Handrails: Day 4

I didn’t really expect to make any progress on the handrails today, as I had a boat test to do in Droitwich.  I’d parked my car in the village on Monday night, to cut down the walk, and then drove to Bicester where I met Andy the photographer in the park and ride car park so we could just take one car the rest of the way.  The weather at Droitwich Marina was warm and sunny and the boat was good, and we were done in a decent amount of time.  Having dropped Andy back at his car, I took mine back to the marina and walked along to the boat.  As Saturday’s weather forecast now isn’t very good, I thought I’d make use of the afternoon to get the first coat of top coat done.  I started just before 3pm, and the whole thing takes about an hour and a half.  It seemed hard work covering the black undercoat, but I was relatively pleased with the result.

One slight concern is that I seem to have used more than half a tin of paint.  Whether that’s because of doing the diamonds the other day, or whether covering the black just takes a bit more paint, I don’t know.

A bit before 5pm I untied a set off.  The paint dries pretty quickly in this warm weather, so I wasn’t too concerned about it while under way.  Before Wolverton, a large willow tree has fallen across the towpath and half the canal.  There’s enough room to get through, but I wouldn’t want to be the boat underneath it.

I continued as far as the winding hole at New Bradwell, where I turned around and returned to Wolverton, where I moored on the end by the flats.  I hadn’t seen a moving boat the whole time.

3 miles, 0 locks.  (4 miles, 1 lock)

Post-Crick: Day 4

Much easier to sleep today as it's been much cooler. Still the only boat here this evening, although I suspect a few have stopped during the day for shopping.

Post-Crick: Day 3

It was pretty difficult to sleep today between night shifts, because it was so warm. I even got up at one point and opened the side hatch, which is on the water side. By the time I got up properly, the other three boats moored here last night had gone, leaving me all alone. I do like the old engine sheds opposite.

Post-Crick: Day 2

This morning it was Adrian who was awake early, so once again we set off at 7.15. The level in the pound had dropped a bit overnight, and the first lock needed topping up. After that, the next three locks were all full with their top gates open.

There was loads of water between the last two locks, and i had to run some away to allow the lock to make a level. Even so, we did the five locks in 50 minutes. The run back to the marina took the usual hour and a half. We pulled up outside the marina, as Adrian had to go home to work.

I carried on first to Cosgrove where the water point was free. I started a wash load, filled the tank, and got rid of rubbish. The tap was so slow i even had time to get the bucket out and wash and dry that side of the boat.

At Cosgrove lock another boat came along so that was easier. The lady refused to go to the other side of the lock because of the swans and geese, so we just used one gate to go in, and I moved over to the other side. We used just one gate to exit too. While we were going down, a Wyvern hire boat arrived above the lock, but didn't come to the lock landing. Instead it was in the trees, then at right angles to the lock, then out in the middle again. I assume they got to land eventually.

I continued to Wolverton, and tied up in the first available space. I've been to Tesco, and also polished the towpath side of the boat, so now we're pretty respectable both sides. When the boat behind left, I pulled back so I'm on the end of the rings. I had a sleep this afternoon, even though it was very hot, as I have to go to work tonight.

8 miles, 6 locks. (77 miles, 43 locks)

Pre-trip pause: Day 3

Another late shift today, and another day without running the engine. Adrian arrived back at the boat early evening; I got back much later. Tomorrow, we're off.

Pre-trip pause: Day 2

Another day at work -- a late shift this time. Beforehand, I made a trip to the nearby Tesco to continue the restocking of the cupboards. Sunny too, so the solar panel has been doing its work; this is the second day we haven't run the engine.

Pre-trip pause: Day 1

I was up at the crack of dawn (actually, before dawn) and on the 0517 train from Wolverton to London for an early shift. Adrian did some work, and made a trip to Tesco to start the stocking up of the cupboards. He said the canal had been very busy, and a whole load of boats had stopped for shopping trips, and then moved on.

I got back to Wolverton at about 3pm, and a little more than an hour later Adrian headed off to the station to get a train to London, ready for meetings tomorrow. At about 5pm I heard a vintage engine approaching, which turned out to be The fuel boat, Towcester, with its butty, Bideford. I flagged down Richard to get some diesel; these boats take quite a while to stop, so by the time he'd come to a halt, and brought the butty alongside, they were a little way past -- and had a bit of reversing to do to come alongside us. A Wyvern hire boat was waved past.

