Chaos at Isis Lock

Saturday was going to be yet another very warm day and the trip boats at Oxford Open Doors were going to be very busy - especially as they were free, but a donation appreciated. This is an event that the IWA supports with the free boat trips, but there are other canal related stalls in the Pocket Park drawing attention to the restoration of the Oxford canal basin (now a car park) etc.

We began at 9.30 with the first boat of three leaving. The trip normally took about 40 mins, but with various other boats also wanting to use Isis lock, it was impossible to predict a consistent schedule and often the trip would take and hour and stack up at the top of the lock, so that we then had to try and stagger the boats, so that we didn't all return to the landing at the same time. I took a rather longer detour up part of the Thames to do that and turned ahead of a large trip cruiser, which had stopped for no obvious reason. As I turned back into the Sheepwash Channel, I noticed the skipper giving me the evil eye as the boat went past - what was he thinking, I wonder?

In the afternoon, Oxford Cruisers hire boats were showing the new boaters how to operate a lock and of course, Isis Lock was the nearest, so that also clogged up the works. Then there were the boats that wanted to wind below the lock to return up the canal, like the Pirates on an Oxfordshire Narrowboats ship, who seemed to take forever. There was lots of banter though, on the lines of "Belay there, you skurvy sons of dogs!" and associated pirate bollox!

It was in all, a very busy and enjoyable day, without a hint of boredom. Just how I like it and I am very tired and now have to go for a lie down!

Sunday was going to be another scorcher and the first trip boat had already left without me as crewman, that is the person responsible for the safety of the passengers as well as the mooring up part of the trip and the fount of all knowledge of anything to do with canals or boats. Only ten persons are allowed on each trip, along with two crew and I would guess that about 70% of them spoke a foreign language, so the majority were tourists. Very few wanted to know much about the English canal system, but they were nearly all interested in how people lived on boats in the present day.

It was a shorthanded day for IWA members, so it was a quick dash to get some lunch and continue working with food in hand. At one point when Peter Darch was steering out into the Thames to wind the boat, another narrow boat approached the entrance to Sheepwash channel and started to turn into it, but with insufficient speed to combat the current and they were being swept downstream whilst they hesitated. Peter shouted at them to speed up, which they then did, but they struck the cabin top on the underside of the bowed footbridge, which pushed the boat lower in the water, but seemed to do little damage. When we came back to the lock they were on their way out, as it appeared that they had taken a wrong turning. Funny people!

All in all, it was another exhausting day, but enjoyable meeting and talking to other people. We collected about £340 in contributions for the IWA, which surpassed the previous year, so it was also a very satisfying weekend.

The Long Way Round

As previously mentioned, I was travelling to Oxford via the Grand Union Canal and set off down the Wey Navigation to Thames Lock. Heavy showers were forecast and I had to spend 20 minutes under a bridge, or get soaked to the skin after just leaving my mooring. On the Thames there were no bridges to shelter beneath and it rained just as heavily, so it was time to change clothes between showers. I arrived at Teddington to find that there was ample mooring space, which was strange for August. There were very few boats on the river that day and similarly on the lower end of the GU. Was it the weather, or the recession?

My daughter, Sally, arrived with my grand daughters early on Sunday morning at Teddington for locking through at 9.30, complete with a London Olympics Visitor Pass displayed on the boat. The weather was in complete contrast to the previous day as we hacked up the Hanwell Flight of locks to Uxbridge, where I moored for the night at The Swan and Bottle, where the barman called everyone Mate and is not to be recommended. Sally and girls were collected by car and I was now on my own again.

My goal for the following day was Hunton Bridge, where there is a good pub serving food and beer at Happy Hour prices. According to Herbie’s Canalometer or Herbiometer, it was 6 hours away, but that is calculated for a boat with a crew, so it was going to take a bit longer. Imagine my disappointment,  when one of the Tring beers was off and the kitchen had closed at 5pm!

On way up Kings Langley Lock the following morning, I caught up with another single handed boater, who was on his way to Brandon, way out in the sticks. He was happy to do long days and crack on, similar to me. We became more friendly as time passed and we ended up in the pub at the end of the day, ofter for too long! We stayed together for four days in all and ended up exchanging phone numbers. Nigel parted company with me at Gayton, on his way down the Northampton Seventeen.



Captains All.

