Nate and the V8

This morning Nate and I went for a trip to the Uxbridge Boat Center to get some hose and connectors for Misterton. As it was just a father son trip, we took the Cerbera, the first time he's been in it. Not bad for a 4 week old I guess.

On another engine related note, I've been amusing myself by cleaning and painting various bits of the engine. Basically anything I can detach and bring into the warm. Here are a couple of crankcase doors, before and after.

Then there are the covers for the reversing gear assembly. These had been leaking as they had been assembled with instant gasket only. I made some gaskets out of sheet material and re-assembled after painting.

Hopefully the leak is fixed, but I'll need to run the engine to check. And that isn't happening at the moment. I've sent the fuel injectors away to be refurbished and they are back looking brand new. I've also made some new fuel lines, but these are currently leaking at the fittings, so I'll need to try again with those. It did start today, but sprayed excess fuel around, so not the best thing really.

Still, beats watching the endless reality TV shows that seem to constitute 80% of the 'entertainment' available on freeview.

Next time, more of the same.

Three is the magic number

So sang De La Soul many years ago. The last few weeks have been waiting for the boy to arrive, and he finally did last friday evening (14th). We choose not to know the sex, but I'd been expecting a girl so it took us a few days to name him, but we settled on Nathanael in the end. Cue gratuitous baby pictures.....

Here he is with Mary....

With me...

 ..and with friends Brian (left) and Mat (right).

 Not too much boat work has gone on during this time, but a few things have got done. I've finished attaching the engine room hatch, installed one of the old engine room ladders in the workshop and put some non-slip tread on the stairs.

 Note the ladder will double as an airing rack.

 More progress when we catch up on our sleep (10 years from now...).

New Year

Part 31 from Mary here.

(Yule)Tide

With the onset of winter boat related activities have slowed a bit. Its not been helped by both of us having busy jobs and having to attend antenatal classes. Still, the latter has been useful - who knew having a child would be so complex?

We did take Misterton out upriver a couple of weekends ago. Mat joined us as even I was concerned that at over 8 months pregnant it might be a but much to expect Mary to haul on ropes etc.

Here is Mat smiling, not often seen in photographs.

The interior of the ship is coming along as these pictures show;

. 

 We had some friends over last weekend for mince pies and wine - the biggest gathering we've had onboard so far. Despite the sub-zero temperatures outside, we were all warm and cosy.

Its been unusually cold in the UK this winter, as this picture shows (there is another winter picture here);

 It's largely melted now, but there is more on the way.

Merry Christmas to all our friends, family and anyone that reads this! 

November

Been catching up with a number of jobs over the last few weekends, the Kitchen has power now and is about 95% finished, just need to get some more copper sheet and I'll be about done. I've also been spending some time on the engine 'tinkering'. One thing I've done is add some piping and a valve so that the cooling water is re-circulated to help it warm up. The engine is raw water cooled, so normally the water goes round the engine and over the side. With the river temperature being about 7 degrees currently, the engine doesn't get very warm. This new piping feeds the water back to the pump so it keeps going round until it gets hot. The valve can then be partially closed to achieve a blend of hot and cold. A bit like a 1930s version of a thermostatic shower tap.

Kept me quiet for an afternoon anyway.

Probably of more interest is part 30 by Mary, here.