Second child born, new job in marketing for gas turbines, moved to Lincolnshire, main company owner (multi billion dollar pump company) decided to shut or nascent business, new job as a simulator instructor at RAF Valley, selected for a flying job, denied a medical, back to the sim, interviewed for a job in Saudi, got job, got married, moved in May 22, family joined in Sep 22. I mean, there's a lot more detail in between, but that's it in a nutshell. Yeah, rollercoaster kind of goes somewhere close to describing it. I have to thank, from the bottom of my heart, my incredible wife who has been my rock, my rudder and anchor all at once and kept our little family together while I bounce between roles looking to build a life somewhere for us.

Currently that life is in Saudi Arabia which allows me the opportunity to expand my skill sets, gives my kids a great education, allows them to do stuff we could never do in the UK but it does come with some compromises. Living in the UK the plan was to do much of the work myself at weekends but lack of funds, Covid and distance put serious obstacles in the way. Being an expat has allowed us the luxury of putting money to one side to have work carried out which would never have happened otherwise.

The desert is beautiful and harsh at the same time. We are surrounded by it and it goes from rolling dunes to steep wadis and canyons.

The Red Sea is about 3 hours away and provides us with great snorkelling, some epic fishing for those with the right gear and a break from compound life.

Not something you see everyday (ever) in the UK....

We live in provided accommodation on a compound but I have turned my hand to DIY again and made things a little more homely outside for when it's not 40 degrees outside...

Anyway, onwards to more boat related flotsam. "How is Zeelandia"" I hear you (possibly) cry. Well, she is still afloat. The paintwork seems to have held up pretty well and after the shock that was Covid and the disruption to schedules , key worker stuff etc, it now seems we have a date for a long overdue survey and some other work. It looks that the week commencing 4th Nov we will be being dry docked with another (larger) ship in order to share the costs.

First on the list will be a power wash and survey which reveal some works which need to be done, but hopefully after the £20k worth of painting and welding done a few years ago I hope this will be minimal. After that, the very corroded magnesium prop will be removed, the shaft and key inspected and measured in readiness for a new, 4 bladed bronze prop to be fabricated and fitted which will probably have a 3 month lead time.

There are whole raft of jobs which I could get done in the time she is in dry dock, but it all depends on the manpower available (my dry dock buddy is a commercial ship so she gets first dibs on works due to MCA requirements). The docks have started to quote for works now instead of just doing it on an ad hoc basis, which is better for me in terms of financial planning.

I have had a quote through for a new main mast (about £12,500 - which wasn't far off the £10k I guessed) which I don't think is bad for over a tonne of Douglas Fir, fittings and 8 coats of varnish.... Despite my best efforts to preserve the old mast after removing it some time ago, it has suffered and I don't feel it is safe to put it back on the barge. There were always large "shakes" in the mast and the surveyors said they were fine. However, these were the same surveyors that didn't spot a host of major problems with the hull to the tune of £20k so, yeah, I ain't trusting that.... However, there is no point getting the mast made until the superstructure is ready, painted and good to go.

On that point I am considering putting a wind turbine or 2 small turbines on a frame at the top of the mast. It should add a small but continuous source of electricity to trickle charge any domestic batteries which will be especially useful over winter when the solar panels I am planning to fit will be less productive. Obviously there are questions about vibration which I have yet to look into further but it is an option.

In the meantime there are a tonne of other jobs which I could get done while she is in dry dock:

*recommission the generator and check all the lines
*new air block for the air cylinders to include a gauge which doesn't leak and an airline connection
*clean out the engine driven compressor lines which have emulsified water/oil mixture and replace the gaskets
*paint the areas of the superstructure which will not be affected by the new wheelhouse construction
*new stainless steel fuel tank with dual fuel filters (and possibly a fuel scrubber/polisher given my last experience of long distance transit)
*make good several of the pinholes in the upper structure ready for paint
*possible internal epoxy painting of the main cargo hold prior to spray foam
*strip and paint of the main mast stay
*removal of the now defunct Mizzen mast stay
*new wheelhouse with additional 2 metres of additional forward space to create a living area and able to convert into a 4th bedroom
*new anchor chain locker and full 120m of anchor chain

This is just the start and is probably more than my finances can cope with at the moment but with the 3 months lead time for the prop I suspect there will be enough time for me to sell a kidney or 2... I will no doubt be calling on a buddy of mine who lives locally and who has agreed to keep an eye on the proceedings to ensure everything progresses at a suitable pace and that corners are not being cut/trimmed/completely ignored....