Just before Buckby Top Lock, there is a small gift shop with hand painted canal ware. I was eager to visit once again to buy smaller Buckby can than the prevous one, to make up a pair. This time, I bought a brass bound can, with brass handles, just to be a little different, also there would be less surface to paint.
Getting to the top of the Buckby flight, I was dismayed to find that The New Inn was CLOSED! What a disaster. I was not only thirsting for  beer, but I expected to be able to write up my Blog using Wi Fi in the pub, adding a fair number of photographs. Alas, it was not to be. Using mobile internet was usually no go with photographs and I had been on the go for four heavy days with little time for posting a blog, as well as being knackered at the end of the day and being dragged off for beer.

I moored up at Buckby wharf for the night, with the intention of reaching Braunston the next day.

Which I did, and in good time to get a mooring as close to The Lord Nelson as possible. My eldest daughter was there on time......well, almost......... so we had a very long lunch outside and discussed the ways of the world for about four hours.

I was still there on Sunday morning (the mooring, not the pub!) and I set off in the sun for the very pleasant cruise in the sun across the Puddle Banks towards Napton. To my mind, this is probably my favourite stretch of open countryside on the canal, with the rolling hills, meadows and sheep. I managed to find time to pop on to The Folly to see how the pub looked after being taken over and I have to report that it is looking very healthy and it is a free house as well! It makes a change to see that in this era of plastic pubs springing up all around.

I came up to Marston Doles lock and could see a boat coming down in the lock, so I duly waited about 50yds below, whilst the man’s wife was working the gates and paddles. After she had run round the lock to open both gates, she walked down the tow path, looking to be in a bit of a sweat and not good tempered, so I got a scowl. However, the man steering, shouted to me “Why didn’t you help my wife?” in what sounded like a German accent. I am about twice their age and travelling on my own. Do I need to be commanded by a Gestapo Officer to help, when the U-boat is halfway down in the lock? I think with hindsight I should have blown it out of the water with my 4” gun, and then saluted in the style of Hitler. Just a minute, where’s that black leather jacket of mine?

Things calmed down after about an hour, well that’s how long it took me. I found it so surprising that anyone should have the need to say that to a total stranger. Well, as they say oop north there’s “nowt as strange as folk?”

I continued on the summit level and around the long turning which is Cabbage Corner to Fenny Compton and the Wharf Inn. The last time I saw this place was about two years ago and the pub was looking promising. Sadly, it has all slid downhill again and appears unkempt and sadly neglected .........Oh dear!

The following morning, I was up early and hoping to get to Banbury and have my diesel polished, but it was not to be, yet again! I think I will abandon Tooleys and get it done somewhere else. Every time I call in, it is at the wrong time.

I did manage to pop into The Red Lion at Cropedy for a quick one for old times sake – I’ve had some good times there.

Walking through the town square, I almost bumped into Sue and Vic of nb No Problem. They were going out for a very expensive meal later and would I like to come along too. It didn’t take long to make up my mind and we were soon off to find the restaurant called Quisine, with the chef being from the QE 2 at some time in the past. Although there were only three of us, we made our own atmosphere and the chef made the meal, which beyond doubt, was one of the finest meals I have ever eaten outside of France. The attention to detail was minute and the flavours were unsurpassable. There was no menu – it was all described verbally at the start and the saliva glands were in full spate by the time he had finished. The wine list was limited to a choice of two reds and two whites. At the end, Sue offered a bank card for payment, which could not be accepted, as he had not been there long enough, so instead of frogmarching her to the bank machine, she was allowed to pay the following day! Unbelievable!!

The next day I was up and off at 8am, hoping to meet up with Peter Darch at his mooring just above Kidlington Green lock, at the bottom of a friend’s garden. What an idyllic mooring! We cruised together through Duke’s Cut onto the Thames and then through Sheepwash Channel at the bottom of the Oxford Canal – so much more pleasant then the tail end of the cut and all those moored boats.

 

The Stowaways

I decided to take a short trip from my mooring to the Byfleet Boat Club on Sunday afternoon as the weather was beautiful for a change. Coxes Lock is about 300yds away and is the deepest unmanned lock on the Wey Navigation. I noticed a very large dead fish in the lock and asked some local twenty year old lads, who were fishing, what it was. A bream apparently. There were also some girls with the lads and one of them asked if they (the girls) could have a ride on the boat; to which I replied “Of course, if there are only three of you.” They went off to a car to change out of bikinis and came back looking just the same, but with shorts on and clutching a bottle of Rosé.

Up on the cabin top they went and remained there for the trip, but when we got to New Haw lock, 15 mins away, they requested to go further, as long as they had time to go to the local shop to get more alcohol, while I went through the lock. Not much good as a crew then, but they did supply the booze.

