The Black Jack

That's a great suggestion but we've done that route so time for a change.

Looks great! I'm sure we'll do the South Oxford one day but I have in mind the Ashby Canal if the weather is too bad for us to want to tackle all those locks to Stratford. If we do the Stratford route I would like to get as far as the Edstone Aqueduct before turning back to Napton.

You can lead a horse to water but it won't necessarily drink anything. Sorry to hear you have lost your partner. If the engine is inoperative then the only way to move it will be to: Fix engine where it is. Pull the boat by hand with ropes. Get it towed by another boat. Either way, don't try getting in the water and pushing. Even with a sorkel you will end up swallowing canal/river water which will give you a rather bad tummy or worse. I'm afraid you will need to get a decent assessment from a boatyard that will be able to work on your engine. Alternatively, just sell the barge as a project.

Thanks for the reply. I have backup routes planned up towards the Ashby or towards Stratford upon Avon.

We are on a one week holiday from Napton the same week as the Fairport Convention on the South Oxford Canal. We are not interested in visiting the festival. Does anyone know how much this festival impacts on cruising towards Oxford and back?

You eat your underwear?

Yes, that's a lovely route but we did it a couple of years ago. What a good idea. This might be an option if we choose this route. Yes, we've already done the Leicester Line to Market Harborough and south down the Grand Union to Stoke Bruerne. Time for a change next year. Good going! Was that with early starts and/or extra crew?

Those Jackery solar generators are pretty impressive (but expensive). Pity humans can't store electrical energy in their body tissues.

Yes, I suppose if it made good business sense, they'd probably be doing it. The only time a hirer might want to stay put is on a rainy day when solar would be a complete waste of time anyway.

Yes I can see that but wondered that if solar panels were installed it might encourage longer stops or more leisurely cruising perhaps.

One thing we seem to all agree on is that steel narrowboats can get uncomfortably hot in full summer sunshine. With all that canal water around, I'm surprised no one has come up with an idea for cooling the roof by evaporation of that water. We just need an efficient way of keeping the roof wet.

Think how impressive you'd have looked if you caught and ate it!

That would depend on how wet and mucky the paper was.

It seems odd that many hire boats are happy to include 230 volt appliances like toasters, hair driers, TVs and microwave ovens which can flatten leisure batteries quite quickly. When the engine can't be run after 8.00pm, I'm surprised more hire companies don't fit solar panels. This also might encourage less diesel usage per hire.