Boat Chops!

This weekend we took family out on the boat, we havent done any DIY for a while, real life has taken back over! My nephew, Eli, loves being on the boat, especially if he gets to steer it. He aint a bad driver for someone thats not even 2 yet.

just a couple of shots from the marina at night..... i got a new camera :D

Here's some pictures from our new mooring, we are in the middle of nowhere, perfect for nosy cats. I (em) made us a new little spice rack from scratch :) w

and the last post for today.... here is a selection of boat cat photos, Rupert and Oscar doing what they do best....

This weekend Em worked a tattoo convention in Leamington Spa and on the way home we went to Ikea in coventry as it was close by and got a few things to make the boat a bit more homely. like some hangy kitchen storagy things and also a big red rug. the cats seem to like it a lot and have taken to sleeping in the same spot on it together like they are cute or something....we have also been walking them on harnesses lots so they get outdoor time, even though Oscar did escape for a few days recently and had us worried like crazy that he;d get lost. He got out the same day as a very noisy thunderstorm happened and didnt come back for three days.  His jaunt away cant have been that great as he no longer has a desperation to escape and when the window got left open all day when we were out this weekend he went out but stayed close to the boat. 

We took the boat out for first proper drive in it about a week ago - taking your home for a drive is a weird thing. it is also strange being in the middle of actual  nowhere, just water and greenery. very beautiful and peaceful though.We found an open area and did some handbrake turns and some donuts (maybe not but one day) but we learnt how to actually maneuver the beast and get a 30ft floating lump of fiberglass to do kinda what you want it to do...

I started building in the freshly painted officey craft stuff room, and worked out how to make bits of wood fit wierd shapes using ticking and scribing methods, and Rik sorted the very leaky but not anymore bathroom out. Oscar helped by looking cool and being in the way...

here are some things i have made for the boat - i decorated our boat hook and mop so they'd look fancy and i also recovered the not o great velour stools with some materials from my stash of awesome "i'll use that one day" materials. Oh, and a photo of the sleepy cats...

We found internet and electric!! for a while we have been without either, living with only 12volt boat battery electric, meaning that life has been very simple and full of book reading and painting prep for me (Em) working at tattoo conventions. But tonight we can do a few posts updating the last couple of weeks. Since our last post we have had to move the boat without any driving lessons but more of that later. We had no oven and spent time looking on ebay for one but little old boat ovens can be shockingly expensive. we decided to go to a car boot sale as we were up one sunday morning and only went and found the exact oven we'd been looking for for a good price!! and we got the guy to throw in a life preserver for free! and we also got a mudweight which we managed to barter for £10 cheaper than it was meant to be! I found the little printing block thing which is sweet, and we have found loads of amazing roadside cottage veg stalls selling giant marrows for 50p and bags of chillis for 40p and things like that. The top photo is one boat i spotted going past, with a guy trying to move a tv ariel whilst drinking a can of beer....they are safe here on the broads.... :D

Last night we antifouled the boat in the dark by the light of the car headlights, so this is the first night on the water, we slept in the boat on land for a few nights but tonight we will be in a boat not a boat shaped caravan!!!! we've hung out with some swans and we got the engine going, have running water and a flushing toilet, (weak) internet and electricity! Houses are boring, everyone get a boat!!!

Cats on the boat!! oscar is ok, he has to be taken for walks on a lead which takes forever as he just wants to smell everything and stand and look at stuff. he did try to pounce on a goose three times his size yesterday though... rupert doesnt like the harness so hasnt been out for a proper walk yet as he acts like he's in a straightjacket when he's in it. We still havent named the boat, I wrote a list of my favourites on the car windscreen to try spur Rik into making a decision. Our friend Nate came over to help and helped make the under sofas into storage which was a great help and created LOADS of storage. I made fake draw fronts to go over the gaps where the draws used to be. 

soooooo. we are on the water! this update is coming from the boat. we have some sketchy internet so here,s some photos! we have lights and sockets, we have walls and floors, rik has redone all the bathroom sealant and we antifouled the outside of the boat!! the walls used to have this dodgy carpet stuff on it which was stuck down with thick rubber glue which is a nightmare to get off! more photos in the next post including CATS!!!

We found a bunch of photos of our boat online from before we owned it and it was interesting to see what its looked like in the past, and also finding out the stern has been modified to have a step put in, which makes it better to get in and out. Would have been a total nightmare getting in and out if it was still how it used to be.

Sunday 28th july - we started enameling the fenders, saw some extremely cute baby geese and had valuable help from my little brother in electrics...and carpentry. the floor beams we were worried about replacing got replaced and he started wiring up the boat for moored electrics. note my made up measuring maths on my hand notepad....

So far we have had a bit of help from some very nice people, Riks dad came and showed us how to fix the windows and do some other things properly, Our fellow dry dock neighbours mark and max have helped us LOADS, their knowledge is invaluable! and Eli!! he helped by looking SUPER CUTE. and trying to actually grab hold of angry geese as he holds no fear. We got him fitted out for a tiny lifejacket to keep him safe as even though he is only 18 months old he can run faster than a leopard and is not afraid of water or boats or pretty much anything.... 

Zombie duck apocalypse.......... These are our neighbours - we are collecting lots of bird friends, we have a kingfisher nest near us and they are teeny little birds but with huge voices! tonight it was swallow acrobatics night, there were so many swallows flying around us working!!

Work work work.