Annoyingly the weather turned very cold after the last post and work on Naiad had to stop. Sub-zero temperatures and I do not like each other much.

However, Tina was able to salvage a large set of metal shelves when her Vaccination Centre closed down and we made a start on sorting out the wood pile to allow the boat to be moved into the workshop.

This is the wood pile before we started. The work table has been moved as far forward as possible at this point.

As you can see, it is a total mess.

With the wood taken out of the heap the back area looks a lot better. The mouse nests and plum stones have been swept up and the majority of the wood piled on the floor where the work table used to be.

It is still very dark over in that corner as I haven't installed the lights in that area yet.

The shelves fit fairly well into the space but we had to stop at this point for two reasons. Firstly, we are missing five shelf supports and I have to buy some replacements and secondly, there are two fairly significant leaks in the roof over that corner which will need to be dealt with or the wood is just going to get wet and mouldy. The back board of the shelf unit is not structural, just particle board, and will fall apart if it gets wet as the glue is not waterproof. 

So, I made a start the day before yesterday on the rocket stove which required the use of an angle grinder with a metal cutting blade to cut the flue down to size and due to the low temperatures and resultant cold hands I slipped with the grinder and took a chunk out of my left thumb !!!

Not badly but if I had gone to A&E I dare say that a couple of stitches would have been put in. After cleaning the wound I used a couple of Steri-Strips to close the cut, covered the cut with some antiseptic cream and then put a dressing over that.

The trouble is that I can't really use the left hand for much as I have no strength in the thumb right now so work of all sorts has come to a complete halt.

Unfortunately, the list isn't getting shorter at this point.

• Fix the two roof leaks
• Mount the shelves
• Sort and stack the wood
• Cut the burn pile into pieces small enough to put in the rocket heater
• Put the work table back as far as possible whilst still leaving enough room to get past it
• Clear the sides of the workshop

After this is all done the boat can be wheeled into the workshop so that the repairs to the transom can be carried out and then the rest of the work.

Time for a cup of tea.