I cruised past the Boat Club and had a few ribald comments from the male members, before arriving at The Anchor in 30mins time, where the girls happily jumped ship, but not before dishing out kisses of thanks before they left.

I always knew that ‘Stronghold’ was an attractive boat, but never realised that she was such a powerful pulling machine!


The only problem was seeing where I was going!



A Dirty Weekend in Brighton

Before going any further, perhaps I should explain that Brighton is the butty boat of Nuneaton, which is the motor boat of The Narrow Boat Trust of which I am a member and that it was more like a week than a weekend. It’s just poetic licence really, or an excuse for a cheap laugh – you choose.

The object of the exercise was to transport the two boats along the Kennet and Avon Canal from Burghfield to Newbury for their weekend of waterside festivities and to open the butty cabin for ten minute tours to explain to the uninitiated what is was like for a family to crew and live in such a confined space for most of their working lives.

Burghfield Bridge from the motor cabin at 7am.

We had a Captain (Barry) and a crew of Maggie, her son Matt and myself, which is ample for the trip in hand with two steering the boats and two for locking. At times the boats were breasted up, which gave another spare body for making tea,etc.

         

 The journey was about 14 miles and we allowed two days in which to complete it, with some time for training along the way, so it was a fairly leisurely start on the Wednesday morning, after polishing some brass work and sorting out where the mooring and towing lines were. The tow line is known either as a snatcher (the shorter one) or the snubber  (the longer one).

Each member of the NBT has a little book called the Training Record, in which there are sections for various skills which, when completed, can be signed off by a captain. Some of the skills are:- Engine start up and shut down, steering the motor/butty, narrow locks uphill/downhill, river work and rules, snubber and snatcher, thumblining, etc. When the book is more or less full and you have a RYS Helmsman’s Qualification and have attended recognised first aid course, you are qualified to become a captain in charge of the pair of boats if you wish.

Barry, the Captain and Maggie.

It was 7 miles and 8 locks through intermittent heavy rain to Woolhampton, which was to be our overnight stop, mainly because there was a waterside pub, The Rowbarge. 

The going was slow, mainly due to the heavy stream of the River Kennet, which was against us. Although it’s called the K&A Canal, it really is a Navigation, just like the Wey Navigation, where some sections are river and other parts are canalised. Maggie and Matt did most of the steering for these two days, as Matt was new to working boats and Maggie needed some signatures in her Training Record. I have to say here that Matt took to it like a duck to water, although he is used to steering the family boat. My turn would come on the return journey, as there were likely to be only two of us. We had a grand evening in The Rowbarge and I would unreservedly recommend it to anyone who is in that area. It was also earmarked as a good stop on the return journey.

The K&A locks are a peculiar assortment of lengths and types, which at times, caused some anxious moments. The boats are each 71’ 6” long and whereas some locks are 20’ longer than the pair, others are almost exactly the same length. This caused no problems going uphill, as the stem of the boats rode over the top cill. However, this was not possible going downhill and in several locks we had to single out in the lock to get a gate open and bowhaul the butty out first, before manoeuvring  the motor into the centre of the lock to enable the stem to clear the bottom gate mitre. Other locks were even shorter and would accept only one boat at a time and that had to have the stem fitted into the mitre on the bottom gates.  Fortunately, most of the one boat only locks had been marked up in our copy of the Nicholson Guide, which saved considerable time.

The following day we had an uneventful 8 miles and 10 locks journey into Newbury and after one unsuccessful attempt at winding (turning) the boats in a 72’ winding (pronounced as in the wind that blows) hole that wasn’t, we passed through the electric swing bridge to a winding hole just above Monkey Bridge and then moored close to the swing bridge for the night, where Maggie and Matt left us for the trip back to Leicester by car.

We had been invited to a social evening in the Stone Building (previously a warehouse on the basin, which is now a car park) where I met up with the Holliday family, last seen at Rickmansworth Boat Festival last year, when they were moored outside our pair. I was also delighted to meet up with John Ross from The Basingstoke Canal Society, who is a sign writer and paints roses and castles, being a member of the Waterways Craft Guild. I had seen him previously in his Beefeater uniform, but not talked to him at the Basingstoke Jubilee Celebrations. John’s conversion of a Mirror dinghy into a narrow boat has to be seen to be believed. Not only can he sleep and cook in it, but he can trail it behind his car to go boating on any piece of water he fancies.

John Ross with his Mirror dinghy converted into a narrow boat.

On Saturday we moved the pair downstream towards the festival site and overshot the mooring place by about 100yds. Trying to reverse back against the current was a difficult and slow process, but we finally got into position and tied up for the weekend, with a little help from Paul, the Harbourmaster. It turned out that we were the stars of the show and much was said about the boats on local radio, so I was told.

