Running down at Braunston!

We left Wigrams Marina on Thursday 16th with a fully charged battery bank and a full tank of water, and moored up at Braunston, opposite the Boathouse Pub (again!).

The newly fitted heat exchanger supplied hot water to the radiators for the journey and kept the boat nicely warm – as did the sun that shone brightly on the way!

Our instruction from Graeme was to run the batteries right down to 20% capacity to check that they were now working correctly.

For those of you that understand batteries (that's not us by the way – we are still learning!) we have 24 x 2volt cells that equal 800Ah and 48volts, and they are PB deep discharge batteries! They supply us with “household” mains  electricity to run our appliances – fridge, freezer, dishwasher, washer/dryer, electric double oven and induction hob without having to run the engine.

So we sat at Braunston, being really lazy, just going for the odd walk to visit the shop and pubs, whilst still using all our appliances as normal – we did treat ourselves to Sunday Lunch at the Boathouse on Sunday though!

Braunston was incredibly quiet – not many boats moored opposite the pub or along by the marina!

By the time we got to Tuesday morning we had used 620Ah out of the battery bank and we couldn't boil the (electric) kettle until we started the engine! Hoorah! Five days without running the engine whilst still using everything on board! Success, batteries now performing as they should!

Time to move (and of course fill up with water) so we headed up towards the marina and water point.

As we turn in the marina entrance you can see no other boats moored!

We headed off towards Rugby, passing through the Hillmorton locks (note Garys smart new SHORT hair cut!)

It was another glorious sunny day, but it did get cold in the shade!

As we passed the golf course we spied Derwent 6 moored up and Al had just arrived back from shopping – we shouted hello as we passed, and she posed for a picture!

One day, we will moor close to them and have a proper chat!

A bit further up we went past Clifton Cruisers and spied Waiouru hiding behind another boat.

Unusually, I was steering for a few minutes (still in training – I could never get the hang of steering the hire boats!) and Gary took my picture for a change!

We moored up at Brownsover, after 4 hours and had boosted the batteries back up to 78%. Hopefully (wont speak too loudly) our alternator problems are now behind us!

We stayed at Brownsover for 2 nights, visiting Tesco and all the other shops there and then pulled away, turned round at the winding hole by the Rugby Wharf Junction and headed back towards Hillmorton – passing Brownsover looking like a summers day (except for no leaves on the trees!)

We passed through Hillmorton Locks again (well, I do need some exercise after our lazy 5 days!) and moored for the night at Onley, just as it started to rain.

Our mooring spot – totally deserted!

We are now moored back at Braunston again. I am heading down south next week and will be leaving Gary on the boat – give him a wave if you see him!

Normal blogging will resume when I return!

A quiet start to the New Year!

On 29 Dec, after a relaxing evening moored outside the Boathouse we decided it was time to leave Braunston whilst the sun was out!

We headed down to Wigrams Marina and settled onto our usual pontoon. As we didnt want to move too far the best option was to plug into power to recharge our batteries – and have water on tap right outside the boat.

We thought it might be fun to be among a load of boats for New Year – when at home down south on New Years Eve you always hear a load of boat hooters at midnight – and we thought being in the marina (rather than in a pub) we could do the same with our horn!

As the hour approached on New Years Eve, with glasses of wine in hand, we climbed out of the boat and stood on the pontoon – Gary was poised to run down the back to give a blast on the horn – but it was quiet in the marina – no-one emerged from boats, no-one blew their horn – so we returned inside the boat quite disappointed! Maybe next year!!

On 2nd January we left the Marina, and returned to Braunston, it was chilly, not raining so we enjoyed being on the move again!

We moored near the Stop House in Braunston, and visited the butcher to top up supplies. There was still a lot of water and mud on the towpath from all that rain!

By Saturday (4 Jan) we decided we had spent enough time at Braunston and needed to go shopping, so would head towards Rugby.

Of course as soon as we decided to move it rained! Rudolph helped us top up with water -

and then decided that he had had enough of the rain and wanted to go and find some snow – so off he went!

Bye Rudolph!

We headed off towards Rugby, and got as far as Hillmorton Locks, where we decided to call it a day and moored at the top.

The next day we headed down the three locks and stopped at the bottom to fill with water – we cant get very close here!

The clouds looked ominous back the way we came – but it was much brighter ahead of us!

We headed on towards Rugby, and managed to find a spot on the 24 hour moorings at Brownsover so we could visit Tesco and fill up our cupboards!

We checked out the cinema too – as we wanted to see the 2nd instalment of the Hobbit films in a few days time.

The next day we moved off again, still heading north on the Oxford Canal, out of Rugby and back into the country. We found a spot just before All Oaks Wood, where the hedge was low enough for us to pick up a satellite signal. Although the canal looked wide, it was very silted up and we nearly got stuck on a sand bank!

Pulling away from our mooring next morning.

We were heading for Rose Narrowboats at Stretton Stop, as our loo tank (which we had so much trouble with at Braunston and probably didnt empty properly in the end – we ran out of time!) was starting to look full on the gauge, so we needed a proper pump out!

