Moley

Nothing left in our local branch, I did call in to see if I could pick up a spare fermenting vessel but there were only a few packs of yeast and finings left. Sold a load of mine and gave a few more away, so I'm down to about 20 as well but haven't used them for years. Moved on to 15 and 19 litre water cooler bottles.

Slow down a bit! I joined this forum many years ago because we had bought a 44ft Calcutt / Colecraft in need of much attention. There's a build blog somewhere about NB 'Talpidae'. If I was able to share knowledge or experience about other stuff, so much the better. That's how it worked elsewhere. On the homeBREW forum, I knew far more than most about country wine making, which I've been doing since 1975. As I learned more about brewing, I could share that on another home WINEmaking forum. I have never been an expert on either, even if I have won prizes for both. Lately, I have been doing very little wine making, and have reverted to a simpler 'brew-in-a-bag' method of brewing. As we have now sold the boat and left the waterways community, I'm probably not the person to be drawn into this thread, and have only been lured back here out of curiosity.

I was told, at a speed awareness course after being nicked for doing 38 in a 30 zone, that the lowest speed limit which was legally enforceable was 20 mph. Is this why he got a ticking off but not a ticket?

Thanks folks, and especially to Keith for the link. Damn, that's a shame, so it's back to being floor mounted under the bed. Peter, carpets front and back and vinyl in the middle might have the occasional tack where necessary but aren't fully fixed and can be easily lifted. Previously, carpets were nailed every six inches and ceramic tiles were glued down in the galley and bathroom. That was a real PITA as I had used a very good tile adhesive and they had to be smashed off in tiny pieces with a hammer and chisel. All flooring panels can be lifted after removing one or two stainless M6 bolts. Where furniture is built on top of the flooring, inspection panels will be incorporated. With improved ventilation I hope this will get rid of the permadamp conditions which existed before, but I will be keeping an eye on that.

Re-refit is coming along quite nicely, and further to another topic where I asked about a product called Ecosheet (link), I've even got rid of the 'temporary' OSB cruiser deck (which has been down for about the last 3 years). This stuff is 100% recycled and 100% waterproof. It doesn't seem to get slippy when wet and although there's a bit of bounce to it, one cross brace under the largest panel seems to be more than adequate. I will be very interested to see how this stuff stands the test of time. Inside, mostly new flooring has been laid. It has been cut back so that it doesn't meet the side steelwork but extends only a quarter of an inch or so beneath the wall panels. Those have also been planed so that they don't quite touch the floor, and therefore flooring can be lifted in future without stripping out the whole damned boat. When I decide what furniture to build, vents will be cut into the flooring beneath any storage compartments so that the whole thing will get a chance to breathe. I was told some time ago that once a boat reaches the point where you can go out and start using it, that is often the point at which any interior work ceases. Combine that with the fact that I am the sort of person who never quite seems to manage to finish any DIY job, and Talpidae never really stood a chance. Contrary to that, I am very attentive to detail on the bits that I do finish, so for example where trim strips have been fixed to cover joints and screws/nails in the tongue-and-groove ceiling, all of the screw heads are aligned down the length of the boat, it's just that I never quite got around to covering all of the joints. This time around I am trying to finish all of the bits I never quite got around to. It's not just decorative touches, I never quite got around to fitting a door on the bathroom, for the last 8 years there's just been a full length curtain on a wire. Now there's a door. New worktop has been fitted, with the sink draining board on the high side to satisfy Mr. Newton. Existing kitchen unit carcasses have been re-used but wood-look plastic coated MDF doors and drawer fronts will be replaced with real wood when funds permit. Furthermore, I have visited the empororium of messers Block and Quayle and at great expense have invested in some of their Prestige drawer units which do not slam shut, but rather close quietly yet positively, requiring a modicum of effort to then open them again, such that Mrs. Mole's drawers shall no longer be rent asunder at the whim of any passing hire boater with water skiier in tow, or should multiple persons attempt to board simultaneously. New front step hides water pump and accumulator, shelving unit (hiding inspection hole, stop tap and water filter) is likely to be replaced by 'L' shaped seating / single / double bed, while on the left hand side plans are in hand for 2 seats / small Pullman dinette / single bed, i.e. one double or two singles. At the blunt end, back wall (previously bare OSB) has finally been clad and I have even built a box plus door over the lectrix panel. New back step hides a big inspection hole. I'm not entirely sure about that Ecosheet stuff being used as a new back door, even when I get around to painting it, but the old plywood one needed replacing before it completely fell apart. Blunt end really is a blank canvas. Where there was previously a fixed 4ft not-quite-a-double bed I am now planning to build a 5ft cross bed. We went to IKEA to look for ideas, they had a 10cm thick king sized mattress reduced to £50, so that's currently on the floor. Question: I've lost any fitting instructions long ago, can a Whale Gulper be wall mounted vertically like that? It was only tacked temporarily for the photo.

Sorry Tony, I saw your PM on this question but couldn't reply at the time .... and then forgot Yes, I would still recommend Vactan plus one or two coats of some kind of paint, but with perfect 20:20 hindsight I would ensure that there was some ventilation going on below the flooring. That is precisely what I've done this time around, except that I've used red oxide instead of the bitumen coating I applied before. I will try to get around to updating this build blog shortly.

Your post seems to imply that Stourbridge dry dock doesn't ? Other than that, there's a dry dock at Stourport, phone Limekiln chandlers to enquire about that, or try Ashwood Marina for a crane-out, I'll PM a contact number. Ashwood definitely allows DIY and I'm pretty sure Stourport do too.