We have heat

Lit the stove today - no obvious leaks - some smoke from the paintwork - drying out. The fire stays in quite well - probably due to the small size of the stove and lack of oxygen. Plenty of heat for the small boat but would be no use for a larger vessel. The temporary chimney performed ok as well. Took around an hour to boil the kettle!

Finished installation

Stove and flue now installed - just need a nice chimney to finish off - might go round with the fire proof sealer again tomorrow to make sure the three joints are sound. Used fireproof packing and fire cement to fill in around the flue/collar gap. Might paint the flue black at some stage.
As expected the collar plate was slightly less than 6" so I had to file the hole. I like the finish - looks neat and covers the bolt holes.
Hopefully will light the fire tomorrow!

Roof collar painted

Not sure if the paint will go off properly due to the cold and wet conditions but needed a couple of hours of fresh air - the undercoat was in poor condition after the recent bad weather

Almost done 23/12/12

Abandoned plans to finish to stove flue yesterday due to the poor weather - at least the sealant around the chimney collar has done its job and kept the rain out!
It was nice to wake up to a sunny day today and get down to Findern to finish to flue.
It wasn't long before the horrifying moment when I realised that the slope of the roof meant that another bend was needed in the flue. Fortunately I had another 15 degree bend to correct the angle.
I resealed the roof collar and then painted it with undercoat.
I will not do any more sealing of the flue until I have fitted the plate around the collar (internal) to cover the bolt holes.
Jobs still to do - top coat around the exterior of the collar, internal trim around the collar. Final seal of the flue. Chimney to suit.

That was a pain in the proverbial

Got the chimney collar installed - the usual 20 minute job taking all afternoon. The hole saw was the wrong size and as effective as a nail file.
In the end I had to drill around 50 holes around the circumference of the hole and jig saw the gaps out.
The holes for the bolts were also a
challenge as I burnt out my drill and 3 bits.
Also managed to cut through one of the lighting wires - but soon fixed with a connector.
It was getting dark as I bolted the collar on and sealed around it with silicone.
Hope it stays warm and dry tonight for the sealant to go off.
Jobs left to do:
Cut the flue to size.
Insulate around the collar inside and cut a square of heat resistant insulation and stainless steel to match the chimney rear insulation.
Bolt the stove down.
Seal the flue joints.

Knife thru butter

Found an old angle grinder in the shed and tried to cut the stainless pipe - wow -took seconds to cut thru the 3mm pipe.
Hope to complete the flue installation tomorrow - weather permitting!

Progress with stove

Thanks to a donation of stainless sheet - thanks Tim, I have now completed the lining of the stove compartment and wall. I have also purchased a chimney collar and am now ready to drill a hole in the roof and fit it. The flue is in need of chopping down in length and that will need to be done professionally as my hacksaw will barely scratch it!

slow progress

Insulation fitted at back and sides (concrete boarding), tiling and grouting complete on base.

jobs left - fit flue and 15% bend (ordered off ebay a week ago!!), line with steel sheeting, drill hole in roof and fit collar/chimney

It fits

So just got the tiling, insulation, steel panels and flue to sort

wood burner ordered

Since getting rid of my home wood stove I have been wondering what to do with the surplus wood  I have accumulated over the last year or so.
As the boat has no heating installed and has no spare floor space/room - I didn't think that i could get a wood burner on board.
That was until I did a bit of research into gypsy wood stoves.
These little beauties are not only very small and cheap - they give a decent heat output for a small space like the one on my boat.
The one thing I am not short of on the boat is cupboard space, so, I reluctantly decided to turn a double base unit into a single.
I made a bit of a mess cutting the worktop but, this will look ok with a thin squeeze of brown sealant.
Next job is to install a 6mm thermal lining (fireproof board) to the space and then I will cover it with steel sheeting rather than tiles to preserve the space for the stove - I will just tile the base/floor.
The flue installation will be done last but as the boat is v bottomed - the flue will not need to be very long. There is a short length of flue incorporated in the design.

I went for the larger 150mm x 150mm burner/unit which will still leave a good clearance either side.

The design also incorporates a square hot plate on the top which I will be be able to boil a kettle on!
Another positive is the light design will not affect the trim of the boat - 6mm mild steel not cast iron.  
   

getting close to winterisation time

Not a lot of boating activity since I have had to return to work

Had a couple of trips to Willington and done some routine maintenance to the paintwork - rusty hand rails rubbed down, rust treated and painted.

I have had some cheap name stickers made for the boat with no name (£2.99 off ebay),  not too bad looking (a bit small, but my daughter, a graphic design student, approves of the font) and not sure if they will last the winter - perhaps I should varnish over the top.

The weather is now getting cold and damp and I will remove all electrical items, paperwork, etc from the boat and drain down the water tank and boiler soon.

Kingsbury water park 28/7/12

After an extended 'rest' period between jobs, I managed to get a final boat trip in (the trip I was going to do three weeks ago which was aborted due to the flooded Trent at Wychnor) to the Dog and Doublet (on the Curdworth flight on the Birmingham and Fazeley canal) via Alrewas (overnight stop).  

I managed to get to Alrewas in six hours for an overnight stop - decided to stay in Alrewas rather than carry on to Fradley due to the need for supplies and cash machine - the co op at Alrewas is very handy as are the two pubs. I felt guilty about stopping in Alrewas so walked to Fradley (two miles) for a pint at the Swan. I helped a crew of ladies down the Fradley flight on the way back.  

