Trouble with TQ and an emergency!

It's Monday morning and it's cold. Guess what - Webasto central heating doesn't work, so no hot water until the engine has been running. That's something else I have to look at. The other thing is the engine exhaust. It's leakng - badly. This means the engine is breathing in its own fumes. This is not good, your car would not pass the MoT and your aircraft would be grounded. But for our boat it's OK - NOT!


We left Braunston after taking a look around Midland Chandlers, (I bought an exhaust bandage to fix the leak), and made our way down to Braunston Locks, through Braunston Tunnel, straight on past Norton Junction to the Buckby Locks. As we approached the locks at Braunston there was a helicopter circling above and eventually it landed in an adjacent field. Turns out there was a bit of an incident going on at the canal side ahead. Apparently a woman had stepped off a narrowboat, slipped and fell hitting her head on the concrete quay side. All was well in the end, she was up and walking after the paramedics had done their bit.

We met up with a smashing couple today, Raymond and Jane aboard N.B. Kathleen Margaret, we twinned up with them to go down the Braunston and Buckby Locks. There are currently notices on most of the locks requesting that you wait an hour if there is just one boat, for another to come along so you can share the locks and save water.

We went ahead of our new found friends and moored up at The Wharf in Bugbrooke where they passed us shortly after. Hopefully we'll meet again soon.

I had a look at fitting the bandage on the exhaust but unfortunately I couldn't find exactly where it was leaking so I had to abandon that idea. The problem is, there is black smoke filling the engine hole and blocking the engines air filter. This means the same quantity of fuel is getting into the engine but with a drastically reduced air content resulting in reduced power and thick black smoke. (Even more to block the air filter). We're heading out onto the River Nene tomorrow, but not until the engineer at Carefree has been consulted first.
 

Air Ambulance in a field near Braunston Top Lock

Pretty country property at Norton Junction