Bonify at large

This story starts with a fire in 2009. We were living in a flat in Ipswich and the role of garage was being played by a large workshop  in an ex-pigshed at Waldringfield Heath. We were just about to move all our stuff out of the flat to let it and move ourselves on board Bonify when disaster struck: a careless welder in the neighbouring unit left a car he was working on unattended and the result was this: At the time the worst of it was the total loss of Howard's pride and joy: his Alfa Romeo Spider. Dismay - we were very fond of "the white car" The red and white tape was left there by the fire service not only because at this point it was still hot but also because the roof was asbestos and we were supposed to keep out. Undeterred we returned ahead of the bulldozers, donned overalls and protective masks and spent an unhappy day raking through the rubble for photographic evidence of our losses. Shelves of paint tins, computers, telephone exchange from t...

Friday 28th April The lesser-spotted wiring mangler seems to have paid us a visit. Kind of it to number all the connections before ripping them off That is how it used to look, to the far left in the nav station - which NEVER looks as clear as this! (Bonify is for sale which is why I am able to find carefully staged photos of parts of the boat I wouldn't normally photograph). Today's view: time for a change Howard has made a lot of improvements to the boat over the years which often involve fiddling with wires, and adding and subtracting of different bits and pieces, and it's been getting fuller and fuller behind that smart and simple housing which was made in 2004. So he's decided the time has come to upgrade his electrical bird's nest. He's been on the lookout for an old (or even new) wooden bathroom cabinet for some time with a view to adapting it to this purpose. It seems that small medicine cabinets are out of fashion and old ones d...

Thursday 27th April Messy uncomfortable job, especially when as cold as this. Again, it's all in the preparation so there's stuff to finish off and get ready but then finally we're off - hats on to save boat painter's blue rinse and gloves to save having to scour our hands afterwards until they are bright red. Me modelling hat gloves and knee pads - couldn't do this without the latter Glove gets like that when you have to change the foam roller. Knee pads working well Howard showing why the hats are necessary - his knees are tougher, or his pain threshold higher

Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th April  A few photos of work in progress - it's freezing cold so we're not doing full days here, just moving things along. Grubby white wall above our double bunk Nice indoor job for me - more red gloss - well, she's a red boat With an undercoat of white it needs a second coat - thank heaven for the red undercoat on the hull Lots of "treatments"under the waterline Needs sanding down now before anti-fouling

Friday 21st and Sunday 23rd April Friday we finished off the undercoat above and below the wooden rubbing strake so that we were ready for the top coat. With matt undercoat like this the hull looks perfectly smooth and you would hardly know it was ferro-cement. Looks perfect with undercoat The gloss coat is the biggest job and really has to be done all in one go, especially now the rubbing strake has that break in it - though I suppose you could do port side one day and starboard side later if you didn't mind clearing up all the mess and cleaning brushes twice over. We needed good weather of course - not too cold windy or wet, but as with sailing it's not just the weather but the forecast that matters. You don't want to start the job with rain forecast, and you can miss a perfect day that way if the rain doesn't arrive. Saturday we drove to Worcester for a celebration: even boat painting comes second to a good wedding so we were pleased when it seemed a fe...

Thursday 20th April Most of the undercoat is on - nice solid colour. The boxes on casters are useful for the 2 man teamwork needed: me going first, cutting in from the ladder and Howard rollering from the lower box with tray of paint between us on the high box. When we got to the bow on side one he nicked my ladder for the high bits and I had a brief opportunity to take a photo. Finished by 2pm, lunch on board then leave it to dry and come home - yes back to work on the house!

Wed 19th April No further explanations needed if you saw yesterday's post - same jobs continued: Full coat of varnish on the doghouse The gleam shows when the sun comes out - footwell also got a full coat Cockpit coaming too. It's faded over the years but at least varnish makes it shine Sanding down under the water line is a tough job but dabbing on primer is easy... ...so no prizes for guessing who did which job Job well done: Storm (bawley yacht built 1910) sails (flies?) past our bow on her way back to the water Sanding of the topsides was not permitted given the proximity of still tacky varnish so the work crew packed up at 3.30 and headed home. Howard of course found more work - no idle hands here: Didn't like the Artex anyway Door frame ready to go in

Easter Monday 17th April Sunday was due to be wet so we made it a day for working on the house - then it didn't rain. Typical! But we do have a new door frame and a hole for it to fit into so progress was made, just not on Bonify. Monday is bright though chilly to start - that's our excuse for starting the day with a couple of idle hours spent over coffee with gaffer friends in West Mersea. Eventually we make it to Walton and progress is made. Howard's tackling a chunk of rubbing strake which has rotted below the scuppers Amputation is the way forward It won't be replaced immediately or we'll never get on the water Primer first - it will look better when it's red Rubbing strake (what's left of it) is going to look the best it has for years Meanwhile in the cockpit I'm doing some tarting up of my own Undercoat of Sikkens Tuesday 18th April Howard's work on the rubbing strake continues on Tuesday, thi...