[Jeroen]

I have been posting on TeamBHP for almost 10 years or so. On all kinds of topics. Although I love reading up on everything automotive, one of the attractions of this forum is we have so many different non-automotive topics as well.

In these ten years, I have posted several times about additions to our fleet of cars. The last one is our Mini One.

Today I am starting a new thread on an addition that doesn't fit into my current fleet of vehicles. For no other reason than because it is a boat, a motor yacht.

In all these years on TeamBHP, I have only seen a few posts about pleasure crafts, because that is what it is. During our Indian years, I rarely came across pleasure crafts.

But I am Dutch, so I grew up on and near water. We have water everywhere. The sea is always nearby and currently, we live smack in between the two busiest rivers in Europe. My career started in the merchant navy as an engineer. And I have been sailing on sailing and motor yachts my whole life, at sea, rivers, canals and lakes. My parents got me my first little dinghy when I was about 11-12 years old.

My wife grew up in Barbados, a tiny island in the West Indies. Her dad was a famous racing skipper Caribbeanaribean aspente spent a lot of time on all kinds of yachts as well.

I have owned all kinds of sailing boats, dinghies mostly, when I was young. But for as long as we have been married (40+ years) we have never owned a boat ourselves. I always wanted to have one. Not so much a sailing yacht anymore, but a motor yacht. I had my mind set on some verBritish-builth built type of seaworthy motor yachts. But for reasons reason, it became increasingly more difficult to get one.

Brexit pushed the cost of purchasing up considerably. Ever since COVID there has been a rush to buy boats by everybody. Which has pushed prices up even further. Also, getting a mooring for this size boat is almost impossible. I know of a guy who bought a 45 motor yacht and could not get a permanent mooring for the first two years of ownership.

Also, my wife was adamant that there was no way she was coming with me out into the North Sea. It was my wife who convinced me to reset my requirements and get something a bit smaller, a bit less expensive. But comfortable enough for the two of us and some occasional guests, kids and grandkids to enjoy. That is how she made me buy my Alfa Romeo Spider and my Jeep Cherokee too.

So I did a bit of rethinking. A lot of browsing the internet and going to yachting exhibitions. And visiting a lot of marinas, looking at boats and chatting with their owners.

I am very happy and proud to show you our boat finally. She is a 2006 Drammer 935 Classic.

This is how I found her; This was the photograph as posted by the yacht broker on one of the Dutch marketplaces (similar to Ebay).



There were not all that many details available. But I knew these boats. Drammers build several yachts. This 935 was the largest version. The Yard went bust many years ago. But these boats live on. Their hull design originates from the various professional boats used at the Scilly Islands. To date, you will find that hull design in yachts designed by companies such as Mitchel, Nelson and Hardy. Very tough, very seaworthy!

I liked it. It had all my favourite colours (red under the waterline, Dark blue hull, creme superstructure, tinted glass window, open rear cockpit.

I called the broker Andre and talked to him. The Sirion belonged to a customer of him, an 84-year-old gentleman by the name of Ad. Ad had berthed Sirion in his marina for the last 13 years. Every single year it was lifted out of the water and stored for winter inside. Every year she was professionally cleaned, polished, and waxed and the engine was given a service.

It all sounded very good, so I went over to see it. Andre showed me around and I was very very impressed. Ad and his wife had used Sirion extensively and cruised all over Europe in her. Unfortunately, Ad's wife passed away a few years ago. Ever since Ad had hardly used her, but still maintained her impeccably. He had been talking to Andre on and off about selling her but never had the heart. Until very recently. When she was taken out of the water, for her usual polish and service, Ad told Andre he wanted to sell her. Andre took a couple of photographs with Sirion still sitting on the yard trailer and posted them on the Internet. Normally, he would commission a full brochure with lots of photographs and details. But he was convinced she would sell quickly. There was also the small matter of Ad maybe changing his mind.

I told Andre that I was very impressed and interested, but that I was leaving for Crete the next day. Making these sorts of decisions does take a bit of time. He understood. He told me, when you get back from Crete give me a call, if she is gone by then, it wasn't meant to be your boat. I wrote about that visit too. (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/trave...ari-gorge.html (Holiday in Crete (Greece) and hiking through Samariá Gorge))

Whilst at Crete my wife and I talked it over some more. We decided to press ahead and see if we could move on her. So I called Andre from Crete. I told him my wife and I wanted to visit again, the day after we came back from Crete. But we also would like to meet Ad. I know from long experience that all boat owners are proud of their boats. They can talk for hours about their boats, the trips they made, what they enjoyed, and what went wrong.

