Back on the mooring.

Thought a short video of Warrior being hoisted back to the river would be good to see, rather than a still photo.

This one shows our Barney inspecting the mess left behind & that is only what was under the hull, we had cleared away along the sides a few days before. In the distance, Warrior has reached the jetty, ready to be relaunched back to the mooring. I was left to clear the mess away with a shovel & wheelbarrow!

Living on a barge perched ten feet up in the air, in a boat yard, is not my idea of fun. Just over two weeks since lift out but, it seems like a month or more.

The sand blasting only took two days (rather him than me!) & the 2 pack primer & top coats were applied the following day. The sand blasting found four weak spots & did for several rivet heads. My task was to tape over these areas before the painting could start & then take it all off again afterwards.

It was hard to find a welder at short notice & we have to thank two people (can't be named) from my work place, who came to our rescue, spending 15 hours between them under the hull. Good to know there are still some diamond geezers (Essex talk) out there.

The final part of the welding was completed yesterday (sat 19th) & I have spent this morning going over the welded areas applying a 2 pack primer. Once that has dried, I shall be under there again applying the 2 pack top coat.

Monday afternoon, warrior will be lifted in the hoist, so we can gain access to the areas covered by the chocks. These will have to be prepared & coated the same night, as we hope to be relaunched Tuesday morning.

It's all go!

 After the spraying on of the 2 pack epoxy paint system.

There is a welder under there somewhere!

Looking forward to getting back afloat, so we can start the big clean up, there is grit every where!

We have lift off!

Well, lift out to be precise.

Warrior hanging around waiting for the yard lads to do their work with the pressure washer & scraper. Once the cleaning was done, the tricky task of driving the hoist & our home through the yard full of boats, to her resting place for the next week or so.

The shot blaster is due to arrive on Monday, hopefully by then we shall be more used to our lofty position. Getting on/off via steps is a tad iffy to say the least & Barney dog is unsettled by it all too.

No tv or wifi until we can move dishes etc.

Lift out delayed

I was hoping to post that Warrior was now high & dry in the marina yard, awaiting the arrival of the shot blasting team. Unfortunately, due to delays with the same work to our friends barge, they were not able to be re-floated today, meaning we could not go ahead with our work, as there is only one space available.

We are not too disheartened after looking at the weather forecast for next week, we would have probably been frustrated at being out of the water & the works not being done so, all in all, it's best to delay it anyway. Apart from the rain, strong winds are on the way, not good conditions for shot blasting in the open air.

Hopefully, the 'Indian Summer' we have been hearing about, will show its self in the first week of October, when we should be able to get back on track.

Now that the rain has begun, just thought I would post a phone picture I took the other morning, as a reminder of how good it can be;

This was taken at sun rise, through our starboard port hole.

This is the finished starboard side. Warrior is now turned back around, facing up river.

Gluttons for punishment that we are, we have now arranged for Warrior to be lifted out next weekend. The entire hull will be shot blasted & coated with a 2 pack epoxy paint system that is applied to oil rigs so, hopefully this will not need redoing for several years. We intended leaving this work until next summer however, the anodes need replacing now & at £1500 or so per lift out, it is financially prudent to have all the hull done now. Having done most of the topside this summer, we should not have much do do next year, which is nice!

On the social side, we have several new liveaboards arrive this summer, bringing new life to the marina. Two couples are new to life afloat & have really settled in well already. One 'newbie' said 'I have never been to so many parties.' With this summers great weather, there have been a few impromptu gatherings on various types of vessels, which has been great to get everyone (who want to) new & established, to get to know each other & prepare the newbies for the winter months!

The next posting will hopefully show the lift out.

Blog found again!

Having been stuck on board today due to the torrential rain, I suddenly remembered this blog & thought I had lost it all. Needless to say, after a few searches around the net, here we are again.

Not sure where to start with it all really, last year was not good at a personal level (RIP MUM) so, it is probably best for me to just start again with this summer's news/updates on life aboard Warrior.

On top of everything else, last years 'summer' was a total wash out, meaning our annual painting regime had to be cancelled. By the time winter mingled into spring, Warrior was looking rather drab & in need of a spruce up. We were hoping to get at least one side of the outside repainted & began with the port side, with ease of access from the pontoon. The preparation is the most important part in my mind, the green, red & grey areas shown in the short video, taking nine afternoon's/evenings of sanding, scraping & one hour on the killer needle gun!