Until the next time dear reader I will bid you farewell in the hope that my next missive from the desert I will have some progress and Zeelandia can start to make more progress towards being a home.

New addition to the family, moved out of the MIL's house to a place in Lincs for a new job, made redundant from said new job 5 months after starting as the whole endeavour was shut down (non Covid related - just crappy management by the owner company), revalidate commercial pilot's licence, offered a Hawk T2 flying job at RAF Valley, accept a simulator job in the meantime to get back up to speed, move life/family to Anglesey and live in a friend's house for 6 months (thank you Rich - you saved our bacon) while we look for a house, purchase house in between lockdowns, spend 3 months renovating and painting, move in at Christmas 2020, still no Hawk job pitches up, get offered a job on the T6 Texan (still at Valley as a Flying instructor), accept job, start new job on 23 Aug 2021. Is that it.. Yeah, I think I am done. Oh yeah, and the shipyard was shut to non commercial clients throughout Covid.

So it was with some slight trepidation that I decided to go and rescue a whole bunch of tools off the barge as I need them for the kitchen renovation in the house. Mostly carpentry tools but predominantly my planer/thicknesser and router. I was a little bit worried as to the state of her given a considerable period where no work/painting and conservation was carried out so I steeled myself for the worst and headed down to Bristol to stay with my partner in crime, Andy at his new pub 'The Prince's Motto' in Barrow Gurney. The pub is just to the North of Bristol Airport (is very nice by the way and do great coffees, pastries and have an awesome local charcuterie selection in their shop next to the pub) and he has patently put more work into that than I have into Zeelandia, so if you do get the chance to frequent it, you will not be disappointed. After a night there I headed up to Sharpness feeling somewhat nervous about what I would find.

Overall she has not suffered as badly as I thought she might. Internally she has degraded a bit with some of the hard work done with the painting having taken several steps back, but to my surprise and joy, she was dry inside. No signs of any leaks in any way shape or form. Some rust trails obviously where she has sweated during the cold and warm cycles, but nothing to make me worry overly.

Much of the wood I saved has been ravaged by the weather so I suspect will be more firewood than anything else which was my only disappointment. I was unable to get to the mast to inspect but that will definitely need some attention in the coming months as I know there are portions of that which need cutting out and replacing and the whole mast needs sanding and oiling to better preserve it. I do know a guy with some super heavy duty rubberised tarpaulin which I may beg/borrow/steal in order to cover the mast before the weather turns and we start the long slide into Autumn/Winter.

With an entire estate car's worth of tools now removed across another barge and down a precariously balanced 12 foot ladder, there is considerably more room to move in the main hold. I am still toying with the idea of what to treat the bottom of the bilge with. Paint of any description is out due to the very poor surface so adhesion will just not happen and I don't want to wire brush too hard for fear of opening up other potential weak areas in the hull. It will probably come down to a waxoyl type substance sprayed on whilst liquid and warm in order to penetrate all the cracks and scale and then left to harden. Either that or I have seen Lanoguard which is a spray on liquid which could do the trick. Interestingly, Lanoguard also does a prop grease which will protect it from growth and any biological attack as well. It is naturally derived from Lanolin in sheep's wool and doesn't degrade or get washed off so I will probably give that a whirl as well once I get a new prop.

I have seen a few other products which might do the trick but many are either too expensive or won't adhere to such a poor surface. I will keep looking but if anyone out there knows of something suitable then please let me know! I most certainly do not have the monopoly on good ideas... I mean, I bought a boat with holes in it, how great can my decision making process be?

Until next time dear reader, which hopefully won't be too long, I will bid you adieu...

The weather was scorchio for the entire shoot....

'Fluff's' boat was used more often than ours as it was easier to move and didn't have the overriding sound of a twin pot 28 litre 2 stroke diesel...

Zeelandia had some cosmetic work done. It was quite clever in that they attached battens to the metalwork with magnets and then tacked thin metal over the top of it. Easy to remove and gave the right effect. Throw a tarp over the main boom to cover the steel superstructure and voila, she is ready for her film debut...

Zee wasn't the only one in costume either. Andy was dressed up to the nines as well....

As was I.... This is the more flattering of the photos. I did have a jaunty little hat but it looks like something one would have as a Grindr profile picture so I have spared you that monstrosity.

So, there you have it. I will be watching the next few episodes with some interest to see if I can spot my beloved barge. You never know, it might bump her value up a bit if I get miffed with her and want to sell her.

Until the next gripping instalment I wish you farewell....