MWNN, Ron, and I, spent a long-weekend on the boat. It's almost ready to take out for a couple of days, but there were a few things that needed doing to make it weather-tight and comfortable.
MWNN has moved to the forward cabin, to sleep on the new 4ft bed. I am relegated to the rear cabin, on the single bed. When the rear bulkhead was replaced, the door frames were removed to enable the new wood to slip into position. The frames, trim and draught-exlcluders have been missing since then.
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| Mr Chippendale clutching the wood glue |
The first night, I woke regularly because of the cold. Although I had a warm duvet, I needed to put on an extra layer of clothing, with long sleeves. During the warm weather, it didn't matter. I welcomed the cool breeze. With night temperatures heading into single figures, and a lack of heat during the day, it became important that the frame was finished.
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| Mr Hepplewhite weilds the panel pins and hammer |
MWNN set to work. Even though it was raining, he was able to work on the frame. The rear canopy provided cover, and prevented any incursion of rain as he worked.
As the rain eased, I took Ron for a walk. The trees and shrubs look different now. The guelder rose berries are ripe, the blackcurrants are variable - some are still green, others plumo and black. The cones of the Black Alder confused me for an instant. At first glance, I thought they were acorns. But the leaf-shape was wrong, and there wqas no acorn cup.
We have two books of trees on the boat, but I find it much easier to identify trees by Googling.
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| After the storm |
Autumn has arrived, and, as we came back from our trip past the fishing lake, the sun gave one last, glorious burst to show the autumnal colours.
I slept better that second night. Not a puff of air came in through the door. Thank you Messrs Chippendale and Hepplewhite.