So we met up with Ad on his Sirion. Ad turned out to be a nice gentleman. We spend several hours on Sirion. It was very interesting to listen to all of his stories, where his wife and he have been. All the various things he did and had done to the boat over the years. It was very clear he had been a very dedicated and meticulous owner for all those years. We got on well. Towards the end of the afternoon, Ad went home and we had a final talk with Andre. I took a last image of her.



Ad wanted to leave the business side of selling his beloved Sirion to Andre. We made an offer on the spot to Andre. He thanked us for making a realistic offer. He promised to discuss it with Ad straight away. We left and were still in the car when Andre called us back; our offer was accepted!!

As part of the offer, I had told Andre it was conditional to a full purchase inspection. Which is perfectly normal for these sorts of boats. Andre drew up a purchasing agreement. Here in the Netherlands when you deal with a reputable yachtbroker the condition of these contracts are all standardised. You don't need to worry about being taken for a ride. We agreed on the conditions under which the deal could be called off. You agree on the amount of repairs needed as indicated by the purchase inspection. If that goes over a certain threshold, agreed up front you can call off the deal and get your deposit (10% upon signing) back as well.

The purchasing agreement was agreed upon and signed by Ad and me within days. I had already been talking to various surveyors. It was not easy to find one who could do it quickly. In the end, it was almost 4 weeks later when the inspection took place.

Andre knew the surveyor Koen and told me, he would contact him and arrange for all the necessary support Koen needed. Such a survey requires the boat out of the water for a hull inspection and back into the water for an extended test drive and check of all systems.

We agreed on a date. Both Ad and I showed up at 08.00 am at the marina.

Here you see Sirion in the massive winter storage hall. Koen took several hours inspecting the hull. He went over the hull inch by inch. Tapping with a small hammer and taking endless moisture readings. Sirion is a polyester boat. And polyester can suffer from osmosis. If not too bad, it can be fixed, but it is a very expensive process. I did not want a boat with any osmosis.



After Koen was happy with the hull, we moved into the cabin. Koen did a lot of checking of all kinds of stuff. From safety equipment to compliance with certain building standards, fitting and finish of various bits and pieces.

Eventually, he was happy and Sirion was put back on that fancy trailer you saw in the first image. This trailer can be made to fit to any sort of boat, it is hydraulically operated. It has various supports that can be moved up and down, forward and back. Andre's team had Sirion out of the storage hall and into the water in less than 10 minutes!





Back into her natural element!



This was the first time I saw Sirion in the water. Isn't she gorgeous??



Koen jumped onboard and started pulling up all the various deck covers to check for any possible leaks. He also instructed Andre's team to fill up the diesel tank with diesel, the fresh water tank and the waste water tank with water. Again to check that all systems were intact, level indicators working no leak and so on.

One of Andre's guys, Patrick came along for the test run as well. Technically the boat was still Ad's and it was also still sailing under his insurance. Patrick would take her out of the marina. The engine started up straight away. No hesitation, we cast off and Patrick took her out of the marina. After about 15 minutes Koen order full ahead. After another twenty minutes of running at full power, Koen opened the engine hatch and started checking the engine. He looked and felt for vibrations, and leaks and took several Infrared temperature readings of the engine, clutch, bearings and so on.



After almost 45 minutes on the water, Patrick asked me the question I had been waiting for anxiously; Do you want to take the con? Would I, of course!!

For the first time sailing my (soon to be) own motor yacht.



Koen did a lot more checking and verifying of the system and after about 2,5 hours we were back in the marina and tied Sirion up.



Koen did some last checks, and then we all piled into Andre's office to listen to his findings:

Koen told us:

Nice boat, a great hull, no sign of osmosis at all, overall very well maintained. There were a few small items that needed attending too. One item I had already spotted. The galley has a gas cooker. A gas bottle is stored on the rear of the boat. But I was not happy with the state of the hoses. I had also agreed with Andre and Ad that I wanted the gas installation checked and certified. These days many marinas ask for a so-called gas certificate. They will not let you in, or rent a permanent mooring if your boat does not have a certified gas installation.

