The stories in the walls.

Building this boat is not just about the end result. It is the story of how we got here and how it changed us along the way. And who will want to know, in years to come, where this boat came from and who dreamed it into existence? This boat is a part of us and hidden in the walls is our story and that of its birth. There are gems and notes and tidbits about who we are and the summer spent toiling away. It tells of family and love and hope of a new life in a bigger boat for the mad woman, Morris man and fat cat-who-thinks-she's-human. And it shows the people who we love who have brought us this far and who will be the ones to carry us over the finish line for without them this big boat of ours would still be an imagining.

Family together on a hot, hot summer evening. The Green Man on the right. From one home to another.

But there are other secrets too, hidden in these walls of ours. Some have a practical element and some are just for fun - because we know they are there and that someday they will once again come to light.

This is not a wardrobe...

Old favourites, threadbare and torn, reveal that I wear a lot of green and gray. Old clothes sealed behind the walls act as insulation to stop sounds traveling the length and breadth of the boat. Strange it may seem, but we have a music room on board and music enjoyment is often dulled when one person is trying to sleep whilst the other is taken by musical inspiration.

It is these little things, these snippets unseen in the daily run of our lives, that is the time capsule of our build. And in these we honour those that brought us here. For it is their story too.

The pace quickens.

The build has been storming along but with family help progress is even greater than I could've imagined. The boat is beginning to look less like a steel shell and more like a home. 

Mum and dad L helped me sand the kitchen and living room walls before attacking it skilfully with varnish. 

Dad C and Rob have fixed the most-awkward-sink-known-to-mankind into one of the kitchen worktops and in front of one of the windows so I'll have a lovely view when washing up. I get washing up duties because Rob is the chef. And a very good one he is too.

Beer and bricks. Sorted. 

They've also been working on building walls and hanging the first of our three doors. A home with doors? Imagine that.

And not only that, we're very close to having a space that can officially be called a room. 

Walls! Internal bulkheads take shape. 

We've even had chance to try out our new sofa. 

The boat might look like a building site but it's currently a damn comfy one. 

Sofa so good (did you see what I did there?).

The build is coming along. We've only had part of the bulkheads constructed so far because the sofa we ordered is too wide to fit through any of the internal doors. In fact, it will only fit through one external door and that is at the opposite end of the boat to where we want the sofa. So, for the last few weeks whilst we've been awaiting delivery of said sofa that has to be moved through walls to get to its desired location the walls have looked like this:

With cat. She oversees the build and judges the build quality of her soon-to-be home. And then she guards *cough*sleeps*cough* on our building materials.

She will soon have somewhere more cosy to sit as the sofa has finally arrived. 

There's nowhere to store it out of the way so for the moment it stands on end in the kitchen. Soon the rest of the walls will be built and the only way that sofa is leaving the boat is in tiny pieces! The cat will have to continue to sleep where she is for now, though.

In the meantime, kitchen work has progressed. We now have work tops:

And the cupboards and drawers have fronts and handles (still need to affix the doors over the inbuilt appliances):

But it's all beginning to take shape. 

Rob has been working on the plumbing for the bathroom and the bath/shower pump is ready to go and awaiting a hole to be drilled into the side of the boat.

That doesn't look like work to me... 

Meanwhile, Mum C and I have been working on making the back deck non-slip. 

Mum painted whilst I sieved on sand and then I later added another coat of paint. Some areas are a bit patchy and need redoing but rain stopped play.

The next big job is to varnish the interior walls and I've roped in Mum L to help with that. Oh, the joy that awaits her...