so now over a year has passed,and its been a busy one as i expect the next 2 or 3 will be too.the boat hasnt left the harbour since,and wont until the fuel tanks are cleaned (although i think the problem getting her to penzance was caused by an emergency fuel shut off on the diesel tank rather than dirt in the fuel as the filters were clean when i changed them).been shifted around the harbour as all the boats are twice a year to make room for the passenger ferry scillonian to come in and lay up for the winter months,but now i'm tied up between 2 other ex irish fishing boats,the comet,which is being converted into a square rigged sailing vessel,and t
he castor,another houseboat,owned by stav and his wife gail,my neighbours.the arbageergan,an ex newlyn netter which i used to tuna fish on over 10 years ago is also a house/shop boat here and several other liveaboards of various sizes.its a nice community,i've had a lot of help and advice from other boat owners on which way to approach various problems,but at the end of the day its down to you.every boats different and theres no manual to guide you but i'm glad i did it.the deck leaked like a seive from day one and on closer inspection it was obvious the whole lot needed re-caulking.not a small task,i
t involves digging 
out the old tar and oakum from between the planks then beating new stuff back in to the seam and re-sealing it with hot tar.the oakum is a fibrous material that comes in a bail,you have to tease it out to the right thickness and roll it before beating it in.its also highly flamable as i found out one afternoon when it got too close to the pitch pot.i singed my arms and eyebrows trying to get it over the rail into the harbour.i've now caulked the after end of the boat but the rest of the deck will have to wait a while longer.with the stern no longer leaking i was able to start on the bedroom.all the old bunks had been removed and the whole accomodation was taken back to the bare timbers of the boat.it was sodden and stinking, especially the bilges which took a lot of scrubbing out,it was messy work i wouldnt want to repeat but eventually after a few months i was left with a clean page from
which to start.because the hatch downto the bedroom was so small nothing bigger than 60cm wide could be got down so everything was made from scratch,the kingsize bed and the cupboards all were built to fit the awkward shape of the boats stern.new wiring was put was in so that i had 240 volt sockets and lights as everything had been 24 volts before.hydraulic steering pipes were replaced,a wood burning pot bellied stove put in to replace the cor
roded
diesel burner and a new cooker and fridge put in the galley.eventually after 8 or 9 months of hard graft i was able to move in.unfortunately the shore work dried up and i found myself back at sea,working on various boats out of newlyn,netting or trawling,(even tuna fishing at one stage)not an ideal situation when your living on a boat to have to go to sea and work on other ones, especially in winter but needs must and we(my girlfriend stays aboard a lot now)got through the winter ok managing to put aside a few pound to get some work done in the coming summer.
he castor,another houseboat,owned by stav and his wife gail,my neighbours.the arbageergan,an ex newlyn netter which i used to tuna fish on over 10 years ago is also a house/shop boat here and several other liveaboards of various sizes.its a nice community,i've had a lot of help and advice from other boat owners on which way to approach various problems,but at the end of the day its down to you.every boats different and theres no manual to guide you but i'm glad i did it.the deck leaked like a seive from day one and on closer inspection it was obvious the whole lot needed re-caulking.not a small task,i
t involves digging 
out the old tar and oakum from between the planks then beating new stuff back in to the seam and re-sealing it with hot tar.the oakum is a fibrous material that comes in a bail,you have to tease it out to the right thickness and roll it before beating it in.its also highly flamable as i found out one afternoon when it got too close to the pitch pot.i singed my arms and eyebrows trying to get it over the rail into the harbour.i've now caulked the after end of the boat but the rest of the deck will have to wait a while longer.with the stern no longer leaking i was able to start on the bedroom.all the old bunks had been removed and the whole accomodation was taken back to the bare timbers of the boat.it was sodden and stinking, especially the bilges which took a lot of scrubbing out,it was messy work i wouldnt want to repeat but eventually after a few months i was left with a clean page from
which to start.because the hatch downto the bedroom was so small nothing bigger than 60cm wide could be got down so everything was made from scratch,the kingsize bed and the cupboards all were built to fit the awkward shape of the boats stern.new wiring was put was in so that i had 240 volt sockets and lights as everything had been 24 volts before.hydraulic steering pipes were replaced,a wood burning pot bellied stove put in to replace the cor
roded diesel burner and a new cooker and fridge put in the galley.eventually after 8 or 9 months of hard graft i was able to move in.unfortunately the shore work dried up and i found myself back at sea,working on various boats out of newlyn,netting or trawling,(even tuna fishing at one stage)not an ideal situation when your living on a boat to have to go to sea and work on other ones, especially in winter but needs must and we(my girlfriend stays aboard a lot now)got through the winter ok managing to put aside a few pound to get some work done in the coming summer. 
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