Time for oil and gearbox oil change

HELP

I am an idiot and thought it was 500 hours before first service not 50.  Have just checked and of course I am now at 59 hours.

On looking through the paperwork(Beta 43)  I discover that I should have actually changed the gearbox oil at 25 hours.  I should also have been checking that dipstick too. (Didn't know there was one I am such a dipstick!)

Now what sort of oil should I get?  The manual says API CF (or CD CE) SAE 15W/40.

By chance I bought some Mineral Diesel Engine Oil 15W/40 API CI4/SL in case I needed to top up at any stage. Would it have been okay considering the remains of the previous is APICF4/SF or would it have been mixing two types.

Since I now have to do a full change now is it okay to use from oil change onwards?   (If so I need to get another one as 5l wont be enough anyway)

And the oil filter?  Is this a standard type on a Beta 43?  Can it be got from any Motor factors?


Also what about the gearbox?  PRM150  the book says below 0 degrees 10W30 or 20W Engine oil
0 to 30degrees 10W30 or 15W40 engine oil (I'll ignore the over 30degrees we are in england after all)

Can it be the same as whatever I end up putting in the Engine so I only need to have one sort on board for topping up purposes.

All/any assistance in this matter gratefully received ideally before I attempt the Trent again.

Plus should I get this service done by people who know or can a motorbike type person (not me) be able to do it without compromising my engine?

Sowing the seeds

I took a trip over to the boat today to check it wasn't sinking and also to transfer some of the rather large pile of 'stuff to take on board'  that has been cluttering up the hallway.  Two trips today and possibly two or three on Wednesday and the boat is not near where the car is parked so you can see why I didn't want to have to do it all in one hit especially as one of the trips would involve the cat.

I was amazed to see nose to nose with my boat one that I have been following on blogger.  Namely nb.Zindagi.  They were instrumental in my not buying an Envirolet but a Natures Head instead.  I couldn't resist the temptation and once I had finished loading the boat I knocked on their hatch.  I like the fact I have now met in reality someone I have had several conversations with over the ether.

Of course I picked his brains regarding best use of the NH and between us we decided the plants I appear to be growing in there since I have been away are probably hemp.   Hmmm.

Tale of a tile

My Mother likes to try her hand at anything and everything especially all things artistic.  Before they left Portugal in 1997 to return to England she wanted to record the last house etc in the Portuguese Azulejo style.  Nearby a tile factory let her buy the basic blank tile and presumably the inks to decorate them with and she produced several of the house, garden flowers etc and they took them back and fired them for her.  I have one of the practice flowers and the posh ones are beautifully framed and hung on the wall in their conservatory.


When I discovered that she still had one blank tile left I thought she could make me one for Bobcat like the stained glass portholes.  Well trying to find anyone in England that would be prepared to include this tile in their next firing was proving to be impossible.  They were all concerned with Health and Safety, wasn't one of their tiles, could blow up their furnace etc etc. (Which I suppose bearing in mind the age of the tile probably wasn't so outrageous)

As luck would have it they were going on a trip to Portugal and contacting one of her old muckers from over there managed to locate a tile factory that would fire it for her.

Of course their trip wasn't without incident (remember the National Express Coach debacle?).

They got to Gatwick fine and got on the plane where they sat for up to three hours before being returned to the airport for lunch.  I was asked to email the hotel in Madeira where they were going to first to advise that they were still coming but were a little bit delayed by the Nueva da Cinza.  After overnighting at Gatwick they did eventually get to Madeira and on to Portugal.  The tile was fired and survived the firing and the travelling.

It then got posted up to me.  I was on the boat and small boy was on alert every morning for the knock on the door by the postman.  This didn't happen and we were getting a little concerned - no little parcel and no note advising of any attempted delivery.

At 9.30pm a knock on the door on the day I returned from the boat resulted in the tile finally reaching it's destination.  It had actually arrived the day after posting and my neighbours across the way had taken it in.  However they were confused by the lack of car on my driveway and they thought the lights going on and off randomly were a clever anti burglar system.  (Yup all 6 foot of him).

So here it is

One unique tile with cork backing.

On another note my mother has also knitted a jumper for my dad starting with the wool off the sheeps back, carded, spun etc etc.  She doesn't do things by half my mum.  I am a very proud daughter I just wish some of those skills had been passed on to me.  Hey ho.

Photos of trip 2010 so far

Ranby

my led mirror

past Ranby

Drakeholes

Our fast departing companions on the Trent

Torksey

washing way hay.

I was right to be scared of the washing machine it tried to do the fandango/irish clog dance.  Turns out the travelling doo hickeys hadn't been removed!  Luckily Rob and Phil were there at the time and they worked out that was the problem.  I though my quarry tiles would break.