We took on 84 litres of diesel, then Richard slid Towcester out from between Briar Rose and Bideford, and then took the butty on a longish line. Richard said they'd been planning to stop back opposite The Galleon, but the noise of Bank Holiday musical entertainment was too much! It worked in our favour, as we won't have to stop over the next few days to fill up.

 

Pre-trip trip: Day 2

We both slept very well, and so had a pretty slow start this morning. After breakfast, we went for a walk down to Willen Lake. One of the main attractions was the water skiing, with people being pulled round by a cable. One girl was very good, and did tricks as she arrived back at the end of the circuit; so,e of the others didn't even manage to stand up before they were flat on their faces and swimming back to try again. We had tea in the cafe, while we continued to watch.

Back at the boat, I checked the batteries, then we had lunch. We set off in decent sunshine at about 1.15pm, heading for the winding hole just through Bridge 82. No sooner had I pushed the bow off than a boat came round the corner, so I tried to keep out the way so they could come past; there were also two boats coming the other way.

Heading north again we kept catching up with people, but managed to get past either because they pulled over, or stopped for one reason or another. Having seen surprisingly few Wyvern hire boats yesterday, we've seen dozens today -- and only one of them in the offside bushes.

We followed a boat across the Grafton Street aqueduct, while a boat held back coming the other way. I'm not sure why, as it's plenty wide enough for two narrowboats to pass. He set off as we passed him, just as the boat behind also started to come across. We heard the helmsman comment that the other boat would have to back up because he wasn't waiting any more -- but in fact they proved that two boats can pass with room to spare.

We arrived at Wolverton and moored up in a decent space, complete with a BT Wifi hotspot. There was a big black cloud up ahead, and within a few minutes of getting ourselves secure the heaves opened, with a real deluge. It lasted ten or fifteen minutes, and then the sun came out again.

6 miles, 0 locks. (14 miles, 1 lock)

 

Christmas Cruise: Day 1

Adrian came up to the boat first thing this morning, arriving around 9.30. He got the boat ready for cruising, and did a few other jobs such as buying an electric card for the meter. He set off just before 12 bound for Wolverton. The main point of interest along the way was giving a tow to a boat which could only go forwards but wanted to go backwards! It sounds as though it wasn't an entirely successful enterprise.

I've been to work, and then got the train up to Wolverton Station. It's just a very short walk round to the moorings.

3 miles, 1 lock.

 

Post Crick: Day 2

This morning I did some work collating all the Crick boat reviews and sorting them into categories.  It was a bright sunny morning, and I got the boat ready and set off at around 9.45.  A group was just taking out one of the Cosgrove day boats, so the man from the operators asked if they could come down with me.  I didn't mind at all -- they had plenty of crew to work the lock.  A boat was coming up, then we went down.

I had originally intended to turn at the winding hole at New Bradwell, but I had plenty of time and it was a nice day, so I decided I could also do the job of taking the old starter battery to the tip by Bridge 74.  This means going on to the winding hole at Great Linford.  During the journey, I came round a corner and saw Jaq and Les's boat, Valerie, moored up.  I said I'd be back once I'd turned.  It was probably the best part of an hour later when I moored in front of Valerie.  Les had gone on the bus to Milton Keynes to collect visiting family, but Jaq was there.  She came and had a look at Briar Rose, and then we had tea and a chat on board Valerie.

It was great to catch up with Jaq, as she and Les have had it pretty tough recently.  She's fantastic -- and I noticed one particular skill that's very useful on a boat: being able to put just the right amount of water in the kettle!

I left Jaq to finish preparing for her guests' arrival, and went back to Briar Rose for some lunch.  Les returned with the family, and we nada a quick chat through the side hatch.  A little while later I moved on to Bridge 74, and with some difficulty lugged the old battery down to the recycling centre.  It's not far, but that battery was heavy.  Back at the boat I did some cleaning, during which time a day boat out of Milton Keynes came by.  They must have missed the bit about slowing down.  And the bit about not all being on one side.

The next short hop was to Wolverton.  The sky had clouded over and the wind had picked up, and I had some difficulty getting into the side, thanks to the wind tunnel effect of the flats.  But I slotted myself into a gap between boats, and was soon moored.  I visited the handy Tesco for the things on the shopping list, and then took a look at the park shown on the map of the development.  It's just the other side of the canalside block, and is the site of the Victorian recreation ground and velodrome.  One side is bordered by the shed where the Royal train was built and stored.  It's been converted into town houses.

