A few magical maintenance moments

One of the upsides of these heatwaves we are having this summer is that it forces me out of bed much earlier in the morning. Working on the boat is only possible in the fresher hours between 6:00 and 11:00, so shipmate Jodie and I have dragged ourselves up and out so we could do just that. The only alternative would be to wait until the hot weather is over, but then, of course, it will probably rain. Murphy and his law rule here, unfortunately.

So why do I say it's an upside? Well, the tranquillity of the harbour before most people are up has been magical. There's been very little wind and with the still calm of a day not yet begun, it's been quite lovely.

I think the photo below of Jo rowing our little boat around to Vereeniging's offshore side is a true image of this captivating morning peace. 

Shipmate enjoying the stillness of the morning
on the water

Panel painting from our little boat
rightly names 'Little Pal'

The only downside yesterday was that we didn't want to disturb anyone, especially the campers parked on the ground next to the harbour, so we deliberately avoided using power tools and focused on things we could do by hand. Yesterday's job, for instance, was painting all the panels on Vereeniging's port side as we haven't replaced those yet.

There was much hilarity and laughter because we kept forgetting things we needed and I had to clamber back on board to fetch certain tools, only to find I'd forgotten something else – you know, you have the screwdriver but not the bit; or your pocket is full of screws but they're all the wrong size. Of course, the more you try to avoid making a noise, the more noise you make, which just makes the giggles worse.

Two shipmates enjoying a minute's maintenance
on Vereeniging

Other mornings, it's been Hennie Ha's turn, and there I have to keep the noise down even more. So many people stay on their boats in this harbour it's like a floating dormitory. And let's not forget the houses nearby (see the photo below). But there, I have no one to giggle with, so I just enjoy the wonderful peace of the surroundings while I potter about, still forgetting things, still clambering in and out, but loving the quietude of being on the water as the wash from passing barges and ships rocks the boat in a gentle rhythm.

The vibrant colours here in HH's harbour are so cheerful

Taking time to give some TLC to Hennie H
aka The Shoe, also early in the morning

The better side to work on, being in the shade

And a nice grassy bank to sit on too!

Back at the crumbly cottage, we've been looking for ways to combat the heat. Being a hundred years old, the little house is not well insulated and, being brick, it tends to trap the warmth in its walls. However, what we can do is stop the sun shining straight in to the interior. 

There are many products on the market for blackout and deflective window coverings, but like the current run on mobile aircos, there has also been a run on these. My interim solution was to cut a roll of foil-covered bubble-wrap insulation to the size of the window panes and stick them on. It certainly helps to keep the worst out even though it means we're living a rather gloomy existence indoors at the moment. The exterior of the cottage looks... err... quite dazzling these days – sorry! :)

My temporary solution to the heat:
bubble-wrap insulation foil, which helps significantly!

All being well, we are planning to go to France to the CCMk2* before the end of the month, but exactly when will depend on the temperatures dropping a little. There's not point in going if we have to stay inside most of the day, so we wait...

Enjoy your weekend, allemaal, and I hope the coming week will be kind to you wherever you are!

*For anyone new to my blog the CCMk2 is the second crumbly cottage. It is also old, in need of repair and lacking in mod cons.