Painting the Gunwales

This is what we use to paint our gunwales.

Matt Black - £9.98/750ml from B & Q Jan '14

It was £11.99/750ml in April '12

Major Surgery

I had a phone call from Gary at Heyford Fields Boatyard. Our engine is out of TQ and is in pieces. We're having the crankshaft re-manufactured, at least the bit on the front end where the pulleys fit. While the engine is out, it's a good time to look for wear in the critical parts. Gary has advised we have new engine mountings, a drive plate, new big end shells, and new piston rings. It would be false economy not to do this, I fear the engine would be out again in twelve months time if we didn't.

The shells are showing signs of discolouration so they're down to their limit, and the rings are slightly grooved, as are the bores. Gary will lightly hone the bores to remove any high spots before fitting the pistons with new rings. It's impossible to fit the old rings back in exactly the same place and if they were fitted, the engine would lose compression, burn oil and have a smoky exhaust.

Everything went to plan.

TQ was delivered to Heyford Fields Boatyard today and I was shown in detail what work needs to be done. It is very intricate and requires professional excellence. In the worst case scenario, the crankshaft will need welding to build up a layer of metal to replace that which is worn away. This is very involved and needs to be done in such a way so as not to distort the shaft. Then the excess metal has to be machined off and the original dimensions reproduced. Two key-ways have to be cut at 90° in the crankshaft and the pulley, and on assembly a pin is inserted to prevent the retaining nut from loosening. Belt and braces on the belt and braces.

TQ at Heyford Fields Boatyard

A New visit

We've had Sunday Lunch for supper in the New Inn and I have to say it was really very good. We had Roast Beef and Yorkshire Pudding with carrots, peas and cabbage, roast potatoes and mashed potatoes, Cauliflower Cheese with leeks, extra gravy. The problem I had with this was that I didn't have room for the Blackberry and Apple Crumble on offer. The meal was excellent with a quick and friendly service. I get the impression that they are there for good customer satisfaction and profit is a secondary priority. It's a long way from "Charge as much as possible and slap it on the table". It's an old pub sympathetically decorated and retaining its history with many photographs of days gone by. I would highly recommend it.

Everything is going to plan (so far).

We arrived at the marina around 09:45hrs and prepared for our "soon as possible" departure. We thought there wouldn't be much about on the cut today and that we'd be doing the Braunston Six on our own, but there was far more than we expected, and we even had a locking partner for the flight. It couldn't have worked out better.
We've made it exactly half way at Norton Junction where we'll be going in the New Inn for supper.

A spot of engine trouble

When on on board TQ at Christmas, as part of the daily checks, I noticed the generator and the two alternators would turn easily by hand whilst the engine was stationary - Not by much, but enough to be concerned. I rang Beta Marine and they were very helpful as always, and advised we get it sorted as soon as possible. They put me in touch with Gary at Heyford Fields and he advised the same as Beta Marine. So today we're taking a sprint up the M5 to our marina to take TQ to Heyford Fields and act on the advice given. I've heard of this problem before, it occurs when there is a heavy load on the mains 240v circuit with the engine on tick-over. It induces opposing and alternating torsional forces between the pulley and the crankshaft, placing wear on both. Ultimately, total crankshaft failure would be the result, and having heard of this happening on another vessel in the fleet, it is something which must not be ignored. Hopefully I've caught it early, before too much damage is done.

Home again.

We arrived home safely, but my last job on TQ drew a blank. I couldn't get the immersion heater to turn, it's in there too tight. The other thing is, I've found another leak so that will need investigating.
Check this out:- http://noproblem.org.uk/blog/plenty-of-water-in-cropredy/ We were there last Monday, and winded in the hole just the other side of the bridge.
Well, that's it for us now, we're into maintenance weeks for the next fortnight, so I'll be returning at the end of that to do some work and I have the two weeks following which I have given over to maintenance. That'll take us through to the end of January.

We're going home today.

We're fed up with the wet and windy. But there are a few jobs to be done first. I have to drain the water system as its Maintenance Fortnight and being January the risk of frost is high. While the water is drained the immersion heater needs to be removed as its leaking. I'll replace it with a brass plug, as we don't use it, it's not even connected electrically.

A quiet day.

We just popped into Braunston to get a couple of bits and pieces and in the afternoon I drop tested the domestic battery pack. No, not from a great height, or even a lesser height. It places the battery under load for about ten seconds and the recovery time is measured - it should recover within 10 seconds. The good news is the recovery time was almost instant, so each of the batteries is in good health.

6v and 12v Drop Tester.

On connection, the needle is on the green/red border - 12.8v.
Under load, the needle drops to 11.2v.
Recovery instantly goes to 12.6v.

Each battery was disconnected and tested individually. The starter battery proved similar results.

A short cruise...

...from The Bridge at Napton to Wigrams Marina.

Arriving at the marina the Sun was reflecting off the water and I had a job to see where I was going, but managed to get us on the berth without too much bother from the wind. We jumped in the car and went to do some shopping in Southam. There's a nice Tesco there and Lin was in her element. We needed some essentials, but there were more than the essentials in the basket. "Where's your shopping list", I asked. "In here", said Lin, pointing to her head. We had only one basket, Lin picked it up on the way in, I elected not to have one - good move!