I have seen literally dozens of Wyvern hire boats today, with it being half term.  Almost all have families on board, which is good, and many have three generations.  Invariably, it's dad at the helm, sometimes with a child assisting.  I don't know if the whole Wyvern fleet is out this week, but I'm sure it must be much easier than usual getting past their base at Leighton Buzzard!

8 miles, 1 lock.  (64 miles, 43 locks)

London-bound: Day 1

Adrian particularly has been working all hours recently, so with the conclusion of the project he's been working on we've managed to grab an extra week on board -- which we're using as a preliminary to our September cruise.

But today was actually quite busy before we set off.  Adrian was at the end of a two week stint in London, and was working until lunchtime.  He then got a train to Milton Keynes, and a taxi to the marina.

I had a boat test to do, so it was an early morning drive to Caen Hill Marina.  Ian was a last minute substitute photographer today, and fortunately we both arrived ahead of schedule.  Fortunate because at that time the sky had bits of blue showing and the sun was strong enough to make shadows.  We set off to do the external shots of the boat as soon as we could, and it was just as well because not long after we were back at the marina there was a downpour.

During our short trip, we passed two CRT guys near a bridge.  One was in a small boat with a chainsaw, cutting back the offside vegetation.  However, when he got off, the boat drifted out into the middle of the cut, and neither he nor the other guy could reach it.  Eventually, the offside chap threw the oar over the canal to his mate, and as we passed, I shoved the little boat towards him.  He was last seen pulling it in with the oar.

The boat test was done by lunchtime, and I set off onwhat should have been a two hour journey to the marina.  It took three hours (although Ian's journey home was far worse).  Having unloaded the car, we set off straight away, and did the familiar run down to Cosgrove lock, across the aqueduct, and on to Wolverton.  It was surprisingly sunny, and still very warm.  We did a trip to Tesco to stock up with food, and will stay here tonight.  Tomorrow looks as though we might get wet.

3 miles, 1 lock.

Night shifts

The reason for boating down to Wolverton on Tuesday, was that I had a couple of night shifts to do.  I have boat test tomorrow in the midlands, so it made more sense to stay up here than go home.  Wolverton is very convenient for commuting to London, with the station about three minutes walk away from the moorings, and journey times of less than an hour.  The only thing that went wrong was that last night's train to work broke down at Leighton Buzzard, and of course the next one was the stopping service.  A fantastic aspect of the mooring was that I logged on to a very fast BT Wifi hotspot, so I didn't need to use the MiFi the whole time I was there.

This morning, it was already raining in London when I left work just after 7.30 for the walk to Euston.  At Wolverton I made a quick visit to Tesco to buy something for lunch, then got ready to move the boat -- including putting on full waterproofs.  The rain hasn't actually been that heavy (I'd describe it more as steady), and most of the day has also been quite bright.  I headed up to the winding hole at New Bradwell.  When I was about half way through the turn, I noticed that I was being watched by a man on the towpath.  He complemented me on my 'three point turn', and even reckoned it was worth eleven out of ten!

As I headed back I passed a couple of boats coming the other way.  At Cosgrove lock, I was preparing to stop when a lady appeared and opened a gate for me.  She was with a boat about to come down, and as i was single handed offered to work me up the lock, which saved a lot of time.  As I'd always rather be out the marina than in it, I moored at Cosgrove, where I had hundreds of yards of moorings to choose from.  I've come a bit further round than usual, because there's a CRT workboat and flat moored up, and I thought the sound of them clanging against each other would drive me mad.

This afternoon I've done very little, apart from light the fire and doze in front of it.  The only job of any note, was to refill the stern tube greaser.  The local swans have been round a couple of times, showing off their new family.  There are nine cygnets, which looks like quite a handful by anyone's standards.

The forecast for tomorrow is improving all the time, so I'm hopeful we'll get some good sunny spells rather than heavy showers.  A slight concern is the strength of the wind -- both because I've got to get Briar Rose back into the marina, and because it can make boat tests very hard work.

4 miles, 1 lock.  (7 miles, 2 locks)

New Cratch Cover

This morning, Tim Garland came to fit our new cratch cover.  The old one, which we think is probably the same age as the boat, was falling apart and leaked through the seams whatever we did to them.  Here's the before and after.

