Unseen by me. And I have done a lot of googling! Here is it, beta iii in action as unearthed by Ben from the Liquid Highway blog.

I did this for Instagram stories but perhaps worth putting on here too.

We are going great guns in our attempt to wrap things up by the end of September. The engine is in, the floor is finished and secure. The battens are on the ribs ready for the bead and butt panelling to be attached, and the panelling has been painted. Phew!

We have taken delivery of the new PVC Striker Rail which Ian and tom are in the process of attaching. No mean feat as this involves maneouvring a massive heavy length of the stuff to above head height and inserting the washer strip into place. Drilling out through the existing hole in the hull, drilling a pellet back through, bolting it on and plugging the hole. Then repeat for 100 metres. Tough stuff!

This will all be done by next week when the chap comes to spray some insulating foam in the inside of the hill before the panelling goes back on…. magic!

Some motivational pictures of how Beta III used to look…

Bit of a high drama title. Truth be told the ever so patient owners of the site where we are based have suggested that they might need our corner back for their business and that this would need to happen at the end of September. They have been beyond patient and charming, particularly given they inherited us when they bought the site from the previous owner.”you know your new industrial site… there’s a mad woman and a rusty boat in the corner that can’t be moved….”. Exactly.

They have kindly suggested that we can always move the boat down a bit.  It given that involves extra cost, the project has already dragged on, and we are nearly done, it makes sense to speed things up and get the job done. It’s a boat after all. It should be in the water.

My ha fa are a bit tied with the littlest crew member which makes things a bit tricky. If there is anyone out there who fancies a bit of hard labour and can help, please do!! I need it.

Well thank fuck for that. I make no apologies for language, it was a high stress moment. It is in Place and just requires a bit of final adjustment and fitting and of course all the inputs and outputs hooking up…. another mammoth job but baby steps, right? It might not work yet but it sure looks good.

They are big old beasts these Gardner engines but, as the theory goes, what comes out must go back in. Or is it what goes in must come out? Either way, despite the fact we had made the engine hatch smaller (oooops forgot about that), the engine had to go back in abc in it went with some HIAB magic.’

The smaller hatch meant it needed to go in at more of an angle so required some extra hair pulling and panicking from Tom (who was masterminding the move) and a block and tackle to provide a bit more support. 

This Friday: a HIAB has been hired, the engine beds prepared, and my nerves steadied. It’s time to lift the engine back in!!!! 👌🏼👏🏻👍🏼💪🏼

You get the idea. There is – as ever – a lot to go wrong… getting it out the shipping container, lifting it and dropping it back in the boat without smashing it into the deck. And god only knows where the mounting blocks and the bolts have gone… 😬 also have to make sure there are no crushed feet, people or boats and we get it the right way round. On the plus side, what came out surely must go back in, and at least we know it fits!

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Some pictures of the new steps. Nearly finished. I have no time for actual words….. rush rush rush 

Some better pictures of the engine room floor looking all finished and spectacular.

The raised rails are where the engine sits.

And a reminder of how it used to look…