Liz takes another layer off the BB.

You reach a stage when you sit down and look at your boat and feel that it will never be finished. All you can do is keep going, taking each job as it comes along, and when you get tired of sanding go off and do something different.

With the job of replacing most of the BB's broken ribs yet to come there are loads of tasks facing us, removing the rudder was easier than we expected, taking out the bolts holding the chainplates wasn't. I left the job and came back to it half a dozen times before the last bolt surrendered.

Liz and I have both been using the various sanders and we are making progress. What keeps us going is the finish that we know exists under the old weathered surface of the Mahogany planking. Hardwood dust can be very nasty stuff, it doesn't carry a health warning but it is sensible to wear a dust mask at the very least.

Apart from the new ribs the main deck beam is the biggest piece of new timber we have needed.

An elderly door has been canibalised to create a new deck beam. The old one had just about had it and appeared to be very weak in places. The door came from the folks house and is made of Red Deal that is about 60 years old, it should make the grade for the BB.

Waiting for new Mahogany plugs.

We have drilled out over 400 of the old girls original wooden plugs to reveal the screws that retain the ribs. Most of them came out easily with just a few difficult ones. A new plug cutter will be used to turn some of the old flooring into new plugs. These will be glued in after the new ribs have been steamed in. Like I said, you just keep going!