Keeping it going

Well I promised you news of what it takes to keep the boat afloat. But it isn't much use keeping afloat if it doesn't go so the drive system is VERY important.

Sonflower is now the possessor of a brand new gearbox. The bill came to a conveniently round 1000 GBP. That did include some work to the engine as well (new injectors, belt, oil and filters). But it is all essential if we are to keep boating.

A slightly reduced crew took her back to the home mooring on Saturday and Sunday. Saturday was hectic. We cruised to Heyford where we left the boat to get the bus to Thrupp. Unfortunately, we just missed one at the traffic lights between Steeple Aston and Rousham. As there isn't really a bus stop there and we had an hour to fill, we walked to Rousham House but found there isn't a bus stop there. SO we walked a bit further to Tackley Turn but there isn't a bus stop there either. We asked a passing tandem cycling crew to look at their mapo to find we were too far from Tackley to walk any further so we sat in the shade and waited to flag the bus down. This worked and we found out from the driver that there are NO official bus stops between Steeple Aston and Tackley! At Thrupp we retrieved the car and drove to Banbury, stopping at Sainsbury's in the way.

Once back in Banbury, we caught the last bus back to Heyford getting the driver to drop us at the "unofficial stop" by the traffic lights between Steeple Aston and Rousham. After walking back to the boat, our Pooh Bear declared himself sick with heat stroke and decided to put himself to bed. We were exhausted and slept well.

Sunday saw a brilliant sunrise as we slipped away toward the Mill Lift Bridge. I don't like lift bridges and single handling this one is impossible. Piglet awoke to help and we worked through Allen's lock and stopped for bacon and egg breakfast before Heyford Common Lock. After breakfast we set the lock just before a Braidbar Boat (no60, 'Smudge') came along. They enjoyed the smoke from our engine in lock queues throughout the day. We had seen them on Saturday and they thought that by starting early they would avoid the queues. No such luck. The day was punctuated by queuing. We passed another Braidbar (no 95, oooooh only a year old) on the way.

We turned at Aynho, queued for a pump out, turned again and continued to Banbury lock to join an queue of six boats. Here we paused for a kick about in the park and then progressed through the lock to our home mooring. Here we found a new moorer "nb Aborigine" on it! We turned and moored alongside and then moved it back to moor in our accustomed position.

There comes to the end of our Summer Cruise. 192 miles, 2 flg, 190 locks and 10 moveable bridges.

The wrong sort of. . . . .

Winnie the Pooh had a problem with the wrong sort of bees and got stung.

I am heading for a problem with the wrong type of gearbox! I was offered a rebuilt gearbox at a very reasonable price by my local marina. It was a Hurth 150, the same make that was in my boat, and the front to back dimensions are identical meaning that it would fit between the engine and the propeller shaft without alteration. It was of a larger power rating so would not wear out so quickly, but the input and output shafts differed by about 20mm in the vertical dimension meaning that the engine would need to be raised this distance. I didn't think that would be a problem when I bought the gearbox.

However.... there was a problem: the engine has been shoe-horned into the engine bay beneath an overhang at the rear end without even this amount of clearance. To raise it less than 3/4 inch would mean that the coolant tank cap would not be removable. So the cheap option was out and I am now going to have to bear the sting of a full price new gearbox.

The local marina proprietor was very accommodating, accepting the gearbox back onto his shelf and returning my cheque. I insisted that he take a small 'handling charge' which I hope will at least buy him a drink for his trouble.

Some Irishman's Law comes to mind.

There (but not back again) yet

On Monday morning (13th August) we started to go to Oxford. First I thought I ought to get diesel and pay an overdue account at Sovereign Wharf. Unfortunately, at opening time there was already a boat on the wharf mooring and a sign showing they were out of diesel. They had been bled dry by boats heading for Cropredy Festival the previous Thursday. Ray, the proprietor, assured us that the delivery was requested for 'as near ten as possible' and that for the previous delivery the tanker had been waiting at the gate when he had arrived. Not today. A boat called Patience came along. Seeing there was no diesel and being told it would be here soon didn't satisfy the skipper. Patience couldn't wait. The boat on the wharf took on water and then also decided to leave so we tied up and paid our outstanding bill, which was for reconditioning injectors.

The proprietor here used to run a hire fleet and is very useful for technical advice. I asked him why my gearbox might not like engaging forward drive but was fine going into reverse. The answer was simply that the forward motion gets more wear and that it was a sign that the gearbox was in need of an overhaul. This inquiry however brought to light the information that he had a reconditioned gearbox ready on the shelf if I needed it.

I dipped the fuel tanks and decided that we too would get under way, went up to turn and hoped that the diesel would arrive before we passed on the way back from the winding hole. No such luck, so we started a long day boating south toward Oxford. There were queues at every lock. The wind caught us and a hire boat out at a lift bridge just before Somerton Deep Lock and we moored at Lower Heyford, near the station, in time for dinner and for me to catch the 2105 train back to collect the car. All the way there, the drive reminded me that the gearbox was on its way out.

I rang Sovereign Wharf and reserved the reconditioned gearbox.
The next day I went to Thrupp to try to make contact with a marine engineer. Mark Paris had done a Boat Safety Certificate examination for me and I was impressed by his thoroughness. He agreed to fit the gearbox and the injectors for me sometime next week if I could get the boat to Thrupp.

Returning to the boat I found that the mooring we were on was 48 hours. I was loath to move on with the dodgy gearbox especially as the southerly voyage to Thrupp involves a stretch of the River Cherwell and the weather promised more heavy rain. In fact it delivered it that night along with strong winds and about three inches of rain water appeared in my bucket on the back of the boat.

I spoke to the mooring warden's husband who passed her a message about my predicament and she agreed that I could stay until Friday morning. That arranged, I now put the car at Thrupp, returning to Heyford by bus. All set for another changeover.

Friday morning was a wonderful cruising morning and we made our passage easily to Thrupp. On exiting the Cherwell reach, another boater pointed out the indicator was on RED. We should not have made it at all. I am sure that the indicator at the other end was on ORANGE but I will never be sure. I left Bakers Lock because several other boaters had come in, making the more difficult passage against the stream! I hadn't even looked at the gauge!

At Thrupp we were confronted by a distinct lack of 14 day moorings and a mooring warden trying to keep the wide clear for a film crew that were expected later. He told us to turn and moor abreast of Helene of Troy, which we did. I wait for him to call later to find out what is going on!

The car was in the right place and we returned to base ready to collect the gearbox on Monday morning.