TeeELL

Sorry, the mattress is 6' 4". NOT 64"!!!

I have a 12" wide, 8" deep, 64" long mattress. Yes, that's right, for a very narrow person!! But seriously, it was purchased as an 'add in' for our boat to create a pull out king size bed, the 12" section was rolled into the gap by the gunnel when the bed was pulled out. Due to a change of plan this is now surplus to requirements. The mattress is fully sprung and was made by a specialist mattress maker in Tamworth (it cost nearly as much as the matching 4' mattress), although 7 years old this addition has never really had any use. It is offered free, but needs to be collected from Droitwich Spa marina. If you are interested let me know and I will advise you when I shall be at the boat.

Hello everyone, over the years I have noticed that, when locking down, there is often a quite strong 'disinfectant' type smell from within the lock. The smell is reminiscent of the 'hospital smell' of the 'old days'. Now, my better half is an aromatherapist and she cannot explain what the cause is so I am posting on here to see if anyone can shed light. There appears to be no specific set of circumstances either geographic or meteorological etc that influences when or where the aroma can be detected. So, over to you expert botanists, or whatever!

As per the previous 175º is usual. I've had to fight my way up the Thames on full power and only seen a temperature rise of about 10º on that figure.

Ade thanks for the info on VACTAN, as you have determined 'our' problem also lies with a lack of ventilation add to which badly leaking roof vents to supply water and a recipe for disaster ensues. I will be putting ventilation holes under the area where the fridge and cooker sit so that they 'pull' the air up from the bilge, and arrange for ventilation along the length of the underfloor area together with an inspection hatch at the rear right corner. I have suggested installing a computer case fan and my pal suggested powering it by a small solar panel!! In answer to your question about the 'Gulper' - mine is mounted vertically and works just fine. However, I will check to see which way up it is - I may even have the instructions in my 'ELEMIAH's Book of Stuff'. The bed - ELEMIAH has a king-size bed that is 4ft wide when stowed - I made a section that slides out (and is self supporting) which creates the extra 12". The 5' bed can be created in about 3 minutes as the bedding 'folds' with it. That said, we have an expensive 2 piece mattress and the 12" section, adjacent to the gunwale, is rotated upwards . This means that if I am at the boat on my own I can use the bed as a 3 footer without having to create the bed. Finally: that is a great looking re-fit you are doing Ade, I'll put money on you never having to lift the flooring again!! We will arrange a close encounter of the Single Malt kind once established at Droitwich Spa.

Hi Ade, all those years ago you swore by VACTAN for rust prevention, I am helping a pal with his boat and suggested he use the same. To you still stand by your opinion?

Thank you for your replies.

Thanks for the replies, most encouraging. Is it possible to connect the second RPM gauge to the original using the wiring at the original instrument rather than tracing back to the Alternator? As an aside - It occurs to me that with 2 alternators I don't know, off hand, which one drives the RPM gauge - and my wiring diagram is on the boat.

I wonder if any of our electronics experts might be able to help me. I have a Barrus Shire delux engine gauge panel (engine 4 cylinder Yanmar/Barrus). I would like to have a remote reading RPM gauge and I would appreciate a steer on what type to look for and how to wire it so that both continue to function correctly. Many thanks TeeELL

Wow!!! Ade, in an idle moment I though I would take a shufty at your build blog to see if anything had been added since those long ago days when I would read your exploits with amusement and delight. What a shocker, but pleased to see that your boat is afloat. Does this mean that the skips around your neck of the woods will, once again, be raided as they were all those years ago? We must meet as I need someone to assess the various single malts I have in stock, unfortunately it will not be when we move to Droitwich Spa marina as Mo wants to go via Alvechurch to visit old friends.

OK, back from 2 weeks of Carribean sunshine, I am sat here with a 'body warmer' on over my sweatshirt etc!! So the BIG question is: How can I persuade the Cuban government that they need to built a network of canals - to the original BCN standard of course. Then I can combine 2 favourite passtimes. Off up to the boat on Saturday, bits and pieces to do both to the boat and the Club 'display board' ready for the BCNS Rally at Pelsall. Longwood Boat Club is the only boat Club on the BCN and we are one of the associated 'hosts' for the Rally. If any of you are on the 'BCNS Explorer Cruise' then we will see you on that.