There were a few other small items. For some reason, the pump in the bathroom shower was not working. Or rather the pump was working, or at least we could hear it running, but no water was being pumped out of the shower cabin. One of the couplings in the high-pressure part of the freshwater system was leaking. In all, there were 7 small items. Nothing to worry about, all could be easily fixed.

But there was one BIGGIE. Ad could not produce a so-called CE Conformity Declaration. In the EU boats such as these require a CE Conformity certificate. This was introduced in the late 90s/early 200o or thereabout. The shipyard is supposed to provide the CE Conformity Declaration. The boat should also have a plaque attached to the boat, detailing the CE conformity. Both were missing.

This means, that technically Ad could not even sell me the boat. Because he would be breaking the law. You can not sell these kinds of boats without that CE Conformity declaration. To be honest, I was aware of all of these CE rulings, but I was not aware it was mandatory even on second-hand boats. But Koen explained it all to us.

After all of this quite a disappointment. I left for home and let Andre and Ad discuss what to do. There was only one option, get the boat recertified. A very costly and lengthy process. Also very expensive.

The next day Andre called me. He had talked it over with Ad. If I was willing to purchase Sirion at the agreed price, Ad would arrange and pay for the CE certification. Of course, the punch list of Koen would be fixed as well. I told Andre that would be fine, so he started the process of recertification.

Which meant another survey, now by an official surveyor of the respective certification body. Very nice guy, Rens. I was invited to attend his survey as well. Which of course I did. The more I learn about this boat the better!

This survey is more about to what extent the boat's design and equipment meet the CE Requirements. So for instance, it meant Rens had to redo the design stability calculations. He looked at how electrical systems were wired up, and how they were fused. Safety aspects and so on. It was quite different from what Koen had done. A bit of overlap, but not that much.

After about 5-6 hours Rens was done and we found ourselves, once again all in Andre's office to listen to the result. Rens had 10 items or so that needed fixing. Again, mostly small things. For instance, outboard valves need to have
a way of fixing them in the closed position. Also, in various places warning stickers needed to be placed. Rens had brought a box with stickers and he had already put quite a few of them in place. But there were still a few missing.

Rens told us, he was very happy with the boat. All he required from Andre and Ad was photographic evidence of each item on his list being fixed.

One of the main items, again dictated by CE rules is that every boat needs to have a boat-specific owner manual. So that had to be produced as well.

In all, it still took about 6-7 weeks before everything was sorted. On December 28th I transferred the remaining 90% of the agreed price and Sirion became mine.

Some more details of Sirion
Overall length 9,70m, width 3,40m, draught 0,90m
She has a 100 HP Yanmar four cylinder diesel, about 1200 hours on it.
ZF gearbox, single screw and rudder
Vetus bowthruster.
Full Raymarine set of electronics, Radar Chart plotter, depth gauge, fish finder and VHF short wave radio for inland water way and sea/ocean going
She has two permanent bunks (beds) in the front cabin
She has a diesel-powered central heating system
Four massive batteries. One of which is the starting battery of the diesel engine. The other three batteries provide onboard electricity at 12 Volt. There is a 12v-220VAC 50 Hz convertor so we also have 220 V.
She has a shore power connector and transformers as well as her own solar panels on the roof.
Radio and TV
Electrical anchor winch

Unfortunately, I don't have any images (yet) of her interior.

Over the years Ad has bought and installed just about anything and everything that you could think of. Apart from the tools he left the complete inventory on Sirion. That includes three life vests, first aid boxes, spare parts, lub oil, coolant, all kinds of cleaning materials, fenders, ropes, endless navigation charts, you name we have it

I spent an afternoon on her earlier this week, going through all the cupboards and storage spaces. I brought all the ships' documentation, manuals of all the individual components, drawings and so on home with me. That will take a lot of studying.

During the weeks of the recertification of Sirion, I have also brushed up on my personal certifications as well. When I was in my mid-30s I was desperate for my own boat, but it was not going to happen. But just to keep me busy and involved in Yachting I set out to take any and all boating courses, sit every exam, and get every license I could. But that was almost thirty years ago. So I redid all the courses once again. Of course, I also still have my merchant navy qualifications. Funnily enough, they don't apply on inland waters. But I know from experience if you are ever stopped by police for a check if you show them a seaman's log book, they become a whole lot more relaxed!