On the way through All Oaks Wood we could see someone had been busy chopping back the vegetation on the offside.

Next we passed the big tree that had to be cleared after blocking the canal during the storms.

We arrived at Rose Narrowboats and had to tie up alongside two other boats to get pumped out – which meant we were three abreast on the canal! Good job no-one came past us – it would have been a tight squeeze!

We then turned round in the entrance to the arm there, and reversed back onto the water point to fill up – again we cant get close in at this water point either!

Now heading back towards Rugby again we spotted a couple of strange things – a wooden dog -

and a flashing teddy!

Then just by the entrance to Brinklow Marina we found the crew cutting back the vegetation.

and then this little boat causing an obstruction as it was only tied at the bow – but at least there was still room to pass!

Even though the sun was out we decided to pull back in to the spot we left in the morning and moor up for the night – and shortly after the rain came down again, so that was a good move!

Thursday dawned as a lovely sunny day again, so we moved off and headed back to Brownsover and moored up again on the 24 hour spots. We had a visit from Yvonne with some post for us, and we had a pleasant catch up.

At 4pm we headed over to the cinema to see The Hobbit, which we enjoyed, and then went over to Frankie and Bennys for a drink and some dinner.

Friday we headed off again, passing Derwent 6 moored up by the golf course – but didnt see anyone to say hello!

We filled with water again below the locks and then headed up them and moored at the top again.

Saturday was a lovely cruising day, so we headed back to Braunston again – see that blue sky!

We moored up again opposite the Boathouse Pub, and as we settled down for the evening, there was a knock on the boat!

Gary went to investigate and we were surprised to see Steve and Chris from NB AmyJo! We have read their blog about selling their house, including filling in their pond, and the trials and tribulations of their boat build since before we started this blog, so it was really lovely to meet them.

We spent a lovely couple of hours comparing build notes and teething problems and discussing the usual boat subjects! As they were only on AmyJo for the weekend and had to return to Crick on Sunday we didnt get a chance to visit their lovely boat, so will look forward to that another time.

Apologies for the blurred photo – I hadnt had THAT much to drink – honest!! At least I remembered to take a photo!

On Sunday we left Braunston again heading for Wigrams Marina. It was quite cold on the back of the boat – but these chaps must have been freezing!

And just before we turned into Wigrams we were caught up by some more cannoeists – these ones had their dogs running the towpath with them!

We have returned to Wigrams for a few days as our battery bank has not been performing as it should – and having discussed this with Graeme from Hybrid Marine, he thinks it is because the faulty alternators had not been charging their half of the battery bank properly, so we are doing a series of forced equalisations to hopefully cure this problem – watch this space for updates!

Whilst we are here, Mark from MGM is also coming to fit a heat exchanger to the Hurricane heating system, which uses the waste heat from the engine to help heat the boat for free!

We should be on our way again on Thursday 16th, so the blog will continue then!

Our First Christmas Afloat!

So Wednesday last week saw us leaving our mooring at Spiceball Park, and our first job was to fill the water tank! We used the tap just outside the shopping centre.

Whilst we were there, Rudolph contemplated nipping in to Debenhams to get some xmas shopping!

Whilst we filled our tank some CaRT workers brought 3 work boats up the lock.

We then headed off, down the lock and towards the winding hole to turn round.

The winding hole got the better of us this time round – it took a couple of attempts, and as you can see we (and Rudolph) took a bit of a battering!

The wind didnt do us any favours and the trees decided to get in the way! Even the button on the front took a battering and we cant straighten it up until we get some new shackles!

Rudolph soon recovered, and we headed on through the lift bridge – unlike Rudolph, Gary had to duck!

At the first lock out of Banbury we caught up with the CaRT guys and their workboats.

We discovered they were heading for Stockton ready for the works in the new year.

After heading up the lock behind them we decided to moor up below Bourton Lock rather than follow them any further, as the weather had decided to turn for the worst.

Rudolph decided to sleep inside out of the wind and rain.

The heavens opened and the wind and rain got really bad – we even had waves running up the canal!

Thursday was a lovely sunny day with no wind, so Rudolph decided it was safe to come out!

 

I left Rudolph helping Gary untie the boat and went off to set the lock.

All that rain over night had left the canal topped right up with muddy water.

We carried on towards Cropredy, and who should be coming back towards us but Sue and Vic on No Problem as they headed back towards Banbury!

It was lovely in the sun, so Rudolph caught some rays whilst we filled with water at Cropredy!

We moved on, enjoying the sunshine and blue skies – even when it was a bit of a tight squeeze in places!

We made it to the top of the Claydon flight whilst the sun was still out, but Rudolph jumped on the roof and started to dance about – telling us that the wind was coming up again and more rain was imminent!

So we tucked Rudolph up inside again and settled down in front of the stove for another wet and wild evening!

Friday was another lovely sunny day, but this time a bit gusty, so Rudolph stayed inside, as he was afraid of being blown off the boat!