Hi Richard, I will add the previous paragraph that David Watts included in one of his replies - I had specifically asked about the debris strewn environment (of the BCN). This is what he wrote: "In 2007, a year before the companies launch we approached seven narrowboat owners and asked them if we could fit Axiom to there boats. At first these trials were about evaluation of the Axiom performance (speed over ground, stopping times, reversing, noise/vibration levels, wake etc.) After these trials were conducted and the owners happy with the Axiom, we left the new props on the boat and asked the to report back in six months. Over this time our trial members, most of them semi-retired or very keen cruisers had clocked up 5,000 miles. They all reported hitting objects, from concrete blocks to shopping trollies. With no damage to the Axiom in every case, to date we have never had an Axiom come back to us for repair or replacement due to damage. The material that the props are cast from is very hard (AB2 - Nickel, aluminium, bronze.) " As I have said, I would like to read some independant first hand accounts from more users before making such a heavy financial comittment - my boat handles quite well with whatever is wizzing around at the stern now - dings an' all. Heck I can, sometimes, steer her in reverse. I would say that there is quite a lot of emphasis about the 'steering in reverse' capabilities, although it is something I only tend to have to do on my moorings - there I 'muddle through' like everyone else.

Sat 25th Sep We awoke to a bright, clear but cold morning and finally got out act together for an 09.00 start. A short hop to, fingers crossed, a fuel stop. Just 35 mins of travelling and we reached Copt Heath Wharf, I note that we uplifted just 60 ltrs of fuel – I suspect that the 60/40 price was rather steep – so we picked up enough to ‘see us through’. A 3 hour cruise later and we reached the top of Camp Hill Locks – I find this area difficult to get my head around – I first experienced this area back in the early 80’s and the area beyond the railway line was all bulldozed flat – including a hospital site. I recall that the hire boat had run out of fuel and I had to trek across the desolation to an isolated petrol Station for a gallon of diesel. Anyway – back to 2010, 12.30 we commenced the descent exiting the bottom lock in just an hour. Only 15 mins break and we reached the top of the Garrison flight, now I have to say that, despite their location, these feel terribly isolated locks. They are bordered on one side (sort of) by railway and on the other by all but derelict buildings – lots of litter add to a slight sense of unease. (Mind you dear reader, if you have read previous years reports, we have spent a not inconsiderable period stuck in this flight). My notes suggest that we fair flew through these locks in just 10 mins. The run down to Salford Jn (E) took about an hour and a half – it is fairly straight and passes Star City – which has secure moorings, although I’ve never seen a boat moored there. A few fishermen were trying their luck, but the water is horrible. From Salford Jn the cruise to the bottom of the Perry Bar flight is a mere 15 mins – hardly time enough to brace ones self for this quite demanding flight (it surprises me that there is no ‘canal plaque’ for this flight). To our delight the climb was uneventful although the raw sewage leaking into the bottom of lock 11 was unpleasant. We completed the flight in 2 hrs 25 mins (one day I might look back at our ‘previous times’ to see what sort of average we are achieving). We moored immediately above the top lock i) because we were tired, ii) because it was getting dark and iii) because we figured no-one would be looking to use the locks. We got our comeuppance!! At 02.10 we were woken buy ‘things’ hitting the boat – BUT there was no drunken laughter or the sounds of running when the boat lights switched on. When I investigated there was no-one to be seen in any direction. We discovered the bags of rubbish belonged to one of the lock cottages. To be honest we often overnight in this area and have never experienced any problems before. I would say that the accumulated rubbish/leaves/debris that gathered above the lock is most unsightly. Sun 26th Well dear reader, we are coming to the end of the cruise. Leaving our mooring at 09.10 we gently cruised the final section to the Ganzi 7 flight – a flight that has more than it’s fair share of attention from the local yoof. The anti vandal mechanisms get targeted, the broken bottles make for careful treading when locking. However, once again we had no significant trouble with this flight – 1hr 15 mins to complete. The fair distance to the bottom of Mosses’ locks gave us time for a cuppa. 12.35 saw us exit the Mosses’ top lock (or Top lock of the Rushall 9 if you prefer). We moored outside the sanitation point to fill the water tank and complete other ‘stuff’ and then moved along the mooring to unload before easing ‘ELEMIAH’ back into her mooring. At this time, we little realised that various planned boating events in Dec and Jan would be non-starters due to the freezing temperatures. To conclude – this was a great cruise with some interesting challenges en-route. We caught up with friends from the 2010 BCNS ‘Explorer’ cruise and other long standing friends. We challenged ourselves on the Severn Estuary with our ‘solo’ run from Portishead to Bristol perhaps being even more challenging. I had enough mechanical problems to ‘keep me amused’. I am becoming increasingly concerned about the spiralling cost of fuel – to be paying more per litre for 60/40 ‘red’ than forecourt ‘white’ is not acceptable. I have mentioned places to fuel where the prices are sensible (and where the prices are NOT) – how do we ‘fix’ this, I guess boycotting the expensive places – unfortunately that isn’t always possible. Finally, for the next cruise, I will do my best to keep better notes, although I may not return to my previous policy of writing up the cruise diary every evening, because it takes such a long time. Even Mo seems to have stopped writing her journal, a shame because that puts an entirely different slant on each day – indeed, if you had access to both you might be forgiven for thinking we were on different boats!! THE END 'Till next year (well later this year)

