It's On

The sterndrive is finally back on the boat.

A Midweek Treat

It isn't very often we go out during the week, we tend to save this for the weekend. However last night we enjoyed an excellent evening with Liam's auntie and uncle in the Yorkshire Bridge Inn in Bamford, near to the Lady Bower reservoir.

The food we would all highly recommend. It is all home cooked pub grub. The menu isn't extensive but the food they do is all good. We all had something different and not one of us had a single complaint. 

This pub is certainly high on the list of pubs to visit again soon.

The First Test of the Year

It seems to have been a long time coming but we can now finally start planning our first outings of the year for Naughty-Cal.

Our first "proper" cruise of the year will be our Easter trip to Kings Lynn but before we head out onto the coast we want to ensure that all of the mechanical work carried out over the winter is fit for purpose. So we have lined up a couple of weekends gentle cruising on the Fossdyke which should hopefully highlight any minor teething problems, before heading out for our first high speed test of the year later in March with a trip to West Stockwith and a chance to blow away any cobewebs and let Cal stretch her legs. 

We should know by the end of this trip whether we have any further problems to sort out before our trip across the Wash at the beginning of April and will have a couple of weekends to tinker and put things straight.

At last we can start to look forward to many happy times afloat in 2015.

As nice as it has been to give Naughty-Cal the love and attention she needs this winter it has been a long and laborious period of inactivity for both us and the boat. This will be the longest period ashore Cal has endured since being built in 2003.

Back In The Booth

It was back in the spray booth last night for the final coats of paint on the stern drive.

The Happy Couple

As promised a few pictures of the happy couple Mark and Denise.

A Couple More

Just a couple more pictures from the weekend for you today.

A wonderful day was had by all and our best wishes go to the happy couple Mark and Denise.

You will have to wait to see the pictures of the bride and groom though until the photographer publishes them.

Blue Pearl all dressed up waiting for the bride and groom.

Captain Liam and a can of dutch courage!.

A quick change of clothing for Captain Liam before dinner.

Hello Sailor

There has been no work done on Naughty-Cal this weekend as we have been playing chauffeur for a friend's wedding.

We picked them and their close friends and family up on their boat Blue Pearl in Lincoln yesterday afternoon before heading to the Pyewipe Inn for their wedding reception.

Sore heads this morning and we still need to get the boat back yet!

I've Been Robbed

Looks can be deceiving. 

Take Liam for example, looks like butter wouldn't melt in his mouth doesn't he?

But behind that friendly exterior there is a criminal mastermind hard at work.

This morning as we unloaded some tools out of the car and into the garage and loaded a weekends worth of gear into the car and clothing he somehow forgot to put his sandwiches in the car. They are made up ready and waiting on the kitchen worktop please bear in mind.

After dropping him off at work and a quick tweak of the headlight alignment on the Datsun's new headlights, off I scurry to work. And what do I find when I get there? 

The thieving swine has stolen my sandwiches!

Nothing is sacred anymore, not even one's sandwiches.

Take Two

It was take two priming the sterndrive last night.  This time in the spray booth so it could have a bake after it was applied.

Hopefully this morning we will find it had dried!

Not Quite a Pancake

It was Shrove Tuesday yesterday, or what most will now know it as Pancake Day.

It would have been rude not to indulge in one or two pancakes so last night for dinner I rustled up some pancakes and then just to be a bit different I filled them with haggis, rolled them up and baked them in the oven for thirty minutes to turn them into Yorkshire Rolls. Well Yorkshire Rolls with a Scottish twist in this case.

They really were very tasty. The pancakes crisp up to give a lovely crunchy coating to the spicy and peppery haggis. Delicious.

Edging Forwards

We are now edging ever closer to launch date. With just two weekends to go and only one weekend of working time left (we are otherwise engaged this coming weekend but more on that later in the week) the list of jobs is getting ever smaller.

We ticked off loads of jobs last weekend and it was nice to feel that progress was finally being made.

