Out and about again!

 Hopefully our troubles are behind us!

We have actually been on a trip. Only to Cropredy and back but we wanted to give the boat a bit of a shakedown cruise to ensure that we are fit to go longer distances again.

SONFLOWER has been in a bit of bother for a long time.  Autumn before last, yes, in 2021 we were taking two grandchildren for a little trip and it became much littler than we had expected. The grearbox siezed. River Canal Rescue fixed us up by January 2022. They had no spares to recondition our gearbox so we agreed that they exchange it for another. However the new ione did not fit and the engineer did not want to do steelwork midifications in order to make it fit. So we ended up waiting for spares and getting our old gearbox back in the boat in reconditioned condition in January 2022. A new drive plate was fitted as well. 

We managed a cruise to Milton Keynes in June 2023 for the BCF/Canal Ministries mission in Woodeaton. A good time was had by all but we came away feeling very "coldy" and half the other crews that had gathered went down with covid. We managed to get teh baot back to Banbury and then succumbed to it ourselves. 

The next event for SONFLOWER was a short cruise to Fenny Compton and back by some good friends in celkebvration of a birthday. Unfortunately, at Claydin Locks on teh return trip SONFLOWER refused to start. I managed to persuade her with a hammer but they did not turn off the engine again util they got her back to the hime mooring. A goos job too as she would not start again. RCR attended and fitted a new starter motor on 22 August 2022.

We did manage to get out again to the Autumn BCF gathering Fazeley and the outward and return journeys via the North Oxford and Coventry Canals were very uneventful. 

Over winter other family matters dominated. A hospital admission for The BestMate's mother over Christmas and then an emergency admission for surgery for one of my sons. However, SONFLOWER made sure that she had a look in by overunning during a routine battery charging run in November. This panic inducing occurrence was curtailed by stalling it the engine when ramming it into drive. This  siezed the gearbox! RCR Engineer freed it up ands checked it out OK. Phew! Overunning happens when the engine finds a fuel source from otehrthan the injector pump. However the casue of the overun was a little trickier. The engineer went first for the cheaper option of changing hte fuel lift pump as the diaphragm can perishs allowing fuel to enter the sump. It oproved not to be this and the injector pumo was removed for reconditioning. The report came back that failure was due to particulate matter in the fuel resulting in shaft seal failure. This put it into the realm of wear and tear!  With the other  more important family matters I lost the will to argue.

SONFLOWER did attend Tooley's dry dock in the last week of March for a small amount of overplating that had been identified by the last hull survey in 2021 and routine hull blacking. A couple of other tasks were identified. I had the fuel system cleaned to ensure that there was indeed no particulate matter that could jeopardise the recon injector pump. A new swan neck bearing has been fitted; a battery monitor is fitted; the electrical wiring has been tidied and brought back to marine specification to reduce fire risk; batteries have been aligned to charge evenly and an isolator fitted to prevent a winter drain on the batteries by the invertor. In investigating for the above, an engine foot was identified as cracked and the engine and shaft has been completely checked for alignment. 

This last coupkle of days the boat behaved well. Ther is very little vibration on the helm. The alternator drive belt did not scream. The Alternator voltage and cabin voltage indicators almost matched whichthey have not dine for years. But he cruise was not uneventlful. We came up behind a queue at Boughton Lock No 27 to find that tehre was soemthing stopping the bottom nearside gate shutting. Much effort with poles and boat hook faiked to ckear it and CRT were called. They were 1.1/2 hiours away but oince they had arrived with the right tool for the job the obstruction was soon moved aside and boats wer once more goinf up and down as required. Was this down to failing brickwork whihc was evident in teh gate recesses? It was late by now however and two boats decided not to descend but to stay where they were. We cruised on until sunset and moored just past Slatt Mill Bridge 157. This morning we set off at about 7.ooam and turned in Crioopredy to make our way back. Just after Slatt Mill Lock No 26 we were faced with very low water. Some of the ten boats that had been held up at Boughton lock the evening before we marooned and tilting as this pound had lost a foot of water overnight. It was impossible for my son to get to the bank to get me back on board after doing the oaddles and gates so I walked on to Boughton lock. Her I met up with Longleat, a new very expensive hybrid electric boat that was being single handed from Crick to its new life on the Kennet and Avon Canal. It was remote controlled from a handheld radio controller! 

We moored at 10.00 am for a well deserved back and egg breakfast. 

We are now looking forward to a Summer cruise to Birmingham. All over familar water but I am sure that it will be fun.

2023 Cruising to date: 10 miles, 8 locks, 2 Lift bridges 8 hours