Cruising Log 2008
13 January 2008
Arrived at 10 on a bright chilly morning for the monthly tlc session. Ran the
engine up and did the usual checks. Emptied and re-charged the dehumidifiers.
Wired up one of the solar panels with its fuse and connected it across the
‘engine start’ battery. The panels won’t do much by way of charging but
hopefully will keep the chemistry around the plates active, help to ward off
sulphation and make the batteries last longer. I’m sure these long periods of
standing over the winter months does them no good. Left the boat at 11.30am.
1 hour battery charge
10 February 2008
A real spring-like day today and after a frosty start the air temperature
rose into double figures. I arrived at 9.45am. Ran the engine up and did the
usual checks. Emptied and re-charged the dehumidifiers. For some reason there
was a lot of condensation water in the engine well around the weed-hatch so I
swabbed it all out with a sponge. Have read a super idea on the internet to use
nappies to soak up bilge water that accumulates below the draw level of the
bilge pumps. I’ll get Meg to buy some disposable nappies and give it a try!
Wired up the second solar panel with its fuse and connected it across the
cabin batteries. Now I must decide whether to put the 3rd panel in
parallel with the second to further boost the cabin batteries or use it on the
bow-thruster batteries. I’ll worry about that another time. Left the boat shortly
after 11am.
1 hour battery charge
Maplin cheapo solar panel
08 March 2008
A windy morning and talk of gales and storms next week. Arrived at 9.30am.
The engine started with only a brief squeal so hopefully the new solar panels
are helping the batteries. Emptied the dehumidifiers and did all the usual
checks. A quick inventory of the food cupboards and cleaning materials so we
know what's needed when we come down at Easter. Noticed that Derek's cratch
cover was flapping about in the wind so I secured it with some bits of elastic
from the 'bits box'. Phoned Elizabeth to tell her that the rear canopy also
needed some attention. Checked all the ropes and mooring pins and anchors, and
left the marina at 11.30am.
1 1/2 hours battery charge
17 March 2008
Called by around 2pm on the way back from a work appointment to drop off food
and supplies for the weekend - but the forecast is bad (snow and very low
temperatures). The river is very high indeed and I suspect the EA will put out a
'strong stream' warning pretty soon. Checked the usual things and was away
around 2.45pm.
(Yes - it did snow, the EA did issue a 'strong stream' warning and we
couldn't go boating over Easter. But Alison and Andy took some super Beardie
pictures in the snow - see Tasha's photo gallery).
13 April 2008
Yesterday the renewal notice for Tambourine's insurance arrived. Aaargh! More
expense.
Arrived at around 10am; a bright but breezy morning. First job was to check
the 'disposable nappy' trick so dropped a couple of them into the bilges. Sure'nuff
- after 5 minutes or so they had absorbed a huge amount of bilge water. It only
needed another two and the bilge (and the grotty bit below the engine that the
bilge-pump doesn't empty in case it pumps oily crud into the
river) were more or less dry. I suppose if I had been really thoughtful I could
have dried them out and used them again but as it was - I chucked them in the
skip!
Wired up the third solar panel to the bow-thruster batteries and checked the
voltages on the cabin set and starter battery - all looks OK. Re-filled the
dehumidifiers and made a list of the things we still need to being down before
we go away to Reach next month. Left around 11.30am and as I approached Cambridge
on the A10 a huge hailstorm hit - so a timely exit!
01 May 2008
Arrived at the mooring at 9.30am. Forecast is 'sunshine and showers' - but no
mention of the proportions! Dried out the bilge (nappy treatment!), checked the
engine oil and coolant levels and fired it up. Started easily and no squeal -
the solar panels are definitely making a difference! Connected the hosepipe and
refilled with water - the pressure is very low at the marina and it took over
two hours to fill. Then dried out the well where the bow-thruster is (nappy
treatment again!), fired up the little petrol generator and attacked the bow-thruster
with Meg's hairdryer to get rid of the condensation in the control box. The
generator grunted a bit at this treatment but didn't stall and after about 1/2
hour I managed to coax the thruster back to life.
When the water-tank was filled I tried to fit the new 'o' rings to the Paloma
water heater drain valve but they're too big - a complete waste of £8 for a
so-called 'genuine replacement 'o' ring kit'. We will have to live with the
water drip from the valve and leave a bowl underneath it for now.