The final count down is really on now with just a handful of jobs, albeit important ones to finish. All we have left to do now is install the drive and the new bump strip.

Suited and Booted

We finally got around to giving Naughty-Cal her boot stripe back yesterday. She has not had one for the last seven years!

The colour looks a bit off at the moment but the paint changes colour when immersed in water.

Fresh Paint

Another major job was completed yesterday with the application of fresh antifoul paint to Naughty-Cal's hull.

We have used Premier Paints,  Premier One Can as in previous years and the can was enough to give the hull two coats with a third around the water line.

It is nasty stuff and we were both suffering with banging headaches by the time we had finished. But Naughty-Cal does now look much better.

Glad that job is out of the way.

I Can See Clearly

I can see clearly now the Datsun has a new pair of headlights.

The car somehow missed a recall on the headlights not long after we bought the car.  So it would seem that all of our complaints about them were well founded.

The lens in the projector dipped beams scorch deflecting the light away from the road. 

Now with a new set of headlights we can at last see the road properly for the first time since owning the car!

Oh Bugger

I could have used far stronger wording and I'm pretty sure so could Liam, because the primer that he had lovingly applied to the drive earlier in the week refused to dry, it was just too cold.

Despite being baked in the spray booth with a few cars the damage had already been done and the primer would never dry.

So off it comes. And it takes much more getting off then it takes to put it on!

Change of Plan

We have had a change of plan for the weekend.  We were going to rush the drive to get it ready for the weekend but have decided not to and to concentrate on jobs that need dry weather.

So this weekend we are going to wax the hull, apply the new antifoul paint,  apply the new boot stripe and polish and wax the topsides. 

The drive and bump strip are not as weather dependant so whilst the weather is set fair this weekend we will do the jobs that are.

Primed

The drive is now looking much better thanks to a good few coats of primer.  Today Liam has the thankless task of sanding it down ready for paint tonight.

A Plan of Attack

We found at the weekend that it was really very helpful to have a clear plan of attack ready to put into action. We both knew what we had to be doing and in what order to get things done in a quick and efficient, yet methodical order.

With this in mind we have a similar plan in action this week and are working on one for the weekend.

This weeks job is to get the stern drive primed and painted. The mechanical work is now complete, barring physically getting the drive back on the boat, so it is now just a case of getting it looking good once more.

Tonight after work Liam is going to get the drive in it's first coat of primer and then tomorrow lunchtime he will sand it back to give it a smooth finish. It will then be ready for a second coat of primer tomorrow lunchtime. Then tomorrow after work it will be ready to receive a couple of coats of paint. It will then receive a final sanding before getting its final application of paint on Thursday evening.

By Friday after work, it should hopefully be wrapped up in bubble wrap ready to transport to the boat and be reinstalled first thing on Saturday morning with fresh bellows, anodes and oil. 

The plan of attack for the weekend is still under consideration. If the weather stays as currently predicted however, and it is a big if, we could have Naughty-Cal pretty much ready to relaunch by the end of Sunday with just a few minor fettling jobs to finish off in the coming weekends.

A Quickening Pace

Work on Naughty-Cal is starting to progress at an ever quickening rate. We are starting to see huge improvements with every job that is being crossed off the list. 

Dare we say it? But we finally appear to be getting there.

Work really did step up a gear the weekend just gone, with more seemingly achieved then in the previous few put together. Naughty-Cal is beginning to look loved again, she has appeared somewhat forlorn and unappreciated these last few months ashore but with a good polish, she is starting to shine through once more and look like the boat we both know and love again.

With a bit of luck and some fair weather next weekend we should really be on the home stretch.

Shining Through

We have had another day of hard graft on Naughty-Cal and our efforts are beginning to show at last.

The transom shield is painted and looks much better and the whole of the hull is polished ready for waxing next week.

Progress

We have had a productive day today despite it being a tad on the chilly side outside.