Newbury mooring at Victoria Park.

It was reasonably busy during the day showing visitors through the butty cabin, but nothing compared to the following day, when there was a cloudless sky and the temperature was up to 30c. Bear in mind that I was wearing my best boaters’ outfit of corduroy trousers, boots, waistcoat, neckerchief, spider belt and bowler hat in the heat. Several times I was tempted to jump in the river to cool off. I think that a day showing the public around was as tiring as a day’s boating, even though Barry and I took turns in the cabin. Even when standing on the bank controlling the queue, we were still talking all the time. We rattled the tin at the end of every session and collected about £55 for the Trust over the course of the weekend.

They also serve who gas and drink tea.....tea?

The crowds turned out in force for the duck race.

Another social evening took place on the Saturday evening, which was what the Americans call ‘a pot luck’, where each group takes food and drink, which is shared out. A musical duo provided the entertainment, which was pitched at the right level for conversation as well.
On the return trip we picked up two passengers; Steve, who was about to hire his first narrow boat in a couple of weeks and wanted to experience what it was like, and Dave, who wanted to become a member of the Trust. I don’t think either of them expected the hard work that we took for granted when boating and they both looked shattered by the end of the day. It is just like an ‘outdoor gym’, but there are periods of respite between locks, although some walking is entailed if you cannot easily get back on board after a lock.

I had the misfortune of running the motor aground on a lump of concrete at the exit to a lock. No amount of pulling from the bank would free the boat, which just rotated on the offending lump. Eventually, two lads offered to tow it off with their car, but it just rotated once again. It was only when the car driver slipped and then engaged the clutch, because his tyres were smoking, did the boat rock and slide off.

Passing The Rowbarge later in the day, we had to exit the lock, negotiate the river stream on the right and shoot the opened swing bridge in one smooth movement. Unfortunately, I took a line through the centre of the channel instead of closer to the river exit. Barry was steering the butty on a very short snatcher and at full speed, could not get round the turn and was swept into the bank, thus breaking the towing line. I shot through the bridge hole and then had to reverse with great difficulty against the strong stream to get back to a mooring, before drifting the stern end across the stream to pick up the butty. After that, we sunk a few beers to calm down, before having a well deserved meal in the pub. At the end of the evening, Barry offered to buy the services of the barmaid (cooking and cleaning of course, what did you think he meant?) for half a ton of coal; part of the 22 tonnes that we were carrying on board. Much to his chagrin, she wanted a whole tonne!

At the penultimate lock, I goofed up on the approaching bend and ended up in the jungle yet again. Barry said that I was not approaching the locks correctly and didn't need to loose the butty every time, so I asked him to show me how it should be done at the next lock. We were on a short snatcher again as we approached the very tight Burghfield Bends, where I had stemmed up the motor on the way up. Barry took a very wide turn at the first one and we both ended up in the jungle and then again at the next one. I was not impressed and told him so later, but he only wanted to join my NBT Gardening Club, so he said! However, he redeemed himself when winding the pair in an extremely tight winding hole with another boat moored opposite.

We arrived late the following day at Burghfield, moored up and cleared the cabins. Barry dropped me off at my boat and I just had time to buy two pints together at The Pelican before ‘time’ was called. There was nothing much to eat on board and I was too tired to eat anyway, so collapsed exhausted, dirty and hungry  into bed after a very exhilarating trip. It sounds horrendous, but I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t enjoy every minute of it.

What a Bodge Up!

Just a couple of weeks ago I decided it was time to change my alternator drive belts on the two alternators. All went well until I pulled the port alternator too close to the engine and shorted out, very briefly, the live terminal against the fuel  pipe from the lift pump. The charging light did not illuminate and the basic voltmeter indicated no charge, until I revved the engine to maximum, which excited the coils and the battery showed a charging voltage, but nowhere near what it should be.

It was time to buy a new alternator, so I checked out the specialists in the Brighton and Hove and made a note of addresses to visit. The first one was an empty shop up for sale and the second address was a private bungalow. On visiting my local motor factor, it turned out that both businesses went out of business about two years ago. So what are they still doing on the internet?

Having ordered and collected a rebuilt alternator, I had just to remove the pulley from the old one to fit it – easy? Well, NO! With a belt wrapped around the pulley and gripped in the vice, it was impossible to undo the nut. I desperation, I took it to my friendly local garage, who said it could be removed easily with and air wrench – NO again! I could hear a lot of hammering and choice words muttered that I did not understand and eventually the manager returned  with the pulley removed and fitted. I was amazed to see that there was no key in the keyway and that the pulley, fan and nut had been GLUED in place and it had worked like that for 11 years!

