Another productive weekend, with lots of different things done. Mat helped me out both Saturday and Sunday and we managed to get rid of the water under the bilges, build some shelves, finish the wall at the front of the boat, remove the carpet and have a general cleanout. On Sunday we were joined by Caoilfhionn, Mat’s girlfriend, and we went on a little trip up to Sonning so we could paint the side decks. While we were doing this, Caoilfhionn gave the under deck area a coat of primer. There is still lots to do, but at least its getting close to the stage where I can move on before I head off to NZ at the end of the month. Made a real difference having some help as its easier to stay motivated when so much is getting done.

This picture shows Mat and Caoilfhionn looking keen before work on Sunday.

These two shots were taken up near Sonning while we worked on the boat (and read a Sunday supplement article about ‘what makes women happy’ – boats didn’t feature for some reason….....)






Here is Caoilfhionn painting under the deck



This shot show the interior at the end of the weekend, surprising how different it looks without carpet.




Oh, and as a bonus the fridge started working as we went up the Thames. I can only guess that the battery voltage had run a little low or something – who knows.

We also got rid of the biggest spider that I've ever seen in the UK. It appeared on the roof of the boat as we were leaving the marina. If it had come towards me I would have abandoned ship. Mat put it in a spare tupperware container we had and we let it out at Sonning. Pretty sure it was a black widow. Hope there are no more of that size on board.....