Bits, Bobs and a Lid on the Doghouse
Since I last wrote, I have done a grand tour (or so it feels) of the drydocks of Scotland. I am currently back on KoL, still in Greenock awaiting parts before she can go back to sea. My last 6-week stint entailed 3 weeks on here in Garvel dry dock, staying in the sumptuous surroundings…
The Great Foremast Project
Having now returned to work after my latest leave, to the slight chaos of a drydocking of SD Kyle of Lochalsh in the delightful surroundings of Greenock, I can update you on my latest progress, which was the single but somewhat daunting project of building a foremast. Just to remind you, a couple of years…
More with the Dorades and Mast Preps
Having now returned to Kyle after what was a very active leave period, I can give you a quick update on what progress I made during the week I was actually at home! First though, just a brief summary of my activities in the first two weeks of my leave, as this is not just…
Accommodation takes shape… and thinking ahead to summer.
I can’t believe that 3 months have already passed since my last post, and that spring has most definitely sprung. As I write, I am sitting at the desk in my cabin on SD Warden in shorts and T-shirt at the end of another beautiful sunny working day on the west coast. Well, it was…
Work continues in the pointy end…
Once again, I seem to have allowed far too much time to pass since my last update, so I’ve got a lot to update you on! The Christmas period provided me with some buckshee time off, as the base in Kyle effectively shuts down, and the Serco boats revert to a shipkeeping routine, which on…
Heads and (Hose-) Tails
My last post back in September dealt with mainly deck-oriented jobs, do-able in the warm(er) “summer” weather. As intimated in my introduction then, the last couple of months have seen me change jobs, again, in the continued search for a new niche where I can work comfortably and enjoyably for a few years. The second…
Cockpit, Pushpit, Galley hatch and some other bits.
Since my last update (which some of my regular readers may not have seen, due to Facebook being unhappy with something I wrote (not sure what), therefore refusing to allow me to share it on that platform – however if you want to read it first, please go ahead and click this: https://serchthrift.com/uncategorized/engine-box-steps-and-sole-bearers/), I have…
Engine box, steps and sole bearers
It has taken me a while to get accustomed to the new working regime since starting the job with Gordonstoun. I started on 18 March, towards the end of her winter refit period, and we (the permanently contracted crew) were living in the school and commuting daily to Inverness marina to work on Ocean Spirit.…
It’s been too long, but not without cause
I cannot believe, as I sit here writing this, that it is a full six months since my last post. In that time there has been loss, achievement, change, and most importantly some progress! In the latter part of 2023 I lost a much-loved aunt, an equally loved and respected godfather and, also to which…
On-deck works continue
I left you as I was just about to disappear for another fun week on board VIC 32. This was followed another week later by a short relief stint on board Tenacious. I had a lovely couple of weeks there, joining in Arendal in southern Norway, and ending in Blyth. The weather wasn’t amazing, but…
