Saturday 14th July 2018



We didn’t move at all today, stayed at Bramble Cutting. The Commodore of the Broken Cross Boat Club called in, Brian and Linda on Eden Keel. They watered the oak tree sapling and we will do the same when we leave.

Brenda carried on covering the porthole bungs and I sealed up the front and one of the side doors. The other side door we have decided we will have to buy clamps for. The back doors are so bad that we will ask advice when we go to Orchard Marina. The wood is coming away from the doors. The gaps are being sealed but the back doors are so bad that the wood facing is almost off the metal. Not good in a new boat. If these gaps are not sealed then, if it rains or the winter comes, the wood will just fall off altogether.

I also started to paint spiral stripes on the brush, mop and barge pole. These were a buggar to measure up and mask but we were always determined that we would have this decoration. Have only painted the black so far but they look good already.

England lost in the 3rd/4th place World Cup play-offs to Belgium. They were just out-played. Shame for them. There is no TV reception here, so listened to it on the radio.

The boat ahead of us had trouble with his weed hatch and had almost flooded his engine bay. I fitted a new seal for him. Would have cost him a fortune no doubt, to have had this done in a boatyard. Boaters code hopefully, to help each other out. We experienced this a while back when we had done the same, not sealed the hatch properly and, when bailing out, a boat from Orchard Marina stopped to ask if we were OK.

Battery capacity this morning at 9:30am: 86%; 12.2V

              and this evening at 5pm: 97%; 13.1V

Brenda spoke to Sandra. She now says next Thursday for our work. This will be almost 4 weeks that we will have waited for her. If the work doesn’t get done then, we will probably not bother and just take off. We have been very patient but are fed up of waiting.

We spoke about future plans and are hoping to go onto the River Weaver, at some point call into Anderton Marina to have a sea-worthiness survey done for transiting the Manchester Ship Canal, then to Castlefields in Manchester before dropping down Pomona Lock onto the Ship Canal to travel to Ellesmere Port, then head south.

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