Bluebell August 2006.

Dates were arranged for the team from B Sky B to give Bluebell two top coats of paint. Half the team came one day and half the next. Unfortunately, it started to rain just as the first team was about to start  and after summoning the engineer (Iain) we moved Bluebell along to Broxburn and moored her under a bridge. After drying her off, a coat of paint was applied and although the conditions where not ideal and we had to keep moving her when another boat came along, she now had her first blue coat. The next day was dry and sunny and the second half of the team very quickly applied another top coat. It was fantastic having the help of Mary and her folk from B Sky B and it gave us a big boost getting Bluebell into colour at last. We hope to apply another couple of coats during the summer but the members will do this on a Saturday.

Inside, work has progressed and the toilet compartment is now complete apart from a couple of pipes to be boxed in . In the galley area, a shelf has been put up beside the water tank and that whole area will be hidden from view with sliding doors. The passengers will embark form the stern and will go though the galley area and this area therefore needs to be neat and tidy. A super set of steps with storage inside has been built for the stern and these will be put in place when the boxing in is completed. The front doors are being constructed off site and in the meantime to improve the security of Bluebell, a better temporary front door has been fitted. Little jobs like removing paint from windows and window frames, improving the cooker fixings etc have also been done but the completion of the internal fit out is now dependant on the front doors being installed. The boys have started thinking about making a cratch for the front and in idle moments we discuss the sign writing we will eventually have. The name of the boat, the name of the society and a bunch of Bluebells (Scottish ones) we think,  and whether we do them in  sign writing or vinyl depends on whether we can find a sign writer or not.

Work in the engine area has progressed well as Iain unfortunately is off work but still manages to work on Bluebell :-). Fuel filters, bilge pump, fuel tank vents, emergency stop etc, have all magically appeared and the whole area has been dramatically cleaned up. When we got the boat, the floor below the engine was  several inches deep in sand, oil, mud and general muck and the engine itself was a mess with bits missing. The floor and the whole area has now been thoroughly cleaned and may actually be getting painted before the engine drip trays are installed. The boat didn't have these as it was built long before BSS days. I notice too that the engine has been cleaned up and some bits painted to match the Lister green.

Now that the engine is running we realise just how noisy it is! If our passengers want to be able to speak to one another, we will need to install some sound insulation and research is currently being done to find out what is best and within our budget. At the outset, we did buy some cheap sound insulation but now that we hear the engine running we realise that this will not make an appreciable difference and it would be waste of time installing it.

Here are some photos showing the current state of Bluebell