Bartimaeus

Before we left for the boat in the summer, I had taken my bike to one of the friendly local bike shops to investigate a problem with the dynamo.  The expert opinion at the shop was that the dynamo was not the main thing to worry about.  I heeded the advice and arranged to leave the bike there while I was away.

All the components were removed, and the frame sent across town where it was shot-blasted and then powder-coated.  The shop then put it all back together, replacing anything that was worn out.  An unexpected replacement was the rear wheel rim.  The shop  discovered a crack running around the inside of the rim - if that had failed while I was riding it could have been spectacular, but not in a good way!

By a great coincidence, the bike was ready for me on the day we returned to Edinburgh, but a mix-up resulted in the shop closing for the week with my bike still inside.  For the first time since we joined the boat, I had decided to bring the tandem to Edinburgh with us - it probably needs its paint looked at too.  I was easily able to persuade Penny to be stoker for a day trip to Dunbar, so I didn't miss a sunny day out.

The weather has been warm or bright, and occasionally both, so I have been out cycling a number of times, including a ride to South Queensferry on a dull day.  The Forth Bridge is no longer painted continuously - a longer lasting high-tech coating is now used instead of paint.

The work on Bartimaeus is progressing.  The hybrid engine has been removed ready to be installed in to Eau Rouge in place of its diesel(-only) engine.

I was in touch with Ortomarine about a minor issue recently and was pleased to hear about progress on the upgrade.  We were surprised to hear that the paintwork was already being worked on.  The good news is that the bulk of the dark blue paint is in good condition, and has been polished to a much better standard than I managed at the beginning of the year.

The area that takes the most damage is below the gunwale.  We have touched this up a number of times, but it is clear from the pictures that the professionals don't think we've taken enough old paint off when we've done it.

The plan for the future is to use a different paint which has more of a matt finish for this area.  It should look better after it has been redone by amateurs.

Work is also progressing on the solar panels.  Two of the old ones have been removed - one of them because of concerns about water ingress and paintwork damage underneath.  We were aware of some rusting, and it certainly looks a mess in the pictures.

Once the paintwork has been restored, three new panels will replace the two at this end of the roof, also using the space currently occupied by the mushroom vent (just visible at the left of the picture).  The panels on Bartimaeus need to be in strings of four.  Three further panels near the bow, using the space currently occupied by the gang plank etc. will increase our solar capacity by 50%.

Most of the other changes to the boat will be a lot less visible - the main change is that we will be less audible.