Thur 23rd Sep. Dear reader, my sincerest apologies where has the time gone? We have entered a new year since my last post and already we are booked on to the BCNS 24hr Challenge, the BCNS Explorer Cruise and the Rally at Pelsall Common. Add to that a cruise round to Caggies Yard for a bit of bottom blacking and maybe the fitting of an Axiom Prop and the diary for 2011 is filling up. Add to that the planned 2011 Grand Cruise ….. Oh yes whilst one can NEVER assume to be absolutely clear of cancer, my most recent blood test results show no sign of recurrence and all my liver functions etc have, finally, returned to normal levels. Ill just keep my fingers crossed!! I left you at Br 110 with a short distance to run to Napton Jn. Well after setting off at 08.30 we arrived at the Jn just 20 mins later and were on to the Calcutt flight just moments later. Again my note book is bereft of information and time has very effectively blanked my memory. Suffice to say that we exited the bottom of Calcutt after 25 mins and the next great event recorded is leaving Radford bottom lock at 14.50. I guess we must have eaten on the hoof. 15.00 and we passed Nb EPIPHANY, no one around (if I remember correctly) so we didnt stop. Besides we could here the distant call of a Tescos. We arrived at the Warwick Tesco at 16.45 and I note we were on the move again just 30 mins later that HAS to be some kind of a record. We moored adjacent to Kate Boats as we were getting a little low on fuel. Fri 24th Sep. A bit of a late start today for some reason (perhaps based on the opening time of KBs, cruised over only to find that they were completely out of diesel!! It is going to be a cautious days cruising then (wish Id known, I would have picked up 25ltrs of white from TESCO, almost certainly cheaper that 60/40 prices for red). Now I have to confess that the next stretch of our journey doesnt fill us with glee the Hatton flight is such a challenge. Fortunately, of course, we have the Cape locks to ease us into our stride. 09.45 10.00 and 20 mins later we are at the bottom lock of Hatton Flight. We ascended Hatton in 3 hrs and 5 mins stopping for water at the top. We paused for about 15 mins for a tea break and another 15 mins for a lunch break during the ascent so our effective time was just over 2.5 hours. 13.55 we set off and started the most uncanny part of our journey. Now we had passed a couple of boats descending Hatton but nothing passed us between the top of Hatton and the bottom of Knowle locks 3 hours later indeed we then only saw 2 boats before mooring near Br 72 at 17.50

Tony, thank you for your reply, I've read through the Axiom issues on 'NO PROBLEM'. I have also had several replies from Axiom themselves including a photo showing their Prop in action - the caption is as follows: "Please see attached photo's of a standard narrow boat Axiom propeller being put through its pace's at Newcastle University's cavitation tunnel. These photo's are taken as the Axiom is pushed well beyond it normal operating range. One of the most pleasing things about the trial is that the blade design handled the test condition beautifully. No flexing of the blades under very heavy test conditions." I cannot upload the photo but Axiom will be placing it on their website I understand. I suspect that I will stick with what I've got (if it isn't too badly damaged), if I need a replacement then it may be a Midland or Lime Kilne Chandlers job until I've enough money and body of evidence to go for something like the Axiom etc. I have to say that, on balance, I am inclined towards the Axiom but would like to hear some more first hand reports from experienced boaters. I shall note the 'No Problem' blogs with renewed interest. Regards TeeELL

Well!! I have just spent an interesting 40 minutes reading through this topic in the hope of finding some clarification, in practical terms, in the advantages of the Axiom prop. My boat is coming out of the water in Apr and the prop is rather battered and bruised due to shopping trollies and, more particularly, a rather substancial bike frame picked up just before Factory Locks. As a resident on the northern reaches of the BCN, shallow water levels, weed and plastic debris are an everyday hazard and I was hoping for some feedback on the use of this 'innovative' prop to guide my decision on replacement. Perhaps it is pertinent to reflect upon the few rather than the many who have opted to try the Axiom. I have a couple of months to go and perhaps further reports from Axiom users will manifest on this thread. I keep my fingers crossed.

'ELEMIAH' will be competing, we did the Challenge in 2009, great fun.

