Guess what he's up to.

So can you guess what Liam is up too?

Christmas Shopping

Today has seen the start of the Christmas shopping for us. But far from pushing our way through the crowds in the supermarkets and department stores, it has been a relaxing day of pushing keys and typing.

This year the shopping has been done online which does of course leave us at the mercy of the postal system but it has saved my sanity. I hate shopping at the best of times but at this time of year I just can't bear it.

And it has not all been Christmas shopping either. Today I have ordered the most expensive, well I hope it is the most expensive anyway, part for Naughty-Cal's winter make over, the new propellor shaft. With this purchase out of the way it should hopefully be the last of the expensive items to buy. We could have had the old shaft refurbished for about half the price of a new shaft but we figured if we are keeping Naughty-Cal for a while we may as well buy her a new one and not worry about the repair failing as has happened with a friend.

So although it is pay day today. I am now officially spent up. Well for this week anyway!

Just in Time

Thankfully we had taken some notice of the weather forecasts last weekend as we were just in time before the first of the frosts with getting our heaters on board Naughty-Cal. Ordinarily we wouldn't have been overly concerned about the first of the frosts but boats get much colder when ashore without the water around their hulls to insulate them. Luckily for us we were on the ball this year and the heaters will now be keeping Naughty-Cal snug and warm. 

Back at home we have been gathering a few bits and bobs ready to do some small jobs around the boat this weekend. We have a few surprise items but you will have to wait until after the weekend to see these as well as the 12 volt USB sockets and the new cockpit LED lighting. Now we need to decide where all ten of the new lights will be located as Liam will have to drill new holes and feed through the wiring to get to them. This isn't going to be an easy task. I really want some lights shining down from under the bathing platform but this all depends on whether we can gain access to thread the wires through as it is very tight in the engine bay.

The main, and by main I mean the most expensive part we need this year, a new prop shaft from Volvo Penta has been ordered and should be with us in the next week or so, so then with the rest of the service parts for the drive delivered Liam can bring the drive to work and start work replacing the shaft and seals and giving the stern drive a good going over checking that everything is in good working order.

Hopefully in the next few weeks we should start to see some good progress on Naughty-Cal, but for this weekend at least it will be slowly, slowly.

Sunset over Sheffield

As I have been at home ill for the last couple of days I have actually managed to catch a sunset over Sheffield. Usually at this time of year I would be cooped up in the office or at the weekend in Lincoln so rarely catch these scenes. This one is the view from our bedroom window.

Slow Progress

Appearances can be deceptive and despite it not appearing on the surface as though we actually achieved anything this weekend we now have a much clearer picture of what this winters work will entail.

A good look around every inch of the hull revealed that it is still in good condition. This was our major concern for this year as we have recently seen a few Sealine S23's and S25's which were disappointingly showing signs of stress and early stages of osmosis. Thankfully Naughty-Cal is displaying non of these symptoms and despite a few heavy landings at sea this year the hull appears to have coped admirably. So no major hull repairs and just one or two very minor cosmetic repairs to the cabin sides for this year.

The stern drive as expected had water contamination in the oil but surprisingly not as bad as we had expected. We have left the last of the oil to drain out during this week and will then refill it with fresh oil next week to flush through the water contamination. Despite the water contamination the oil was still a clean colour which is a good sign that all is well in the gear box. The anodes had clearly been hard at work this year and are ready for replacing, we could stretch another year out of them but what is the point when it is only £40 to replace all four of them for new ones. 

More good news was that the replacement oil seals in the hydraulic rams have  worked a treat. No signs of leakage from them at all which is a bonus. The antifoul paint we used on the drive last year has all but fallen off so this year Liam plans to take the drive to work and strip it all down to prime and repaint it in the proper Volvo Penta paint it was originally painted in. I might even surprise him and buy the original transfer set for the drive to make it look good as new again!

Whilst Liam  has the drive at work he will replace the worn shaft and change all of the oil seals and then hopefully we can have a year where the oil doesn't end up looking like mayo when we drop it!

As usual the props are damaged but no unduly so there is only one bladed with the end missing so at some point that prop, the three bladed one can be sent away for refurbishing. The other four bladed one Liam can take to work and repair some minor nicks in the blade ends.

So despite appearances we had a useful and informative weekend. Next weekend we have a plan of attack in mind to get some minor jobs done in the cockpit and cabin so again it wont look from the outside as though there has been much progress but we will know that there has been.

And We're Off

We have made a slow but steady start to proceedings today. Naughty-Cal is chocked up in a lovely riverside spot with great views from the back so even when we are not working we can gaze out across the water.

A good thorough look around the hull has revealed no nasty surprises which is good and as suspected the drive oil is milky although to be honest not nearly as bad as we had anticipated.  So it's been a good start to the works.

Let Battle Commence

So the weekend is finally here and we will tonight get our first glimpse of what we have instore over the coming months.

We already know that there will be oil in the stern drive oil, as in the picture opposite from a few years ago. The seals were very badly damaged last weekend so we expect to find a similar yoghurt like mixture tomorrow when we drain down the oil. Before we do any work on the drive we will refill it tomorrow and flush it through with fresh oil. We will leave the clean oil in the drive for a couple of weeks occasionally spinning the props to try and capture any remaining water which is in the system and then we will drain the oil again, before refilling it again with fresh oil to give it a final flush through before changing the seals and fitting the new shaft at which point it will then be filled with its final lot of oil. 

The rest of this weekend will be spent having a good look around the hull and inspecting every nook and cranny for any signs of damage or areas which need some attention. We also plan to scrub down the transom which does tend to get a bit grubby as it isn't easy to clean with the boat in the water. 

Hopefully by the end of this weekend we should have a clearer picture of what works need to be completed and how busy our winter will truly be.