On a really high tide the barge can rise up above the quayside and way above me. Even on a lower high tide it can rise quite a lot and I was having difficulty getting on and off the boat, especially if I had Alfie with me. So when I was out on Saturday playing boats, Pete built me a passerelle (gangway). It has changed my life! I can get on and off with no problem. No more coming home from work and finding somewhere to go for an hour waiting for the tide to drop, no more risking my neck climbing on the log piles beside the barge and swinging up on to the deck and no more jumping across the gap when the wind blows the barge sidewards. He has promised a hand rail, but I am happy with what I have got so far. What a wonderful husband!
An important piece of equipment for any vessel, which in the Grey Funnel Line (Royal Navy) is called a brow !
ReplyDeleteMel - I didn't know that and I will drop it in to the conversation when I am at lunch with some guys from the RN tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteWould love to read more posts about living on a boat. Thanks for your warm thoughts today.
ReplyDeleteBlessings
Diane
What a god send for you! Where did you spend time waiting before?
ReplyDeleteHow did you get your marking done?
Sft x
Diane - I promise some more posts soon about living on the boat.
ReplyDeleteSFT - Good to hear from you. I went to various friends and blagged a cup of tea, up to the allotment and walked Alfie for miles! I am also lucky enough not to have marking to do at home. Have just had a quick look at your blog (will sign up later), you must be fairly close to us if you go to Tiptree Jam Factory?
Oh yes, that's a beauty. I'm sure it has changed your life already.
ReplyDelete— K
Kay, Alberta, Canada
An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel
It's so lovely and wide, Fran! What a star your Pete is! I know the feeling of waiting for the tides myself too. Still, I now have a lovely, safe 'cheese grater' surface on my gangplank which makes it safe however high or low the tide.
ReplyDeleteKay - it really is life changing, on and off the boat when I like and not when the tide likes!
ReplyDeleteVal - the 'cheese grater' surface is the ideal, I will gently suggest that you suggested it and see how I go!
What a wonderful gangplank. We have one at the cabin from our deck to the transition float. But it isn't quite so fancy. We pull it in when we leave for a week or so. That way the little critters (like our visiting woodrat) can't have access in our absence. It has to be light so we can move it easily. When the wind blows it often falls into the water on one end. Lifting it back up isn't too hard though. - Margy
ReplyDelete