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.

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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.