A productive few days…

With us not moving and, apart from heavy, thundery showers last evening, the weather being kind, I got on with a job I‘ve been putting off. There’s been a leak around the rear slide frame for a while now, the evidence of stained woodwork and even drips inside during particularly heavy rain was obvious. And the slide had started to tighten up on it’s brass runners as rust behind them pushed them out of position.
The slide itself is very heavy, I’ve only had it completely off once, and it was a huge struggle getting it back on again, so the first job was to raise it on battens to lift it clear of the runners so they could be removed.

Top and side runners removed, the rust behind scraped off and treated with rust killer ready for priming, undercoat and two finish coats.

All painted, that’s the steelwork mostly done, now to start on the woodwork…

With the frame surround removed the water damage to the timber backing and more rust is revealed…

So, out with the rust treatment, primer undercoat and gloss once again. A new piece of timber replaced the stained back board, thoroughly varnished, and while it was out the rest got rubbed down and treated to a couple of coats as well. With everything dry it was time to put it all back together, with a good seam of sealant under the brass runners and between the steelwork and the hardwood frame. 
Hopefully that should keep the rainwater out for the next 12 years…

With the cants on the counter painted gloss black and the deck painted raddle red it’s looking quite smart now.

Apart from this we’ve been chilling, trying to keep cool with limited success. The storm last night freshened the air temporarily, but we were back to warm, humid conditions again today.

Meg isn’t happy with the weather, she’s not eating much, is listless and stiff with arthritis. We’re heading back into Skipton early next week and we’ll be going back to the vet while we’re there, in case there’s something else we’ve not spotted yet.

We had a bit of light relief when a small cruiser was lifted out of the water on the moorings a little further up. I was convinced that it would slide out of the slings…


…but it didn’t.
 

Even the cows came across for a closer look…

…and had to be shooed out of the way while they moved the boat to a spot around the corner.

We’ll be here for the weekend, moving back to Skipton Monday or Tuesday. Meg’s appointment is for Tuesday afternoon, and we’ll be needing water and essential supplies by then.

Locks 0, miles 0.