Saturday 16th March 2019



We topped up the diesel tank from the fuel boat Auriga. 65.5ltrs @ 0.84p per litre. It is always advisable, especially during the winter, to keep the tank topped up otherwise condensation can form in the tank which leads to diesel bug forming.

Diesel bug is a fungal growth that forms sediment in the bottom of the tank but also remains in suspension in the fuel and will clog up filters and lead to greater wear on the engine parts. It can lead to a lot of very expensive damage.

Once we were fuelled up Jim off the coffee boat and myself saw Jim off Auriga through the Fradley locks and on his way.

These fuel boats would represent the last working boats on the canal. They carry diesel, coal, gas and logs for delivery either to regular, permanently moored customers, or passing trade like ourselves. Each fuel boat, by mutual consent, sticks to a certain section of the canal system.

We then settled down to an afternoon of rugby with the closing games of the 6 nations. Wales won the competition with a Grand Slam. England were beating Scotland 31-7 at half time but then somehow, amazingly, the game finished in a draw and Scotland retained the Calcutta Cup. It was hard to watch.



Weather: windy all day. A dry morning but rain in the afternoon.

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