The week(s) that was

It's been two weeks since I posted here, an omission for which I apologise. In fact, in my last blog I mentioned we would be on the slipway (helling) with my Vereeniging, and I said I'd be blogging about it, which I've totally failed to do. Why? Well two reasons: one, we had a lot of hard graft to get through and I was so tired every night I barely managed to read a page, let alone write one; the second reason was that the internet on board was hopeless. We usually connect via a harbour network, but for some reason it just didn't want to work on the yard, so all my online activity had to be via my phone. Well since my teaching is all online at the moment, you can guess what took priority. I'm afraid blogging didn't get a look in as a result.

Anyway, we've finished now and tomorrow morning at 07:00 we'll be sliding back into the water. To sum it all up, it was 12 days of sterling effort from Koos, who diligently attacked the waterline with a rotary steel brush attached to an angle grinder. It's been some years since the crud of ages was removed and it revealed a few distinctly dodgy spots, one of which signalled a quick repair job. Sadly, our friend Tim, who was going to help us with welding, has injured his back and couldn't do it. After a series of calls, it transpired there was no one available to help, so it was time to get creative.

While chatting to Tim earlier, I'd explained why I'd sealed the edge of a weld with two component epoxy. We were both extolling the virtues of this wonderful product and he told me his barge had stayed afloat for five years thanks to some judicious application of said epoxy to holes in its bottom. Eventually, of course, he'd replaced the steel and welded it all properly. After relating this story to Koos, we had the idea of applying a 'sticking plaster' of steel to the dodgiest of the weak areas with 'spot' welds (one at each corner) and then sealing the edges with epoxy. Voilà! Job done, thin spot protected and no welders injured in the process. Nor, thankfully, did I have to dismantle my interior to avoid the fanning flames of a weld gone wild (sorry).

For most of the week, while Koos was grinding, I was painting, working, and painting again, but today we finished up. We're pleased with our efforts and I'm hoping the primer I used on the waterline will protect it against the ravages of winter and our ever moving currents better than just blacking it would do. Time will tell, so we'll keep fingers, toes and thumbs crossed. As for everything else going on, well we barely noticed there was a crisis, we were so busy. However, over the weekend the sun was hot and the harbour and river were busy with boats. It looked a great way to socially distance yourself and your family to me. I just wished we could have joined them on the water too.

As always, here are a few photos to tell the tale.

Ready to go up

What the well-dressed worker wears on the yard

And the not so well-dressed

Family assistants

Bright and shiny again

A perfect derrière

My old lady basking in the sunlight

Have a good week allemaal. Stay safe, healthy and as happy as circumstances allow.