I knew the title of this blog would grab you, and had you
not read the content below you would have been destined to remain awake tonight
in a fitful and hopeless attempt to imagine the tale that follows.
So, to begin at the beginning. Our current 5 year old boat
is showing signs of water damage to some of the interior timber lining. Most of
this is caused by heavy condensation. The insulation, by the way, is spray
foam. Now, our previous 12 year old boat had similar levels of damage, so it
had done quite well by comparison. And it had done even better when you take
into acount that it had rockwool for insulation. It is generally understood
that spray foam is way superior to rockwool; That’s what everyone says – but
maybe they just believe what the spray foam people say? But (and in case them
spray foam people are thinking of suing me) I will admit that statistically, a
sample of 2 boats is maybe not significant.
Anyway, replacing the occasional lining panel is not that
difficult, especially when you have a perfect template to copy. The problem is
finding a handy source of oak faced ply.
I wandered into a good number of local timber yards. I
didn’t expect them to stock it, but thought they would be able to order it in.
It was not to be, most of them laughed at me. When I finally found a relatively
local source who actually stocked it, I was unexpectedly elated. Infact this
whole experience made me realise just how sad I have become – I mean getting
excited over a bit of ply?
In the event that you need any of the stuff, and/or need a
similar level of excitement, then if you live anywhere near lock 70 on the
Erewash Canal, then get yourself down to Ilkeston Ply and DIY. It is very close
to the canal there.
However I drove there, as a 1 hour drive seemed more
sensible than a fortnight on the canal. The nice man there had 9mm and 6mm and
probably other thicknesses of oak faced ply. He also cut them into car sized
bits for me.
Here is a snap of the new varnished panel (the one in the
middle with the light switch.)