Rooftop Jacuzzi

It's rained, and rained, and rained... again. The worst spring, since last spring. We feel sorry for families who have hired a narrowboat for Easter. 1000+ pounds to sit inside and watch the rain cascade down the windows.


We're still enjoying living here, very much. Peter, and the marina staff have been extremely kind, in letting us stay on through the start of the boating season. We realise we're a 54ft floating steel problem for them, so we're trying to be as discreet as we can be, on our bigass boat.

If the sun comes out, so will a million boaters, all wanting to get on the river at the same time. Mayhem. So we're tucked away by the duck and swan feeding area, where we won't bother anyone. Having the 'general public' walking so close to the boat is also good practice for us, for when we are (eventually) out on the towpath. Sumo hasn't woofed at anybody yet. Though he always does when somebody taps on the roof. Good boy.

And, living underneath the crane, there's never a dull moment. This is what happened yesterday...

Yes, if you are extremely rich, you can get your swimming pool pre-fabricated, craned into the river, towed upstream, and personally delivered to your swanky riverside residence.

How's Sumo?

Our good friend wEBBY wanted to know how Sumo is..

He's fine. and settled into the boat and river life very well. Hoisting him up the stepladder when we were out of the water wasn't such a problem. And now we're back in the water, he can just step on and off again. He loves climbing out the back door, and seeing water + ducks right in front of him. Always a fresh novelty, it seems.

We stuck to his normal feeding, exercise and nap routines from when we were living in a house. So he's the ideal weight. He's fit, healthy, and happy. People often remark that he's such a friendly and cheerful dog. Which he is. He's always making us laugh with his antics. We can even forgive him for the rolling in poo, because he's so adorable. Everybody loves their pets, but Sumo really is special. We feel lucky. But now he's hassling me for a walk..

I'm on a boat..

Humourous YouTube Video
Please do not click if you're easily offended.

Magnet Fishing

clang... splosh....

Sheena wasn't terribly impressed when I knocked our new satellite dish into the thames within an hour of setting it up. It bounced off of the rear deck, careened into the poo coloured water, and aquaplaned off into the depths with a certain tragic inevitability which only an ancient Greek playwright could fully express.

Thankfully, I managed to redeem myself (a little bit), by retrieving it with the boat magnet. I also fished out a counterweight for a sash window, some wire, and a couple of rusty nails.


Sheena's now thinking of taking up magnet fishing for a hobby.

Back We Go

We were slightly alarmed to see the crane coming extremely close to the boat. So we departed, and then it started to rain. And rain. And rain. And rain. It chucked it down all day, culminating in a lightning storm directly overhead. Thankfully, it moved off towards london, where big black angry clouds are much more at home.


Seen it so many times, we're getting quite blase about it now. But Dogma was craned up off the sleepers, and down into the water with all the skill & grace that people who do this every day for their living, get accustomed to. Nothing was moved around inside, at all. No paint was chipped or flaked off. And we're still floating. Big success all round.

Duck on a Plank

Today was our last day out of the water. Finished up in the engine bay, ready for the exhaust system, and new battery bank to be fitted. And the engine to be craned back in.


Steve also connected the gas cylinders to his re-installed (and 100% safe) pipes, so we can now use the gas oven and hob to cook whole meals for ourselves, rather than just warming stuff up on top of the stove. Home cooked food has made a big difference to our comfort level.

We're still wary of using gas in an enclosed space, but we're now comfortable with changing the cylinders, turning them on or off, and clicking frantically with the gas lighter to spark the oven up. It's propane too, so Hank Hill would be happy..


Sheena also saw a Duck surfing past on a plank. Which made her smile. Little things. But they help keep us happy. (sorry no picture of that, it happened too quickly).

Choosing a Font

Our friend Phil asked if we're going to have a visible name.


Yes, Ten letters and a discreet shadow shouldn't be too horrendously expensive.

We'll need to employ a professional signwriter, because a dropshadow effect is beyond my painting capabilities, and self adhesive lettering looks cheezy. We deliberately chose a short name so there would only be a few letters to paint.

We've both decided we'd like 'an art deco font', but we're not sure which one. There are lots of them available. When the decision has been reached, we knock up what we want in Photoshop, and a good signwriter should be able to copy from that.