More Homework Required

Whilst we are waiting for the windows to be resealed we've taken the opportunity to remove the soft furnishings from BV. She's going to be our main home for quite some time so we wanted to check over all of the seat cushions and mattresses. The covers are all fine. They have now all been washed and we just need to reinforce the stitching in one or two places. The foam inside, however, was slightly saggy on the high-use seating areas and so we decided that it really should be replaced.

Getting hold of high quality replacement foam is very easy through suppliers on the internet but it tends to be available cut into pretty simple square and rectangular shapes. Our issue was that BV's mattresses and seat cushions needed considerably more sculpting to fit around the curves and the woodwork. Trying to cut those intricate shapes with a sharp knife would not have worked well and the only foam cutters we could find seemed to be very expensive top-of-the-range commercial spec equipment; definitely outside our price range for a one-off job on BV.

























Fortunately for us, all was not lost. Digging around on the internet we discovered a fantastic tip on how to cut foam... use an electric carving knife. Absolute genius! The reciprocating blades cut through the foam very easily and we found that, with a little care and teamwork with one of us watching each side, we were able to cut even the most intricate shapes really neatly. The new firm reflex foam has really made a difference. The mattresses and seat cushions are much firmer, they are certainly more comfortable and have a much better shape. Definitely a job worth doing and not difficult either with the old foam and the covers available as templates to aid the 'sculpting' process.

The start of stripping back the varnish

Nicky has turned her hand to sorting out the three troublesome cabin doors. Their last coats of varnish just didn't work out and appeared to lift an old lower coat in a few patches. Frustrating but there was nothing for it but to strip back the layers of varnish, sanding pretty much as far as bare wood. Tedious preparation work but really important to get right if the final effect is to do justice to the amount of effort involved and the quality of finish to which we aspire. Sadly, in the marine environment varnished areas will always need regular attention. Even if Nicky achieves the absolute perfect finish this time round it will be relatively temporary with BV needing some more TLC and varnish work on the same doors in a year or two. Whilst we are on our travels there is no doubt that keeping BV up to spec will prevent us from getting bored; there is always going to be an outstanding maintenance task or two to stop us from getting too lazy.

Nicky's 'varnishing shop' takes over the house

Varnishing the cabin doors whilst they were still fitted to BV during the winter was guaranteed to end in disappointment; varnish does not go on well in cold and damp air. So, to give ourselves the best chance of success, the cabin doors were brought home. Our spare bedroom was lined with plastic to make a warm and protected environment to complete the varnishing and between-coat sanding. Nicky thinks that she might get away with around seven coats of varnish with the last couple being in a satin finish.  That would be very good considering that you can only cover one side at a time and that each side needs about 24hrs to dry hard enough to be moved without leaving fingerprints on it. It's a long slow process.

As a result of our experiences with varnishing over the years I have to say that I am in awe of the sailors who own all wooden yachts; particularly those with varnished wooden topsides.  Whilst BV is beautifully fitted out in teak throughout the interior and that does take a lot of work to keep looking good, at least the surfaces are inside the boat and therefore protected from the worst of the elements and UV. I sometimes wonder how owners of wooden yachts ever get the time to actually go sailing in amongst the varnishing work.

Whilst Nicky has been busy with a varnish brush, I have been busy with a paint brush. The passerelle project is progressing reasonably well. An irritating setback there has also resulted in some stripping back because of a sub-standard topcoat finish. However, now we are using a different brand of undercoat and topcoat we seem to be back on track and the results are looking good so far. The final, hopefully gleaming, finish will be revealed in a later blog.