Rubber mat

The rubber mat arrived for the back deck. Chose 3mm rubber with matching chequer plate design. Cut in four places to fit - not sure if it will keep the water out, but, who dares wins and only cost £15 for 1 mtr of 1.2mtr width. Will tide me over until I have a proper cover fitted in March 2014.

Not a lot happening

I have drained the water and removed the drain plug from the Paloma heater. I have lit the fire a few times to dry out the boat. The condensation in the engine bay is a bit of a concern, the batteries are also getting damp. As a temporary measure I have put an old duvet cover over the batteries and engine to help disperse the damp. I have ordered a smal rubber sheet to cover the engine bay cover that is letting the water in. I intend to have the back end covered professionally as soon as possible, however, my preferred cover supplier has ceased trade for the winter and will not be available until March 2014. The reason for the cover is to protect the engine bay and the cover from further corrosion. 

Mooring renewal 11/13

My three year mooring agreement ends in November 2013. Cart have offered me a renewal restricted to the length of the boat I.e. 23 ft (the original length of the mooring was 30.8 ft). As an incentive to pay a year in advance they have also offered me a 10% discount. Although I am a little disappointed to be losing some of my mooring, the cost saving is welcome in these difficult times and I am unlikely to buy a 30 ft boat after my current 23 ft - ideally I would like to move up to 40ft next. I presume the current moorers will be shuffled along to create a new spare mooring.

Couple of jobs 22/9/13

Morning visit to the boat to finish off the blacking - missed bits around the posts that stopped the boat falling over - starboard side. Also looked at the loose engine mount - front starboard. The mount is fully tightened, but the bracket onto the engine has one bolt loose and the other bolt missing. I tried in vain to replace the missing bold but couldn't get it to bite - perhaps the bracket is slightly out of line with the hole. For now all I could do was tighten the remaining bolt which was out by a quarter inch. The result is a mount which is a lot tighter as opposed to one which is not effective at all. A start of the engine proved that the mount is now doing its job and this should also reduce the vibration to the exhaust on the opposite side. The last day of summer today - so put the chimney back on ready for the cooler weather . Will winterised soon - not sure if we are having another trip out this year.

Boat back in

Re launched the boat this Morning. Unfortunately Roy of skaidi had a fall into the water when attempting to take his boat out after i had relaunched mine. He is ok and fortunately had some spare clothes on him. Didn't get the anode fixed in the end - might do it next year. Had a bit of a incident at Stenson lock - the boat got stuck on a brick - the back corner - no danger of sinking but a bit scary and the kettle and cupboard contents ended up on the floor. One safely back in findern - probably lay up the boat now and winterise. 

Blacking day 2

This was tough - did the second coat on the boat sides leaving the counter and v bottom to black. As the boat is leaning to starboard I started with the port side. I used a brush but this proved slow, awkward and painful (contortionary). I am no michaelangelo,but, can appreciate the artists efforts painting upside down for ages. Mind you oil paint is easier to use than bitumen! The starboard side proved impossible to do with a brush - not enough space to reach, it so I used a roller - this didn't give a full even coverage and some patches could not be reached, but, by tea time I didn't care anymore. 

Just need to sort the detatched anodes out now.

Blacking day 1

Started the blacking today - only problems noted were some of the anodes had sprung off at one end requiring spot welds. Stern gear and prop in excellent shape. There is some pitting on the port side - may need plating in a couple of years - this would actually improve the trim of the boat when done as it tends to list to starboard due to most of the weight on that side - kitchen and diesel tank. The only problems were the winch needing a jump start off a nearby car due to it getting fouled and a weak battery. 

Stenson lock was a pain as the lower gates will not open properly causing two long boats to get stuck!

Monchengladbach 21/8/13

Unsurprisingly there are several sculptures in the town centre alluding to the former footballing glories -we couldn't help childishly posing the footballers! this is a very sleepy town with a large housing stock but few people about. Again plenty of green spaces and the best ice cream cafe I have ever been to.

As we were quite close to the German border we decided to take a trip into the fatherland. Sticking a pin in the map we decided on monchengladbach - a town famous for its football team that had some success in the 1970s.

Amsterdam 20/8/13

We took the park and ride from the Amsterdam arena home of Ajax which included train and buses for 8 euro (5people). Chelsea lifted the Europa league trophy there in may.