We've gone for two zips each side this time, and the doors roll up very neatly.

Tim was all done by mid morning, so I made preparations to head out of the marina.  Reversing off the mooring was ok; I'd feared the gusty breeze would catch the stern and leave me facing completely the wrong way, but in fact I went straight backwards, and the wind helped blow the bow round.

Cosgrove Lock took an age, but as i wasn't in a rush i chatted to the other boaters around.  A boat was in the lock to come up, but was waiting for either a boat on the water point below the lock, or another one coming down the straight.  As it happened, the approaching boat pulled in to moor, so the water point boat, which turned out to be Tranquility, whom we'd seen a few days ago, came up.  By the time I was ready to go down, a Napton hire boat which had been on the water point above the lock was ready to join me, and as they spotted I was on my own, they offered to do all the work.

Below the lock, a mallard hopped up onto the roof, walked about a bit, then got off the other side.

I moored up at Wolverton.  It's a bit of a wind tunnel here, and I had quite a job to get the boat tied securely.  Various other boats have stopped for short periods, presumably to go shopping, but the only other boat here now has a patrol notice attached to it.

This afternoon, a little boat with an elaborate structure on the front, and three guys on board, came past.  They were electro fishing, apparently to remove zander from the canal.  I know this only because every now and then one would shout 'zander', and other would net the fish and put it in a big tank on the boat.

3 miles, 1 lock.

Spring cruise - Day 1

I came up to the boat this morning, and was surprised by how quiet the roads were.  At the boat, I put new glass in the stove door.  The polite way of describing the job is 'fiddly'.  I then went to Tesco at Wolverston to stock up for a few days.  At lunchtime I went to pick up our friends Brian and Mike who are joining us for a few days.

Back at the boat, we set off at 4pm.  At Cosgrove lock, a boat was just coming out, and a boat was waiting to go down, so we could go straight in.  Working a lock came back to Brian without too much difficulty.

We continued on to Wolverton where we moored up.  Unlike last Sunday when we struggled to find space here, we're the only boat here.  

Adrian arrived by train from work at about 6.30 at Wolverton station, and walked along to the boat. Brian and Mike have brought a lasagne with them, which is in the oven.

3 miles, 1 lock.

Birthday weekend - Day 3

We had an excellent meal at The Walnut Tree last night.  I had pork belly with lentils and chorizo, and cavalo nero; Adrian had venison with carrots and cabbage.

This morning we had arranged for my second cousin Catherine, her husband Nigel, and kids Grace and Matthew to come through the tunnel with us.  There was a last minute hitch when they realised that because of the clock change last night, they were an hour behind schedule!  We waited for them in Blisworth, and Nigel drove the car over the top.  In the tunnel we had whistling, a rendition of Happy Birthday, and a blast on the horn.

At the locks, two boats were just coming out as we arrived, so we could go straight in.

With Nigel and me working the locks, and most of them in our favour, we flew down the flight.

At the bottom we moored up and had birthday cake complete with candles on the towpath.  Catherine is something of a cake expert, and we especially liked the icing roses.

We said goodbye to the family at about 1pm, having really enjoyed their company again.  We headed off along the familiar route through Grafton Regis, Yardly Gobion, and past our marina to Cosgrove.  There was a boat coming up in the lock, so as the lock landing there puts you in the way, we went in before he came out.

Below the lock, there was a massive wide beam on the water point, which made things a bit tight.

We'd been surprised how quiet Blisworth and Stoke Bruerne had been; it's because all the boats were down here.  We saw Willow Two, which was a boat test a few months ago, and passed the new owners of Tacet.

We continued to Wolverton, where there were a couple of boats moored not really making the best use of the rings.  We were in the process of making an elaborate cat's cradle arrangement with the bow rope, when the owners of the boat behind returned and we asked them if they would shuffle back a ring.

We have a visitor for dinner this evening - Neil from Herbie, who's just arrived and moored in front.  Kath is away, but arrives at Wolverton station tomorrow.

12 miles, 8 locks.  (23 miles, 15 locks)

Birthday Weekend - Day 1

It's Adrian's birthday this weekend, so we're spending it on the boat.  I drove up from London at the end of a night shift this morning.  I arrived at the marina in bright sunshine, but I knew the forecast was for rain this afternoon, so I wanted to set off as soon as possible.  First I lit the fire as the boat felt pretty chilly, and unpacked.  I set off at around 9.45, and turned right out of the marina.  The sun reflecting off the water made seeing anything up ahead a bit tricky.

