We're On!

What a fortnight!!

What follows will not be a coherent chronological sequence of events, but rather an avalanche of recollection:

In our first two weeks onboard we've had a vertical learning curve to get to grips with, we knew the engine was a slow starter but we figured that having just had a service she would hold out for a little while, giving us time to get up to speed on the general maintenance of our beloved chunk of BMC. How foolish we were! The very day after leaving Weltonfield she was having none of it and simply would not start so we promptly joined River Canal Rescue and were visited that afternoon by Jim who pointed out the madness of trying to turn over a slow-starting engine using a 110a/h leisure battery alone. Now we know how to jump the starter battery from the leisures, using a windlass if need be, though I think it was the helpful boater moored up next to us a week ago that taught us the windlass trick... Jim got us going again, advising that we buy an 800a/h starter battery, which we have since done and installed.

That was not the last we saw of RCR, we had got as far as Stoke Bruerne, successfully negotiating Blisworth tunnel, aware as we went through of the screeching sound that was beginning to creep into the engine tone... Opening up the engine bay later revealed the black rubbery dust of shorn alternator belts, not good. Attempts to replace/tension the belts were stressful, believing that we needed more tension than we could achieve by hand/hammer handle/mooring pin. RCR arrived and revealed that the day's cruising we'd had under the belts we'd tensioned ourselves had been not too loose but too tight. Now we know the correct tension and running the engine this evening revealed minimal screeching, so a little tinkering with tensions is required tomorrow. RCR also advised that the reason she's a slow starter might be down to old glow plugs that need replacing, or even that we might be losing compression due to pitted valve seats, which is not a particularly easy or quick job to fix, and is certainly out of our capability for now.

When Jem went to wash her hair the other day it was discovered that the shower pump was barely functioning. Having moored up beside a great pair of characters, Phil and Sue, who are cruising in convoy on Black Rose and The River Gypsy, we had bucketloads of advice which we promptly scribbled down! They recommended we check the filter in the line that leads from the base of the shower tray to an exit point in the side of the hull. An hour's awkward fumbling around under the shower led to the removal of a small mountain of gunk and hair! Ain't boatin' bootiful?! So this evening marked my first hot shower onboard! Which felt seriously GOOD!

The issue with the water tank goes on, we're waiting for a spell of dry weather which should allow us sufficient time to get the hatch off, sponge out remaining water, remove as much of the rust as we can, paint liberally with bitumastic paint, wait to dry and refill with water! Then hopefully we will have water that doesn't come out of the taps a horrid red/brown colour. Good thing we bought those plastic water tanks for the time being...

Painting has begun on the interior too, cream and volcano red! It might be a small space but it's fiddly, Jem is mastering the cutting in so we'll have it done in no time! I can't wait to remove the corner cupboard in the saloon and start building the surround for the stove.

We're becoming grandmasters at Escape from Colditz the board game, and our first foray into hand washing onboard was a success, we tested out our newly acquired copper posser and the 'washball' device that was onboard before we were. Both were successful, though the posser's Victorian charm won me over as the more satisfying method. Drying clothes has been the real challenge however, and our search for a mangle begins now!

We have no way to monitor how much fuel we have left, so I think the next couple of days will see us getting our first pumpout and diesel fill. Our first filling up with water was a success, if a slightly soggy success! And now we know that taps covered in BW security boxes require a hose pipe, so mooring up miles and miles from the water point then arriving plastic containers in hand (sans hose pipe) will lead to much cursing and a trudge back to the boat for the pipe! Boaters be ye warned...

We keep telling ourselves that had we bought a boat in better condition, we'd not be learning half as much about how they tick, and, taking the water tank as an example, once we have clean running water and a new drinking water filter, it'll seem like absolute luxury! And as for the shower, they seem to have installed a cunning device specifically for reducing the inevitable discomfort of stepping from a conventional shower into a colder bathroom - it actually reduces the temperature of the water in the shower so that when you step out there's no discomfort at all! SPACE-AGE OR WHAT?! :)

This Easter weekend we're hoping to get our mobile broadband sorted, and tick off a few more items on the ongoing shopping list...