Sirion is back in winter storage. I have agreed with Andre to re-launch her in early March. Ad will join us and we will have a proper handover ceremony with some bubbles. It has been a real pleasure dealing with them. Very nice, accommodating, professional folks.

She will keep her Sirion name. I am not superstitious but everybody knows that changing a boat's name will mean bad luck. Besides we like the name Sirion. It is the name of the river in "Lord of the Rings".

We have a marina nearby where we live. Getting a mooring is a real problem these days. I have been on their waiting list for more than five years. So I was very lucky and thrilled to finally get a mooring at about the same time as we bought Sirion.

Literally on the other side of the river Linge where we live. By car, it takes about 10 minutes, because you have to drive a bit of way to get to the first bridge. From March to October there is a little pedestrian/Bicycle ferry and it will take me 5 minutes on my bicycle.

I will sail Sirion to her new mooring in mid-March. It is about 115 km and it takes us two days. Lots of bridges and several locks to pass. On march 14th I turn 65 and I want her at her permanent mooring by then.

Boats/yachts are a bit like cars, so it will be a lot of fiddling and a lot of sailing!
My wife and I are looking forward to spending a lot of time with her. I am already planning various trips all over the Netherlands. There are various nautical events I attend every year. I have written about some of those on TeamBHP as well. From now on we will take our boat to the various nautical events of course.
More to come

Jeroen

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Hayek]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

In all these years on TeamBHP, I have only seen a few posts about pleasure crafts, because that is what it is. During our Indian years, I rarely came across pleasure crafts.

Very interesting. Actually at least in Bombay, owning a small boat to get across to Alibaug is becoming more common. And there are plenty of leisure crafts that are available for hire - been on 3-4 parties on yachts in the last few years (ranging from a small one which accommodated about 7-8 people to a very large catamaran which accommodated 40). One of my wife’s cousins owns a stake in a yacht moored on the Mandovi in Goa and gives it on rent for parties as well as for the occasional person who wants to sail down to Bombay or back.

But I am Dutch, so I grew up on and near water. We have water everywhere. The sea is always nearby and currently, we live smack in between the two busiest rivers in Europe. My career started in the merchant navy as an engineer. And I have been sailing on sailing and motor yachts my whole life, at sea, rivers, canals and lakes.

She will keep her Sirion name.

Boats/yachts are a bit like cars, so it will be a lot of fiddling and a lot of sailing!
My wife and I are looking forward to spending a lot of time with her. I am already planning various trips all over the Netherlands.

Jeroen

But the big difference is this. The folks who can own yachts very often don’t have the ability to maintain or sail them. You have professional crew and companies (often run by former merchant navy professionals) who do the maintenance and sailing duties. So will indeed be a unique experience to read your posts on what it takes to keep even a small boat shipshape. Do keep posting and may Sirion bring you and your family a lot of joy and luck.

[PGA]

Congratulations on the purchase of Sirion, and its a great beginning to the ownership thread, written with understandable fondness, will look forward to the story when you take it out to the seas in March, maybe post it from the high seas itself.

Long ago, had read a few stories of the famed roughness of the North Sea, how far into the ocean will you be able to take this boat.

[libranof1987]

Congratulations, Jeroen! This is such lovely news.

You've written so often about sailing and your prior experience, so it is very fitting that you now get your own boat. Very happy for you! Sirion is in terrific hands!

Wish you many enjoyable nautical miles with this one!

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Isn't she gorgeous??

Oh, a 100%!

PS: I'm sure you must've considered it, but did you own an aircraft at any point, or have you chosen not to?

[shankar.balan]

This is fantastic! Looking forward to your adventures on the high seas and on open water. Wishing you MANY (Nautical) Miles aboard Sirion. (Maybe you should get yourself a friendly Keeshond too, to sail with you! )

[Theyota]

Beautiful boat. I have a hard time differentiating between a motor yacht and a cruising trawler. Is the main difference the speed? Isn't the CE certification of boats mainly to identify if its a coastal or a sea going boat? I am surprised that it is mandatory requirement for the sale of boat in Europe. Are you sure if it's a law or more of preferred trade practice to ensure boat is built to certain standards?

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

Today I am starting a new thread on an addition that doesn't fit into my current fleet of vehicles. For no other reason than because it is a boat, a motor yacht.