After a sandwich for lunch, I got down to the task of wiring up the new engine hour meter. I knew of one place for sure where it could be connected, but I really wanted to connect it to the back of the tacho and that wasn't going to be easy, so it was going to be the back of the domestic alternator. I checked out, using a meter, which connection to use, threaded the wire around the engine and terminated it using a crimp. Then I connected it to the appropriate connection. Switched on the ignition, hour meter not working - correct. Fire up the engine, hour meter working - also correct.

Rain is forecast for tomorrow - what a surprise!

First Post of 2014.

Happy New Year!

I'm sorry this post is late, but where we were moored yesterday there was absolutely no internet or mobile phone connection at all.

We slipped our moorings at around 08:00hrs and yes, you've guessed already, it started to rain. We were committed once we'd done the first lock at Marston Doles, so we just kept going. The rain was horizontal all the way down the next eight locks and we'd had enough 13:00hrs. We fancied lunch so we moored outside The Bridge at Napton and had hot dogs and caramelised onions in a crusty roll - delicious. I should point out that the pub was closed and appeared that it had been for some months. There are weeds growing up around it and some guttering and a down pipe have fallen down. Lin cooked lunch and then we "crashed" and waited for the weather to abate. Of course, it didn't.

Last Post of 2013.

It's incredible how the weather plays such a major part in navigating the inland waterways. Today started off damp but not raining, but as soon as I poked my head out of the door it started. It became heavier as we negotiated the locks at Cropredy, then all of a sudden it emptied down accompanied with hail. Too late for us, we couldn't do anything to shelter from it, we just had to keep going. Once through Claydon Top Lock we moored up on the public visitor moorings and had a hot drink and a snack before continuing our journey along the summit level. By now the rain had eased and there were beginnings of some brightness, even blue sky on the horizon, but it wasn't until late in the day that the Sun decided to peep out from behind the cloud only for a brief moment.

Nice canal side property in Cropredy.

Loads of berries left on the bushes, I wonder if it's going to be a hard Winter

A feeder into the summit level.

I like this design, it looks good, is functional and something that wouldn't be amiss in the gardens of a stately home.

Does anyone know what these are for?

It's the end of the year, and as in every year so much has happened. I'm not going to look back over the last twelve months, you can watch that on BBC, ITVand Sky News 'til your heart's content, so it leaves me now to thank everyone for reading my drivel and to wish you all a very Happy New Year.

I'm sure the weather knows we're on holiday.

The wind gradually increased in speed over night and it stayed mainly dry until early morning and now it's strong winds and light but persistent rain. As a result of that and the five day forecast we've abandoned the idea of going to Banbury and we'll wind TQ at the winding hole in Cropredy instead. (Sorry Brian and Diana).
The engine wouldn't start this morning, I think some water must have got in somewhere overnight. The Beta control panel was dead, and I suspected the 11 way connector which supplies power to it. Turns out I was right, the two halves don't fit too tightly together and some of the connections don't make very well. That coupled with some corrosion which never helps. I bent some of the connectors to help them make better contact, sprayed it all with a generous dose of WD-40, and reassembled it. This time the panel lit up and the starter clicked when tried it. I kept on trying it and after a few attempts the engine turned over and burst into life.

We waited until the rain had stopped and made our way through Claydon Locks, Locks 22, 23,24 and 25 winded and back through Cropredy Lock 25.
We picked a mooring spot in Cropredy on the way down and winded as a fore mentioned and took on water at the point there and wended our way to just North of the new Cropredy Marina, just short of Broadmoor Lock 24.

Here's some pictures of today:-

Through our front window this morning.

A sign yet to be changed.

Poser.

You make up your own caption.

Don't try this at home...

...OR ON A CANAL!

I bet this dogwood looks stunning in the Winter sunshine.

Named after Reg? No, surely not. 

Well, we've been beaten by the weather again, and have had to cut short our plans. Now, we're aboard TQ again commencing May 11th 2014 for a week. So make a note in your diary, " This week the weather will be a pail O'shate"

What's that noise?

"That's a bit weird, I've not heard that before." It got louder and louder and then tailed off as a canoe paddled by in the ice. ICE? Oh! no, Yes, the cut was iced up, only thin ice thankfully, but it's enough to scare you into believing it could be thicker further on. The Sun was out in full glory but the air wasn't warm enough to do much melting. We had to make way, and so we ventured out into the now slushy stuff and it wasn't long before a boat came the other way making a nice track through it for us. It only lasted a couple of miles and then returned to water and that was the last we saw of it all day and the boat we saw ice breaking for us was the only one on the move.

We moored up just East of Br. 143 ready for Claydon Locks tomorrow, and two boats have now passed us, but it looks like the weather is going to play its part first thing.

We have moved...