I had to fill Cosgrove lock before going down.  While I was preparing the lock, I spoke to the owner of 4Evermoore, which used to be owned by Kev and Ann.  As I was leaving the lock, I could see a boat approaching, and when he was close enough I signaled to ask if he was going up;  he was, so I could leave the gate open.  Before long I was crossing Wolverton Aqueduct, over the Great Ouse.

I went through Wolverton and crossed the second aqueduct of the day, over Grafton Street.  This one is bigger in every regard, but not as impressive!

Just the other side of the aqueduct is the New Bradwell winding hole, where I turned around and started re-tracing my steps.  I returned to Wolverton, where I moored up, just before it started to rain.  I made a trip to Tesco; the return walk was a bit wet, but the rain this afternoon hasn't been anything like as bad as forecast.  Let's hope tomorrow follows the same pattern.

This afternoon I've finished writing a boat test, and will soon start making dinner.  The fire is going well; I brought with me some logs from a tree we had to cut down in our garden early in the year.  It was a false accacia, so I had no idea how it would burn.  The logs have been drying in the garage for months, and they're burning well (and smell quite nice too).

Adrian has been in London, so it travelling up to Wolverton station, which is just a couple of hundred metres away.  It won't be a late night, as I'll soon have been up for 24 hours.

4.5 miles, 1 lock.

Easter Cruise - Day 1

I was on a night shift last night, so I drove up to Thrupp Wharf from London this morning after work. I stopped on the way to buy some coal, as I didn't think there was much on board, and we were likely to need it. Even so, I arrived at the boat at about 9.30.

I unpacked the car, lit the fire, and started de-winterising. We don't actually bother doing much winterising, as we normally use the boat much more during the winter than we've done this year. I put the shower mixer bar back on, turned the water on at the stop cock, and turned on the water pump. I was hoping it would run for a bit, then stop. But it ran and ran - so I knew something was wrong. But it wasn't a burst pipe; it was the tap in the galley. Even when I turned the taps off, water still came out. Clearly there had been some frost damage, and a new tap was on the cards. I got back in the car, went to B&Q in Milton Keynes for a new one, and returned to the boat.

I resolved to sort things out later, and set off from the marina at just before 11.30. The sun had been making brief appearances all day, but as I started the engine a light snow flurry began. Even so, it was good to be moving - and I'd put on several additional layers.

At Cosgrove Lock, a boat was coming up, so I hovered in the middle of the canal while I waited; going onto the lock landing would just have got in his way. As I was going down in the lock, a Wyverne hire boat arrived to come up, so I was able to leave the gate open. Below the lock, the moorings were busy, and the sun came out.

Towards Wolverton, there's been extensive work to trim back trees on the offside. It makes the canal about twice as wide as it was before. When I reached Wolverton, I moored up. The station is by close, and Adrian was due to be coming up from London after work.


Once I'd moored, I started on the first of the day's projects: replacing our satellite tv system with a freeview one. The double boosted ariel is mounted on a wooden broom handle which sits in some fittings that that always been on the front of the cratch board. I wired everything up - and got no signal at all. I re-made one of the connections, and the tv found some 130 channels. Unfortunately, when it came to actually watching them, no signal could be found.

I decided to leave it alone for a while, and headed to Tesco for a big shop. I had lunch in the Costa cafe, then did the shopping - which was a struggle to carry back to the boat. As I walked, I took note of the direction of the area's tv ariels. When I got back, I pointed the ariel in the right direction, did a rescan, and the tv worked perfectly.

Now it was onto the tap. Getting the old one off was tricky, thanks to the confined space under the sink. I decided to reuse the copper pipes, as they were bent slightly to fit, and had connection fittings already in place. In the end, in spite of the difficulty of working in such a tight space, the job was done relatively quickly. The new tap is the same shape as the old one, but in a different finish: brushed stainless steel.

I had time to put the satellite dish and box, and the old tv, in storage under the dinette, then to make the bed and have a general clear up, before Adrian's train arrived a couple of minutes before 5.  I walked round to the station to meet him. It's just a few hundred metres from the moorings.

It's been a busy day, but a productive one.

3 miles, 1 lock.