Holes

Tuesday 27th August 2019 1600h
We have finally moved off the mooring and headed north toward the wonders of the BCN.

The first stop on any cruise up the South Oxford from Banbury has to be at Cropredy and this time was no exception. We made good headway and met quite a few boats on the way. We were followed by an Oxford hire crew who were enjoying the wonderful sunshine and showers and then came up behind NB The Lucky Duck with a very novice crew who were having difficulty with handling the craft on tickover! They rattled into Boughton Lock ahead of us and we advised them how to avoid being thrown forward inthe lock by the incoming water from the ground paddles. It always amazes me how little people tell their crews when they lend them their boat! This crew really were learning on the job the hard way. They let us pass just after the lock bridge and before Slat Mill. We moored on the 14 day moorings behind NB So Long that had single handed up from Banbury and we had helped through Slat Mill lock. We moored at 1830 and prepared to have dinner at the Brazenose Arms.
                                                                                        3 locks, 4 miles, 2.1/2hrs

Wednesday 28th August 2019

We had a meeting this morning so moved forward toward the Winding hole. We entertained a friend to a late breakfast between 1130 and 1230 and then started on our way again. There were quite a few boats on the move: The Lucky Duck, the Oxfordshire Hire boat and NB So Long had all passed us and we had to queue at Cropredy behind Napton boats. Here we discovered the holes in the bank behind the piling by almost falling into them. I reported them as dangerous. At Broadmoor lock a heavy shower interrupted our cruise and we sheltered for about half an hour or more before going on. We joined queues again at Claydon Middle lock and eventually cleared the locks at about 1630. Not the quickest of journeys. Our youngest crew member decided to walk to The Wharf and took photos of the holes that abound between Claydon Locks and Fenny Compton. Other indications that the canal is not as well mantained as it used to be were the crumbling bank stonework and the broken cill protection beams at two of the locks.

The lock beams at Claydon Locks all bear a blue sign detailing the water saving code and ask that we report all leaks. Well CRT all the lock gates are leaking. The local CRT manager is Mr Lee King so we can expect little else! Much of the paddle gear is also stiff to operate and needs more grease. Off side veg could do with a really good cutting back this coming winter or visibility problems will abound next year. There are quite a few intrusive hawthorns and willows on the off side and trees self seeding on the near side.

We moored tightly on visitor moorings (///reactions.tribes.needed ) and went to The Wharf for a lovely dinner. Chilli, steak and ale pie and a full rack of ribs satisfied our need.

We had pre-prepared for this by leaving the car at The Pub so we went back to the flat.

The first leg to the BCN completed:                                  9 locks, 9 miles, 4.1/2 hours

Friday 30 August 2019

Had to move off 48 hour moorings so progressed forward to the Water Point outside the Wharf  Inn and filled the tank up.
Then through the bridges  to moor on the first ring of the 14 day moorings. ///polka.performs.tangling
                                                                                        1/2 mile      1/2hr
Here she will stay until we navigate the top level to Marston Doles next week and thence down Napton Flight.We have to arrive in Napton on the Hill, somewhere near the marina to get to The KIng's Head to catch the 9.22 am bus back to Fenny Compton. It only runs on Thursdays.
  

Collision Course

I am wondering whether SONFLOWER is seriously magnetic!

I looked up the canal this morning as I untied the mooring straps to see a Napton Boat heading toward me about 200yards away under Tom Rolt Bridge. Having pushed the bow out it was too late to stop on the mooring so I straightened the boat and stopped it. There was a 100 foot space on the other side off the canal at Castle Quay so "no problem" I thought. How wrong I was. The hire boat headed straight for the boat moored opposite. There should have been plenty of room to pass between us but once he had hit this boat the richochez took him into my bow! The crew of the boat I was now alonngside came up and I assured them I had not touched their boat. "Thank you " they said. The helmsman on the hire boat did not say a word! I was stationary so surely they had the responsibility to pass safely!

What is wrong with these people? Would they drive their Volvo down the motorway bouncing from Merc to Beamer in the same fashion? He had just hit about £60,000 worth of boat and didn't even acknowledge the fact!

The rest of the 1/2 mile journey was almost uneventful. A little nudge by nb Shadow, a fellow moorer, who arrived at Sovereign Wharf at exactly the same time as I did! £140 was the total for Gas, diesel and a water cap key. It was a good feeling to pull away with all the main essentials serviced and full. I turned at Grimsbury Arm and moored ready to do battle with the town centre again.

Now for the winter. Summer is officially over after Labor Day according to Google!
3/4 mile, 2hours

For Divers

For those of you who dive or for those of you that like to take to the water more intimately that I do, whether intentionally or accidentally, here is the product you have been waiting for.

A water proof MP3 player from Sony

Speaks for itself. The link leads to a video as well!

Back in Routine

Late rising today but it matters little. We had the routine "water run" to complete. The gas bottle ran out on Sunday and we need to get another spare, the level is creeping up in the toilet tank and we are depleting the water tank. So we have to do what boaters do!

That means taking the boat into town, throuh the loft bridge to the water point. We then stop to fill with water before working down the lock. Today we stopped below the lock for breakfast. Then we proceded another 3/4 mile to turn at Bankside winding hole. Here the rain started so we stopped for a few minutes to get the waterproofs on.

Then back to the lock, pausing as a crew member bumped their head on the hatch which had been closed for the rain, then through thte lift bridge to Sovereign Wharf. We had to wait a few minutes for a boat that had lost a crew member in the town shopping to move off the wharf. Gas bottle exchange, pump out and chat completed we returned to home mooring.    2lock, 2 Lift Bridges, 2 miles, 2 Hours cruising.