Waiting for ships cat on wet Tuesday

Gooseberry

One large boat handed through 'small bridge hole'

Week two of 2010 Summer Voyage

Saturday 29th May 2010

So I set off from Clayworth to West Stockwith at about 9am.  It was a drizzly day and not much fun due to the shallowness and weediness of the canal.  Stopped for an early lunch at Drakeholes as I knew there would be no other chances.  Felt I was unwelcome as a gentleman and I use the term loosely in another boat that had overtaken me way back at Clayworth looked at me.  I can't explain it.  Previously when we had met coming the other way we hadn't had a problem as we met just outside the Chequers Inn at Ranby and I went onto the moorings however on speaking to the cruiser that had been following me (and helping me at locks) they had been run into the bushes and aground without any ceremony.  When I let him overtake me he got cross because my bows were stuck onto his rear due to catching his slipstream.  He shouted back that unless I stopped he couldn't overtake I replied that I was in reverse!!! Basically one of those that give boaters a bad name I think.

Anyway I carried on and did the next three double locks solo and it was tough.  By the last one I was exhausted and was bowhauling my boat across the pound when some hirers from West Stockwith with loads of crew in two boats 'stole' my lock.  Fair enough as I was struggling to get the boat back from the otherside of the pound but when they left me with both gates open and paddles up I could have wept.

Rob arrived later and then my ex and his partner came to view the boat since they live nearby.  We then did the car shuffle collecting the company car from Clayworth and taking it across to Torksey.

Sunday

Up early ready to head out onto the Trent.  As the other boat was filling with diesel I took the opportunity to fill my tank up completely.  We can now see exactly how far a full tank will get me.  The trip was uneventful and better weather.  I may attempt the next hop on my own as I may have to travel during the week when crew will be thin on the ground.

Monday

Rob left about lunchtime and I set off towards Lincoln.  I stopped at Saxilby.

Tuesday

Cat went out about 9am and didn't return until 9.30pm.  It was a rainy dismal day so I didn't mind not moving (I did at least get some work done) but would have preferred not to have to worry about her possibly being squashed by a train as the line was very close to the boat.  When I popped out to post the wages off I was disconcerted to see several 'my cat is missing' type posters up in the shop windows!!

Wednesday

We set off towards Lincoln but the moorings just before Burton Waters looked very inviting so we pulled in.  We lounged in the sunshine and generally chilled.  Apart from the trains going passed the cat was fine, I think she must have been slightly traumatised the day before by being stuck in the undergrowth with trains going past but not daring to return to the boat due to people and dogs.  Oh yes we also had several flypasts by the Red Arrows but they were too quick for me to take a photo.

Thursday

Leisurely start to the day, turned around in the Marina entrance and set off back to Torksey.  At Saxilby we had to hang around near the wharf whilst an enormous cruiser/gin palace edged it's way through/under the rail bridge.  Probably a good job a train didn't go over at the crucial moment.  They apologised for holding me up.  They must have decided not to try and get any further as they caught us up near Torksey.  They overtook the narrowboat behind us okay but when he passed me his engine suddenly went bang and they stopped.  I asked him what had happened and he said he had gone aground having left me too much space!  It was hilarious to see the previously indolent crew leap up and start running backwards and forwards to rock the boat.  When they finally passed us after we had moored up he said at least he no longer had to take them for a walk!  Nice people.  Made a change as most cruisers and gin palaces on the Fossdyke do not slow down for moored craft.  At Burton Waters I had had to use 4 mooring pins in the end as I had moored way up one end for the cat and couldn't make use of the bollards.

Ships Cat Photo Blog

One very hot pussy

How did she get in there?

At Forest Locks

At Clayworth

Clayworth

Near Burton Water Marina

I'll just go and talk to them over there

Drake says some sharp words

So I will leave them alone then.

Oh that is so not fair.  They are following me now.

Okay so now how do I get back into the boat mum?

I'll just pose here then.

Week one of 2010 Summer \voyage

Sunday 23rd May 2010

It dawned bright and sunny and probably not for the first time I regretted painting the boat black.  Hey ho I imagine that all steel boats were hot that day.

It took us an hour to get from the pontoon to the Marina entrance via the three locks!  My crew obviously were not the fasted on the block but they were willing and available and they had a thoroughly enjoyable time.  They said it was like being abroad.  Part of the slowness was we rescued a water vole hanging onto the lock ladder.  I got it onto the dustpan but it panicked when I lifted it above my head to the lock side and it fell in the water and swam out under it's own steam.  I didn't get a photo but it was cute cute cute.

Serendipity has been the watchword of the trip so far.