Put 5 litres of road diesel into the fuel tank and fired up the central
heating which started immediately after its winter rest. Emptied the loo,
cleaned the bathroom from top to bottom and checked over the stove and chimney. I
need to replace the fireclay around the bottom end of the chimney and also
attend to the caulking around the chimney outlet on the roof, both of which are
cracked. At 2.45 an enormous hailstorm hit which put paid to any more outside
work so I re-hung the summer curtains and folded up the winter ones to take back
home for cleaning. Packed everything up and left the marina shortly before 4pm.
Back tomorrow to set off for Reach Fair.
Very little traffic on the river today; one NB and one cruiser was all I
spotted.
3 hours battery charge Coal £9.00; diesel £5.50; 'o' rings
£8.00.
02 May 2008
We left home at 11.45am. There was a huge accident on the A14 eastbound
which we managed to avoid by leaving the A11 at Wilbraham and going round the
lanes. Stopped for lunch at the Maid's Head in Wicken (fish and chips and a
steak and ale pie, very good) and reached the marina at 2.30pm to load up. Just
finished loading and it began to rain again. Sun came out about 3.30. Lit the
stove at 6pm as we are expecting a cold night. Dried out the chain locker and
bow-thruster well, took Tasha for a walk, dumped some rubbish in the skip and
settled down for the evening.
03 May 2008
Left the marina with Jonathan and Gail on Safina mid-morning and had a
pleasant journey to Reach, arriving for a late lunch. Did one or two jobs around
the boat and the IWA team went for a meal in the Dykes End pub in the evening.
3 hours, 1 lock
Water stop at Upware Lock
The lonely waters of Reach Lode
04 May 2008
After breakfast the ladies all went off for a long walk. I helped Jonathan
set up his new satellite system. We got it working after a fashion. The bar-b-q
was a great success; it didn't rain and the tally was 20 people and 7 boats. Meg
made a useful profit on the raffle. We didn't finish and clear up until quite
late in the day.
Reach Fair Gathering of Boats Boaters' bar-b-q at Reach
05 May 2008
A fine day for the fair. We helped put up the IWA stand and wandered around
the fair; it was very crowded. Bought Meg a nice opal ring off one of the
stalls. Burger and a pint and we set off about 3pm. Then the trouble started.
First the bow-thruster started going on and off by itself so we had to disconnect
it. Then the propellor stopped rotating - no drive! We managed to limp out of
Reach with the power coming and going and caught up with Jonathan who towed us
to Upware lock. Here we met Keith off NB Sir Christopher Wren who suggested we
might be short of oil for the hydraulic gearbox. Sure enough, we dipped the oil
level to find the box virtually completely empty! Having checked in the handbook
that the engine oil was suitable for the gearbox, we added some oil; this
restored the drive and enabled us to get out of the lock and back to Popes
Corner without any further trouble. However, the leak will have to be
investigated. We cooked a fine lamb shank supper on our return, cleared up and
loaded up and left the marina just as it was getting dark.
3 hours, 1 lock
11 May 2008
Came down to the boat at 10am to see if I could do anything with the bow-thruster
and work out where the gearbox oil leak is. The thruster failed to respond to
the WD40 treatment and there is no dampness around the relay or the control box
that I can see, so it is going to need a longer investigation.
I couldn't see any obvious signs of leaking oil from the gearbox and the
drain-plug is quite tight - but the box is almost empty again so the leak is a
significant one. More work needed. All in all a damned nuisance to say nothing
of possibly very expensive so I will have to make some enquiries about getting
these things sorted out. I don't want 'Tambourine' out of commission all summer.
01 June 2008
A closer inspection of the gearbox this morning after re-filling it with oil
revealed that the oil is leaking is from the actuator arm; the oil is obviously
under pressure at this point and it comes out in a steady stream, even when the
propellor is not engaged - so presumably the oil pump in the box rotates all the
time, whether or not it's 'in gear'. Probably would
be too much of a risk to try and make it to Ely under my own steam. Still - at
least the early signs are that it's not a 'gearbox out' job.
I'll have to address the logistics of moving the boat a bit later on. Decided
to defer work on the bow-thruster until next weekend, so topped up the
dehumidifiers, did the usual checks and left for home around 1.30pm.
08 June 2008
Have arranged with Gary and David at The Boatyard in Ely for them to fix the
gearbox (and mend the bow-thruster - and fix my helmsman's seat - and mend the
chimney - amongst other things). I arrived at the boat at 11.30. Jonathan and
Gail have kindly agreed to tow me to Ely.