Once prepared, the painting does not take that long, just three sessions in total for the green & red (supposed to be burgundy)

With the weather forecasts looking good for July & into August, we decided to do as much as possible this summer & with the help of good friends, we turned Warrior around to gain easier access to the starboard side & as you can see from the next video, things were not looking as good as we always hope.

In total, this side took four weeks to complete, it's not something you can carry on doing day after day at our ages!

It might have been done faster, had we also not had to take the tender out for maintenance too. I knew we had a leak somewhere, as the bilge pump kept coming on at regular intervals. Needing Warrior turned around & TT Warrior taken out, the usual thing happened, with both being done the same weekend. This meant we were doing a couple of hours a day on the tender & a few hours late into the evenings on Warrior.It turned out that the tender had a small hole just beneath the transom, this was soon fixed after a short course on how to repair holes in fiberglass, courtesy of YouTube! The photo shows TT Warrior back on the berth, after all the works were completed (new transom plate, metal reinforcing brackets & woodwork varnish)

If it ever stops raining, I will post updated shots of the completed port/starboard sides of Warrior.

The Dunkirk Few

Thought people would like to see this boat, moored behind us today;

She is one of the Dunkirk 'Little ships' that went to the rescue of troops in 1940.

Leander out for hull repaint

Just in case I get bored, we thought it about time to take 'Leander' out for fresh anti-fouling & anodes etc. It was a lot faster & easier then when 'Warrior' comes out & a lot less stressful too.

This is the first time Leander has been out since we bought her last summer; I was very pleased to see the hull in such good condition.

If & when we get a couple of dry days, it should not take long to apply the paint, fit a new annode & get her back in the water.

Cabin update

Just showing some update pictures of the work done so far.

The new cladding has had two undercoates.

I have turned the corner into a wardrobe for clothes etc.

Next project

I thought I would post the 'before' pictures of the front cabin, as it will be a long time before the 'after' ones are shown!

 We found this mess hidden behind a double curtain; we knew there was a recess of sorts, as boxes from our previous homes were put there when we moved aboard. What we did not realise was the second curtain was hiding a multitude of sins. I can't work out why the guilty party had gone to the bother of fixing skirting board!

The room was not this untidy before we started, honest! I took this picture after Steph had spent a couple of days dismantling things, so we could work with an empty room; we just need to find somewhere else to put all the stuff. I have ordered the timbers & plaster boards today, even getting them aboard will be fun.

Oh well, idle hands & all that.

Aft cabin refit.

With the March weather still not really warm enough to begin the annual repaint job of the outside, we decided to refit & decorate the aft cabin/bedroom. Due to the shape & size of the cabin, we could not alter it much; just finishing off the previous owners attempts at woodwork & giving the room a general lift with a new colour scheme.

It's a bit difficult to take pictures of the room, this is one I took after I began to take down the very poorly made backing to the alcove/shelf. The spray foam insulation can be seen on the right, the curve is due to the shape of the hull. This area had suffered from rain water leaking from the ill fitting metal hand rails on the stern deck; this has now been repaired, hopefully!

It is only now that the cabin is finished, we realise how drab & uninviting it was before;

I decided it would look better if the recess was not as deep & with a flat surface, so we could buy a nice mirror to give the impression of a larger room. Although the room is now completed, we are still waiting for the old doors to come back, if they don't look up to it, then we will have a new single panel door made.

Although we have begun to prep the decks for this summers repaint, it is still not quite the right weather for it so, we are now embarking on refitting the main & larger bedroom/cabin. After today's efforts, I am already beginning to wish we hadn't started! Watch this space.

Is it really still only February?

These are the days we remind ourselves of when the weather is not so good.

 Who would believe that just a couple of weeks separate the top & bottom pictures.

Not all plain sailing.

A couple of weeks into the New Year & our first problem arose. I had refilled our fresh water tank with about 900litres, went off to collect Steph from work, came home & went to put the kettle on---no water. Opening the hatch to the bilges, I found where the water was! Our pressurised water pump had waited for the tank to be filled, to spring a leak, sending all the tanks content into the bilges. It seems things can never be sorted straight away, it was four days before I could source & refit a new pump costing £360. This time, I went for a stainless steel version, so hopefully, it will last a while longer. The main problem was pumping out all the water, which was not deep enough for a bilge pump so, we had to resort to using our vax hoover & about 100 loads later, we still get some water finding its way back.

