nb Bridge Street

Monday 18 th March 2019 We decided that we were going to have the day on the boat doing overdue jobs. After breakfast I washed and polished the portside and blacked the hull. This has needed doing for weeks. We moved in the ice back in February at Sutton Stop which had taken paint off the front at the waterline and this had started to rust. Brenda went to the nearby Co-op. After she returned we painted the port gunwhale between us. This has annoyed us ever since the boat went into the water. The gunwhales were painted light grey and showed every mark. We had always wanted them black but Graeme had insisted on grey and by that stage of the build we had given up arguing with him. It looks so much smarter and completely transforms the look of the boat. We were delighted with the result. Now all we need to do is moor starboard side to and paint that side. We walked into and around Fradley village. A very pleasant place and a nice feel to it, but lots of new builds...

Sunday 17 th March 2019 An exciting day today. We have moved, only 1 ½ miles, but we have moved. The day was a bit breezy but sunny. It was a bit like a silly Sunday with lots of boats on the move. It seems many have been waiting for the stoppages to be lifted only to be held by the bad weather. With a sunny day, in a popular spot for watching boats, there were also many people about. We waited for a hire boat to move from the water point. This boat had come through the locks at 6:30 last night in the dark. When I took the dog out this morning I asked the guy if he knew the river section at Alrewas was still closed. He was aiming for Burton-on-Trent, beyond the closed section. I tried explaining to him it wouldn’t be possible because the locks would be padlocked but he was adamant he was going to Burton, some people won’t listen so I just left him to his own devices. Later in the day this boat passed us with the guy looking rather sheepish. The coffee boat then moved ...

Saturday 16 th 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 ...

Friday 15 th March 2019 We have been at Fradley now for over a week and, while there are worse places, we are feeling it’s time to move. However, the weather continues to be bad with strong winds and heavy rain. It does seem however, that we are getting off lightly. According to the news there is flooding in parts of the country and the river section of the canal at Alrewas has been closed for a few days. We are staying put. It is surprising how quickly the days pass. The day was spent again, on painting the porthole bungs, they are now completed and look good. Brenda can now begin to upholster and cover them. I have continued trying to tie cabin side strings. I think I have now cracked it but boy, can it be frustrating. Ropework was one of the things I wanted to do once we moved onto the boat. I have always admired boats with nice ropework decorating them. We have come up with an itinerary for meeting up with Aaron and Sarah in Stratford-on-Avon in mid-April. This has...

Thursday 14 th March 2019 We seem to have gone from Storm Freya to Gareth with no break in between and now Storm Hannah is forecast for this weekend. It seems as though we have been getting off pretty lightly although we are quite sheltered on this mooring. You only have to walk 100 yards to the junction and it is a different story with the wind gusting. Many boats and being caught out and being blown, uncontrollably, across the junction. We ran the engine and did a bedding wash. The bedding was hung out but a close eye had to be kept on it although it did dry within an hour. More painting was done on the porthole bungs although it is dragging on. The graphite grey paint is awful to work with and doesn’t cover a bit well. Jim from the coffee boat tried helping me with cabin string knots I’ve been trying to do. He couldn’t remember how to tie them though and it finished up me showing him how to splice. He’s going to sleep on it and hopefully remember tomorrow. Bre...

Wednesday 13 th March 2019 A day of much and such the same. I spent some time down the engine hole. We have had a bit of a water leak that I have not been able to find. Water appears below the engine and the header drops about 1” every week or so. All the hoses are tight with no leakage and no leaks are found on the engine block itself when both hot and cold. Just have to keep monitoring it.   The batteries we had fitted in Sawley Marina back in September are not maintenance free. They require the specific gravities and water levels checking. However, there is such little headroom above them that it is almost impossible to check properly. We bought a hydrometer but it won’t fit in the space. We now have an automatic filler for the water but again, this is proving difficult to use. It is a job I have been putting off but really must get around to. The consequences of not checking are dire and expensive. It has been nice here, waking around Fradley Pools. A lovely sp...

Tuesday 12 th March 2019 Storm Gareth was forecast for today with high winds and rain. While it rained first thing this morning and has been cold all day, the storm never came to much. Our Asda online shop turned up right on time. The van parked on the access road for Fradley Junction and, although the van was blocking the road, it was just 6 feet from the boat. He was also delivering to the coffee boat behind us so had a double delivery but all done very quickly. I’ll bet there’s not many houses get their food delivered 6 feet from their back doors. Not only was it our first online shop, it was also the first time the driver had delivered to a boat. It was exciting for us and so much easier to have all this delivered direct to the boat, we wonder why we haven’t pursued it before. We will continue to visit local butchers and green grocers because we like to support local businesses wherever possible. But having heavy shopping delivered to the boat will save us so much car...