I've set up a Patreon page to try to help me achieve what I want to do with this project. Basically, I intend to post regular video blogs of the boat building process, where I'll attempt to show how I get on, how I go about the various steps, what goes well and what doesn't, where difficulties arise and how I deal with them. I'll also discuss my thoughts on aspects of the boat and build - boat choice, materials, processes, technologies, gear. I will certainly be considering environmental aspects of boat building and will talk about them.

When the build is finished, I intend to head off and will continue vlogging as I make my way, probably through the European inland waterways to the Med and beyond.

My Patreon page is here;  https://www.patreon.com/sv_tapatya

Your support will be appreciated!!

I'm just back from 2 weeks holiday on the Costa Daurada in Spain. We stayed in one of the more relatively unspoilt bits of that coast, in a small village - or better said, a small settlement on the coast, connected to an older, traditional village a few kilometres inland. The coast there is lovely, like much of the Mediterranean coast. In particular, the gold-coloured glittery flakes that illuminate the water and give that region of the coast its name are delightful. The water was warm and, on still days, crystal clear, making it ideal for swimming and snorkelling. Like much of the Med, there's not much sea life to be seen, but occasional shoals of fish reward the patient snorkeller. What bugged me most however, was the amount of plastic waste in the water and on the beaches and sea shore. On days when the waves are up, the shallow coastal water gets stirred up and bits of plastic float in the water amongst the broken off bits of sea grass. When snorkelling, all sorts of plastic waste can be observed lying on the sea bed - old tarps, polypropylene rope bits, kids toys, plastic bags, food packaging, etc, etc. The more touristy beaches suffer from discarded drink containers and food wrappers, while the more remote beach and coastal areas are littered with all sorts of decaying plastic remains. I know I'm not the first person to be alerted to this problem, but our treatment of our oceans, seas and coastal areas has got to change. Plastic of this sort has been around for less that 100 years - the bulk of it has been produced in the last 50 or so years, and yet our marine environments are already suffering seriously from our incapacity to act responsibly in the way we deal with plastic waste. I shall be looking into ways in which I can help and will post further when I know more.

Electrics are in, as is some shelving and tool racks. Basically the boatshed is ready. I have a few things to do in the next couple of weeks, but building is on target for an August start. Looking forward to it.

Was out in the boatshed till 9:30 in the evening - a taste of things to come, methinks. Suffice to say that the ridge is now complete, Kerry and I finished off the woodwork under the eaves at the back and then I started on upgrading/increasing the lighting and power sockets in the shed. I think this blog already has enough photos of the boatshed, so I'll leave the completed exterior to your imagination.

There's a lot of thought goes into the preparation for a project like this, and I spend a fair bit of time reading blogs of other builders and researching materials, engines, equipment and even waterway regulations in preparation for setting off one day. As it stands, I need to finish the electrics in the shed and I have a few bits to do about the house. I anticipate starting the lofting of the boat - which I see as the start of the actual boat building - in early August.

Saturday wasn't exactly the perfect day for roofing -it was Karin's birthday and it rained hard for most of the day, but Kerry and I were out in it. We stripped one side completely, used the best of those sheets to finish the other side and then put the new roofing on the stripped side. Only one little issue - I forgot to buy the ridge pieces (dozy sod!). Anyhow, nearly done and mainly dry inside now.

On Sunday I put a bench and shelf up inside and started moving boat-building stuff in. Getting places :-)