Sunday 7th May We have an appointment at Lilliput sailing club for our interview at 7:15 so are doing that and returning to the caravan for baked potatoes as supper.
Thursday 11th May Collected the tablet computer for electronic navigation on the boat – It should use the electronic versions of the paper charts that I already have and get positions, wind details etc from the radio and other electronics. Started the charging and setup while at the house.
After lunch I went to the boat for a time and managed to get all the radio equipment organised a bit. All connects to the tablet via wifi so I should have relative windspeed and direction data as well as GPS position and AIS warnings coming through. I need to do a few bits of RF wiring to include the lightening protector and AIS splitter systems in the antenna cable. 
My plan for the Lightening protector is to mount and electrically connect it to the mast tabernacle attachment bolts with a piece of the copper sheet from the grounding system – That will be a much better ground than the small connector provided with it and also close to the most likely route of dissipation as that is a very heavy cable. I still need to connect that to the bow roller, forestay & mooring bollard connections.
Friday Today I worked on the house electrical system and also made the changes to the masthead bracket for attaching the wind sensors. I would have also used the workbench to make the lightening isolator bracket only I forgot to locate the required piece of copper and the isolator to put them in the car in the morning. I need to do that tomorrow and also see if I can find the connecters required to attach all the new antenna cables to the various boxes.
Turns out I also had an appointment today for the AAA screening but neither Helen nor I remembered until the evening.
Sunday I headed to the boat around 5:30 because Helen decided to paint the entrance hall – We have rollers but no trays so she is having to use a brush – That is what happens when you decide to start an un-announced job after the DIY stores have closed.
First job was to drill out the mast bolt hole in the copper grounding plate for the lightening arrester and then assemble it. Still need to cut the radio antenna cable and attach the connectors but otherwise this is almost completed.
Second job was to bolt the wind sensor mounting plate to the top of the mast. That needed a slight redesign because the original plan didn’t quite prevent the bracket becoming misaligned from the intended fore & aft orientation. That was easily solved by drilling a mounting hole rather than using the original slot although it is stainless steel so not the easiest metal to drill without a workshop setup.
After that I used the antenna cable through the mast to pull in a string to get the wind instrument cable into the mast. That took a while as I had to be careful with a blue tit nest full of chicks which is located inside the mast just beyond the second of the mounting bolt tubes. I only discovered that because one of the parents flew out almost into my face while I was balancing on the step ladder trying to thread the cable out of the base of the mast. The chicks were still chirping after I had finished so I hope the parents return after I have gone.
Heading for home at just after 7:30 so quite good progress for a 2 hour visit. It wont be long before I can get the data into one or other of the apps on the navigation tablet that I bought.
The Solent chart set comes with a free download of three Imray electronic charts covering from Immingham across the Thames estuary and round to the Scilly Isles as well as the corresponding European coasts. Initially their software (Imray Navigator) wouldn’t even load on my phone as the Android version was more recent than the designed version but that has now been fixed. At present it can only accept position data from built in GPS chips and doesn’t handle other sources or any of the other NMEA messages that the electronics can send. Despite that I am playing with it as I am impressed with the amount of detail in their carts and also the availability of information from their pilot books for the areas covered.
The most likely alternative is Open CPN – This cost me a whole £7.50 for the shareware program but I will need to buy charts specifically for it (or maybe work out how to link it to the Imray chart download). This will definitely be able to display GPS position, wind data and AIS targets so will probably be what I am using during a voyage even if the planning gets done on the Imray software and recorded on the paper charts as we progress. This app has already identified the potential access to GPS data although it seems to assume the tablet has GPS capability built in but not enabled whereas I think it only comes in from the boat wifi transmitter.
Tuesday Tonight I managed to get one of the “chart plotter” programs running properly on the tablet computer. “Marine navigator” comes via the “visit my harbor” website and has around 280 different sets of charts ranging from the whole of the UK down to detailed plans of individual harbors. This one can also get you tidal current information and weather forecasts plus it works with the marine networking so wind and GPS can connect. Obviously coming from that website it also gives off line access to a lot of information about the individual harbors and the towns they support.
Now all I need to do is to get those charts enabled in Open CPN as well so I can pick the better program.
Wednesday 17th Another early start which worked well for Lexie because she got her tablets and antibiotic around 5:00. I made it to the house at 8:00 to find the plasterer and his two assistants already there and working.
I spent most of the day making a kit of plasterboard pieces that will cover the walls of the new piece of kitchen.
After lunch we somewhat changed the plans for the next couple of days as 2 bedrooms upstairs are finished so tomorrow the plastering will start in the downstairs bedroom and the games room. By Friday they will be on to either the kitchen or the lounge so well ahead of the original planned progress.