On Saturday morning I was joined by a friend Allan and we set off up to Fradley and then down the Coventry canal at the junction opposite the Swan Inn.

First impressions of the Cov were how busy it was (extremely), how poor was the vision due to overgrown trees (there must be a lot of near misses on this section) and how shallow it was (the springer is not deep drafted but still hit the bottome a lot).

We made the bottom of the Curdworth flight in six hours. Total boat mileage from Findern is a surprising 29.5 miles.

The Dog and Doublet is pretty isolated, but, this didn't stop us from looking for another ale house - we were just about to give up when we spotted a leaflet promoting a real ale festival at kingsbury water park. The railway was even operating a shuttle service from the park entrance to the beer tent, but, we walked it anyway.

The beers were very good and cheap and we will watch out for the festival next year.

The walk back to the boat was a bit scary as we had to find the tunnel under the M42 in the dark and then a path back to the canal - without a torch this was difficult but I used the iphone maps app which helped locate the canal.

We set off early on Sunday morning (7.30am) not expecting to get back to Findern by Sunday evening, however, we pushed on (upsetting a few moorers along the way - although I don't think we were going very fast - the engine is very noisy). We got back to findern at 6.30pm after 11 hours solid boating - we were very lucky with the locks.     

 The entrance to the new Streethay Marina

Position 'A' mooring at Alrewas

 
 Kingsbury Water Park - Echills Wood Railway beer festival

 The entrance to the Birmingham and Fazeley canal at Fazeley Junction

 The dog and doublet pub on the Curdworth flight

 Drayton Manor Park bridge

 The 'infamous' Peel Wharf

The Tame Otter at Hopwas

Second solo trip 20/7/12

Made an overnight trip to Branston water park to meet Tim and Jane on their way back from Coventry Basin.
First time I have walked around the lake - a very pleasant mile walk and a bit of an eye opener about how hi-tec fishing has become - one angler had a radio controlled bait boat with built-in fish finder.
Didn't realise that there were well maintained toilets at the car park and the path that goes under the A38 and leads to the village complete with post office, pet shop, general stores, chippy, chinese take away and pub.
Confident enough to do a longer trip solo now.      

New leisure battery

Bought and fitted a new-ish leisure battery off ebay last night Numax CXV 100ah £45 bargain (three year guarantee) - had a suspicion that the old one was dying and sucking the life out of the starter battery - they are wired together at the moment - must get that sorted soon. Hopefully take a bit of pressure off the alternator which has been going at full rate since I installed it a month ago.

Might take the boat out to Branston tomorrow to meet Tim and Jane on their way back from Coventry - they ended up stuck in Barton all last week waiting for the Trent to open at Wychnor. 

Bath and Bradford on Avon 21.6.12

Managed to shoe-horn a canal fix on a weekend in Dorset and Wiltshire.
Bath is a very old and attractive city and we had a very pleasant afternoon walking around it.
The navigable Avon is blocked off at the town centre weir, but, there is a shallow draft trip boat that operates on the other side of the weir.

Downstream the Avon is navigable to Bristol or there is a junction with the Kennet and Avon canal which has some very challenging locks and flights.

 the Avon in Bath

 is this the best located travel lodge? overlooking the K & A

 200th anniversary sculptute

 the church as featured in springwatch with the falcon platform

 Kennet and Avon canal

 the non navigable avon at bradford on avon

 wharf and narrowboat hire base on the right

 the lock inn cafe - note the dining boat in the foreground

the barge inn - would be rude not to have a quick pint

the weir and trip boat in bath

We also had an hour in Bradford on Avon which is not as pretty as I imagined.

first solo trip 9/7/12

First solo trip on Evening Cloud ended in failure as I had to turn back at Wychnor due to the Trent being in flood. On a positive note my locking worked well on the single locks between Dallow Lane and Barton Turns (although conditions were favourable - low wind and rain). This has given me the confidence to try again soon - especially if my current 'between jobs' situation doesn't change. I will be annoyed if the Trent is opened again today, as the BW staff were saying Friday, however, I would be pleased for Tim and Jane on Buzzin Pub who are still waiting at Barton at the start of their holiday.
One other thing learned - I will be ok if the wife ever kicks me out!

The dove in flood

The dove - other side of the aqueduct

Canadian geese infestation in Branston - any poles about?

just thought this was funny

a nice mooring near barton turns marina

Bracket fitted to alternator 10/6/12

Wouldn't win a beauty contest but hopefully will do the job

Diamond Jubilee Weekend

Diamond Jubilee weekend - 3 day trip to Nottingham and back

New alternator was performing well until the main retaining bolt sheared yesterday afternoon - luckily I had a spare.

Day one was a trip to Trent lock and meal with the wives - 6.5 hours cruising

Day two was Trent lock to Nottingham and back to Shardlow - 11 hours cruising including half an hour to replace the bolt on the alternator

Day three was return to Findern from Shardlow - 4.5 hours cruising.

Never been so cold and wet as yesterday - the trip back up the trent was so slow due to the flow lack of power and propeller size - at one point around attenborough nature reserve we were hardly moving at full throttle due to the choppy trent.

Good band on in the Navigation shardlow last night as well to warm us up - the struts

the 'trip' in nottingham - well worth a visit and the beer is good too

tree huggers stadium

the swolen trent

the iconic british waterways building

FMC warehouse

the nottingham princess trip boat - got stuck on her for several hours once whle everyone else got arthur blissed (wedding photography job)