Shine

The new colour in Erin Mae's cheeks is a sight for sore eyes. Any other lady with this amount of glow might use some powder to ameliorate the effect, but we applied polish!

Restoring the slightly corroded paintwork under the leaky window was always going to leave a sharp contrast between old and new paint, and reds are worst of all. So we resorted to cutting back all the paint down both sides, and the result has been great. The enthusiasm for a good polish might even last. If only the scratched green bits didn't stand out so much now…

I spent a morning with Rich while he was applying black gloss, and discovered that once you start asking an expert to show you how to paint a boat, there's no end to the bits and pieces and products you suddenly find it necessary to acquire. Mr Amazon and associates are becoming increasingly aware of Great Haywood.

Lots of boaters don't value shine. Prefer a more matt approach. Some boats probably look better that way. But Erin Mae's looking a treat – apart from the scratched hatch, and the scrapes down the side, and  the creeping corrosion along the handrails, and the cruiser rail needing some more varnish, and…