But - on opening the engine hatch I found that the disposable nappies I put
underneath the engine to catch oil drips had also caught a lot of water from the
recent heavy rains. The absorbent gel in them had swollen up so much that they
had split and I had to spend 2 hours digging all the gel out of the bilges. It
completely filled a black dustbin bag and was so heavy it was a real struggle to
lug it across to the skip.
Well, we live and learn. When we were ready to go, we discovered that the
easterly breeze was so strong that it made it impossible to turn 'Tambourine' in
the basin. After a brief struggle we gave up and breasted the two boats up but
with 'Tambourine' pointing backwards. We got some funny looks from other boaters
on our short journey to Ely. But it was the simplest way!
Tambourine is now in Gary and David's tender care. And heartfelt thanks to
Jonathan and Gail on NB Safina for their help.
15 June 2008
After we had positioned the cars, we arrived at The Boatyard in Ely. Garf
showed us around the work that has been done and we were most impressed by the
standard of workmanship and attention to detail. Everything we had asked for has
been done, plus some other things we had overlooked ourselves. We settled up,
removed the chimneys and nosed 'Tambourine' under the boatyard bridge and then a
gentle run back to Popes Corner. The river was quite busy but it was sad that on
waving to other boats coming by, so many didn't return the greeting but just
stared forward, stony-faced. I couldn't help wondering - what is wrong with some
of these people?
We tied up at the mooring and after shutting everything down, returned to
Ely. We called into Ely Boat Chandlery to get a new mooring pin lump-hammer to
replace the one that Gary lost. Had a 'fish-and-chip' lunch on the riverside and
wandered home about 3pm.
1 hour Repairs £485 Lump-hammer £7
10 July 2008
This is becoming not so much a cruising log as a static log. Today was the
first opportunity to visit the boat for 4 weeks because of birthday weekends,
bad weather, work and other distractions. Never mind; we will go cruising
soon.....................but not this weekend because the forecast is appalling.
Arrived at 9.30am; a sunny morning but with cloud slowly building up. Stormy
weather is threatened for later on. Dried out the bilges and positioned a
plastic container underneath the stern-gland to catch the water drips. I've an
idea to replace it with a cut-down 5-litre jerrican later on. I cleaned the
bathroom, screwed down the bowthruster cover but some of the cross-head screws
are worn out. They must be replaced by ones of exactly the same size. After a
general tidy up and connecting the solar panels to the batteries I drove to Ely
Boat Chandlers. Here I stocked up on some general chandlery; Aquakem for the
loo, new bowthruster cover screws, some asbestos rope for the stove flue, a
spare deck-plug key (the original spare has gone awol) and some grey primer
paint to use if ever I get time to re-paint the rusty bits on the topsides. More
money - where will it all end?
3/4 hour battery charge General chandlery £27
01 August 2008
We arrived at 4pm and after the usual loading up bits, we ambled round the
corner to the '100-acre' moorings for the night. Meg cooked a lovely moussaka
supper which we washed down with a bottle of good stuff. A comfortable night but
the forecast is bad for tomorrow.
1/4 hour
02 August 2008
We left fairly early after breakfast for the Pike and Eel. The weather was
very unsettled with some really heavy, squally showers. It was uncomfortably
cold. We locked through Hermitage on our own - went straight in - and intended
to stop at Earith for lunch but the moorings were full. So we decided to carry
on to the Pike and have a late lunch when we got there. Locked through
Brownshill Staunch solo although the folks coming the other way worked the lock
for us. We tied up on the front at the Pike and Eel at 2pm, absolutely soaked.
Meg lit the stove so that we could dry off all our wet things! It was a bad run;
we were pushed aground just upstream of Twentypence Bridge (by cruiser 'Water
Moon' - you knew what you had done, but you didn't stop to help, did you. We'll
be watching out for you, matey) but managed to get off the gravel bar without
too much trouble; we pulled in to have a word with Stuart Sampson the Chairman
of the National Association of Boat Owners and the wash from the cruiser belting
the other way caused us to bump into him - very embarrassing. In the end we were wet, cold and fed up. The weather brightened after lunch; Meg took
Tasha for a walk and Steve went for a beer. We invited a couple of cruisers to
tie up alongside and had a nice chat with their occupants. The crew of cruiser
'Bumble' were heading for Denver then out on the tideway, across the Wash and up
the coast to Scarborough! Good luck me hearties, have a good run and don't run
out of diesel! After a nice evening meal at the Pike we invited our neighbours
back for a port or two, and so to bed after a rather mixed day.
