On Pluvious Underwriters, Pregnant Meteorologists, and Cluttery Drawers.

Kath is deserting me, off with her cronies on one of her lacemaking binges. I notice she’s packed a few bottles of wine, so I don’t know how much lacemaking will get done. So despite the weather turning for the worse, I’m heading up to Herbie tomorrow for a few days doing odd jobs.  I was hoping to repaint the gunnels but after watching the weather forecast I don’t think that’s going to happen.  I wonder how much insurance companies have paid out over the last year for events and functions rained off. 

Did you know that the person who assesses rain risk and calculates premiums for insurance against rain is called a Pluvious Underwriter?  Now there’s a job title to be proud of.  By the way, what is it with weather forecast ladies on regional TV channels. We get BBC South and they’ve had a steady stream of forecasters who all seem to get pregnant and leave just as we’re getting used to them. It seems like we have one every few weeks.  If you are having trouble starting a family, forget IVF, just take up meteorology.

Back to boat jobs for this weekend. Project number one will I think be a sort out of the shelves where I keep tools and stuff.  It needs a system. I have a nice old oak drawer out of an old sideboard that should fit on one of the shelves and I’m tempted to divide it up like a cutlery drawer, so I can have screwdrivers in one bit, and spanners in another etc. Rick calls his cutlery drawer a cluttery drawer, which is probably how mine will end up.

Then I need to find out how I can get at the back of the shower mixer so I can replace it with a thermostatic one.  The trouble is, whoever fitted out the boat made such a good job of boxing it all in that I would have to do some serous damage to some very nice woodwork to get at the fitting.  All the screws are sunk and plugged with nice mahogany caps, and for all I know it’s all glued together.

 

I might come at it another way by making a hand  hole in the side panel and then making a cover plate for that.  If only I had paid more attention to my woodwork teacher at school.  I’m sorry to say that it was the one subject where I came bottom of the class.

For those wondering about further publication of my Digital CanalOmeter spreadsheets, I have had an encouraging response from CanalPlan regarding using their data.  However they are understandably wary about old out-of-date data being around with their name on it.  They do try to keep theirs up to date on line.  What I am working on now is a set of instructions on how to get fresh data into a working Digital CanalOmeter template.  Whilst I can do it myself, my own method is a bit scrappy and I’m trying to find a simpler, more straightforward way for people not so used to cutting and pasting bits of spreadsheet.  Stay tuned.

What a scrappy post.  It’s really just displacement activity to keep me away from clearing up the mess I have made when regrouting (badly) the shower at home.  Not to worry, we’re planning to have the whole thing replaced later this year.

Toodle pip.