A Wet Day in Fradley

It`s official: the wettest June for 100 years.  What you can do in Fradley, Staffs, while waiting for better weather. 



 visit the shop



admire the boats

 visit the old aerodrome (1939 - 1958)

 admire the boats

 visit the pub



admire the boats



do the crossword

 watch people blogging

Why the Long Face?

Because it`s raining, that`s why.  Although there`s really not much to be glum about; we are moored in the lovely Staffs village of Alrewas, and there`s plenty to see and do.  For one thing we`ve been speaking with our neighbour, the friendly fellow pictured on the left.  But we`ve also been doing a bit of research into solar panels for M and visiting the National Memorial Arboretum, which is just outside the village, a short walk away.

The Arboretum is a very large area of grass and newly planted trees divided into different sections not only dedicated to the many divisions of the armed forces but also other to private, commercial and public life.  The most poignant bit is a large circular series of walls set on a small hill that contains the names of all those British service personnel killed since WW2.  It finishes with those who died in 2011, leaving a long stretch of empty wall ahead.

Sue has been to the local reserve with her bins, as usual, and there is plenty of boat activity passing by our mooring to catch the eyes and make them lift from a book.  Sunbeam S7, named after a British motorcycle of the 1950s, is on a residential mooring opposite and our neighbour is still standing at his gate.  And it`s still raining.  So, we`ll run the engine, enquire about solar panels, put the kettle on and stay put for another day.  `Keep Calm and Carry On`, as it said on the tea towels in the Arboretum`s gift shop.



To my knowledge he`s had at least 10 apples today



Sunbeam S7, and it`s the right colour

Austin taxi ...

... and a traditional grocer.  The canals tend to pass through a bygone era



Sue at the National Arboretum ...



... where we opted for the Visitor Centre

Completely Foxed

We saw an old friend yesterday, moored just above Shardlow Lock, a new resident on that particular piece of canal bank.  Completely Foxed was owned until recently by G&D, as we often find ourselves calling them, a sort of affectionate collective, something often given to people you have only ever known as a couple.  We have spent many happy days cruising with the two of them, an ideal way of spending time with friends, separate accommodation (them on their boat, us on ours) but together, sharing.  Cruising in company is all about the sights, the locks, the hassles, the fun, and of course, the drinks and meals in the pubs, or on one or other boat.

It was G&D who introduced us to `boating` and each in their own way sorted our naivety with hints and gentle advice when needed.  D showed us how to enter a double lock side-by-side and after watching him in the locks or mooring (tieing up, approaching and leaving the canal bank) by imitation we have saved ourselves a lot of agg.  It was G who said, "if it doesn`t fit in the boat, you don`t need it".  Something we`ve never forgotten despite not living aboard all year round like they did.  D told us about inverters, generators, swims, paint ... and all the other things that help towards running your own boat, and hopefully, a carefree(-ish) life afloat.  We owe them much.

But after years afloat they have moved on, and back on land.  Like all boaters, they are quite adventurous and outgoing, as were the couple we met in Shardlow, who bought their boat on the internet without actually seeing her first.  Not that a viewing would have been easy from Melbourne, Australia, from their Alpaca farm.  They`ve sold that, bought somewhere else over there, and the boat, over here, and between the two they will spend their days - or months.  We admired them, and liked them: their attitude, their friendly manner, their optimism.  And they had got themselves a good boat at the right price by the sound of it.  We wish them well, and look forward to seeing Parrindi on the network in the future.

We spent last night at Weston, below the `Ukrainian`, and had music in the background all day today (motorcycles at nearby Donnington Park).  We`ll stay put tonight as the weather is still very blustery and generally wet. We had a walk into Melbourne, Derbyshire or is it Staffordshire, to a Budgens store, and discovered that the new city of Melbourne in Australia is closely related to the one we are moored near.  Apparently, Melbourne Australia was named after the British Prime Minister of the day, William Lamb, 2nd Viscount of Melbourne (Derbyshire).

Budgens - the New World in the Old World ...

... L. Ward - the Old World in the Old World.




There are reminders of those who went to the New World ...

 

... and evidence of those happy in the old one.

Green for Go

After months of tending to Vera in her old age, sorting Muriel`s diesel problem and waiting for the weather to change, we`re finally on our way - our Summer cruise has begun.

We hung around Pillings Lock for almost a week, waiting for the weather to turn, enjoying a meal in the Boat House, motoring up the canal to Loughborough a couple of times and mooring close to Millers Bridge over night.  We  even visited the Leicester Boat Festival, despite the rain.  But today, Thursday, the sun shone, the rivers (Soar and Trent) were no longer in flood and we were able to head down to the Trent & Mersey.

M behaved well so we are optimistic that our fuel bug/water problem has been cured (after diesel polishing, re-masticing the fuel intake and killer dose of Marine 16) and with a change of filters after about another 30 hours of running, she should be OK through the Summer and into Autumn. 

We are now at Shardlow, sitting under the pram cover listening to the rain. But it can rain all it likes for the moment - we are off the river.  Tomorrow we may head up towards Weston, just a couple of locks away.

M prepares to enter Bishops Meadow Lock, Loughborough.  Black Bart was coming up.

