Had to smash through the ice to get out of the marina today.
A lot of work for a pint and a pie at the Ragley Boat Stop!
Looks like I might have to slip the boat in the summer to replace the lost blacking.
The Ragley has basic food, but, not too expensive and the bonus of London Pride ale.
A bit of a pain to get a table - a free for all - so you often have to wait for someone to leave and clear your own table!
We must download a voucher off the website next time,. as you can have a free bottle of plonk with your meal on presentation of the voucher.
The pub even has electric hook ups - apparently free for customers.
No water available though.
Managed to turn the boat at the Ragley - with some ease - the advantage of a 32ft boat!
Snapped my barge pole breaking the ice today - will get some bannister rail as a replacement.
Put my hose on the new reel today.
Sunday 31 January 2010
Wednesday 27 January 2010
Fradley
Floating brick on the Coventry near Fradley
Went for a walk along the Coventry when I was frozen in. Fradley looks a lively place with plenty of shops, a pub, BW office, shop boat and a couple of cafes. There is also a nature walk/lake. Parking looks a pain at a weekend - a lot of people seem to park along the lanes nearby. At least the car park fees go to BW and £1 for 4 hours is cheap compared to most cities.
Recommended
Winter stoppages
Gave the boat a good post crap weather check last week. Engine oil ok, coolant levels ok but topped up calorifier overflow with 50/50 antifreeze. No sign of leaking pipes, the only apparent winter effect is the expansion of the wooden doors on the kitchen cabinets (probably due to their 'home made' nature). One minor issue noted was the water hose had melted onto the exhaust pipe (despite the insulation binding on the exhaust) so I have ordered a hose reel to keep it on. I only lost a few feet of hose! The engine started first time and I let it run for a half hour.
Still looking for a cheap second leisure battery - no point in buying a new one as I need to match it with the existing battery which is a year old (I will buy in pairs in future).
Going to take the boat out this weekend 30/01/10.
Unfortunately, the BW winter stoppage program has blocked off my route to Willington and onwards due to bridge 20 repairs (Stenson/Findern) and also blocked off the route to Shardlow due to Weston bridge 8 repairs. This situation will continue well into March 2010 and could be further delayed due to the recent poor weather and the inevitable 'unforseen' problems. At least the scaffold is now up at bridge 20!
The only available stopping place (pub) is at Barrow on Trent - the Ragley boat stop. I will have a short cruise to Swarkestone and back.
The owners of the boatyard at Stenson must be gutted about this as they can no longer run their Stenson Belle cruises to Findern/Willington and boats can't get in for servicing and other repairs.
The Bubble inn at Stenson will also be affected - it has only recently (late 09) reopened for business after the previous landlord couldn't make it pay.
Still looking for a cheap second leisure battery - no point in buying a new one as I need to match it with the existing battery which is a year old (I will buy in pairs in future).
Going to take the boat out this weekend 30/01/10.
Unfortunately, the BW winter stoppage program has blocked off my route to Willington and onwards due to bridge 20 repairs (Stenson/Findern) and also blocked off the route to Shardlow due to Weston bridge 8 repairs. This situation will continue well into March 2010 and could be further delayed due to the recent poor weather and the inevitable 'unforseen' problems. At least the scaffold is now up at bridge 20!
The only available stopping place (pub) is at Barrow on Trent - the Ragley boat stop. I will have a short cruise to Swarkestone and back.
The owners of the boatyard at Stenson must be gutted about this as they can no longer run their Stenson Belle cruises to Findern/Willington and boats can't get in for servicing and other repairs.
The Bubble inn at Stenson will also be affected - it has only recently (late 09) reopened for business after the previous landlord couldn't make it pay.
Wednesday 20 January 2010
Water in the gas locker
Next job on the boat is to remove the water in the bottom of the gas locker.
There are a couple of design faults with the locker:
The locker depth is not sufficient to make a good seal when a couple of 13kg propane bottles are in the locker - so water gets in.
The drain holes at the bottom of the locker are too high so there is always an inch or so of water in the bottom.