...out of the marina and turned left, yes left. That's the second time we've done that, the last time was down to the winding hole just before the locks and back some two years ago. This time we've pushed the boat out (sorry) and navigated all the way to just beyond Marston Doles. The locks, although old and in need of repair, are not too heavy, and nearly all of them were in our favour. It seems a bit odd to be going up locks on the way down to the Thames, but there is the River Cherwell in between which supplies this part of the Oxford Canal. The weather has been very kind with bright sunshine and light winds, but I think it might decline slightly tomorrow. Not to worry, we'll still press on to Banbury.

We didn't meet another boat on the way here, now that we're moored up three have passed all heading in the same direction, one of them is a hire boat (Kates) from Warwick. Looks like Banbury is going to be chocker.

Out in the sticks near Priors Hardwick

I tired, I had a hard day.

I thought we were going to be on our own tonight, but just as I'm typing this another boat has moored in front of us. I don't know what it is about us that makes us a people magnet. When we go away in our caravan we can (and have) pitched in an empty field and straight away, someone will pitch next to us. Not only that, but someone else will pitch the other side - guaranteed - and that has happened on too many occasions.

Another Maintenance Day

Weather again...

Didn't we ever have have a storm last night, and as a result we didn't get much sleep. There wasn't as much rain, as was expected, but the wind was very fierce, rocking and bumping TQ against the jetty. It's been quite windy all day, not as bad as last night, though there were a couple of light showers.

A trip in the car...

I drove to Daventry to get a drill bit, I forgot to bring some with me, though I'm sure I put them in the box. A visit to Homebase sorted it, and I was back on TQ by lunch time.

The Maintenance...

It's important to know how many hours the engine has done so that you know when to service it and the hour meter in our tacho doesn't work, they're the LCD type and we've found them very unreliable. They seem to be susceptible to extreme temperatures and damp conditions. I've purchased a mechanical type and mounted it in the cabin away from sunshine and damp.

So, I marked out the position and chain drilled a series of holes to form a circle slightly smaller than the diameter of the meter body. Then I joined up all the holes using a junior hacksaw blade and the center fell out. Next I filed out the hole until the gauge fitted loosely. The wood oak faced MDF is about 20mm thick and I had to cut the retaining clamp so it would fit in the thicker material.

Fitted but not connected yet.

A closer look.

Tomorrow I'll wire it up, time and energy permitting.

Making a move...

Hopefully tomorrow, we're going to make a dash for it, and head on down to Banbury. 

A Beautiful Day.

Steamy Windows.

Every morning the windows are thick with condensation and a quick flip round with the Karcher pressure washer Window Vac cleans it all up. The problem is the frames get laden and they drip onto the wooden surround and then onto the floor or bed, so it's essential to clean it up every day. Today is not too bad as the Suns heat has helped to keep the condensation at bay.

Back to Base

We're back in the marina now, as the weather forecast for tonight and tomorrow is heavy rain and high winds - more of the same, then. At least here we can hook up to the mains electricity and there's water very close by.

Battery trouble

Checking the domestic pack on the control panel volt meter prior to switching on the Webasto showed a reading of less than 11 volts. The engine was switched off after 20:30 hrs last night and the TV only had an hour and a half after that. The fridge ran all night as usual and nothing else was on. I suspect there may be trouble ahead! I'll do some further checks and see if I can suss out what's going on.

Poo Stop

I fitted the Lee San Micro Vent today, so hopefully there'll be no more embarrassing odours emitting  from the poo tank especially in the Summer.

With charcoal filter installed.

Merry Christmas Everyone...

Enjoy your day.

We woke early this morning, I don't know why, and then we went back to sleep again, not waking until 07:50. With ablutions done we exchanged presents and just before 10:00 hrs I did the daily engine checks and then we Skyped Spain to speak to Lin's parents. I've been getting itchy feet over the last few days and I'm pleased to be on the move again, albeit almost into Braunston and back to just East of Bridge 101. Lin cooked the most wonderful Christmas Lunch, turkey, roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots and, of course, brussels sprouts, washed down with a glass of Merlot.

It's 15:45 hrs now, the Sun has gone down behind the cloud on the horizon and dusk is approaching. Toy Story is on the TV and Lin is in her element.

Lucy doing what she does best (after a belly full of turkey).

We're really pleased with Lucy, she's taken to narrow boating better than expected. 

Bridge 101 in the background.

Tomorrow, weather permitting, we head to Banbury.

Change of plan.

Lying in bed this morning, I suddenly released it was getting light outside and it must be getting late (for me). Lin, (bless her), was deep in the land of nod. So I got out of bed and straight into the shower, made all the engine checks, filled the water tank and prepared for the off. Then we Lin changed our her minds and decided to stay in the marina yet another day. It's a Wonderful Life is on the telly as I write, need I say more?

Marina View - That windsock was horizontal yesterday and the pole was bending

It turned out to be a quite a pleasant day.

Stormy weather...

What a night, TQ was lashed with the heaviest rain I've seen for a long while and it wasn't just a passing heavy shower, it went on for quite a time. Assisted by some very strong winds rocking the boat, it was almost frightening. This morning we have blue skies and hazy sunshine, the winds are light, even cruise-able, but there are some dark clouds on the horizon and I think it's all going to change before long.