We plodded along on the Oxford Canal Summit traveling about 10 miles on the twisted route when as the crow flies it is only about 4 miles! Again the sun was out and it was a lovely day to travel.

Again the canal level was really high and the water was really muddy after all the rain draining from the fields.

We stopped at the Wharf Inn in Fenny Stratford to fill the water tank and marvelled at the view across the hills!

The last few miles on the summit pass through sheep fields, and dotted around are all these blue tripod “things” – does anyone know what they are?

We moored above the Napton Flight – and of course it rained again!

Saturday we came down the Napton Flight, and stopped for water outside the Folly Pub – and the black clouds came over again!

We decided not to try to get to Braunston in the rain, so moored up and rang Yvonne and Roy to see if they fancied an evening in the Folly! Of course they did, so we had a very pleasant evening chilling out with them over dinner and a few drinks!

They had a huge Christmas tree outside the Folly, but I didnt take a picture at night with the lights on – only this one!

Again the sun was out, but it was breezy, and it definately got chilly – so we wrapped up warmly.

We arrived at Braunston and were amazed at how much room there was – hardly any boats moored at all! So we picked a nice spot opposite the Boathouse Pub where we could get a satellite signal and settled in for Christmas.

Roy dropped the car up to us so that we could do our xmas food shopping, so whilst the rain fell and the wind blew on Monday, we drove to Morrisons to collect our turkey and other xmas bits.

These hire boaters were getting into the spirit!

By Christmas Eve the wind had stopped howling and the sun was out, so in the afternoon we decided to do the Braunston pub crawl!

We walked up to the Admiral Nelson, almost drowning in mud on the awful towpath! It was quite busy, so after after a drink there we walked up the road into the village and stopped off in the Wheatsheaf. This was much quieter, with only a few locals in. We left there at 6 and headed to The Plough, where it started quiet but very quickly became very busy as the evening progressed.

We then headed back to the boat for dinner and a chill out watching telly.

Christmas day started slowly for us, having a nice lay in, sorting out the dinner ingredients etc. Whilst Gary was in the cratch, he received an invitation from a boater moored behind us to pop along for drinks later in the evening. They read this blog and wanted to meet us!

We visited the Boathouse Pub for a drink in the afternoon before starting dinner, and we duly sat down to our first Christmas Dinner Afloat!

After clearing away we made our way to “Oakapple” moored two boats behind us and had a very pleasant evening with Richard and Sharon, who we discovered also come from Fareham! Before leaving, we invited them for a return visit on Friday evening.

Boxing day Rudolph helped Gary to top up the diesel in the front tank for the stove – there is no way we are getting cold on this boat!

Unfortunately, this doesnt mean we dont catch colds – and yes I had managed to catch one, so feeling a bit stuffed up, we visited Yvonne and Roy for a couple of hours before the storms returned again in the evening, then tucked ourselves up in the warm with a few medicinal drinks to stave off the symptoms!

Friday of course was another windy and wet day, so we stayed on board, cleaned the boat, had dinner and awaited our visitors.

Another lovely evening with great company. Thanks for coming over Richard and Sharon.

Saturday morning saw Oakapple and crew making their way back to their home marina – hope you had a good journey and didnt suffer from the late night!

We had decided it was time to fill up our water tank (we were getting withdrawal symptoms and it was almost empty!) and also we wanted to try the self pump out at Braunston Marina, as our loo tank was just about full.

We duly moved off, after a rush of passing boats, and pulled into the Marina. I popped into the shop to get the token and Gary prepared to do the deed. The machine started – and nothing pumped out! We wiggled the connection, stood on the end, took it off and put it on again – several times and nothing pumped out!

To cut a long story short, after 3 tokens and help from one of the marina guys we still couldnt make it work, so the next customer had a go – and it worked for him – he pumped his tank out fine! So what to do? Whilst pondering (and waiting for the marina “toilet engineer” to finish his lunch and come and help) we decided to use the water tap on the facilities block to fill our tank, and whilst connecting the hose we heard a familar voice!

One of my old work colleagues Janet and her husband Paul (who lives in Portchester) were visiting relatives nearby and had decided to see if they could find us! If it hadnt been for the delay with the pump out machine, they would not have seen us! It was lovely to see you both and your family – sorry I didnt take any pictures, we were so flustered with our problem it didnt occur to me at the time.

In the midst of this chaos, showing people round the boat and chatting, the toilet engineer turned up and proceeded to strip down the pump out hose to check that was working ok. What a time to have visitors. Next time we see Janet and Paul I promise to take them for a lovely cruise!

Our friends duly left and Gary and the engineer persevered with the problem. Eventually after much prodding with the hose and water spraying the pump started working properly – we think we had a blocked breather hose. The engineer said he had never seen a problem like that before! How strange that should happen to us!!!!

He left us to complete our pump out, and by now our water tank was full, so we hurriedly packed away and pushed away from the wharf. We reversed out of the marina and headed back down the canal to the Boathouse pub – and moored up directly outside, as we desperately needed a drink and some food to recuperate!

We are now back on the boat exhausted after our eventful afternoon! – who says narrowboating is relaxing!!!!!