Merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
No narrowboat activities over the holiday period, I'm, snowboarding in Switzerland with friends. Here is a picture of me and Kev before we set off down a run yesterday.



Hope everyone is having a good holiday and I'll add some more narrowboat-themed drivel when I get back. :)

I've seen the future, and the future is retro

Big thanks to mum&dad, Beck, Steve, Thomas and William (sister, brother-in-law and nephews) for the early christmas present. A retro styled radiator that is now keeping me warm. The oil stove is too hot in this mild weather, even on its lowest setting, so this raditor is working a treat. It also has a frost setting, so it'll not let the temperature drop below 5 degrees celsius when I leave the boat unattended.

Due to lack of imagination (and an abundance of white paint) I’ve been decorating what should be some kind of ‘living area’. Although so far, its been used to store materials. I’m envisaging some kind of couch/seating in this alcove. A Post Christmas project though.



Also painted the partition I made for hanging coats up by the side door.



Here are three impulse purchases I made last night. I needed a fruit bowl, as the plastic bag the apples etc. come in just isn’t good enough any more, and I liked this metallic glassy one. Am I becoming house proud (boat proud)?



The Sonic Youth CD is one we used to listen to years ago when I lived in a big flat in Wellington (NZ) with my brother, Kim, Dave W, Alwyn and others. Samuel Johnson said 'patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel', but I’m thinking nostalgia is better furnished.

Anyway, that’s what the fish are currently listening to through the hull of IRIS.

Here is a another random swan picture. This creature came steaming over as soon as I opened the door yesterday, but alas, I was out of food.

A couple of little jobs got finished on saturday. I put up this shelf, which was originally in the bathroom, but now won't fit since I've widened the bathroom door. Actually maybe its some kind of weird towel rail - who knows. I thought I'd try it up here and see what I think. I can hang things from it (suggestions?) or maybe even put something on it. So far its main purpose seems to be to catch me in the corner of the eye when I straighten up from the worktop.



I also finished my steps for the side door, I used some very dark wood stain. Not entirely sure about the results, but they seem to do their job well. I think I may put some kind of non-slip surface on the treads, maybe aluminium treadplate.





Mat thinks I should sign up to adsense and make millions from my blog, but I'm not so sure about pimping it out. Still, the lure of easy money is hard to resist......

Todays soundstrack: 'The Pixies - Surfa Rosa & Come on Pilgrim'

Refueling

Was just finishing the evenings entertainment last night (making some shelf brackets) when I noticed that the eco fan on top of the stove was no longer spinning - the fire had gone out. I'd checked the tank for the stove the day before and had worked out I had about 2 days running left on minimum heat, but of course hadn;t considered that the outlet is about 2cm above the bottom of the tank.

Luckily it wasn't too cold last night, and I lit a couple of candles when I got up this morning for a sense of comfort. After talking to my colleagues in Denamrk and Sweden on our early morning call, I went to make a cup of coffee. 'Wonder when the gas will run out' I thought. Right now was the answer, so it was out onto the front deck to swap the connector over to the spare bottle.

When the shop opened at 9:00am I was able to take the empty gas bottle and a jerrycan over and get some more gas + diesel. Strictly speaking, they should'nt let me take marine diesel away in a can, but as my car is obviously not a diesel, they took pity on me. While I was there I re-stocked on electricity tokens, so I should be covered for heat, cooking and light for a while.

One thing I've realised is that tank capacity makes a quite a difference. My water tank is only about 50 gallons, so needs refilling every 7-10 days. I've made this a little easier by running a hose along the roof to the front of the boat where the filling point is, as I can see a time will some when the marina hose will either be frozen, or the roof covered in ice. The stove tank, which is seperate from the engine diesel, is only about 54 litres - enough for 8 days running on the lowest setting (24 hours a day). Perhaps I should just wash less, and be colder, but I can't see that being a popular move.

Hopefully an early christmas present will help out on the cold front, watch this space. :)

In this weeks exciting episode we find out what the door turned out like. Well, it works anyway as can be seen below. Not sure what to do about the newly added wood. Paint white? Contrasting colour? Or stain with something? All these choices eh?

These next couple of pictures show the side steps being constructed; note the efficient use of odd bits of wood and stuff.

The second picture shows them being glued and clamped. I’m using some really dark wood dye on them to get an almost black finish. Not sure why, just going with a hunch. I got the dye at hardware store in Kilburn, London.

While I was there I also picked up a sample pack of SPAX screws. I’d previously been using screws from Focus DIY etc. and really, a screws a screw right? But these SPAX screws are top German quality and seem to go into the wood like they’re Teflon coated. No slipping from using the drill to drive them in either. Paying extra is worth it – I’ll be going back for more.


Although there are no pictures, I have my new toilet sitting in its packing in the living room. A guy came round on Saturday to quote for plumbing it in, so it might even happen this side of Christmas.