I wasn't sure what to expect from Amsterdam, apparently it is horribly overcrowded at weekends but today it was fairly quiet and we could get around comfortably. Highlight we're the obviously beautiful canals and impromptu reggae trumpeter on a rowing boat and the architecture - lows were the seedy bar and red light areas.

Netherlands via France and Belgium 18/8/13

We decided to visit our daughter who is living in Tilburg for a few days. We used the Dover ferry and drove slowly to Tilburg - Much to the annoyance of the lorries who kept flashing me to speed up. One observation about Benelux is the effortless flow of the traffic due to variable speed limits and probably lower volumes of cars - taxis appear to be a rare sight as well - we had no hold ups in all 5 days.

The pace of life is much slower out here -  employees are given a lie in on Monday morning,  the population is low - most cities have a population below £500k, there is no free healthcare and green policies like priority to cyclists is promoted. Diesel fuel is also 30% cheaper than petrol. The food is basic, healthy and fresh and people are polite if a little reserved. The bars are relaxed and have a vast selection of beers at reasonable prices. There are many parks and lakes as well as the canals. Farming is basic and fictional with equipment of a vintage nature.

Our most enjoyable time was having a picnic at one of the numerous lakes.

Shardlow at night

Rail for small shelf

I have been looking for a solution for the small shelf below the control panel. Due to the boat rocking, especially when boarding the boat/when rushing about, I needed a rail fitting to stop objects falling off it. The solution was to obtain some sort of rail, but, sourcing it proved difficult. In the end I bought two brass handles and fitted them adjacent to the shelf - works ok and stops my dab radio falling off - one broke recently.

Back to the future

Great scot - saw this badboy when stuck in a traffic cue last week

Fishy business

Randomly, i decided to buy a fishing licence - gives me an excuse to visit the boat now that most of the jobs are done. Here are a couple of my catches - mostly skimmers but a couple of perch and a nice roach. I think most of the big fish i.e. the carp, tend to stay in the marina nearby.

 Regarding the boat I removed the rest of the peeling coating from the toilet window and fitted a brass bar to keep the curtains flat to preserve modesty. The curtains are a tad short but I didn't want the bar too high.

More exhaust work

Carefully unwrapped the upper exhaust bandage and as I suspected the upper exhaust was broken as the lower exhaust. I bought another fixed repair clamp and fitted it - sorted for now. Unable to source a flexible pipe.

On a positive note the boat started ok, the cable to the solenoid was loose and is now secure and the starter looks fairly new.

Test run 29.6.13 and 30.6.13

Fitted a solar charge controller and re fitted the small solar panel on the roof as the batteries have been holding charge well. The solar panel must have been causing problems to the charge circuit so will not be plugged in during cruising. The boat started well and it is a lot quieter at high revs since the exhaust was repaired. Took it to Mercia for 10 mins to blow off the cobwebs. We are taking it out tomorrow for a short cruise. Took the boat out this afternoon and got the click on trying to start the engine again, but it turned ok after a few turns - will try fitting the new battery, but, starting to think that the starter motor might be on the way out.

Top of steps

Decided to put a new ply panel on top of the steps - existing panel is very thin ply and is delaminating as well as the hooks becoming less secure - the screw threads have got loose, the chipboard behind has also bulged out. Using long wood screws has pulled the wood sections together and made the surface solid to hold the steps and hooks in place.

Exhaust repair

 I cut off the insulating bandage of the lower section of the exhaust and noted that there was no flexible section in the exhaust - this means that the exhaust is being stressed by any engine vibration. I noted that the original exhaust that looks about 4mm thick from the manifold had been sleeved with cheap bendable pipe and had been riveted to the manfold pipe. The cheap pipe had sheared at the end of the overlap section and was only held in place by a thin thread. The cheap corrugated pipe was 45mm. I went to midland chandlers and would have had to replace the whole system with screw fitting pipe and manifold, including a flexible section. In the end I decided to go for a cheaper temporary option of a repair sleeve available from a motor factors. The sleeve has substantial pair of bolts and I put some repair putty in the joint - clean break to assist the seal. After tightening I put more putty around the edges. On starting the boat I noted it was a lot quieter and I will be less embarased to cruise now as it was very noisy at high revs. I then replaced the bandage on the exhaust after checking for leaks. A good day and I hope the repair last for the rest if the year. The battery isolation is working as the boat started first pull.

I also bought a battery operated pump to empty the bilge fully as the bilge pump leaves about 1.5 inches of water in.