Although still involving water, February gave us a slightly messier problem, with the Sanilflo macerator toilet deciding it too had served its purpose. I did attempt to clean it all out to see if that was the problem, you can only imagine what that entailed! After the usual searching of the internet & local suppliers, we had to stump up £535 to buy a new unit; considering we were first quoted £816 by the same place, we were happy it was only that price. Even then, we had go without an on-board facility(posh eh) for almost a week, those offay with sailing will be aware of the 'bucket & chuck it' method!

We & our bank balance can now only hope that we can at least go a few more months before the next crisis hits.

During our visit to the Southampton boat show last 'summer', we came across Crystal Covers & after a good chat with Iain & Mancy, we decided to ask them to come along & give prices on a new cover for Leander & covers for the three sky-light windows that have been a problem since we bought Warrior.

Within a few weeks, the order was placed & deposit paid. We were hoping for delivery/fitting Christmas week but, unfortunately Iain was suffering from man flu & put the date back to the New Year. The slight wait was well worth it, the new covers are fantastic & have made a huge difference, especially to Warrior, we no longer have any rain leaking onto the French Oak flooring.

 The picture above shows Leander with new cover fitted. The dinghy in the foreground is our work-boat/taxi.

Roof-top view of Warrior after the new sky-light window covers had been fitted.

I have been forced into using google chrome in order for this blog to carry on working, the tricks they use to get you to change over!

Anyway, just when people thought we had got away with a harsh winter, the end of January & the start of February changed all that.

Bringing 'her' back after survey

Warrior survey pics

Warrior on the move

Warrior lift out time again.

With our insurance renewal, came the awaited instructions that Warrior would need a full insurance survey, as seven years had passed since the previous one. This was expected & we had already made tentative enquiries/plans with the marina here & a recommended surveyor.

The arrangements were made for the 29th September, Steph & I both needing to take the day off work. Dan & Sam, the marina guys, arrived at 10am in the two work boats & guided Warrior away from the mooring & headed towards the waiting 70tonne lifting hoist. Although this was to be the second time in as many years that we have seen our home lifted out, it still fills us with the fear that Warrior might just either fall from the hoist or, break in two!

Once sitting up in the hoist on the jetty, the marina lads had the not so small task of pressure washing the entire underbelly & water line, to give access to the surveyor who, would be performing an ultrasonic test on the thickness of the hull. If this ever gets down to 4mm, the hull would be un-insurable & then require very expensive over-plating. The surveyor, Mr Colin Mallard-South, duly arrived just after 11am & thankfully seemed very impressed with Warrior's build quality. Where we had the waterline shot blasted in November 09, did not show any signs of deterioration, other than the bitumen top coat having been washed away. The most pleasing aspect from my point of view, was that the sacrificial anodes have been working well. I had taken the advice of MME foundry in 09 to use aluminium anodes & not the usual zinc ones, as they are sold by weight & aluminium worked out at about £14 each, as opposed to £52 for zinc ones & we need ten!

A few other barge owners had gathered to view the anodes, they knew of my original choice & were waiting for me to fall on my backside over it but, luckily I could have a wry smile on my face. Funny how they have since asked for the name of the supplying company!

Once the hull had been checked, we had an hour or so to wait for high tide so, we decided to replace the washed away bitumen(not an issue with the surveyor, just our own peace of mind) so, with the help of the marina lads & a couple of friends, we managed to get around the whole waterline, giving it time in the warm weather to dry off, before Warrior was lowered back into the river.

Once secured safely back at base, the surveyor then came aboard to view the inside fittings etc & have another cuppa! Again, Mr Mallard was very impressed with what he could see & told us that Warrior is 'One of the best conversions of a Lighter he has ever seen.' & has increased in value by some £75k since we bought 'her', very nice!

Once everything was done, we both had a sigh of releif that all the hard work we put into Warrior had all been worth it & after the quite emotional week we had had, we were done in & just sat relaxing for the rest of the evening.

This blog dedicated to my mate Rob, who sadly lost his battle against a brain tumour a few weeks ago; he loved visiting the barge & was in fact due down to us the day he was originally taken ill. He will be fishing with his dad now & listening to loud music, so I won't say 'RIP' it's just not his way.

Photos will be added when this site allowes me to!

The intrepid crew, just ten minutes into the voyage, Hoo marina in the background.

Leander safely in her finger berth at Essex Marina. We can see her from our windows.