobin, a Guyanese man from Bachelors Adventure, was the clear winner with a standing ovation which lasted over 5 minutes.

The final question was: How do you explain the difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED in a way that is easy to understand. Some people say there is no difference between COMPLETE and FINISHED.

Here is his astute answer .... 

when you marry the right woman, you are COMPLETE. When you marry the wrong woman, you are FINISHED. And when the right one catches you with the wrong one, you are COMPLETELY FINISHED!

New Drinking Warning

NEW DRINKING WARNING JUST RELEASED

         Vodka and Ice will ruin your kidneys

         Rum and Ice will ruin your liver

         Whisky and Ice will ruin your heart

         Gin and Ice will cause brain damage

         Pepsi and Ice will ruin your teeth

Apparently Ice is lethal

Warn all your friends: Lay off the ICE. Just drink everything straight.

Forward this immediately, you could be saving a life.

Don’t under estimate Ice, just remember what it did to the TITANIC!!!!!!

So Much To Confirm and Some Up and Coming Retail Therapy

Hi all,
Not posted of late as there was not much news to write about up to now.

Chris and I went to visit Fernwoods on Wednesday to have our latest design meeting and see how things were progressing.  We spent the day finalising all sorts of things so AmyJo's fit out can progress.  

We settled on the final colours for the livery, as you know will be two tone greys and discussed how the side panels would be painted.  A few other ideas were firmed up on the outside livery and this meant AmyJo's external features could be painted to completion.  We now need to talk to Andy Russel about getting him to do our artwork.  We did talk to him at Crick and he agreed to do AmyJo so we need to work out something with him fairly soon.  For now I played with Photoshop and came up with this artists impression to give you an idea

Meanwhile Chris and Julia were in deep discussions on finalising much of AmyJo's interior layout, fabrics and so on though Chris has a lot more homework to do for curtain/bung material before we can complete the styling inside.  

The layout for the saloon and galley are now pretty much set with a few remaining tweaks by Julia on the front entrance to finish that off.  The galley colour and worktops have been chosen as have the style of the cupboards and drawer fronts

The colours scheme is now set for the wet room and fittings chosen apart from sink and tap.

Throughout the day our list of things to think about and to buy was steadily growing.  We discussed our electrical need in particular our need to have internet access and the power consumption that would entail.  We are settling on an M2M 3g/4g router with wifi coupled to external antennas.  This means when in range we can use local wifi hotspots and when out of range use the 3G to connect.  The router is spec'd so when 4G becomes more readily available we just need to change the SIM card and we're done.

We also have to think about TV, Washing Machine, tumble dryer to remember but a few.  We'll post more on these as we get them.

As for progress on AmyJo, work is moving forward yet it still does not look much has been done but again, closer inspection reveals much has been going on :-

All the outlets for the sinks, washing machine and so on have been installed.

The engine bed and surrounding area has been under coated in dark grey.

More Roof battening has been finished and floor bearers and Pipe mounts installed

Chris and I got to stand inside AmyJo and here Chris is standing roughly where the wet room will be.  Looks extremely long here but when  the bulkheads are in that will make things look different.

I had a comment from Anonymous on my last post (I do not publish if you don't leave a name), they were concerned the spray foam looks inadequate.  Whilst aboard this time I was able to check the depth and am happy to say its more than enough.  AmyJo's hull ribs and cabin side struts are quite large at my request to give extra strength and is why the foam looks at though there is not enough. 

Not much more has been done outside but AmyJo's roof has now received the anti slip surface and a coat of undercoat on that.  Now we have finalised the livery The outside painting can  progress much further.  

The other boat in the picture is Fernwoods latest creation called Dubel Dutch owned by Martin and Annmarie.  As you may have guessed they come from the Netherlands hence the name. Dubel Dutch is nearing completion and is looking pretty smart with some fantastic artwork by Andy Russel.  Look out for her on the cut in the next month or so, she looks stunning.

We will be visiting again and of course will let you know how things are progressing.

Fernwoods open day and a pleasant surprise

Having spent a pleasant night at the Blue Cow Inn not far from Fernwoods workshop, Chris and I made our way over to Sewstern to help out at the Fernwoods open day.  I believe it was the first they have held and judging from the response will not be their last.

The day started in glorious sunshine and the temperatures started to rise as soon as the sun came up.  It was so nice to leave the coats and jumpers at home.  On our arrival we were amazed to see they had laid on a buffet and Pimms.  This was added to later by a barrel of rather nice local ale that in the  heat was most welcome.

We could simply not wait to take a look at AmyJo and so we walked into the workshop and were pleasantly surprised.  At first glance there did not appear to be too much done on her but closer inspection revealled in fact much had been done.

Holes have been cut for the pump out and rinse fittings (a pair each side), the mushroom vents in the roof

A complete covering of undercoat has been applied to her cabin, roof and gunnels.

But the most obvious is inside AmyJo.   She has now been battened out and spray foamed.

What is not obvious from the photos is the fact cable runs have been installed in the form of trunking along the ceiling and sides along the length of her interior.

I also got to try out our deck fittings for size and they fit perfectly, however, as the pump out is being installed on both sides I need to order another fitting.

After spending the whole day with the visitors and generally taking about our journey we said our goodbyes and headed home.  We have another meeting planned in a few weeks so will have some more photos of  AmyJo's progress.

Bad Back and 3D Boredom

Hi all,
It's not been my week this week.  Whilst having a clear out of our loft stuff I then took it to our local tip recycling centre an pulled a back muscle emptying some cardboard into the skip.  Now the cardboard was not heavy nor did I struggle to put the cardboard into the skip but as I lent over I felt a twinge in my lower back.  I thought nothing of it until next morning when I tried to get out of bed.  The pain was unbearable and the room started to spin so I eased myself back under the covers.  

A few days later whilst dosed up on pain killers I managed to get to the doctors to find I've done nothing more than torn a few muscle fibres so am relieved.  Having been advised to take it easy for a few days I've had a few days off work and will return tomorrow on light duties as the pain killers are helping and the pain is subsiding slowly though I fear a few more weeks yet before all is normal.

It not the first time this has happened and will not be the last.  I put a disk out in my lower back after a car crash when I was eighteen and every now an again it moves ever so slightly sending my back muscles into spasm.  There is no rhyme or reason for it.  It never happens the same way or same motion so cannot be avoided.  Seems this time my arm movement at the same time as the muscle spasm also resulted in a few torn muscle fibres as well.  

So with time on my hands and boredom setting in I started to play with Google's Sketchup putting our interior thoughts into a 3D model so Chris has a better idea how AmyJo's interior may look and here is the end result

This is only a rough idea as the fine details have still to be finalised but it does give some idea.  Please ignore colours and textures as Sketchup is limited on choices.  It also does not include the back cabin and loo as this is very much a blank canvas that we are leaving for Fernwoods as they have electrics etc that they need to get in.  We prefer to leave the design to them, plus, we have to keep some things to the last minute otherwise there would be no interest for you now would there :-)

Bit of deck bling

We wanted some form of lockable deck filler for the diesel and water filling point for AmyJo.  With the price of diesel these days you never know.   I knew they were available and so looked around tinterweb and in keeping with the Chromium look we want we found these the other day and they have just arrived.

Not sure its necessary to lock the waste fitting (can't imagine anyone would want to nick the contents) but it does match the other two so completes the set.  Whats nice about these is the lids  are hinged, not connected by chain, so no dropping them overboard if the chain breaks.

We have no pictures of AmyJo for the time being but Fernwoods are having an open day at the factory on 6th July so hopefully we'll have something for you then.