Cap'n Spack Jarrow
Brownian motion-type musings on barge renovation, life and other bits of flotsam.
D-Day...
For the masts anyway
Well the last 2 days have been a flurry of activity as we prepared for the removal of the masts. Sunday was spent tidying up the decks and ensuring fenders were in the right place as we had to move Zee towards the sling bay on the marina. Once she was ship shape and Bristol fashion (well as much as the rusty old girl can be at this stage) I . . .
Boom Time
The welding has continued but it has been frustrating to say the least. I am learning but the moment you think you have it nailed you do another weld and it looked like a welder with a serious twitch had been using using special 'troll snot' welding rods. Overwelding and then grinding off is the only (if slightly long winded option.
. . .Well well weld...
Gravity is either your friend or your enemy. When welding it is normally acting against you in vertical or overhead positions, but when welding on the flat though it helps keep the weld in place. After some considerable difficulty whilst patching the bulkheads it became obvious that my enthusiasm outweighed my ability... Not even fast freeze . . .
One step forwards, two steps back...
So, having replaced all the lube oil injectors and checked they worked ok I was pretty chuffed with myself. I found suppliers who could cut and make the bits required and they seem to be performing perfectly. But, I found another water leak. I had a look at where it was coming from and thought I had found the cause, a leaky gasket around the . . .
"Warp speed Mr Sulu..."
Not exactly warp speed but a lot closer than we were a few weeks ago. Having managed to have all the parts custom made for the injector assemblies which were leaking faster than the Whitehouse, I managed to get them back together and I'll be damned if they don't fit like a glove and look pretty spiffy to boot. Let's just hope they . . .
Do You Want to Play a Game...?
Yeah, this never ends well.
For those familiar with the 'SAW' horror genre you will know that once the puppet sets the game, it never ends well. It is essentially a puzzle game where someone ends up being dismembered or limbless with every turn. In the Zeelandia version the of the game it's not quite that bad, but certainly steel plate suffers badly. In this . . .
Leaky Wood
Well dear reader, progress has been made on the barge with the foc’sle having been almost completely cleared. The floorboards have been removed and a lot of block steel ballast removed from underneath. The bulkhead needs making watertight, sealing up the pipe and electrical cable holes. I have started the process of wire brushing the areas of . . .
