Cabin Fever...

And the work goes on. Here we are, closing in on the fourth Christmas I've owned this boat and progress continues to happen. The new naming stickers went on last weekend and after a bit of rain, seem to have settled in well. The boot stripe stickering is having trouble adhering tho, so we might paint that on next time the boat's hauled out.

As some of you will remember, last winter was also truly a misery. Cold temps, constant easterly winds and snow. Having fitted the Mikuni diesel heater (which does a great job heating the wheelhouse and warming the rest of the boat), I finally got around to installing the wood / charcoal burning stove. What a revelation. 8 degrees outside with a chilly wind and we're working in t-shirts inside. Brilliant. I still need to build a box around it and perhaps install a 12V fan behind (circulating the warm air will up the temperature even further), but thus far it's definitely proven to be one of the best investments. And all for £120.

Of course, there are other ways of installing these stoves and I spied this one whilst on a "come over for a drink" evening. I won't name names, but the creative effort put into this install is just amazing.

The cooler weather has produced some great sunrises (or was that a sunset? I can't remember) and this has easily been one of the warmer winters I can remember in a long time.

And here's progress. The cabin's almost finished (I'll fit the TV this weekend and stuff all the excess materials into the cabin) and other than a few jobs, we're all set for test sailling the week of NYE. I think the plan will be to head to Osborne Bay (about 15nm) for an anchored lunch, before making a decision on whether to proceed up Southampton Water and anchor again in the evening, or return to a local anchorage. It all depends on the weather really, and whether it stays calm or blows up.

The next big trip then will be a circuit of the IOW (a good 12 hr / 70m sail) before next summer's week long trip to the Channel Islands. Big tides, tight anchorages and a Channel crossing all thrown into the mix. If it's going to happen, it'll happen out there....

Anyway, that's it for this week. The next update should be from on the water... Have a great Christmas.