22 Sep 2010 Dear reader once again I do apologise most profusely for the paucity of detail I have been including in my recent reports. I can only say that; this part of our journey home bound is a repetition of past trips and therefore I find it more difficult to create motivational or interesting prose. With the shorter annual cruise this year the homeward leg has hit us harder than might otherwise be expected and we realise that we under a little bit of pressure now to make Longwood on schedule. 08.45 we set off with the promise of a hot day, we have been succumbing to Mo’s infamous breakfast baps although not quite so overstuffed as usual, just sausages, bacon and egg. It is proving a challenge to get them done today as our first lock is not too far away. Indeed it is just 30 mins later that we arrive at Cropredy lock and another 30 mins later we reach Broadmoor lock. It was here that we purchased some fenders a couple of years ago – I’ll say nothing other than we had to purchase replacements earlier this year!! (and we had strung that expense out longer than we should have) 10.45 saw us reach Claydon bottom lock and it took us just under an hour before we exited Claydon Top lock. Quite what happened over the next few hours is now a mystery as my next recorded event is Napton Top lock 16.15 with a run of 2hrs and 10 mins to exit the bottom lock. We decided to continue cruising for another hour but ended up mooring near Br 110 at 7.15PM

21 Sep 2010. It is one of those autumnal mornings, fog is shrouding the countryside. Mystery is surrounding the alternator, but a quick call to E P Barrus reveals the source of my problem – a minor wiring error. It takes but moments to correct the error and a little bit longer to delve into the battery box to remove the jumper lead. At a quarter after 10 we set off with the fog lifting and the day warming up. We reached Neil Br lock and, once again, found a small queue of boats; it was some 50 mins before we negotiated the lock leaving it at 12.20. Clearly the remainder of the day was uneventful as the next recorded occurrence is mooring for the night just above Slat Mill Br at 18.45. At least the alternator problem now appears to be finally resolved as voltages etc appeared correct. I must find out how the adjustment bracket is fitted and works – I have at least part of the ‘mechanism’.

20 Sep 2010. Not a good start to the day, the dog is unwell, symptoms remain from yesterday and Mo (who is a Sports Massage Therapist) is very concerned. We cast off at 0905 keeping a careful eye on the mutt. The decision is made that we will stop at the ‘Rock of Gibraltar’ pub, and a phone call to Maffi identifies a suitable vets and the availability of Maffi and car to assist. Whilst Mo is off at the vitnaries I get on with some jobs around the boat – the Pub landlord approaches and wants to know what is going on – I explain and he is happy; however, the reason for his enquiry turns out that earlier in the season another boat had moored on the ‘pub moorings’ and the crew disappeared for 2 weeks!! A somewhat sedated dog returns and we set off once again (11.20), not a long cruise to Pigeons lock (11.45) but we are surprised to find 3 boats waiting ahead of us and by the time we enter (12.25) there are a further 2 boats behind us – quite the busiest bit of our journey to date. At 14.40 we moored at Lower Heyford, we have alternator problems once again this time with over-volting!! So, getting pretty slick at this sort of thing by now, I converted us back to single alternator ops before all the light bulbs blew!! I had everything sorted in less than an hour and we resumed our homeward journey. We moored just 45 minutes later above Somerton Deep lock. Tomorrow I will call Barrus to find out what is amiss.

19 Sep 2010 The day is overcast – and so are we!! Our neighbours on ‘FELONIOUS MONGOOSE’ proved very hospitable, plus the fact that we took a supply of booze with us – will we ever learn? Probably not!! Half nine and we finally set off, what was really disappointing was no visit from ‘The Sheriff’ I wonder if he has moved? We are off to meet ‘Maffi’ and have lunch at The Jolly Boatman. Arriving at the pub at 10.50 we met Maffi shortly afterwards and spent the next five hours ‘catching up’ with the news since our last rendezvous 2 years ago. We departed at 16.00, onto the River Cherwell a little over an hour later and finally moored just above Bakers lock. As an aside, since leaving The Jolly Boatman the dog has been behaving rather strangely. We will have to see if he is any better on the morrow. Sorry folks – a bit short and sweet. I bid you farewell until tomorrow

