Fradley Marina

A quick trip to the mostly empty Fradley Marina today for a boat test.  The sun shone more than expected, which was welcome.  The marina is quite an odd shape, but is in a lovely location.

Avocette on test

The February Canal Boat is out, and includes my boat test on Avocette by Norton Canes Boat Builders.

Elektra on test

The January Canal Boat is out and includes my review of the pink boat, Elektra, but Smithwood Narrowboats. 

Staging post

We came up to the boat this morning after I’d finished work; Adrian had been in London overnight for work.  We’re here because we are having a weekend seeing family and friends in Cheshire, so this is a useful stopping point.  We stopped for shopping on the way, and once at the boat got the fire lit.

This afternoon we walked down the towpath to Cosgrove and the aqueduct.  The canal is looking very autumnal, with lots of fallen leaves.

We’ll be off up to Cheshire in the morning.

Salodin on test

The December Canal Boat is out, and includes my boat test on Salodin by Braidbar Boats.

Glascote Locks

I went up to Briar Rose after work yesterday, and spent the night on board.  Fortunately the fire lit very easily, and was soon warming up the boat.  This morning I drove up to Glascote for a boat test. 

Due to the logistics of the owner, we started at 8.30, and were done by the time we are normally just getting going!

Licence holders

Our licence holders were falling apart, so I ordered some new ones.  They are £1 for a pair on the CRT website, including postage.  As they cost 72p to post, I can’t imagine CRT make any money on them.  On Friday afternoon, I spent a considerable time carefully scraping the old adhesive from the windows with the blade from a Stanley knife.  Then I put the new ones in their place.

The trouble is that they have a printed section at the top, which means that when you put the licence in, the boat registration number is covered up.  This is literally the only part of the licence a checker needs to see.  At least our number is painted on the boat — but this does seem to be something of a design fault.