Nice to be back in the old routine.

Frustration

Those who read Mortimer Bones' column in Canal Boat magazine will appreciate that not all things that seem simple on a narrowboat turn out that way.

This morning I went to take the boat to the town centre, a cruise of 1/4 mile. This weekend is a boating festival: The Banbury Canal Day. The town council put a lot of effort into making the assett of the The Oxford Canal work for the town and give the loacals a grand day out into the bargain. For the last eight years we have joined in the fun come rain or shine. This year, in contrast to the last two, it looks like we are in for a shining sunny day on Sunday.

So all seemed to bode well until I appraoched the boat to find her bow higher than I can remember seeing it before. The water tank was empty. Believing the saga of the "water in the bilge" to be over, I imediately raised the over over the water pumop to see whether water was engulfing it once more. No! But the pump was running dry!

I turned it off and investigated further. The little amount of water in the bilge that had run aft was cleared quickly. The taps were all closed and tight. The shower pan was dry. Where had all the water gone and why was the pump running?

We needed water. I cast off and boated into the town. First stop the water point which means navigating the lift bridge, no mean feat single handed! Thankfully a helpful waiting pedestrian lad took the windlass and lowered the bridge as I passed through to speed his crossing and help me.

Filling our tank takes about one and a half hours! The best mate came along from her art class at The Mill. She did not expect to see the boat at the water point. I explained the lack of water and we decided that she should go and buy a sushi lunch as we had plenty of time and the resources of the town were at our feet.

Lunched and with a full tank I had time to think about our problem. Running the pump for a short while revealed that the relief valve on the calorifier was letting by and that was where the water was going. Relieved water ended up in the stern gland bilge and was pumped away by the sern bilge pump!

We continued our cruise. Through the lock, down to the turning point at the end of the Tram way Mooring site and back again, through the lock, back to home mooring, to the turning point at The Arm just north of Spice Ball Park and then back to town to moor under Tom Rolt Bridge: our weekend mooring: 2 miles, 2 locks, 2 Lift Bridges and four and a half hours to fill up with water!

But with no isolation valve on the calorifier inlet, how can I fix the relief valve without draining the tank again?

The water pump says off.

A going concern

I told you that I would keep you up to date with All the boaty news. SONFLOWER is now on Sovereign Wharf who have kindly allowed me to moor there to use the electric hook up to run a big vacuum cleaner/aquavac. One small inconvenience of having one's generator stolen is that my inverter is not man enough for really tough tasks.

I could not moor on the Wharf until after closing time(4pm)so while I was waiting I tackled one of the jobs I have been putting off. There was a weep spotted from the seal between the toilet and the holding tank. The fixing bolts were wobbly and closer inspection revealed that the toilet was actually only attached to the tank by one of the four!

So I went to Lee Sanitation yesterday and handed over £30 of my hard gained wonger in return for a genuine Sealand Traveler Seal kit which, thankfully included the bolts nuts and washers.

I had pumped out this morning and Ray at the Wharf had allowed me double the normal allownace of blue so the smell was sufferable as I removed the toilet, cleaned up the flange and refitted the loo with a new seal.

We are fully serviceable again!

Little Disagreements

A visitor to the town had a difference of opinion with a canalside business today. Sadly, it ended up costly to him in time and money as the business refused to serve him. I know that the matter will not end there as the towpath telegraph and electoronic communication is a very effective conveyor of the experiences of the disgruntled.

I am a firm believer that the local businesses along the canal need our patronage. Without them we would be left to carry cans of deisel from a petrol station, bottles of blue from the caravan centre, coal from the stockist etc etc. We already have to choose our moorings to be close to the appropriate DIY facility when making repairs or re-furbishments. Getting to a place where you expect a service to find it closed is not pleasant as we experienced during our Summer Cruise but we have usually found a handy next place down the cut! If we do not use them however, the 'next place' could be a very long way away.

So upsetting them does not seem a good idea to me.

"A gentle word tuns away wrath" is a proverb to remember.

PREP FOR THE LADS

I have done a little bit if shopping today for a lad's day out on the boat tomorrow.

eggs
bacon
sausages
mushrooms
tomatoes
bread
butter
coffee

Anything missing?

the ha'peth of tar syndrome

I have told you about the rev counter (tachometer) that needed recalibrating. Well, the updated position is that it would cost more to re-calibrate it than get a new one! Apparently, it costs so much to open up a twenty-five year old instrument to fiddle with its insides and to make it compatible with modern electronics in the alternator that the labour charge (UK) makes a new one (from China) a snip. And while we are about it, a new panel with modern gauges and switches and panel lights that work and a horn (an electric one to replace the reliable mouth blown stadium horn) and a bilge pump float switch override (because the hole is already there and marked 'bilge pump') all seems so reasonable.

And (just in case the old one doesn't fit) would I like a new wiring loom as well? No, that is going a bit too far!

There she goes

SONFLOWER cruises away from us under the lift bridge at Thrupp in the capable hands of our friends, David and Sue. They are heading for the Thames so SONFLOWER will again enjoy the pampering of lock keepers and gin palace masters as she cruises down to Reading. David and Sue are in no particular hurry so I hope that they enjoy it as much as I did recently.

We enjoyed the leisurely cruise down to Thrupp for the rendezvous. I was amazed to find this a centre of activity for the BCF with nb Florella, nb Bruin, nb Dragon Lady and nb Hannah all along the moorings together.

Now back to the domestic life, piano and drum lessons for the boys and back to school/college routine from Monday!