Craftsmanship

Hi again,

We have had quite an interesting time since our last blog because we are able to do the tourist thing whenever we want now,camera,Bus pass,or Rail card in hand and away we go.We’ve been sightseeing in and around Poole,Wimborne and Bournemouth as well as nipping up to see Chyandour at Trent Lock.Both myself and Lisa have friends and family down here in Dorset, and it has been wonderful to see them again,most  of them for the first time in years,how some have changed.All of them are in the best of health though,I’m pleased to say.I lived down here for seventeen years and I am now getting to see places I haven’t seen before.Strange how we never really visit places on our doorstep.One of the reasons for going to live on Chyandour,and cruise as much of the network of canals as we can,is that,in all the years I drove for a living,I didn’t really see places.Just mile after mile of tarmac and then the factories,shops and warehouses that I delivered too.Things can look so different from a canal,sights we get familiar with as we go about our daily lives can look so different even from a few yards away from the towpath or from a boat.

Anyway,enough of that,here are a few pictures of places and things that we’ve seen on our travels down here in deepest Dorset.

      

We decided that the boat on the left was just a tiny bit ostentatious for us,the one in the distance,that is,and anyway,it’s not likely to get through some of the locks and bridge holes on the inland waterways.These were taken down on Poole Quay where there are lots of Sunseeker boats if you are into that sort of eye candy.The one on the right is of the famous old Poole bridge,a bascule bridge,built in 1927 taking the road over to Hamworthy.There is now a new lifting bridge but we haven’t got to see that one yet.Poole is also the home of the R.N.L.I.,a wonderful organisation that saves so many lives each year on the waters around our coasts.You can just about make out the Poole Tyne class lifeboat City of Sheffield moored outside the lifeboat station.

     

On the left is Bournemouth pier,taken from the restaurant at the entrance.We had walked to the end of the pier and back,and,just before the exit,the heavens opened and we had to take refuge.An excellent cup of coffee though,while we waited for the rain to stop.The one on the right is of Bournemouth’s gardens.Anyone visiting Bournemouth should take a stroll through here,they are extremely well looked after and we were lucky enough to enjoy them without the rain.

O.K. so now let’s get on with the important bit,our visit to Chyandour at Trent Lock.We were lucky again with the weather,i.e.it wasn’t raining,which is a reason to celebrate at the moment.John and Mick are doing a fabulous job fitting Chyandour out,and it’s a shame none of the photo’s will ever do justice to their workmanship.We are going to get a beautiful boat from them.A lot of the pictures that we took on our visit on the 18th are rather boring,I’m afraid,they are mainly for reference in the future should we need to know where wiring or plumbing has been placed,so I have plagiarised their website again to give you some better pictures.These were taken on Friday the 22nd of June.

                          

The picture on the right is of the front doors,these open out onto the well deck at the bows,on a nice day they’ll be open for us to sit outside,glass of wine,or similar,in hand,enjoying the scenery and watching the world go by.On the left we have the rear doors,these are in the workshop because they are to be painted,partly to protect them from the elements but also because we are going to have them painted with traditional Roses & Castles.Something along the lines of what you see below.

                                 

These are just four examples of some of the traditional art work on the canals.

Below you can see,to the left,is the central heating boiler.This is an Aldi gas boiler,designed to be fitted in narrowboats,which we will use to supplement the multi fuel stove that will be fitted in the lounge.It will help keep our water hot and also ensure we will not freeze if we run out of coal or logs.The black pipes you can see are from the engine which will supply hot water most of the time,and the white pipes are the pipes to the radiators and the taps in the galley and bathroom.

                 

The right hand picture is of the third and final pair of doors.These are on the side of Chyandour and you can see down into what will be the galley.Lisa can open these if it gets too hot for her as she slaves over the hot cooker or the galley sink.

That’s all again for today,we are going to Kent for a few days next week so I will post some more pictures of our travels and any that Mick posts on Kingfishers blog.John is having two weeks well deserved holiday.Bye for now,take care everyone.

The lining is done.

Hi,

Things have moved on a bit since our last blog,we’ve sold our house in Scotland and joined the ranks of the NFA.(no fixed abode for the uninitiated).It has been some experience sorting through everything,selling off the things that will not fit on the boat,giving away what we couldn’t sell and deciding what we could keep.We decided to sell ‘cos it would have been too much to maintain a house and a boat that would be so far apart,and we don’t really want any ties.Lisa did a sterling job,she did just about everything,the selling,the discarding and the packing.She just about sold the telly as we watched it and the bed as we slept.It was quite traumatic for her at times,as she also had to deal with all the potential buyers for the house,I was still working you see.We have done loads of research into doctors,dentists and other aspects of living afloat instead of on the land.Driving Licences,TV Licence,Banks,all the things that have to be changed,we think we’ve covered everything so now we’re relaxing.

Chyandour will not be ready till the end of September at the earliest so now we’re going to have a few months holiday.We left Perth early on the 31st of May and as we didn’t really have anywhere to go we went to Lymm in Cheshire.Now we had been by Lymm a couple of years ago while cruising along the Bridgewater canal as part of the Cheshire Ring,but we didn’t stop.A mistake,because Lymm is a beautiful place to explore and the weather was excellent.

                             

                          How’s this for a picturesque English village?

Our first week was in Yorkshire in a lovely little cottage north of Pickering.The weather wasn’t brilliant,but compared to what others were experiencing elsewhere it was pretty good.We visited Whitby,Scarborough,York and a number of smaller villages.Yorkshire really is a beautiful part of the the U.K.,shame there aren’t more canals.We did the usual tourist thing,taking loads of photo’s,so here are a few.

                                

Now this came out of the blue.We were walking around Whitby,after having lunch,when we came across a six wheeled,steam driven bus.She is lovely,just had to have a ride,and when we got back to the cottage that night I did a bit of research.She’s called Elizabeth,which was fitting for the Jubilee weekend,and she belongs to The Northern Star Steam and Motor Carriage Company.Check out their website http://www.whitbysteambusandcharabanc.co.uk.

                                

Here’s the Great Wall of York,easier to get to than the other one in China.

Right,enough about our week in York and down to the progress on Chyandour.She is coming along nicely.We are going up to see her on Monday next,which will be about three weeks since our last visit,so I only have a few photo’s that I have pinched off Kingfishers website over the last few days.

Ok,the photo on the left is Kingfishers workshop where Mick has been beavering away making the battery box and fitting the battery leads to our domestic and starter banks.Being a sensible sort of guy he does all the work in the workshop and then refits it in the more confined space at the stern of Chyandour.The right hand pic is the control panel,this is the “fuse box” if you like.The left half is 240v for the fridge and other appliances and the right side is 12v for lights,pumps and cigar lighter type sockets for phone chargers etc.There aren’t going to be many 240v domestic appliances by the way,’cos we have to generate our own electricity,it’s not like being at home.

         .

Now then.These two are of the interior and,for those who have been following,you can see that the lining is done.There is still a lot of bits and pieces to do,like window trims,bulkheads and ceiling trims,but she’s looking good.We are having a satin finish to the Ash lining and you can see that it’s a bit more subdued than gloss finish.

Anyway all,that’s the lot for now.As I said earlier we are going to Long Eaton on Monday so on our return there will be another update and some more ‘photo’s.