5 1/2 hours, 2 locks
Moored at the Pike and Eel
03 August 2008
We left the Pike at 10 after saying our various 'Goodbyes'. There were
several boats waiting at Brownshill Staunch and some confusion about who's turn
was who's - but it all sorted out in the end and by the time we went through
there was a big queue of boats behind us. I think they were coming back from the
big GOBA rally at Hemingford. We went straight through Hermitage lock and had a
most pleasant gentle run back to Popes Corner. We hardly saw any boats on the
Old West this afternoon. The rain held off; in fact we had ideal cruising
conditions. We arrived back at the marina at 4pm.
6 hours, 2 locks
19 August 2008
As I approached the marina around 2pm the skies were getting very dark. When
I reached the boat the heavens opened and it rained stair-rods for about 20
minutes. Just my luck. Sat in the car until it stopped. Loaded up the boat bits
during a brief lull in the rain. Not a useful visit; the screws I got for the
bowthruster cover don't fit and I may have to drill out the holes; the
fibreglass collar for the chimney doesn't fit either and will have to be
re-shaped; I noticed during the rain that the cratch cover has started to leak
along the stitched edges (still - it's being replaced next month) - if fact the
only successful op was re-filling all the dehumidifiers with damp crystals. If
this rain keeps up they've got some work to do! And a 2.5kg bag of crystals has
gone up from £4.99 to £6.99 since last autumn.
Met up with Derek and had a look over his new Seamaster 813 - lovely. Made
arrangements to meet up at the festival at the weekend. Left for home at 4.45pm,
of course the sun is out now and the clouds have gone....................
2 hours battery charge.
Damp-crystals £6.99
08 September 2008
The river between Bedford and Earith is closed and the locks are reversed
because of all the rain - and there is more to come! We still hope to get away
for a cruise at some stage during our week off but it's hard to say when. Arrived
at the boat shortly after 9.30am. The skies are very dark but no sign of rain as
yet. The river is flowing quite fast and a narrowboat heading for Cambridge was
making quite heavy weather of it but its not as bad as I was expecting. We may
be able to get away later on. I emptied the dehumidifiers, checked the bilges
and had a general look around, and went back home again shortly after 10.30. We
will play the rest of the week by ear. However - the time is coming for
Tambourine to leave the river and search out pastures new on the canals I think.
Something we will have to think about over the winter.
5 litres of road diesel £6.05
12 September 2008
Arrived mid-morning to await the new cratch cover which is ready for fitting.
Right on cue, it began to rain as I arrived. I did a few chores; emptied the
dehumidifiers, cleaned out the stove, re-charged all the 'rechargable'
appliances on the boat and ran the central heating up - to warm me up a bit and
to drive away any lingering dampness. Ray Whitby from Robbs Coverings arrived at
2.45pm and fitted the new cover. Fortunately by then the rain had more or less
stopped. On close inspection after he had gone I noticed a few things not quite
right with the cover which I will have to speak to him about. Left for home at
5pm. Bought a fine bag of home-grown runner beans of a roadside stall in Wicken
on the way.
3 hours battery charge-up
21 September 2008
A sunny weekend beckons! We arrived at mid-day and Meg walked the dogs to the
'100-acre' moorings. She phoned to say there was loads of room so I trickled
round and moored up with a view to polishing the boat. After a big pan-fried
steak and salad lunch washed down with a bottle of Chardonnay we dozed much of
the afternoon away - but at least managed to get the first coat of polish on one
side. The moorings are almost deserted; we have one narrowboat neighbour (NB
Blue Moon) and a 'Bridge Boatyard' hired boat - that's it! During the afternoon
John and Sandra Parker on 'Bobbles' stopped by for a few words. Pork fillets and
vegetables for supper with the stove chuckling away to keep the chill autumn
evening at bay. We were too lazy to wash up afterwards - too warm and cozy by
the stove - so after some sleepy conversation we were off to bed and a good
nights sleep was had by all. Tomorrow promises to be another sunny day.