The 3M Building, Loughborough.

Sue, M and Normanton-on-Soar.

  Upturned jetty and sunken BW boat on the Soar.

Sawley Flood Lock in use (gauge just in the amber)

Back with a reduced crew

We've returned from our winter on dry land somewhat later than originally planned. We did try briefly a few months ago but decided that it would all be too much for Vera to cope with. Sadly, we've now been without her for about a month, as at the grand age of 15 1/2 her Arthritis made it impossible for her to go on. It's just not the same without her.

Whilst discovering that V couldn't cope any more, we also discovered that we had a severe problem with our diesel. We broke down 3 times within a mile of leaving the marina, and only managed to get back by changing the fuel filters umpteen times. After talking to a few people & doing some research on the net, we decided to get the diesel polished to get rid of the Diesel Bug which we suspected was responsible for our problem. It wasn't cheap (over £200) but it was worth it to find out what was going on in the tank. It turned out that we did have Diesel Bug, but that wasn't as bad as we'd expected. The main problem was water in the tank. The diesel polisher from Grand Union Diesel Services found far more water in the tank than he would expect from condensation alone. He suspected water may be getting in through the diesel cap as the O-ring didn't seem to fit properly. Then when Simon removed the actual diesel filler fitting, he found that there was very little sealant between the deck & the fitting. Now with a new O-ring & properly sealed filler fitting we're hoping that we've cured the problem.

Diesel polishing in progress

The old filler cap sealant

We've been here since Tuesday evening, but due to the howling gales & lashing rain, we've yet to leave the marina. According to the forecast it's looking better tomorrow, so we're hoping to take Muriel for a run up to Loughborough & back to see if we can make it without breaking down. Fingers crossed. Then it's off down the Soar and onto the Trent & Mersey for a couple of months.

Blacking

Muriel came out of the water on the 14th of November  to have her hull blacked - the protection her steel needs against corrosion.  Pillings Lock carried out the work for us and we are very pleased with the result.  Not least with the fact that the sacrificial anodes are still in reasonable condition after nearly four years - a testament, maybe, to the marina itself if there is little electrolysis going on.  Pilings Lock also fitted a copper sleeve in the cup at the bottom of the tiller shaft - there had been a lot of play which allowed vibration in the tiller arm.  

The procedure to get her out involved a large, hydraulic trolley pulled by a tractor.  The trolley`s rams adjust the relative height front to rear and keep the boat as level as possible. We lightened M - minimum fuel and water, and a pump-out - in order to lessen the risk of distortion and she seems to have come through the experience well.  And, after an end of season polish and touch-up (previous post) she`s looking great.

M will probably spend the winter on her mooring now as I think it unlikely we will venture out before next spring.

M`s stern showing rudder, prop and one of four anodes

She was on the hard for about a week having the blacking done. Thankfully the weather was dry (although Pillings Lock Marina do have large workshop she could have gone into) so the work progressed uninterrupted.  We could have stayed on board (some do, especially if they are doing the work themselves) but the lady in the black fur coat is getting on and would have struggled with the climb up.  So we just popped in to see her refloated and headed back to Devon.

On the trolley - M prepares to be refloated

Off her trolley - nearly.  M being relaunched

Me, M and the lady in the black fur coat

Wash & Polish

Muriel is now back home in Pillings Lock Marina and we are at our home in Devon.  We`ve had a great end of year cruise, blessed by the weather and the presence of Vera, our aging Labrador.  The final few days were spent outside or close by Pillings Lock, washing and polishing. And touching up the paintwork - an endless task as any boater will tell you.  The thing to remember every time you go into a lock, head towards a bush or go alongside a concrete side wall, is that everything below the gunwale (top of the hull) is fair play; everything above is sacred.  In other words: expect to do a bit of T-cutting and touching up.



Polishing M outside Pillings Lock Marina



We use a car wash & wax on M and then polish her sides above the gunwale with a good `pure` wax, and below it with an ordinary car wax.  The latest batch of touch up paint has come from Halfords (all you need is the RAL number and they mix it for you) which Sue applies with a small artists brush.  The whole affair takes a couple of days but it`s worth every minute, not just in looks but also in protection.



M`s turned around and coming back through Pillings flood lock - for more polishing


















M will come out of the water in a couple of weeks time for blacking and I will head back to Pillings to see her.  There are a couple of issues we need to address while she`s on the hard standing.  Number one is whether or not the anodes need replacing (M has 4 x 2.5kg) and the second, if the juddering we are experiencing in the tiller is due to a problem with it`s bottom mounting. Neither is a big problem - anodes are easily tacked on next to the remains of the old ones and the bottom of the tiller has a simple cup type fixing, so there is probably an easy solution.

M sits at Millers Bridge near Pillings Lock



End of the year - M enters Pillings Lock Marina



We pumped-out and had a well deserved drink in the cafe-bar at Pillings.  (Pumping out the waste tank, running the water down and not filling the deisel tank limit M`s weight as much as possible for when she is hauled out for blacking). The following morning we said goodbye to friends and headed South to a lunch invitation in Towcester - it was a pleasant way to end our trip. Then it was South-West to a mountain of mail.