As well as having water in the locker, its prescence has resulted in corrosion/rust in the locker base plate and also the water drips down into the bilge.
I dont want to drill a drain hole in the bottom of the locker as a torrential downpour could result in excess water in the bilge
When the weather gets better I want to inspect and paint the bottom of the locker to prevent further damage
As a temporary measure I have ordered a hand operated pump to remove the water from the gas locker.
Other jobs to do:
Get the toilet pumped out.
Replace the auxiliary switch panel (I already have a new fused one), a couple of the circuit breakers have failed in the current one. This may involve removing the wooden panel that the switch panel is mounted on - this needs to be hinged or screwed on - it is currently fixed and no easy access is possible to the wiring behind it.
Find and cure the fluid leak into the engine drip tray - looks like a coolant leak.
Improve the ballast distribution in the boat - still tilting to port.
Improve the internal locks on the boat.
Decide what I am going to do with the fridge - nearly new expensive model (Waeco), but, too power hungry (see above circuit breaker problem) and requires a mains hook up.
Add an extra leisure battery.
Fix my generator so I can use it on the boat.
Replace the hook up connector - open to the elements.
Get ready for the safety inspection in August 2010 - the mechanic at Stenson doesnt like my wiring!
As noted in the last blog - improve the layout or sell the boat
There are a couple of design faults with the locker:
The locker depth is not sufficient to make a good seal when a couple of 13kg propane bottles are in the locker - so water gets in.
The drain holes at the bottom of the locker are too high so there is always an inch or so of water in the bottom.
As well as having water in the locker, its prescence has resulted in corrosion/rust in the locker base plate and also the water drips down into the bilge.
I dont want to drill a drain hole in the bottom of the locker as a torrential downpour could result in excess water in the bilge
When the weather gets better I want to inspect and paint the bottom of the locker to prevent further damage
As a temporary measure I have ordered a hand operated pump to remove the water from the gas locker.
Other jobs to do:
Get the toilet pumped out.
Replace the auxiliary switch panel (I already have a new fused one), a couple of the circuit breakers have failed in the current one. This may involve removing the wooden panel that the switch panel is mounted on - this needs to be hinged or screwed on - it is currently fixed and no easy access is possible to the wiring behind it.
Find and cure the fluid leak into the engine drip tray - looks like a coolant leak.
Improve the ballast distribution in the boat - still tilting to port.
Improve the internal locks on the boat.
Decide what I am going to do with the fridge - nearly new expensive model (Waeco), but, too power hungry (see above circuit breaker problem) and requires a mains hook up.
Add an extra leisure battery.
Fix my generator so I can use it on the boat.
Replace the hook up connector - open to the elements.
Get ready for the safety inspection in August 2010 - the mechanic at Stenson doesnt like my wiring!
As noted in the last blog - improve the layout or sell the boat
Monday 18 January 2010
The next move
I am thinking about the medium term of boat ownership. I enjoy the boat I have (small semi trad), but, I am starting to think about alternatives and perhaps selling my current boat while I save for a larger boat.
I started looking for boats in the spring of 2009 and worked out my budget and the running costs that I could afford. A smaller boat has significant running cost savings re mooring fees and to a lesser extent licence fees and insurance, as well as lower capital costs in proportion to age (a cheaper larger boat is likely to be very old, difficult to insure and maintain and could be a money pit).
Alternatives:
Sell up and save the annual running costs towards a larger boat
Keep my current set up and consider a partial re fit to optimise space available
Have the boat lengthened (very few yards seem to do this now and there could be licence, registration, insurance and safety issues)
I started looking for boats in the spring of 2009 and worked out my budget and the running costs that I could afford. A smaller boat has significant running cost savings re mooring fees and to a lesser extent licence fees and insurance, as well as lower capital costs in proportion to age (a cheaper larger boat is likely to be very old, difficult to insure and maintain and could be a money pit).
Alternatives:
Sell up and save the annual running costs towards a larger boat
Keep my current set up and consider a partial re fit to optimise space available
Have the boat lengthened (very few yards seem to do this now and there could be licence, registration, insurance and safety issues)
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