Congratulations on this new and {for Team BHP} unique acquisition. She looks sharp. I look forward to your posts on her voyages and her maintenance schedules. May you be blessed with many safe nautical miles with her. Neptune, Varuna, Poseidon, Mazu, Nehalennia the Gods of the Seas are smiling.

[raptor_diwan]

Congratulations on your new yacht! It looks fantastic. Can't wait to read more about the yacht and the changes you'll be making to it!

Wishing you countless adventures and wonderful moments on the open waters.

[ex-innova-guy]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

For the first time sailing my (soon to be) own motor yacht.
Attachment 2554653

Your smile in this picture says it all. Congratulations on the yatch and may this fleet grow.

[Redex]

Terrific boat, an absolute gem. 40 plus years ago my family spent many summers navigating Hollands waterways. We had a 40 foot wooden ketch (built at Paglesham Essex UK in about 1961). Named "Kulu", she was crewed over to Holland for the summer season. She was always moored at Grashaven, in Hoorn. In the later years shes stayed over winter at Hoorn and was finally sold about 10 years ago.
There is no where better than Holland for boating. Warm friendly people and excellent facilities, food etc. When looking for a challenge we would lock out of the Ijsselmeer into the North Sea and brave the elements.
A growing family and new business venture got in the way so boating came to an end.
I retired 10 years ago, now live with the sea in my back garden !!! Bought a scrap 10 foot dinghy and 16 foot cabin cruiser both about 50 years old. Spent about 5 years restoring both, including 2 outboard motors 40 and 50 years old.
As a side note I spend 4 months of our winter in Goa India. I have noticed that just about every small boat runs aYamaha 9.9 outboard motor (some run on kerosene from the factory).
Enjoy your boat, it will take over your life !!!!
Next I think you need to add 2 wheelers to your stable. The only challenge left after that would be a light aircraft. !!!!

[Miyata]

Wow, what a beauty. Congrats and wishing you many many smiles over all your nautical miles!

Question: How does the car-life compare with a boat-life? For instance, most of us may not go in a for a typical 2006 car...is there a similar compare for boats?

[Brumby]

Congratulations Jeoren for Sirion,

Looking forward to a detailed review of your maiden leisure trip with her, and of course about lots of DIY that you will do.

Cheers

[Pikachu77]

Congratulations Jeroen for the Sirion. A very detailed writing that made me feel i was there during the whole negotiation.��

Wish you a ton of happy memories with the Sirion for the years to come.

[Jeroen]

Thanks all for your warm congratulations and wishes for a happy boat life!

Originally Posted by Hayek

The folks who can own yachts very oftecan’tto maintain or sail them. You have professional crew and companies (often run by former merchant navy professionals) who do the maintenance and sailing duties. So will indeed be a unique experience to read your posts on what it takes to keep even a small boat shipshape. .

As a rule of thumb boats up to 20 meters rarely have professional crews. They are sailed and often maintained by the owner themselves.

When you have a mechanically driven vessel over 15 meters in length or capable of over 20 km/h you need to have a license. You need to take a course and sit an examination. Here in the Netherlands, two different licenses are depending on where you will sail. More or less, inland water ways, and the coastal and large waters, such as the IJsselmeer, Westerschelde.

If your ship is over a certain size or is equipped with a short-range radio (VHF) you also need a radio license. Again they come in two versions, based on where you sail.

As I mentioned earlier, I got them all many years ago and redid them again recently. Just for fun, interest and I do believe every boater should take these courses. Even if you are not formally obliged to have them on smaller vessels.

So in general, people don't take completely unprepared to the water. They might not be professionals, but they will know the basics and will be proficient.

Originally Posted by PGA

Long ago, had read a few stories of the famed roughness of the North Sea, how far into the ocean will you be able to take this bo?t.

I have sailed the North Sea on anything from Ferries to ocean-going tugs, AHT, sailing vessels etc. Unfortunately, Sirius is not an ocean-going yacht. It has a CE category C classification. It means it is suitable for coastal passages in moderate seas and winds.

No law says I could not attempt to cross the ocean in her. I would have a big problem with Mrs. D. Also range is an issue. And my insurance is only valid up to 5 miles out of the coastline too!

Originally Posted by libranof1987

PS: I'm sure you must've considered it, but did you own an aircraft at any point, or have you chosen not to?

