Sunday 4th April 2021 - Well, we didn’t get as far as we hoped today just 7.1/2 miles. We started well at around 10.00am and had an enjoyable cruise until loosing concentration I made a boo boo coming out of a bridge got us on the wrong side of the canal, on the outside of a bend and stuck firmly on the mud. That of course is the reason everyone carries a barge pole, ours is just over 13 feet (4m) and was soon put into action to push us off the mud and back into deeper water.
Where bridges cross the canal allowance had to be made for the tow horse to continue on the tow path so the canal normally narrows by at least the width of the tow path and often more as it goes under the bridge, add to this a sharp bend on the other side of the bridge and things, as in this case, can get awkward. On we went with me paying due care and attention when going through bridges.
Although the sun was shining it was chilly and by early afternoon we were cold and very tired, pushing 16+ tons of narrowboat with a bargepole can, I find, be tiring so we moored just above Bridge 45 and called it a day. In fact having seen the weather forecast for tomorrow we are calling it a couple of days until the wind moderates when we hope to complete our journey to the navigable end of the Ashby Canal turn around and start heading back to Braunston. The venison loin chops were absolutely stunning - we do love venison.
Some of you may have noticed that measurements on this website are now generally in the old imperial measurements with metres measurements in brackets alongside rather than the other way about as is todays norm. I am doing this as using imperial seems to be the accepted normal for canals and narrowboats, every boat owner will tell you his boat length in feet but very few will know it in metres.
Monday - Another lay day today the wind is blowing hard, as we ate breakfast hail was rattling the windows and unless that wind moderates it will be a lay day tomorrow as well.
A Sudden Hail Storm.
Turned into a sad day today as Sue has not been at all well and retired to bed mid afternoon, she got up at 7.00pm but went back to bed at 7.30pm so looks like Tuesday will definitely be another day on this mooring. We had both eaten exactly the same throughout the previous day so we think it may have been her first migraine for many years - lets hope it is also the last for many years.
At nearly 9.00pm I took my gin and tonic out on deck, the sun had left an orange glow in the sky and the only light I could see on a 360˚ sweep was from a farm probably 1/2 a mile or so away - so quiet and peaceful - magic!
Sunset on the Ashby Canal.
Tuesday - Sue was feeling better today but we decided to rest another day and will probably move on tomorrow.
Wednesday - We read the weather forecast this morning and it looks as if we will not be moving today or tomorrow. So another day of rest and relaxation. One of the reasons we are probably over anxious about wind strength is that I have had an umbilical hernia for around 15 years or so. It has never particularly impacted on our lives until after the car crash, when presumably further damage was caused and at times it can get painful to the point when I have to retire to bed. It’s usually caused by doing something that strains my tum.
This should not be a problem on a boat if you know what you are doing (we of course do not) or you have to pull the boat against a wind when mooring, when in our case, you are trying to stop over 16 tons of boat pulling away from you.
Thursday - It was still and calm when we finished breakfast this morning so after checking the forecast, SW4 on the Beaufort Scale this morning but rising to perhaps SW6 this afternoon. We decided a short cruise was in order. We would go to the next winding hole (as in wind not wined) and back to our current mooring which according to CanalPlan would take around two hours. We had a super cruise to the winding hole and managed my first ever solo wind without drama. On reaching the mooring on which we had spent the last couple of days we decided to go a little further until we were outside the SSSI which includes the top 10km of the canal. Boaters are asked not to put grey water into the canal but empty it onto the hedgerows.
The little further and a little further which got a little further still until despite Sue saying more than once “don’t forget the wind is forecast to increase and guess what - it did.
We found a section of bank, very sheltered from the wind, that looked reasonable to moor but could not get close enough and a following boat told us that section was very shallow and there was a good mooring just a few minutes away. The “good” mooring spot was fully exposed to the wind and took a 30 minute struggle to get tied alongside. Even then we could not get tight to the bank without grounding, and we have a very shallow draft.
A cup of tea and a lovely hot shower helped but I can feel my hernia is ticked off and we have a long way to go tomorrow, we are hoping for around 10 miles.
That hernia seems as if it is a problem that is not going to go away so I have arranged to have it repaired at a private hospital at the end of May. We are making our way back to Calcutt Marina where, all being well, we will stay until the repair has been done, before once again going out on the cut to explore the canals of England and Wales.
Friday - Another calm day although cloudy and cold when we dropped the mooring at 10.00 on the dot. We were hoping to reach somewhere near to Marston Junction where the Ashby Canal joints the Coventry Canal and a little before we reached there we decided to get onto the Coventry Canal before we moored then when we got to the Coventry Canal we decided to go to just before Hawkesbury Junction where we knew there were lots of moorings easy enough for even me to get onto without drama. The only drawback was not going through the junction then. On the way out I made quite a box of it as I related in the last blog so now I had a whole night to worry about transiting the junction first thing in the morning. The concern was made all the greater when we walked to the junction to assess the procedure when a single hander came through the lock, made the 180˚ turn, the narrow section and stopped at the water point without even appearing to look around. I do hate people with such obvious skills and talents 😁.
Saturday - It started so well!! We approached the junction at tick-over speed turned 90˚ turned another 90˚ reversed a little to put us in the right place on the lock landing, Sue stepped off and we tied the centre line loosely to a bollard - fabulous if I do say so myself. We emptied the rubbish in the CRT waste disposal point, set the lock, chugged into the lock, filled it, opened the gate and chugged out. Sue then closed the gate while I waited alongside, she stepped on and we were away. How easy was that!!
