The scene at the bottom of our street.

And it was cold!

Taking advantage of the long Christmas break Liz and I decided the best way to beat the holiday blues would be to spend some time on the BB. We are trying to get her out of the workshop by the end of January even if the final fitting of blocks and cleats is not completed.

The forward bouyancy compartment was sealed off with a panel that fits over the inspection hole. The forestay eyebolt was fastened and sealed with Sikaflex and we measured up for the holes to be drilled in the two forward deck panels.

The original spec' for decks on the BB called for 6mm marine ply, due to none being available we went for the lighter choice of 4mm marine ply. I have seen several pictures of BB's with teak laid decks but I did not feel as though we could justify the added cost of a teak deck. Most of the boats stick to the original spec' and have painted ply decks.

First job was to mark, drill and countersink holes in the decking. The old decks were nailed but we have decided to use 20mm brass screws. A small slot is needed in each panel to allow the forward chain plate to come through. The kingplank, top plank and the top of the forward bulkhead were given a coating of Sikaflex and then the task of dropping the decking in place and screwing it down started. At this point, after only a few screws had gone in our electric screwdriver decided to go on strike. About 80 screws were put in the old fashioned way.

With one side done it was time for some refreshments. Hot soup, cooked up on a camping stove. A mug of coffee and then back to work, it was far too cold to stand around doing nothing.

The starboard deck went down as well as the port decking and we gave ourselves a pat on the back for services to boat restoration above and beyond the call of duty.

Liz gets some hot soup cooking.

While the weather has been getting colder I felt it was time to crack on with some painting before the temperatures got below 5c. We just managed to do it. The below the waterline areas of the hull have now had three coats of Pink Metallic Primer and three coats of HMG's SP52 antifouling, also called 'slippery bottom'. The boot top has been painted using International's MPX, horribly expensive at £14.00 for a small tin but reputed to be the best stuff to use.

We think she looks quite smart with her black bottom and white boot top. When the topsides are varnished we hope that all the time, effort and money will be justified in her appearance.