Back to the boat to fit the new one and the pivot bolts were put in, but the mounting end frame behind the pulley was the wrong shape and the tensioning hole for the strut bolt was in the wrong place, so more problems.

Old alternator left. New one on the right. See the difference? It fits on the port side of the engine.

I decided that it could be worked around with a longer tensioning strut, but had no metal available or drills on board with which to do the job. Fortunately, my mate Richard, the diesel engineer was there with his van full of tools and even some suitable steel strip. He cut and drilled the pieces and I fitted them, which achieved instant success. Wires were reconnected and the engine fired up and all was right with the world once again.

An Interesting Weekend

I had volunteered to take the Narrow Boat Trust pair to the Reading Water Festival with Barry Adams, who has been one of my mentors when working these historic boats. http://www.narrowboattrust.org.uk/index.html

Unfortunately, the River Kennet was in flood and the festival was cancelled at the last minute, due to the high water levels. However, Barry and I decided to go to the boats moored at Burghfield to do a few jobs on board; Barry having acquired a temperature gauge, which he wanted to fit to the engine. This we did on the Thursday, using only the basic tools on board, which meant reaming out a round hole with a square file and no vise to hand. By the time this job was finished, it was too late to shop and cook, so we repaired to the pub for a meal and beer.

The following day, Barry was anxious to try out the gauge to see if it did the job and to assess the temperature of the engine coolant, having cleaned out the water system previously to try and cure the overheating problem The water level had dropped overnight by about two inches. I reversed the boat into the stream and we made slow headway through the next bridge ‘ole against the current. Several other boats had also travelled upstream before us and did not appear to have any problems, except for slow progress. All went well apart from me having difficulty getting round some of the sharp bends in one go. We reached Tyle Mill and I winded the boat bow first into the weir stream, which turned it very quickly and then reversed up to a mooring, where we stopped for a light lunch.

The return journey went well and was much faster than when coming up, apart from two of the locks, which slowed us down due to them being the same length as the boat, when below cill level.



Barry Tightens the Top Strings



We had had no problem coming up stream, because the stem was lifted over the top cill, but the boat barely fitted between the top cill and the bottom gates when the lock was empty and going downhill. If the boat was fitted diagonally, it was impossible to get out with the bow tucked in behind the closed gate. The only way was for Barry to take the bow line and position the stem between the mitre of the two gates. At this point, the rudder was at right angles to the cill and hard against it, but Barry was then able to open a gate to get the boat out. It became obvious that these locks were not built to take boats of 71ft in length, and a breasted pair would have to single out. On the other hand, some locks were much longer than the boat and would easily take two boats.

A Tight Fit!

The entrance to the weir stream where we were moored was at an acute angle to the way we were travelling, which entailed carrying on until a winding hole could be found to turn the boat round. Although there were several marked in the Nicholson’s Guide, they were into fast flowing weir streams and impossible to navigate.



"Where is that winding 'ole?"



 Eventually, after a couple of miles there was one marked above Fobney Lock, which was also into a weir stream, but the width reduced the flow of water considerably. Even though it was wide, the stern was into a tree. Barry boarded the boat after walking for a fair distance from the last lock and we returned to the Burghfield mooring for a pub meal and welcome drinks with Keith, the present NBT chairman.

Finally, the temperature gauge was pronounced a success, but indicated that the engine was now running at 50 to 60 degrees instead of 70 to 80, which would be expected, so there is still more work to be done.

Back on the Bassie

Here I am again on the Basingstoke Canal, moored up at Brookwood Country Park. Again, just like at Easter, it was not an easy journey from the Wey Navigations. Fortunately, I managed to contact Phil Hardyman, who lives in a house on the bank, with his boat nb Winter Lily moored at the bottom of the garden. I had met Phil on the Easter trip, but had not taken his phone number or e-mail address, so tried various methods of contacting him, all to no avail until I Googled his name. Surprisingly, his name appeared linked to nb No Problem's blog in 2010. I e-mailed Sue, who passed my e-mail on to him. From then on he was up for lock wheeling in his bike from 9am on Friday morning. The locks had to be unlocked by the two Canal Rangers and after passing through, then caulk the top gates with sawdust, soil and anything they could rake up from the canal bed after emptying the lock. What does all this cost? £130 each for their days work plus the cost of the van, fuel, administration, etc. They reckon it will cost about £500 to get me there and of course, the same to get back - quite ridiculous! The sooner 'open access' is declared, the better for their purse and the boaters, but that will not be possible until the Deepcut Flight is restored and opened, hopefully next year. I was surprised to find that I was the only boat booked to go from the Wey, after the publicity at the IWA National Rally. From the Odiham end, which is entirely navigable, there were three beautiful steam launches, all home built by their owners and a self build narrowboat, as well a few smaller boats. Not a great turnout really. I understand that the 'John Pinkerton' trip boat will be there today.

