Things have been happening at the boat. Not by my hand but through the sterling work of tom and Ian. We are a bit light on photos but to summarise, the galley has had the paint removed from the ceiling with elbow grease and a heat gun. Not the best job as you have to stand with your arms in the air for hours and the paint goes everywhere. In the main cabin, the wood has arrived and Ian is starting on the floor. As this is the biggest space, it’s going to make a massive impact and make it look finished. 
Next task is to plan the galley… likely something along the lines of the photos below…

Part of the reason for the slightly extended winter break is our newest crew member Baby Felix. Only seven weeks but already loving it aboard Betty!

After a winter break (more on that later!), we’re back to get cracking on Beta III. It’s been a while and I was thrilled to see that she has fared the winter well. There is almost no water in the bilge, the paintwork has held up well, and the only damage seems to be a bit of bird poop. And best of all the caulking job on the deck seems to have held. Big relief!

Also time to check where we got to last year. First testing out the bed area…

And taking a look at the spray paint job Tom did on the inside of the galley. This was the last job of 2016 and I hasn’t seen it so pleased to report it is looking good and seems to be pretty thorough. 

This is big news as the main cabin used to look like this…

On the immediate to do list for 2017:

– finally find some blimmin square windows (yes, I’ve looked online. Yes, I’ve tried eBay… not a sausage)

– finish the floor in the main cabin (Ian the carpenter is all teed up to do this)

– a little more painting of beams (not done with the jotomastic 87 yet!) and sanding the underside of the deck

 – design and fit out the galley 

Well doesn’t this look like the smartest bedroom afloat? A platform for the bed, step up and inbuilt storage to the sides. Well done Ian!!

The inside has now been painted with the sprayer and all evidence that betty was once a “rusty hunk of junk” hidden beneath layers of jotamastic 87. Visual proof below that if you plaint anything one colour, it automatically looks bigger, smarter and ready for action.

  
  
  
More on this later…

Change of tactic for spraying the rest of the inside of the boat. Away with the brushes and in with the airless paint sprayers. Advantages are that it is quick. And by quick we meant super speedy. Disadvantages is that used incorrectly you could give yourself a nasty jotamastic tattoo and if you don’t have the pressure and thinners correct you can eat through a lot of paint.

  
And you have to be really careful about cleaning out the machine properly or it renders the machine unusable.

  
But best of all, you get to wear some super high tec masks and a hazmat suit.

  
Unfortunately Gizzi wasn’t impressed…

  
Day one done. Probably two more to go and a further update then…

It’s been a tough and boring couple of weeks. The inside of the main cabin and the engine room need to be painted. But before this can happen they need to be 100% dry and clean. Jotamastic is amazing stuff but it does need to be applied on to a dry and relatively rust free surface. This means pumping water out (thanks Ian!), wire brushing the bilge (thanks tom!), and a whole heap of hoovering (my job).

  
  
  
  
Meanwhile Gizzi looks on bemused…

  
  
I can’t lie, it is a thankless punishing task. Dirty, exhausting and draining (that is not a happy face below) but IT IS ALL OVER! The spraying begins Monday…

What a day cleaning the bilge can do to your face and your soul… 😂😂😂