On saturday when I went to ask permission to park in Osberton the person I asked turned out to someone I knew 20 odd years ago in the horse world and have bumped into on the odd occasion since she was able to phone the owner and vouch for me.

I fetched the cat Sunday evening and once it had cooled down she soon settled and I let her out a bit early the next morning about 5.30am.  She did manage to find the smallest space to crawl into as soon as she got on board and in the photo all you can see is her face with a bit of tail.

Next day we moved on to Forest Locks and I chose to moor on the Middle Bottom one which has the lock landing on a little island perfect for timid cats.  To make sure we weren't in the way I hutched right forward so my front end was over the bywash.  I still managed to get a comment the next morning from one boater but what do you expect on a canal so shallow that you simply cannot moor anywhere but on a designated mooring.  Everybody else was fine about it.  The second boat I curried favour with by helping with the lock gates turned out to be the boat that had just been craned in the day before mine that I spoke to when I did the recce back in November!

Took 4 hours to boat to Forest Locks from Osberton, 40 minutes to cycle back and about 5 mins to drive it.  Himself came back from his trip to France/Belgium on his BMW bike (30+yrs old) and it had sort of broken down so he left it with the recovery people in Portsmouth and they lent him a hire car.  However they told him that the bike was being brought up on Tuesday and the car was to go back.  His car is off the road waiting for it's MOT etc so he needed mine.  Therefore instead of working on Tuesday (I did make a start) I suddenly had to drive to his house, pick him bring him back to the boat for supper and then wave him off again.  Bonus no need to keep bring car with me but how to get to work on Friday?  I had a brainwave and phoned work and asked to borrow the company car.  I picked it up yesterday and drove to work as normal today.  I now have the car for the week but I don't need to keep fetching it as I have a cunning plan.

Anyway I thought it had been bad from Ranby to Forest Locks with the shallowness and the weed but worse was to come from Forest Locks to |Retford.  I was cursing ever having helped restore this canal, despite actually seeing the weed cutter out and about it certainly isn't keeping the weed under control and it seemed as soon as I had de weeded the propeller, de stuck the boat it would be fully weeded up again.  This canal desparately needs dredging as not only is the bottom too near the top I think the top is too near the bottom (looks like the canal could go up a little) my bottom was scraping along the supposed deep bit most of the time and any slight deviation meant no motion at all!

Oh yes the other bit of serendipity was as I was cycling back to fetch the car at Ranby the towpath pops out onto a bit of road leading to some houses.  I stopped as there was a Van coming up and as it went past I read the signwriting and it was my client that I had just sent his year end accounts too.  He said he had just put my cheque in the post!  Do you know I had been in two minds whether to put the books in the boat to return to him.  Nevermind they can wait.  Small boy hopefully is banking the cheque for me today.

Shopping in Retford was easy from the boat although having gone into town first and bought stuff that wasn't on my list I did think I was going to struggle to get it all back to the boat from Asda in one hit but I managed.  I am so heroic.  I now have a dinky clothes airer whirly gig that collapses smaller then most.  I really must bite the bullet and run the washing machine but I am scared scared scared!  I am also running out of clean clothes.  Maybe I will risk it on Sunday when I have crew to run the boat whilst I watch the machine closely for drips, floods and other natural disasters.

As I was chatting on the phone to small boy I realised I was approaching my first double solo lock so I put the phone down and looked behind me and there was another boat!  So I had to share.  Anyway I was glad they were there in the end as when it was my turn to enter the lock things went bang and I was stuck on the bywash/weir.  I went down the weedhatch and they very sweetly pulled my boat into the lock.  Whilst I was struggling with a green denim jacket and a pair of jogging bottoms they operated the lock.  By the time the lock was open I was done and dusted so I left the lock first but then reversed back so they could overtake.  I moored behind them at the Gate pub (closed) Clarborough but didn't get to speak to them again as they were battened down and they left early the next morning whilst I was making my cup of tea.  They were on a hire boat so probably had to get it back.  She said they normally take their cats on board and they aclimatise very quickly.  I presume they hired so they could tick the Chesterfield Canal off their list without having to do the Trent.


From hardly leaving the boat whilst it was on its lovely lock landing and in the lovely weather the cat couldn't wait to leave the boat at Clarborough in the rain and near a busy road.  She went out at 9pm and didn't come back until 3.17am.  Dirty stopout.  We had had a brief chat at 10.30 when I was going to bed but she wandered off again and I wasn't going to chase her.

Last night she went in and out several times but I drew the line at about 9.30pm and put the glass back in the porthole and she banged her nose on it.

There will be pictures but I forgot the cable for the camera and this net book doesn't have an sd slot.

My eyes are going doolally so I will sign off this weeks adventures.