Once the main plasterer had finished his prep work in the front bedroom, stairs and hall he attached the remaining pieces of board in the games room and prepped that ready to skim tomorrow. Then we fitted all my cut pieces of board in the kitchen followed by two more whole sheets towards the corridor to the toilet. We only stopped because we ran out of plasterboard so Matthew is getting another two or three sheets tomorrow.
Matt has delivered all the timber to build the decking so once we know exactly what he is thinking Volodomir can start building that tomorrow. Phase 1 looks to be mainly about concreting in the wooden support posts and maybe building supporting walls for the “raised flowerbeds.
Tonight we did an outing to B&Q to return a container of their own brand paint which totally failed to cover the previous (Dulux Egyptian cotton) despite the colours being very similar. Helen had been talked into buying that because B&Q were apparently not going to have any more of the original – Came away with a container of the Dulux paint because it was on the shelf.
Thursday Tonight I managed to finish the metal fitting for the mast raising and lowering device.
Sunday 21st May After lunch I headed off to the boat for a couple of hours. Not much progress made but I am dealing with some problems that have been identified. The new wind speed sensor is supposed to be mounted ahead of the mast but the bracket position does not allow that. The “identified problem” for today was a set of rusting bolts involved in mounting the masthead navigation light to the stainless steel plate and then the same problem with attaching the plate to the mast. That challenge combined with the need for a forward facing anemometer mounting means I can re-design the masthead to incorporate both brackets and replace the inadequate bolts that I used originally. I will be fabricating a somewhat complex spacer in an attempt to avoid obscuring the navigation light too much with the wind indicator.
Monday 
This morning I managed to remove the cable from the anemometer sensor board, cut down the mounting tube to remove the bend at the end and then re-attach the cable. The whole thing was finally re-assembled after taking Helen & Viktoriia to junior band at 5:45 in the evening. I still need to combine the navigation light mounting plate and the wind sensor mount somehow but the sensor might get tested tomorrow if I can go to the boat before anyone arrives at the house.
Tuesday Woken by the dog at 5 so I managed to do a quick trip to the boat to measure out the mast head bracket in more detail. I still don’t know exactly how I am going to build this device but that doesn’t really matter because I didn’t take the stainless steel out of the garage this morning so didn’t have it with me to do any metalwork.
Wednesday 24th May I spent the morning doing a combination of creosoting the various planks needed to complete the decking, making the bracket for the wind instruments on the boat and dismantling the greenhouse.
Managed to organise a quick trip to the boat around 8:00 to check progress with today’s piece of metalwork. A little adjustment of the mounting holes is needed and I will be replacing the current mounting bolts with some 3 cm x M5 stainless steel ones. I am also replacing the smaller ones that attach the navigation lights at the same time as those were also corroding.
Friday 26th Slight boat progress with the arrival of the bolts that I ordered. That should mean I can re-fix the navigation light on the mast and attach the wind instruments tomorrow.
Saturday Woke at 6:30 due to Helen fussing about where Lexie was. – She went straight back to sleep and Lexie was comfortable enough to just stay where she was when I got up and got dressed. Not all bad because I got my breakfast over (of course the toast was detected and the dog duly appeared in the kitchen for her share) and could go to the boat early.
Progress today as I got the wind sensors mounted on the mast and the non connected navigation light wire crimped and insulated with electrical tape. Still need to tighten up one of the nuts (9mm open ended spanner needed) but everything else is sorted out at the mast head.
I also managed to finish off tidying up the threads on the zinc anode mountings still need some sort of spacer to ensure contact with the braiding that leads to the bearing mounting but otherwise that is ready to fit. Still need to fit a conductor across the flexible joint between the engine and prop shaft or else fit a zinc on the shaft itself but I need to know the thread details to buy a screw on one.
We have a letter saying we are accepted as members of the Lilliput Sailing club so that is one more step towards launching the boat.
Sunday 28th In the afternoon I went to the boat to progress the wind instrument installation. Basically all done except for needing a couple of bolts tightening – Needs the right open ended spanner as the light gets in the way of socket type drivers.
Monday Off to The caravan in Dorset for the week with the Ukrainian family.
Tuesday Today we delivered the family to the beach at Weymouth and then went to collect the keys to the bungalow that we are renting in New Milton.
Wednesday Took the Kayak to Shell bay beach. While we were there we witnessed the emergency helicopter landing in pool harbor near the chain ferry. – It is in national news that two teenagers were killed in the sea at Bournemouth and a man has been arrested for possible manslaughter.
Then back to the van via the sailing club to deliver our completed paperwork about tasks we are happy to help with and consent for photos of ourselves and the boat that might end up on social media or the club magazine.