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.

Ready for the off ...

and I am melting fast.  I hope it is not this hot tomorrow although perhaps on the water there will be a little breeze?

Today having discovered that the chandlers won't post me a short 8ft pole I have had to resort to buying a pole from B&Q (I know I know not ideal but it is just to get me past the Trent lockkeepers for passing the rope up to them if necessary I assume). 

Using my grandmothers set of chisels that my dad gave me years ago I have made a pointy end, sanded it smooth so that the hook end doesn't rock and painted it in primer ready to screw the end on.  I will paint it properly next week.  I am quite pleased with myself.

I have checked out my first two stops for car parking provisions and I guess that is me pretty much sorted.


Tonight I will take the last few things down to the boat like the bike and some spare bedding (in case I have guests).

By the end of this summer I will either be ultra fit and slyph like or dead!

On that note I will say au revoir for now

Ate a proxima se deus quiser

The last items

Andy made me my back doors in his garden.  We didn't have enough of the Chesnut wood offcuts sent up by MD Woodtech to make the complete doors so we have opted for using them on the horizontal pieces and just using softwood for the vertical so we get a bit of contrast.

I picked up the upholstery for the dinette this afternoon.

Things get lost in translation.  I asked for a large bag/pillowcase type affair that we could store two pillows in and tuck them under the gunwales as a cushion in the daytime.  What I have got is an extra long pillowcase suitable for a bolster.  ????

I think I will be calling in the services of my mother again.

Tweaking

I have been busy tweaking the boat myself so that it is user friendly.

Like I have put loads of hooks everywhere including under the gunwales in the bedroom for hanging clothes on to keep them off the floor at bedtime.  Some in the bathroom for dressing gowns etc.  Towel rail in bathroom and small one in the loo along with loo roll holder and cupholder and mirror.

Hooks in the engine room below coat level for other stuff.  Strange garage type hooks under the gunwale in engine room for the extra large mooring stakes I bought (marquee ones) that just do not fit anywhere else!

Even a hook under the steps and above the swim to hold the electric cable from falling into the engine space.  Now also stopping the extra ropes from doing the same.  I might find somewhere else for them long term but just removed them quickly from the bottom drawer in the galley!

I have fitted the CO detector and the toast friendly smoke alarms.  And tested them.  They work!

Electrician still trying to find a good way of connecting aerial and satellite dish to the outside sockets.  I think he is over complicating things but he wants it to be robust as it will be removed and reattached on a regular basis.  I have asked him why my solar panels appear to be over charging my batteries.  We think perhaps the Smartgauge might be being a little sensitive as he has never heard of anyones solar panels being quite so effective.  I had to run the hoover around like mad to try and use up some battery power on Sunday.  Managed to get the batteries down to 13 from 14!

Tried to get the car fitted with a towbar today (and locking fuel cap) but the monkeys at Martins garage didn't order before my car arrived and of course parts like towbars are not just available at the drop of a hat.  Wasted morning although I did buy a griddle whilst wandering the shops.  So I have come home and ordered one from Towsure myself (cheaper that way) and once it arrives get Martin to fit it at least he is back off holiday now.  Even the locking fuel cap wasn't the right one so they have finally ordered the correct part and I can drive in on my way to work on Friday morning and Martin will fit it himself in 10 mins.  Hmmm

Have also ordered simple bike towball carrier.  The plan is to cycle back and fetch the car on a regular basis.

Really need to set off soon as my mooring permit expires in a month!  So much for my plans of exploring the Fossdyke and Witham in May it will be more like June at this rate.  Hopefully once I am moving and using the boat the battery situation will sort it self out.

Been giggling all afternoon.

At work a couple of years ago I was in charge of purchasing as Amanda was on maternity leave and decided that they were going 'green' whether they liked it or not and bought a pack of 48 'green' loo rolls.  Surprisingly they have lasted and we still have about 8 rolls left.  I digress.

They are perfect for my compost loo (and indeed any boat loo) so I asked boss if I could order some more and reimburse him.

They arrived today and when I offered to pay for them Wayne said to consider them a gift from him to me.

I duly thanked him and said that I would remember everytime I wiped my bottom on him ...

Build Blog Officially ended

The Surveyor has been and signed her off.

Anything I do to the boat now technically counts as tweaking.

The end.

Especially for Jay

Hi Jay, hope you enjoyed your trip.  Here is the picture I promised.

Been gone and back again

46 locks, 13.7 hours, approx 1.4 litres per hour.

Small ill boy helping his mum on her first proper trip out.

8 locks later we reached Turnerwood.  At this point we were met by Sarah who had got a lift off her husband Terry.  They had a look around, bought us all icecreams from the end cottage and then Sarah assisted Jaime with the rest of the 15 locks.

As you can see I was having a real hard time of it.

They did make me do the last 1 and half locks all on my own as Sarah was worried about me coming back solo.  At this point we were joined by Andy and his kids who had walked down to meet us from Kiveton Park.  Rob was also walking down to meet us but as I told him it was about 10mins walk he stopped and sat on a bench after 10 mins and read the paper until we found him.  Probably a good idea as Andy had said it actually took them half an hour!

We were following two boats up and Dream Catcher from the Marina kindly lent me their gas spanner at Turnerwood so when it started raining and we had Rob on board he immediately made us all a hot cup of tea and the boat did not explode.  Andy had brought a bit of bubbly which went down very nicely indeed.  Dream Catcher had also booked a table for 5 at the Station Inn - they do Italian night on a saturday so they squeezed Rob and I in on their table in fact there were 8 of us in the end.  Terry came and fetched Sarah back with the pickup so he took Jaime and the bike home - this was a godsend as it was pelting it down by this stage and small boy was drenched and you must remember not all that 'how' to start with.  I am very pleased indeed that he helped.

Rob and I spent the night on board and the mattress is comfortable and you can't feel the join at all.

We reversed up towards the tunnel the next morning but it started to rain and he had to go home to put his motorbike back together before he goes to France on it in a fortnight.  My solo trip started at 11.30.

First lock of course is a triple!


I did 13 all on my own and stopped just above Turnerwood at 3pm.  Felt a bit isolated as no signal, no tv, no computer, no one to talk to.  I could and did eventually do some cleaning, lit the fire and read a book.  Went to bed at 8.30 and read there before having a fantastic sleep.

Today did 10 locks ably assisted by a man who was passing just as I was setting off.  Eventually we put his bike on the front and he helped do about 6 of the locks so my solo boating today wasn't really.  I even let him steer! 

Arrived back at the Marina at 12pm.  Went to B&Q got some stuff like towel rails, looroll holder etc and fitted them myself.  Also got CO detector and Smoke Alarm.  Not sure if I need them for the Surveyors visit tomorrow but I need them anyway.

Am now officially pooped.