I never owned an aircraft outright. But I did belong to a club of aircraft owners that shared their aircraft and I was a partial owner of one. But all of that was whilst we lived in the USA. I stopped flying when we moved from Kansas City to Delhi. I have rented several planes since, always with a flight instructor as all my licenses have expired.

Private flying in Europe is just way too expensive, whether you rent or whether you own your plane. So flying is my US experience, Owning and riding my Royal Enfield Bullet is my Indian experience and now back in the Netherlands time to move on to something I have not done yet; owning and sailing my motor yacht.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

This is fantastic! Looking forward to your adventures on the high seas and on open water. Wishing you MANY (Nautical) Miles aboard Sirion. (Maybe you should get yourself a friendly Keeshond too, to sail with you! )

Originally Posted by Theyota

. I have a hard time differentiating between a motor yacht and a cruising trawler. Is the main difference the speed?

A (cruising) trawling is a type of motor yacht. In general cruising trawlers are derived and still look a bit like, the American coastal trawlers. So they tend to look a bit more ruggedised. Usually steering position is pretty up front and so on.

Fishing trawlers were never fast, but some of the cruising trawlers are pretty fast. They cram huge double engines into the hull and can easily reach 30-40 knots sometimes.

Have a look here for some insights into the various difference between different models of yachts and trawlers:

https://www.yatco.com/trawler-vs-yac...ded%20journeys.

Originally Posted by Theyota

Isn't the CE certification of boats mainly to identifyit's its a coastal or a sea going boat? I am surprised that it ia s mandatory requirement for the sale oboatsat in Europe. Are you sure if it's a law or more oa f preferred trade practice to ensure boat is built to certain standards?

It's an absolute legal (law) requirement that applies from 1998 for every craft build over 7 meters (or similar, not quite sure of the size). Every yard has to provide the necessary documentation and proof of meeting the relevant CE requirements. The same applies to when those boats are sold onwards by private owners onto the second hand market.

Not everybody is aware. I was not either. You will see that some yacht brokers add some caution on their websites to not having a CE certificate.

As with anything, by law the buying party has an obligation to do proper due diligence. You need to check what you are buying, in a reasonable way. A surveyor, such as I hired is adequate.

But there is interesting jurisprudence on the CE ruling. A few years ago somebody bought a boat, similar to mine. Everything was fine, but he had to sell it about a year after he had bought it. Only then did he find out it did not meet the CE requirements? He had bought it himself, without a surveyor. It ended up in court. The judge ruled that the buyer of such boats can rely on the boats having proper certification, without asking. So it is very intricately linked to boat ownership. The court ruled the previous owner had two choices, pay for the recertification, or take the boat back and give a complete refund.

Originally Posted by Redex

There isnowheree better than Holland for boating. Warm friendly people and excellent facilities, food etc. The only challenge left after that would be a light aircraft. !!!!

Thank you, nice to know you have been enjoying boats as well. I don't think there is any chance of me owning a light aircraft any time soon,

Originally Posted by Miyata

Question: How does the car-life compare with a boat-life? For instance, most of us may not go in a for a typical 2006 car...is there a similar compare for boats?

As you might be aware, I own six cars, Four of which are from pre-2000, one is 2002 and one is from 2010. So I am not that concerned about car life. It is all about how well the car was build and maintained.

It is the same for boats. Sirion being a polyester boat could last for decades. The survey showed she has no osmosis at all, which tends to be the biggest issue on any polyester boat. Steel, wood or aluminium have different issues, but again can last very very long when properly maintained and looked after.

These modern diesels are likely to outlive the hull by a good many years. The electronics tend to get upgraded every so often. It is one of the things I am looking at currently as well. There is nothing wrong with the radar/plotter/radio as such. But it is probably about 8-9 years old and current technology is way better and much more functions and so on.

In general, as long as a boat, irrespective of construction and construction material is well maintained it can last for many decades. Similar to planes and cars!

Originally Posted by Brumby

Looking forward to a detailed review of your maiden leisure trip with her, and of course about lots of DIY that you will do.

Sirion is extremely well equipped and Ad has left me the complete inventory of everything he ever purchased for her. I am still struggling to go through all the stuff. I am making lists of spare parts, bulbs, fuses, impellors, electrical stuff and so on. Ad did take his tools with him. So obviously, about the very first thing I bought for Sirion was new set of tools.

Ready for some spannering!!