First Cruise

I set off just before 8am, turning left out of the marina towards Hawkesbury Junction. The day has been a complete mix of weathers - dry throughout, but very windy, at times quite hot in sheltered areas, and really rather cold in the exposed windy areas. The wind has caused some fun and games when passing moored boats and when meeting oncoming boats in bridge holes.

I worked my way through the stop lock, then moored on the Coventry Canal for a spot of lunch. After lunch I carried on to Marston Junction where I winded, and started the return journey. I arrived back at the marina just before 7pm. All in all a lovely day. I am looking forward to Adam joining me in the morning, as it will be much better for us to share the excitement of having our own boat, as we head off in the Braunston direction for a couple of days.

Here are a couple of pics of the day:


Locks: 2, Miles: 22

First day on Briar Rose

It's quite hard to believe that it's not yet three weeks since we came up to view Briar Rose, and yet, here I am, sat on board having picked up the keys this morning.

I set out from home early, arriving at Brinklow Marina just before 9am. I met up with John, the previous owner, who took me through a detailed handover. Once the handover was done, it was time to unpack the car, and start to settle in. Around the same time I had a call from Tesco, who were delivering the two chairs we have bought for the saloon. After some discussion about where the marina actually was, the chairs were soon delivered and on board.

I've spent most of the day unpacking, doing some cleaning, and generally working out where's the best place to put everything. Also did a trip to Tesco in Rugby to stock up the larder - trip was done by car today, but I suspect that is the last time I'll be using the car this weekend.

I haven't been out of the marina today, so will have my first cruise tomorrow. Adam can't come up to the boat until Sunday morning as he's working night shifts this weekend, which means I won't be going too far tomorrow, as I need to be back in the marina on Sunday morning.

Getting ready

If the retail sales figures for April turn out to be better than expected, you can give us the credit.  One corner of our kitchen is piled high with things we've bought for Briar Rose.  The current previous owner is leaving all the boaty equipment, but everything else we need to replace.  So we've got crockery, glasses, cutlery, pots and pans, a duvet, pillows etc, all ready to be put on board.

So tomorrow morning, Adrian will be loading the car and heading to Brinklow, for a handover with the current previous owner.  There'll be a lot to learn, as we've never had a boat with shorepower and a travel pack before.

Unfortunately, I'm working night shifts for the next few days, so I won't be able to go up until I'm finished work on Sunday morning.  Then we'll have Sunday and Monday for a short trip.  The question will be whether to turn left to Hawkesbury Junction, or right to Rugby, Hillmorton, and Braunston.

Briar Rose is ours!

The money has been transferred and received; the insurance is in place; our mooring at Brinklow has been booked and paid for.

Briar Rose is now officially ours!

Survey report

The survey report has arrived.  I couldn't resist going straight to page 12, for the conclusion.  It says that Briar Rose is a good boat, and the price is fair.  The report contains a number of suggestions and reccommendations for things which should be changed, but there's nothing urgent.  The report is incredibly detailed.  My favourite line concerns the hull: "The hull is built to good and attractive lines with fine entries fore and aft, in short as good as they come."

Survey

Today, we've been to Hillmorton, where Briar Rose was docked for a survey.  It was fascinating following Balliol Fowden around as he inspected every aspect of the boat.

Once the hull and the fitout had been inspected, the dock was flooded.  It was a bit of a squeeze to get Briar Rose back out, but once into the pound between the locks, she was put through her paces.

Afterwards, he said that apart from a few niggles, there was no reason not to buy the boat.

Offer accepted

We've been keeping an eye on various brokerage sites for a while now, but seldom see anything we like.  But on Saturday we spotted a nice looking boat with ABNB.  On Sunday we went up to Brinklow to view it, and put in an offer.  Today, the offer was accepted!  It's exciting, but also slightly terrifying.