We made slow progress up the Woodham flight, mainly due to shallow water, weed and leaves. The Axiom propeller does pick up anything and almost everything, so the weed hatch was up three times before I got to clearer water. Quite a collection!

The Rangers were following us the flight in their van and caulking up as we cleared each lock and we didn't see them again until we reached St. John's Flight, where the same procedure took place. Phil was now steering the long pound through Woking and considerately slowed down when passing moored boats, especially his own!

At last, we came to the penultimate lock of St. John's and the short pound between that and the last lock, to be confronted with low water yet again, so no movement possible without running water through the sluices to be able to float in. I offered to take Phil for lunch at the local pub, but unfortunately the kitchen closed at 2.30 and it was now 3pm. Beers were very welcome and Phil returned home on his faithful steed. I continued for another mile or so to a winding hole in Brookwood Country Park and moored against the staging at the water point. No worries there, as there are no other boats to stop for water in this pound and none expected. My BW key does not fit the padlock to the WP anyway - do I need a Basingstoke key for this then?

Saturday morning, after a quiet night, I decided to bike up to Frimley to have a look at the 21st Anniversary celebrations of the re-opening of the canal, which I estimated to be about 5 miles away. On the way however, I thought it might be an idea to visit the Brookwood Cemetery. I only went to the Military Cemetery, which was very large indeed and very poignant when reading how old some of those servicemen were, when they died. Officers were buried alongside other ranks, so no distinction there. The other part of the cemetary is even larger and will have to wait for another time. http://www.brookwoodcemetery.com/about_the_cemetery.htm

I got to Frimley eventually after a hard slog up the towpath, which turned out to be a 14 mile round trip by the end of the day. I met up with Verna Smith and Jan Byrne briefly, just to establish my presence at the event. There was no beer tent as had been advertised, so after a walk around I repaired to the local Harvester house for a well deserved pint, only to find that it only served 'Eurofizz'; no real ale, so I opted for a pint of Guinness, which tasted bad. Even though it was changed for another pint, that also tasted of pipe cleanser. Their excuse was that the glass was tainted, so no more visits to that pub chain. Back at the boat, I was dismayed to see it on the other side of the cut. The mooring lines had been wrapped around the short bollards and then tied on the boat, so they had been slipped off the bollards and the boat probably pushed out. I had a half mile to ride to the nearest bridge, but luckily a canoe was approaching with a man and his son, who I hailed and so they managed to tie the stern and centre lines together so that I could tow the boat back. The lines were then securely wrapped around the supporting piles and tied back on board, which means they would have to board the boat to do the same and I don't think they would have time to risk that. When I leave the boat again, it will be chained to the piles anyway. As the canoe returned, I heard the man ask two young boys on the bank if they had set the boat adrift, to which they replied "We didn't touch the boat." I then got off the boat and they scooted off at a rate of knots, with backward glances as if they wanted to see if I was in pursuit, so it was obvious to me who was responsible. Their idea of fun I suppose.

Sunday was a day for watching the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Pageant to see if I could spot nb Leo No.2 and nb Hazell Nut with Kathryn and Rodney respectively, from the Byfleet Boat Club. I have to say that the Queen's party hogged most of the limelight, though Leo was spotted briefly twice and possibly Hazel Nut once. No kids about here today as the rain has been torrential at times.

Monday was a no rain day - well, almost! I had been running the engine about twice a day for an hour to recharge the batteries and the alternator had been rather noisy on occasions, but this time I became unbearable, so it was time to investigate. The drive belt was very slack and the alternator very wobbly and it became evident that one of the bolts holding the bracket to the engine had sheared off. This had happened once before and I had added some lengths of screwed studding, nuts and washers to my armoury. With the repair complete I made a note to buy some high tensile bolts to fix this rather jury rig in future.