We were looking forward to getting a long way today, if possible all the way to Hillmorton Locks and were over three hours in perhaps a little under half way when the engine started to play up. I had noticed this the previous day when the engine would start to slow without me touching the throttle setting. I thought perhaps the morse throttle controls were slipping so we stopped and checked all the linkages but could see nothing wrong. We continued although the boat was starting to “limp” along rather than proceed with any energy. We stopped at Rose Narrowboats. No they did not have an engineer on duty on Saturday (I got the impression that if I’d asked on a weekday I would still have got a negative response).
We used the water tap to fill the water tank and while filling decided to continue a further half mile or so to the All Oaks Wood Moorings near Brinklow where we would moor and call the River Canal Rescue (AA/RAC for the inland waterways) That way we could stay there 14 days should the problem be a big one.
We managed to get pretty well the last available mooring and rang the RCR, The lady who answered was pleasant and helpful, “The engineer for that area is on another job at the moment’ she said “once he finished he will come straight to you and you will be contacted with an ETA”. Less than a half hour latter the phone rang, it was the engineer, “I’m on my way and will be with you in around a half hour” he than asked me the symptoms saying “Oh that sounds like fuel rather than the Morse control, see you soon”
He arrived well within the 30 minutes bringing with him a selection of tools in a rucksack and a fuel filter in his hand. He climbed in the engine bay pointed to the diesel stop valve and asked “have you just turned that off?” I told hime I’d never touched it but he confirmed it was indeed off. I have not knowingly turned the tap off and in my defence it is very easy to operate so may have vibrated open. I will put a thin elastic lashing on it that will hold it open but still allow for emergency shut off.
He checked the fuel filter, it was clean but he replaced it anyway bled the system started up and that engine ran as sweet as a nut, he put it in gear and as he rev’d the engine note dipped so he bled the injectors (no I don’t know what they are either). For some considerable minutes he ran the engine in gear at rates from tick-over to full throttle - no problem. Then with a cheery wave he gave the engineers “well I’m pretty sure thats it but it it happens again give the office a ring I’ll come back” and disappeared down the towpath back to his van.
Lets hope that is it as we will not move tomorrow as a high (for me) wind is forecast so we will need to cover a lot of distance on Monday and Tuesday to get back in time to have the covers measured and Monday is when the canals open to non live aboard owners and single family units can hire boats. It may be pandemonium.
Sunday 11th April 2021 - Well after yesterdays problems we were going to stay put today as high (for my skill level) wind was forecast giving us the next two days (both with light winds forecasted) to get back to Calcutt Marina before AJ Canopies came to measure the stern and cratch covers but when we got up and checked the forecast it had changed to light winds for today so we decided to go, which would test the engine repair and if found wanting give us an extra day to get it fixed. We travelled 13 miles and passed through 3 locks taking 5.3/4 hours with the engine not missing a beat and we saw our first brood of tiny, very tiny, ducklings - spring must be springing.
Monday - We are up bright and early, had a super porridge breakfast and did the WOBBLE checks. All went well until I got to the E for engine, I pushed the throttle half open and on starting the engine I tried to throttle back to tick-over. The throttle would not move it was jammed solid. I shut down the engine as it started to race as I could not move the throttle at all.
Back onto the RCR. Another lady as pleasant and helpful as the first took the details and said she would locate an engineer and ring back. True to her word within a few minutes she was back with the news that the engineer was on another job and get to us as soon as possible but that the job was expected to take two hours plus. We didn’t mind the wait as we felt we had been given honest information and less than three hours later there was a knock, knock on the side of the boat and the same engineer as Sunday stood there with his rucksack of tools ready to go to work.
He stripped out the Morso controls and found that although both cables were intact the outer casings on both were badly worn and one had jumped out of its mounting and jammed the whole issue. He had bought new cables with him and in just a short while they were installed and the control was working well again, if fact better that at any time since we have had the boat. Lets hope tomorrow gives no more problems.
Sunset at our Monday night mooring
Tuesday - No need for wobble checks today as I did them yesterday and we did not move so after warming the engine for five minutes we dropped the mooring at 8:25am and got under way. It was a beautiful morning cold with a clear blue sky. In order to allow us to get away early without getting up early we breakfasted on egg sandwiches while underway.
We thought at first we were going to have another problem with the Morso control as the throttle after being set would close itself, so in the best tradition of Heath Robinson we rigged an elastic snakes nest that would hold it in any forward position but still allow me to close it and select reverse if needed. There were many more boats on the move today as it was the second day of lifting restrictions allowing boat owners and hirers to sleep aboard. What did surprise us was the number of school age children on the boats both private and hire. I thought they went back to school yesterday.
It seemed that we had hardly started when we reached Wigrams Turn where we left the Oxford/Grand Union and joined the Grand Union Canal proper then just around 4 furlongs (800m) later we reached Calcutt Top Lock. Two boats came out leaving the gates open for us and as we went to close them a chap came up and asked if they could join us in the locks. We said we would be pleased if they would (it makes it easier for us) but thought we would have a long wait as they needed to wind. We were staggered when the lady at the helm reversed the boat across the canal and winded perfectly and so very quickly. Her husband who was still standing by us told us that before the previous day she had never helmed a boat before. The boat turned out to be a Willow Wren Training boat giving the couple a two day RYA Helmsman’s Course and, of course it goes without saying that those three locks was a nightmare for me. Every thing that could go wrong did go wrong in front of the instructor and his, by this stage of the course excellent pupils. We even made a box of getting through the marina entrance but when they could no longer see us, going through the bridge into Meadows Marina round the island and on to our mooring went absolutely perfectly. Of course it did! there was no one watching!!
Despite the problems with my umbilical hernia we enjoyed our couple of weeks on the cut immensely and look forward to getting back out.