1/4 hour + 3 hours battery charge
Patiently waiting to go walking
Tasha on the flood bank at the 100-acre moorings
The 100-acre moorings on the Old West River NB Pavane approaches the 100-acre in the evening sun
22 September 2008
We slept in later than usual (8.30!) and after a leisurely breakfast Meg
walked the dogs and I continued to polish. By lunchtime one side was finished
and looks much better than before! Talking to our neighbours on Blue Moon they
mentioned that a little way beyond the moorings towards the field fence the
water is deep enough and the river wide enough to turn a 50-foot boat - and
promptly demonstrated it! We followed their example and it worked a treat. So a
quick about-face and back to polishing the other side. Lots of cruisers were
going by today, many of them going very fast. Clearly the sign at the river
entrance asking people to slow down to avoid bank erosion doesn't apply to them!
At 5pm we trickled back to Popes Corner, passing Alan and his wife on cruiser
'Solitaire' and had a quick shout and a wave. Moored up, shut down and set off
for home, stopping for a takeaway chinese supper at the Jade Fountain restaurant
in Sawston on the way. A lovely weekend break.
1/4 hour
19 October 2008
Arrived at 10am to start the winterising process. Ran the engine up, cleaned
the shower room and the loo, removed all the food from the cupboards to take
home and cleaned all the cupboard shelves. Emptied the stove grate and cleaned
the stove down, sorted out all the stuff in the 'cleaning' cupboard and binned a
lot of unwanted bits and pieces. The stainless steel screws I removed from the
old window frames when we had the house double-glazed last month fit the
bowthruster cover exactly so replaced all the missing or worn cover screws.
Topped up the electrolyte in all the batteries and refilled the stern-gland
greaser. Checked bowthruster operation. Drained the water-tank and drained down
the Paloma water heater. Unfortunately I forgot to buy antifreeze so I will have
to go back soon to top up the engine; also must remember to bring the little
portable Dyson down and hoover through; also change the curtains over for
the winter ones.
It's such a shame, another year has flown by and we can almost count the
cruising hours on our fingers. If our plan to move to the canals comes off we'll
hopefully do more next year. Left at 3.30pm; the wind is picking up and a stormy
day is forecast for tomorrow.
4 hours battery charge
22 October 2008
Because of the lousy weather and lack of cruising this year I've got lots of
holiday left so decided to take an impromptu day off to finish the winterising.
Arrived at 10.15 on a bright and breezy day. Topped up the engine header tank
with antifreeze mix, stripped the bed to take the linen home for washing, took
down all the summer curtains and put up the winter ones. Added 5 litres of road
diesel to the tank. Started to strip the paint off the cratchboard for
re-painting but found a couple of soft areas in the wood. These will need to be
cut out and filled - so covered them with tape to prevent further moisture
ingress pending another visit to finish the job off. Touched up the paintwork on
the roof - the roof really needs repainting; I must phone the people at Blakes
Paints to ask if I can put another coat straight over the old one without it
peeling off. Packed up and left at 3.30pm and realised I had forgotten to
connect up the solar panels - again....
Antifreeze £1.89; diesel £5.75
08 November 2008
A chilly day with blustery squalls of rain. The first job on arrival was to
paint wood hardener on the soft bits of the cratch board prior to filling with
isopon. I managed to get this done before the rain set in. Taped the areas over
to keep them dry. The engine started OK; a bit of a squeal from the drive belt
to begin with but I'll remember to connect up the solar panels this time!
Re-hung the bedroom pictures having sorted the frames out at home. The
dehumidifiers were all OK. Gathered up all the bits of kit we have that use
rechargeable batteries, and their chargers to take home for a long charge. By
this time it was raining quite heavily so I shut everything down, connected up
the solar panes and wended my way home around 11.30am.
1 1/2 hours battery charge
06 December 2008
A bright and sunny but chilly day. I arrived at 10am to do a monthly winter
TLC. Did the usual checks - dehumidifiers, stern-gland, mooring ropes and so on.
The engine started easily with only a brief drive-belt squeal so I think the
solar panels are helping. I was a bit concerned to see the bowl I placed under
the open Paloma heater drain valve was almost full. Not sure whether this means
trouble or not so I fired up the water pump and opened all the taps. A fair
quantity of water came out but no sign of any other leakage. When it warms up a
bit I'll have a closer look at it. Also ran the bow-thruster for a minute or so
in both directions with no bother. Noticed the stove and chimney are showing
some signs of rust and I think a re-paint wouldn't hurt. Checked in the paint
dept. but no stove paint left so I'll have to get some more. At 11am I shut
everything down and left for home.
1 hour battery charge
