But first, the latest developments in the continuing saga of the house move ...
The Structural Engineer recommended a CCTV survey of the drainage system at the back of the house to ensure the cracks in the brickwork aren't being caused by seepage from the drains into the footings
OK, fair enough, but it's yet more delays and yet more expense. We don't yet know the specifics of the structural survey anyway but at this stage our buyers are still in the game although it is not clear on what basis
To make matters worse, the drainage engineer's CCTV equipment died first thing this morning on his first job and he's had to whistle up a replacement which means he can't come and check our drains until Wednesday
So it looks like it will be at least the back end of this week, or more likely next week, before we know where we stand.
All of this is just piling more direct and indirect expense onto our already strained original budget and whilst we're not yet in a position to make a definite decision (which may be taken out of our hands anyway) it's looking less and less likely we'll be able to afford to buy "Safe Return". She was somewhat over budget to start with and now it looks like a budget is going to be the thick end of £8k or more less than we thought ....
We're not yet seriously looking at alternatives but we think we're going to have to look for something suitable in the £20k to £30k price range. I doubt we'd find anything quite as perfect for our needs as the Vulcan but needs must if it comes to it. It is frustrating, to say the least, to be unable to let Carol know for certain one way or the other but with "Safe Return" back on the market anyway (and rightly so) I guess it doesn't particularly matter one way or the other.
This whole business of buying and selling houses in England is a complete pain in the bum. If we weren't so keen to move forward with our new lifestyle I'd throw in the towel and forget it right now!
Anyway, whatever the outcome at some point we will be buying something bigger than "Erbas" so a trip to the London Boat Show was in order to do a bit of research. It was a well worthwhile expedition as well as a fun day out. We went with our friends from the Good Ship Laurin and met up with other friends whilst there which made it a very pleasant social occasion.
I was able to get hands on with the electronics I have my eye on for "bigger boat" (and it's likely that whatever we buy I'll want to upgrade to an integrated networked system) and decided that in fact I would be very happy with less rather than more in the display department.
I also had the opportunity to have a close look at the instrument / MFD pod I had in mind for the helm position and found that it is way too big for anything we'd be likely to buy (and way bigger all round than it needs to be for what can be fitted in it)
I took my cue from one or two of the display yachts and decided the better solution will be a bracket for the MFD at the helm rather than a pod allowing the MFD to be removed below decks when not in use.
I was also delighted to find that Raymarine, my preferred solution, have launched a new pulse radar at the show which neatly plugs the one gap in their range
Another area I had a look at is custom bedding. It's all very well making do with sheets that don't fit, quilts that are the wrong shape and foam planks for mattresses when you're only on board for a week or two at a time but when you're going to be living on board the expense for the sake of some real comfort looks well worthwhile (and our friends were all merrily putting down deposits on fitted sprung mattresses too!)
So although we're not sure what we're going to end up with boat wise, our ideas of what we're going to do when we get her are shaping up.
The one saving grace now is that we're under no real pressure. It will all either happen in the next few weeks or it will take months or even a year but we're just going with the flow and letting things happen as they happen.
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