The trim tabs bellows and anodes are installed,  the transom shield is in primer, although this is being reluctant to dry, and the port side of the hull is polished and ready for wax.

Not a bad days work.

In Bits!

When Liam said that Naughty-Cal's outdrive service was coming on well I rather glibly just believed him. I saw his idea of coming on well last night and it didn't look that well to me!

He does however reliably inform me that come next Friday evening it will be rebuilt, in full working order and in fresh paint ready to refit to the boat next Saturday morning.

I hope he is right!

Full Steam Ahead

Work is cracking on with the stern drive which Liam has at work.

All of the seals have been replaced including the O rings which seal the gear box, top cover and bottom cover, as well as the gear linkage seal which is often overlooked and the shaft seals.

Yesterday the new prop shaft was picked up from M & T Transmissions in Sheffield where it has had a new bearing fitted to the end. We were going to reuse the old one but upon inspection it was worn so a new one has been fitted. No point penny pinching at this stage in the day. We are doing this work to ensure we have more trouble free years of cruising. 

So all that Liam has left to do to the drive, after it is reassembled today is prime and paint it one evening next week.Then it will be ready to fit back on the boat next weekend, in plenty of time for our relaunch next month. 

We have written down a plan of action for this weekend. The weather looks set to be a bit fairer and a damn sight milder then last week. Fingers crossed they are right.

This weekend we plan to prime and paint the transom shield, wash the hull, topsides and water line and begin polishing the hull whilst the weather is fair and we have the chance. If this goes to plan we may even fit the bootline.

You know what happens when we make plans though.

They never go according to plan!

Pheasantries

It was the last day of the shooting season on Monday, it is usually the 1st February, but when this lands on a Sunday the season is extended a day to the Monday. Funny traditions and all that.

On Saturday a farmer, and boating friend of ours brought us some pheasants as they were quite literally becoming over run with them. The joys of living in the countryside.

So last night we enjoyed some lovely quick roasted pheasant in lemon oil served simply with citrus stuffing and a fragrant rocket salad. The phesants really don't take long to cook, 30 minutes in a preheated oven at 220 degrees keeps the meat moist but the skin crispy.

I served one bird each as they are a funny size pheasants. Not quite enough for two, unless you are serving it with all the trimmings, but too much for one if served with all the trimmings. So I opted to serve them simply and one each, which worked out really very well.

Respect

Anyone who ventures to sea has the up most respect for the guys and girls of the RNLI. They head out in any weather to the aid of those in peril at sea.

Yesterday the Scarborough lifeboat crew were out on training exercises in seas that had most tucked up safe and warm in the shelter of port.

(These photographs have been taken from the RNLI Facebook page with permission from the sites owner.)

Foiled

We were well and truly foiled by the weather this weekend. None of the jobs on our list got completed, in fact some didnt even get started. But we did manage to cross of a couple more inside jobs.

The sealant in the shower room was getting ready for replacing, so on Saturday Liam set about digging it all out and putting in fresh.

Whilst the sink was out he took the chance to replace the shower hose and also found a slight leak from one of the plumbing connections. This has been duly fixed and is now leak free. All of these tiny leaks will have been dripping water into the bilges, no wonder they were pretty much always damp. Hopefully this year we should be able to keep dry bilges!

Next weekend will be a final tidy up of the sealant around the sink bowl and then we have some new tap heads and a new shower head to install to finish of the fresher look.

The weather was a little better yesterday which allowed Liam to venture outside to sand the transom shield. It was however just too cold to consider priming or painting it so he moved onto sanding down the antifoul paint ready for some fresh applying in a couple of weeks time.

We now need the weather gods to shine down on us as we are running out of weekends to get the remainder of the jobs finished in time for our March 6th relaunch date. 

Batteries Not Included

Whilst replacing the shower hose and resealing the shower room sink, Liam found a little friend. We think he is an escaped extra from the film Batteries Not Included!