Just the Trim.

Hi,

We don’t have a lot to tell you in this blog ‘cos we haven’t done any sightseeing this week,instead we’ve had a relaxing time at the caravan.We had hoped to get a bit of sun but the rain has been here on most days to keep us indoors for some of the time.Some people are beginning to hope we are going to get an Indian summer this year,what do you think?,we’ve certainly earned it,as our own summer has been pretty much of a washout so far,and I thought things were on the up last week.Fortunately,the weather has given us the chance to enjoy some of the Olympics.We don’t have a telly yet ‘cos we are waiting till we are sure what size we need for Chyandour,and to be honest,we haven’t missed one.Well.I haven’t,Lisa may not quite agree with that.After the opening ceremony on Sunday,which we did get to see,we have only been able to listen to the Olympics on the Radio,and surprisingly,the coverage has been very good.Lisa got to listen to the tennis,didn’t he do well?and what about all the other athletes,aren’t they something else?Whether they have won a medal or not,there have been some exceptional  performances in all of the disciplines.Well done all of team GB, you all deserve gold.

We did take the opportunity to do some exploring a bit nearer to where we are staying in the caravan.Close to here is the Maun Valley Trail,part of which runs alongside the River Maun,on the edge of Sherwood Forest,the forest of Robin Hood fame.It’s a very pleasant walk away from the hustle and bustle of the roads around here,but we didn’t see any trace of Robin or his Merry Men.

Last Monday,and again this Monday,we have had our usual trip down to Kingfishers at Trent Lock to see how Chyandour is coming along,and again,we haven’t been disappointed.John and Mick have worked hard on her,and we took a few more pictures of what has been done.It may be difficult to see a lot of what they have achieved because they have been concentrating on the fiddly bits that all add up to make a great boat,much of which is out of sight during everyday use.A lot of the trim has been fitted with something like 200 dowels to cover the screw heads.John has been fitting the trim and things like door locks,catches and handles and sanding down.Mick has been tiling,he’s commissioned the central heating,which,I’m told,is excellent,and fitted the smartgauge.This is a useful bit of kit that helps us to understand how much power we have in our batteries.No mains electricity for us,every bit of electricity we need we have to generate ourselves and store in six 100 amp/hour leisure batteries.The engine will do a large part of the generation as we cruise,with the two alternators that are fitted,and we will have solar panels to help out when the sun is shining.The central heating is just a backup for those odd occasions when its a bit nippy first thing in the morning but not so cold that we have to have the solid fuel stove going 24/7.Our hot water comes from the calorifier which is heated mainly by the engine but the central heating can give us hot water if necessary.Our central heating runs on LPG which we also use for cooking.

Right then,here we have a photo’ or two of our boat as she was on Monday.

 

Above are the bow doors open,and closed.John has done the door surrounds and fitted all the catches and locks.The space below the doors is where the steps will be and they will also be used for storage.

 

The above photo’s show some more of Johns handiwork.On the left,if you look closely,you can see some of the couple of hundred or so dowels that are used to hide the heads of the screws,not finished off yet,in case you’re wondering,incidentally,John makes the dowels himself.On the right is the side door,with the surround and furniture done.This is in the galley and gives Lisa some fresh air and a nice view when slaving over the stove.

 

We couldn’t go without showing some of Micks play areas.Unfortunately quite a lot of his handiwork is hidden from view.He tends to be responsible for the plumbing and electrics and has to work in the more confined spaces and I can assure you that his work is first class before it gets covered up.It has been said that I can be a bit fussy,so you can take my word for it.On the left are the electrics and the Smartgauge is the small rectangular panel to the right of the ignition key with the tag on it.Not much to look at you may think,but it will pay for itself in no time as we judge how long to run the engine to generate some electricity.The pic’ on the right is another view of the galley,this time with the tiles done and the sockets fitted.

Ok that’s all for now,we are going down to Trent Lock tomorrow,Wednesday,to have a look at the solid fuel stoves position,before John builds the hearth.If there is enough material I may do another blog this weekend.Take care everyone.