The biggest dump of snow so far this winter arrived overnight and the marina is looking very wintery. The previous few days had been sunny with only the lightest sprinkling of snow and we had been able to get out and about and go for some very pleasant walks, but now I think that our weekend travel plans will have to be put on hold.
One of my Christmas presents was a weather station and I can smugly report that the outside temperature is minus 1 degrees, but most importantly our stove has got the temperature inside, to plus 23.2 degrees, very cosy. My advise to anybody reading this and intending to buy a boat, is that it must have a stove fitted, whatever else, don’t compromise on that issue. The purchase of an electric blanket keeps us snug at night, so anybody concerned about our well being need not worry.
Over the last few days I decided to attend to the water damage to the internal wooden window frames. The condensation on the inside of the windows, before we had the stove, had dripped down onto the wood and in places had got through the varnish and started to stain the wood, also the mastic sealing the joint between the aluminum and the wood had, in places split.
Cutting away the old mastic and rubbing down the five frames was easy peasy and re-varnishing with satin varnish was very satisfying, however I knew from past disastrous experience that reapplying mastic could be a nightmare. I decided to mask of the wood, but the masking tape was reluctant to stick to the cold and slightly sweaty aluminum, a quick flash of Jacquie’s hair dryer warmed up the metal frame and the tape stuck fast. My inexpert application of the mastic was not a problem as a damp finger smoothed it out to a regular filet and the surpass cleanly removed along with the masking tape. Not professionally perfect, but pretty damn close and no swearing at all, no mastic on clothes, in fact no mastic anywhere except were it should be, job done!!
