I have Oars at Last

Today I went to the Boat Jumble at Havant Leisure Centre. Its usually not a big affair as the season is coming to a close.

On the wish-list today was a solar panel or a set of oars.

No solar panels were in evidence, and there were plenty of oars of the totally wrong shape (OK for sculls at Henley Jim said), or at silly prices. Then just at the last gasp, just as I was on my way out, the crowd thinned round a stall I had passed before and there propped up against a wall were a set of oars of the right size and shape. One price tag said £30 and another said £25: I haggled the stallholder down to £20, which still means the oars cost more then the dinghy! But after using Jim's oars last week I realised how badly I needed a set of decent ones for safety if nothing else.

So, I've got a single coat of varnish on the bottom half of the oars at the moment, but rain intervened.

Here they are, first coat of varnish drying in the hallway:

The plywood on the left of the picture is supposed to be made into locker tops, but as I look outside the rain seems to be set for the rest of the day, with no breaks in the clouds visible.

Mind you I also got a coat of varnish on my flagstaff for my Red Ensign, just to tidy it up a bit, so I've done a little bit more, but its just so frustrating to have so little time available now that the evenings are dark when I finish work and the weather doesn't play ball at the weekend.