The end of an era! A final walk-through of Thomas H before we move out.

With just a couple of days left until we hand Thomas over to her new owners we have now moved most of our belongings out and are trying not to think about it too much. A mourning period will begin after the weekend.

Another boat trip on the Thames.

A quick trip down river past Chertsey bridge.

New flooring for the kitchen

Simon's put a new floor in the kitchen and main living area.  He's a good man!    He was given all these weathered scaffolding boards which had been left unwanted and uncared for under a massive bramble.    They were completely green with algae when found and he's sanded them all back and fitted them on the boat.   It was a lot of work, but he's justifiably proud of himself right now.    Beer o'clock then.

RIP Mike

We have only just heard and are very sad that Mike Gough was found dead in Faversham Creek just a week after we left dry dock.  By all accounts, Mike seems to have died from a fall from the dock in the early hours of the morning. When we arrived at Faversham in September, Mike was the first person to greet us as we moored up next to Henry, the Thames Sailing Barge on which he lived.  Mike was very welcoming and we will always remember him with fondness.  He was only 55 and it's a terrible waste. Rest in peace Mike.  You were kind and eccentric and memorable.

The work begins in dry dock but starts well with a glowing report from the surveyor.

The fabulous Chris Holmes has just left us with a glowing survey report for Thomas. Hurrah!


On the whole it seems that the tales were true and she's been really well doubled, with 10mm steel. The anodes were in really good nick and there's just very little damage so we're so happy.

There are a couple of bits to do, but really nothing too unexpected. It's our first time in dry dock, so all those scare stories people like to tell were repeating themselves in our heads but, as ever, Thomas has held herself high.
Simon spent most of the previous day pressure washing the hull down. He and Richard had already had the horrible job of scraping off the weed and mussels that were stuck on (luckily, the slat water had persuaded most of the mussels to fall off on their own).
Your caption here....

Think we might just head off to the pub now to celebrate.
But soon enough it was time to get back to work, so while Simon got to work with the angle grinder cleaning back along the waterline, I set to with the big power washer on the underneath of the boat.

I've never felt more glamerous.

On the plus side, Simon wasn't much better himself.

While Simon fixed a weld on the whisker, I started with the Bitumen, which seems like a much better job once you've done the pressure washing. Suddenly she started to look all shiney and new(ish). Linden is currently burning off some spots on the underside with the OA where they're going to put a plate (it's a spot unbetween two plates that has some pits so it's safer to plate it). Then we're pretty much there. I feel like I know every inch of Thomas inside and out now. It's enough to make a girl proud.
Really should add that Colin Frakes at standard wharf has been a star, as have Linden and Mac. The dry dock is really easy to use, once I calmed my vertigo down anyway, so we're really happy right now (although we're still not sleeping too well, perhaps it's a Feng Shui connection to the water type thing...?). Back to the Bitumen. Will keep posting when I'm clean enough to use the laptop, in the hope that people are interested in our labours...