During my time in the 'engine 'ole', Phil had phoned to offer me a lift to the Byfleet Boat Club BBQ. I had intended a walk to The Anchor in Knaphill, which scored highly on the 'Beer In The Evening' web site of pubs, but a lift to the BBQ sounded far more attractive than drinking on my own in a strange pub! There were several members there when we arrived and the BBQ was soon lit up for all to BBQ their own food. Carol and Phil had brought enough suitable food to include me in the feast, becasue I was unprepared for this as I intended taking them out for a meal later in the day. We all sat down to tables with wine and beer included, before partaking in a hilarious game of skittles to end the evening. A very enjoyable sociable event, but I still owe you Phil for all that effort getting me up and down all those locks.

Tuesday was forecast rain in the afternoon and I was at St. John's top lock waiting for the Rangers at the appointed time. The pound below was still a struggle to get through, even though it appeared to be full of water, but after that, we made good progress through the remainder in four hours to the Wey, with the Rangers caulking the top gates of each lock behind the departing boat. As you can see below, it made an enormous difference to the amount of water leaking through the gate cills. It was also a rather precarious operation, walking across the gate beams.



Caulking - the tools



The material

 

 

The Problem.

 


The Operation.





The Result!



A Labour of Love

At last - my painting has come to an end and it has been a long journey, which has lasted all through the winter. It became more exciting towards the end when the pace quickened to get it finished.There has been more thought put into the design of this can than anything else I have painted so far, mainly because it is the one that will be on show, but also because there was such a large area to cover and I needed to vary the design in each individual section so as not to be too repetitive, hence the orange lily on the spout as a last resort for something suitable to fit in the space.

I began with the three castle scenes (there is one inside the lid), as I thought these would be the most challenging. A few hours watching Phil Speight and Tony Lewery videos once again, regained my confidence with the castles, but there was a fair amount of white spirit and tissue required to rub out and try again and this can only be used when the background  paint is dry, thereby taking a lot longer than the practised professionals.

I bought four sign writers' lining brushes a while ago, knowing that I could use them on the can and it took some courage to try one out when it was loaded with paint, but I surprised myself by how easy it was to do and the paint seemed to last forever before it thinned out. The brush seems to run on rails however much your hand shakes! Watch it done on You Tube and you would think "I could never do that!" but you can.

I had never tried any sign writing before and this presented problems that caused some concern over what font to use and where I could find exemplars. Brighton Public Library came up with very little information, so it was back to the internet and there was considerable material to be found, mostly on boat sign writers' web sites and You Tube. I had also started taking photographs of suitable sign written boats on my travels, so I was building up quite a library of material. The original font used on the stern of Stronghold was the basis of the chosen font, which went on reasonably well, but the drop shadow took several abortive attempts before getting a satisfactory result. Similarly with the scrolls at each end - all rather frustrating, but I got there in the end and am pleased with the result.

Sunday Morning Mission.

My mate Dave on nb Mrs Moorish (where did that name come from?), who is moored a few boats along from me, had been informed on the QT that there were ready cut willow logs opposite to his mooring, which he was rather anxious to lay his hands on. Having already tried to get his boat close to the opposite bank without success, I was inveigled into walking over the lock with secateurs and handsaw to drag the said timber out of the undergrowth and tie on a line so that the load could be floated across the cut. A Monkey’s Paw tied around a golf ball was used as a weight to throw the line over from his boat, with Dave standing on the short fore deck. All was going well until he caught the line around the headlight and overbalanced and fell on the deck, fortunately for him. How he didn’t fall in, I don’t know. After that close encounter with swimming lessons, he stood on the counter of his neighbour’s boat – a far safer base. I have to say that although his name is David, he would not have been able to hit Goliath with a slingshot after his performance on Sunday!

                                                                    

         I get the shitty end of the stick!                                   Contemplating building a Kon Tiki Raft to get back.

Log rolling from a sitting position.                                                                           Dave's a happy man.    

If you are looking at this on Google Chrome, the titles to the pictures are all over the place and it's a Google web site! It's OK on Internet Explorer, so what is going on?                           

The Axiom Propeller Saga

It was in April 2011 that I had Stronghold lifted out by The Locker Company at Parvis Wharf for blacking and Stuart and Julia did a fine job on their tiny wharf. Strangely enough, at the same time, I was in a dry dock at Grendon blacking the two Narrow Boat Trust boats – was I mad or what? Anyway, I had bought an Axiom propeller to replace my chipped and bent prop and Stuart fitted it, though with a lot of effort to remove the old one. I had done a lot of research on the internet with people who had taken the plunge with an Axiom and apart from one, they all agreed that it was the ‘ mutts nuts’. Funny that, after I contacted one boater, I was networked to several others  with the same propeller – almost impossible without the internet – the electronic towpath telegraph.