17-18 Sep 2010. Dear reader on the day of our departure we received a call from friends who wanted to look over the boat and have a short journey. No problem, I took all the bits and pieces I’d used to fix the alternator home – together with the broken alternator. Of course I also had to leave the car at home and walk back to the boat, by this time it was about 13.30 and our visitors had arrived and were enjoying tea and scones. We decided that a short trip to Inglesham (where the Cotswold canal joins the Thames) was in order. Mind you I have forgotten that even that ‘short trip’ is about 30 mins there and back!! I was also surprised at the lack of depth of water when I started winding at Inglesham – it was an altogether more careful manoeuvre than I’ve executed in the past. We dropped our visitors off at the Riverside Pub moorings and, at 15.10, set off for our overnight mooring – we made it to Radcot. Sat 18 Sep. We set off at 08.40 and an hour later passed ‘spin corner’ – situated between Radcott and Rushey, this is the only corner on the Thames with a very substantial lump of concrete on the outside of the corner. The first time we had ventured up the Thames the flow was such that we ‘spun’ here – looking at the water levels and reduced width of the river it is hard to believe it happened. We reached Eynsham at 14.20 and took on 111 ltrs of fuel (ouch!!). Dukes Cut was reached at 15.35 and, as we passed through the lock immediately before the junction with the Oxford, we noticed a hire boat going backwards and forwards – and backwards and forwards. Turns out they were trying to turn to head back north. We proceeded into the lock – or rather we tried to! Picked up not one but 2 pieces from tyres which very effectively destroyed the propulsive capabilities of the prop. Quickest ‘weed hatch job’ I’ve done in a while and we entered the lock. Whilst waiting for the lock to fill I popped back to the hire boat and explained to them that ‘full power’ fwd/reverse was not the way to turn. It was about 16.30 when we decided to moor above Kidlington lock opposite the ‘Sheriff of Kidlingtons’ place. As we moored the crew of a boat already moored offered beer!! Now those are the sort of neighbours we like. Needless to say, the evening rather degenerated after rather too many ‘Old Speckled Hens’. That is why it was ‘about’ 16.30 when we moored.

15~16th Sep 2010. Dear reader the report for these 2 days has nothing to do with cruising as we have moored in Lechlade to allow friends to come and visit the boat and me – repair the boat. I telephoned E P Barrus (EPB) and was put in touch with the marine engine department technicians, unfortunately EPB do not sell direct so I was put in touch with one of their ‘outlets’ in Northamptonshire. The call to them was quick and straightforward – I paid them, they e-mailed the order to EPB, I waited an hour or so then drove to EPB at Bicester where my new alternator was waiting at reception. So that was the easy bit – fitting the blessed thing was an altogether different game. To cut a long story shortish; my original alternator had failed and an ‘aftermarket’ unit fitted in its stead – given the amount of work required to make the ‘botch job’ work (which I am sure I ‘paid for’) I suspect that an OEM alternator would have worked out cheaper!! As an aside, for those of you with Barrus Shire alternators; you should note that no keeper/keyway is employed to prevent the pulley, if the securing nut comes loose, from rotating freely around the alternator spindle. It took about 3 hours to fiddle and fettle the support plate and alternator into position so that the belt was straight; I was not able to recreate the adjusting unit – a job I might tackle in the future. Tightening the belt and starting the engine (having removed the start battery shunt) showed that all was well so a couple of hundred quid lighter the electrics appeared serviceable once more. It is one way to learn about my boat I guess. I think I heard the engine alternator breath a sigh of relief. Despite the various promises only one local friend turned up to indulge in some wine etc so I wonder if buying the 15 day Thames licence was such ‘value for money’. The only real advantage was that I had access to my car and time to fit the alternator – I was even able to use my angle grinder (in the garage) to ‘de bodge’ welded parts on the alternator tension bracket. A few other jobs also got completed – yes I know jobs completed, that is letting the side down. But, fear ye not, there are plenty more to be done and plenty more we haven’t found/thought of yet. My section of the boat (cupboard at rear of boat – tools for the use of and spare cassette storage) remains a disaster – to get to anything I have to move lots of other bits and bobs so it tends to degenerate into a real mess in a surprisingly short period of time. Of course, it is only after I’ve moved the cassette to replace the tool box and then replaced the cassette that I find I’ve left a tool out or need a tool so have to start again.

12 Sep. Today we have no real plans for a destination, we are going to ‘go with the flow’ so to speak – although, of course we are actually going against it! We are turning into idle slackers and eventually got our act together moving off at nearly 10AM. I have some times for various locks along the way and I know we shared some of them but my notes are sadly lacking in detail. All I can report, therefore, is that we finally moored in Abingdon, by the park. 13 Sep. Wow we got up early and were on the move shortly after nine. Again a bit short on detail – we moored by Farmoor reservoir at 5PM 14 Sep. We are cracking on a pace here!! Another relatively early start, the ‘little’ alternator is doing it’s very best to cope. We arrived at Lechlade at 5PM. Went home with some washing and excess baggage and both had very long and very hot showers before returning to the boat.