Cabin Fever.

Couldn’t resist the lame pun, but it does at least cover subject matter and level of personal obsession fairly neatly.







After long wrangling about how to write about it - and almost to remind myself of where we’ve been lately, I’ve given up trying to find the right words. So here are a few fairly low quality pictures of the recent progress cabinwise. They convey little of the transformation taking place, and less still of the awesome effort that everyone’s putting in, but they do show Jan and I getting stuck into cladding the structure out. Doing the whole thing in wood has to be THE hardest and most time consuming way I can think of building this new space on board, we’ve recently taken to working ‘til past ten or eleven at night (partly because it’s so damn cold and at least graft helps keep the blood warm, partly ‘cos time is not on our side and Wendy eats deadlines.) But I must say I’m very happy indeed with the way it’s taking shape, particularly the sympathetic match of the new cabin with the original wheelhouse. That reclaimed teak tongue and groove seems to have repaid the effort, and Wendyann looks like she’s reasonably happy with her new deckhouse. What’s not pictured is Marks recent attack of the complex series of compound mitres that is the new windows round the back, Becky’s double glazed (!) porthole, and my own beginnings of the porthole backing panels. Much more better pictures coming soon after I find five minutes during daylight to take ‘em. There are now three weekends available until the C word is upon us (publicly enforced unpaid holiday, nine letters). I’m hopeful we’ll have it finished ready to take the roof by then. On the other hand, you know what happens when I go making ambitious statements like that one…


As a postscript, Mark returned from the states wearing his latest defence against the winter cold, a bright red all in one thermal underwear known as a Union Suit, Makes him look like a hillbilly superhero.

Only question is, Is the world ready for SuperCletus?