I had contacted Alan and David Watts some months earlier with all the details of my boat and engine, so they were able to recommend the size and pitch of propeller to suit from their vast resources and experience. I was delighted with the performance, notably its power to stop from full speed in half the length of the boat, instead of one and a half times the length with the old propeller. Reversing in a straight line is far easier and it is possible to steer in reverse with some practice. Prop wash is greatly reduced when mooring and stopping in locks, but all these properties are as advertised. It is prone to collecting leaves in the Autumn though and I think this is due to the sharp corners on the inner edges of the blades, but a quick reverse soon clears the obstruction.

All was going well, or so I thought, until an Autumn trip to Oxford and back caused some concern over the fuel consumption. My consumption with the old propeller was about 1litre/ hour and now I was getting only 1.6 litres/hour – not up to Axiom standard, as they advertised an  improved consumption from 7% to 15%. I immediately contacted the Watts and they came back with a considerable list of things that would cause the increase, like cruising upstream, wind velocity, depth of water, fuel quality, etc. I countered all of these arguments and had a reply offering me a total refund. However, I did not want to return to the bad habits of my original propeller and asked if there were modifications that could be done. The reply was in the affirmative and so the boat was lifted out once again and the Axiom removed and taken to Thrapston.

I was given a very warm welcomed by Alan, who showed me around his garage workshop and told me his personal history of the boats he has owned and how his passion is the Axiom design. He offered to dress and balance the original propeller, free of charge, and then run it up on his dynamometer and take appropriate readings every 100 revs. After which, he would run the Axiom and match it to the characteristics of the original prop. He proposed to reduce the diameter by a small amount and reduce the shear, but refused to tell me how he intended doing that – trade secret! I can only assume that he removed some metal behind the blades, because in my opinion it would be almost impossible to alter the blade angle. I collected it the following day and it was re-fitted the following weekend.

 I now found the engine to be far more free revving and peaking under power another 100 rpm. There is no ‘sweet spot’ in the rev range - it was ‘sweet’ all through the rev range. I could cruise the canal at 4mph at 1400 rpm without any breaking wash. This had never been possible with this boat before. The reversing and stopping characteristics remained the same. Speed on the Thames remained at 5mph at peak revs, both upstream and down.

However, things were not as they appeared. The fuel consumption was just the same and I was not happy after a couple of short cruises up the Wey. As usual I check the lubricating oil level before every trip and suddenly it had increased by about 1 inch on the dipstick – horror of horrors! How could this happen? Further research on the internet revealed a leak of diesel into the sump of the engine and the most likely place was through the diaphragm of the lift pump. OK, get a new one from E-bay and fit it with the assumption that the diaphragm had a hole in it – false! The following weekend the oil level was again up by 1 inch, so what was left? I should at this point tell you that the engine is a BMC and the only possibility for diesel to enter the sump is through the lift pump and the injector pump, which are driven by shafts inside the engine block, so the injector pump was all that was left. Advice was sought from my local diesel service agent and my worst fears were confirmed. So, it was off with the injector pump the following weekend, which took a good four hours, having to pump out the sump and change the fuel filters yet again as well as removing the starter motor and oil filter to get access to the injector pump.

Fuel Lift Pump

I took the offending pump to Automarine Diesel Services, Portslade and they renovated it with new seals and re-calibrated it on their very expensive testing equipment for about £240. On re-fitting the engine started first time and ran very well after bleeding the system through – I was getting very good at this! All went well, until I decided to cruise up to the water point about 100yds away, when the engine refused to rev up. At first thought, it must be a broken throttle cable, but that was intact, so what was amiss now? As it happened, my friend Richard the diesel engineer, was on the scene, but could not offer a solution, recommending that I phone Automarine the following day. They were also at a loss as to why this had occurred and suggested that I return the pump, so off it came yet again, in an hour this time.

Injection Pump in situ.

After Treatment by Automarine.

The diagnosis, done in twenty minutes, was that there was a piece of dirt inside the  pump that stopped the throttle from opening fully. This was almost certainly down to me as there is so much loose paint on the engine. So, back to re-fitting yet again in thirty minutes this time – I really was getting good! This time it worked fine and it has not faltered once. The fuel consumption is now back to 1 litre/hour after 65 hours cruising and maybe even better over a longer period.

All in all, it was a salutary lesson – don’t always assume the obvious! It was also expensive and probably unnecessary to have taken off the Axiom to be modified. On the other hand, I did learn a great deal about the workings of a BMC diesel engine and you don’t usually gain experience without cost, one way or another. Finally, for all you sceptics out there, you won’t know about the Axiom until you have tried it. I would certainly never go back to the original propeller now.