Destroying a perfectly good boat

I haven’t written for a while, because like many others our life has been slow paced, fairly home based, with not much going on. With renovations on the house complete, we took some time to recover but in November an opportunity arose that took Ian to Sheffield for the day. Not the most likely place to purchase a boat, but that’s what he did! Just before catching the last ferry of the day home, he sent me this photo.

As you may know, when we lived in London we had a yacht and really enjoyed sailing, but before we moved we sold her, not knowing where we would live and if she would work where we would be living.

Living on a small island of course a boat works! But this time, we are thinking speed over sail, and if I’m honest, I’d always preferred being under power not sail (Ian doesn’t fully agree), but this little diamond in the rough looked perfect. 

Small, perfectly formed, and ready for some Ian magic to be performed. She’s a Fletcher speedboat built in the 1980’s with a 40hp engine. Apparently her most recent life has been ferrying her owner to the pub on the canal, so she hasn’t had much work done, but she is sound and has much potential.

As we have learnt with our previous boat restoration, taking apart and prepping for the final finish is the time consuming bit, so this is what we did.  

 

Firstly, the blue vinyl interior needed to go, it’s dated and although not tatty, it doesn’t have the look we are striving for! 

Next the engine needed to come off and be renovated but before you can remove an engine, you need somewhere to store it. Now, you can purchase a stylish, expensive  special boat engine trolley, or, you can make one from a sack trolley…

 ta da…

The engine removal became a community event, with our amazing neighbours helping with the removal. Much laughter, multiple ideas on the best way forward and comedy faces left me struggling to document the activities due to laughter induced camera shake. However, the deed was done, and we could begin the mighty task of preparing the hull.

Removing all the instruments, sanding, sanding more, epoxy resin filling holes, fiberglassing where needed, sanding, filling, sanding and filling (I’m having flashbacks to writing this about our walls!!!).

We strengthened areas that needed it, created a proper lazerette (a small compartment) at the rear, which will look neater once we put everything back together. Everything was epoxied so it’s good and strong. We sanded the hull once more, just to be sure it was as smooth as possible. 

As the weather became colder we moved inside where new rear seats were created.

We managed to keep the side panels, removing the old vinyl to use as a template.

Never had I imagined I would be sewing vinyl at Christmas! 

Finally, we painted the inside, so she looked tidy by the end of the year in one place, at least!

Incoming!

The garden hasn’t quite been right, as you know we did huge amounts of work, but it just needed something… something to give it a bit of sparkle, a bit of glamour. We feel like we have created a party house, but it needs a party garden to go with it.  We planned it out a long time ago, but as with all things now, deliveries take a lot longer than they used to and this one was coming from the party capital of the world, Las Vegas.

We started with a gazebo, something to dangle fairy lights over and add a bit of height to the twinkle, our fabulous neighbours were there to help. There was a bit of chuckle brothers (to me, to you), a few giggles and the odd expletive about it all, but up it went, ready for the main event. 

We've had a windy few days, so anxiety was high as the big day arrived, but fear not, someone was on our side and the wind dropped. The beast of a crane parked on the drive and we were good to go.

There were moments it looked huge, moments it looked small, moments of will it fit? And moments of relief as it settled perfectly in its new home. Not a fish pond, not a hot tub, but a swim spa!

It’s a combination of a swimming pool, jacuzzi, and if you heat it enough (we don’t), a hot tub. It is fabulous! Ian has always wanted a swimming pool, he loves swimming, and although I am not as great a swimmer as I was before by metal arm and leg adjustments(!), I love it too. We talked for a long time about having a pool, digging it out and building it ourselves, but in the end this was a much better option. We plan to swim every day we possibly can, it will help with fitness and ease the ever present aches and pains of ageing.

As it swung over the house the neighbours were out in force across the street with others joining us in the garden, and although sadly leaving too soon to have a go, it was fabulous to have my childhood  (notice I did not say old!) friend Rachel staying too.

We bought it from a local family firm who all came along to help with the install and show us how to care for it. Nigel, our neighbour, was an electrician in a former job, so he connected it up to the cables Ian had wired in months ago. We’d been waiting so long it had been hard to picture it being in position, but it looks great.

We had to wait a few days to fill her, treat the water and heat her, but I got the very first swim in my lunch break from work. It was amazing!

We have jets at one end to swim against and a swim belt that holds you up and stops you moving forwards. It feels slightly different to swimming in a pool, a bit more like open water swimming and it’s really hard work! We’ve had 3 days of swimming now and we can already feel the difference. We can swim for a little longer each day, can feel the benefit of the exercise and generally feel better… well worth the wait! 

 

However, in the evening, she transforms from a pool to a sparking water feature! When we found her she was already on order from the manufacturer, so we got whatever features had been added to the standard model, we would never have ordered the lights, but they are stunning. 

We  were also given some lovely warm robes and slippers as delivery was delayed so long and on a cold windy night, they certainly help as you get out.

At the opposite end to the swim jets we have a jacuzzi with really powerful jets and another few seats without jets but lovely to sit in just to relax. We know how incredibly fortunate we are, and we are loving every moment. Our garden now has its glamour and sparkle…. Now all we need is the party!