The Cat's Corner

[Jon57]

On 11/08/2026 at 17:48, TheShipsCat said:

Any convivial pubs to suggest in Rugby?

Yep the Merchant 👍👍 

[TheShipsCat]

On 12/07/2026 at 22:23, TheShipsCat said:

A thin welding blanket may not protect well against heat conduction in a single layer when leaning against the silencer, true.  I'm getting a large fiberglass/silicone one that I can fold over several times, which should do better, trapping an air layer.  We shall see.  

 

I made no reply concerning the aerogel because I immediately recognized the type of product (aerogels can be made from many kinds of materials) from a project where I tried to apply that very stuff.  It falls apart into clouds of ceramic/rock dust whenever it is flexed or touched, nasty stuff to breathe and near impossible to corral.  It is an incredibly effective refractory insulator.  You can have molten glass on one side and ice cream on the other, but complete overkill for an application like mine, and a mess that keeps on messing.

 

I have faith that the blanket will serve, even if I need to wait a few minutes with the engine off for the big muffler to cool.  Will report when I have the chance to use it.

Getting back to this with some experience.  I've used the welding blanket for weed hatch operations twice now, and it's not only adequate to the task, it's rather overkill.  I ordered a large one so I could use it folded several times, and honestly I think a single later would have done.  I don't regret the purchase, though.

 

Caught an insulated nylon jacket in the Coventry arm the other day, thoroughly tied around and over the prop in a tentacular, Alien style.  15 minutes of hacking with various kitchen knives barely marred the thing and no amount of pulling and cursing would budge it.  It took surgery with a scissor to finally get it off.  I honestly don't think a cabin shaft would have been an effective tool for this particular operation.  The welding blanket was welcome for the amount of time I had to spend draped over that hot hospital silencer.

 

I hope all of this amused the Coventry Canal harpies.

[Stroudwater1]

10 hours ago, TheShipsCat said:

Getting back to this with some experience.  I've used the welding blanket for weed hatch operations twice now, and it's not only adequate to the task, it's rather overkill.  I ordered a large one so I could use it folded several times, and honestly I think a single later would have done.  I don't regret the purchase, though.

 

Caught an insulated nylon jacket in the Coventry arm the other day, thoroughly tied around and over the prop in a tentacular, Alien style.  15 minutes of hacking with various kitchen knives barely marred the thing and no amount of pulling and cursing would budge it.  It took surgery with a scissor to finally get it off.  I honestly don't think a cabin shaft would have been an effective tool for this particular operation.  The welding blanket was welcome for the amount of time I had to spend draped over that hot hospital silencer.

 

I hope all of this amused the Coventry Canal harpies.

You may have tried it but a newish bread knife is usually the best I find for fabric. They are serrated. Care with double edged ones but the different serrations can be helpful. A hacksaw can be useful for plastic tubing (keepnets for example) This knipex below is brilliant for wires, thicker needs a hacksaw 

 

Bolt croppers aren’t great as they often open too widely for the weed hatch. 
 

Something like string around handles then round wrist can avoid losses worsening mood significantly. Apparently. 

 

 

 

 

[TheShipsCat]

Heading through the Braunston locks to camp out at Watford to wait for the flight to open tomorrow morning.  Goal is to get past the Foxton locks before closure.  Wish me luck.

[Rob-M]

52 minutes ago, TheShipsCat said:

Heading through the Braunston locks to camp out at Watford to wait for the flight to open tomorrow morning.  Goal is to get past the Foxton locks before closure.  Wish me luck.

Hopefully not too many others doing the same as a long queue in both directions could see some missing the window of the locks being open.

[Stroudwater1]

15 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

Hopefully not too many others doing the same as a long queue in both directions could see some missing the window of the locks being open.

That’s our worry, many boats coming out from Ventnor/Calcutt or the marinas on the Braunston level for the Bsnk Holiday may well hamper passage significantly through Braunston Calcutt and Hillmorton locks.
 

Some will be going slowly when passage times are short and through trips time wise are pressured. At least CCs can hang around for a while. 
 

[Lady M]

This seems a bit downbeat, especially when the OP has been so cheerful about his plans changing and changing again.  I'd say that experience suggests that CRT will ensure any boat already waiting gets through though perhaps not immediately.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there is another opportunity offered at some stage before the winter stoppages start.

[TheShipsCat]

6 hours ago, Lady M said:

This seems a bit downbeat, especially when the OP has been so cheerful about his plans changing and changing again.  I'd say that experience suggests that CRT will ensure any boat already waiting gets through though perhaps not immediately.  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if there is another opportunity offered at some stage before the winter stoppages start.

Thank you for the thought and getting through Braunston was no problem. indeed, I passed the Braunston tunnel without any boats coming opposite.  I'm moored before Watford bottom lock, 5th boat in tomorrow morning's queue assuming all moored boats are passing. So far so good.

[Lady M]

Excellent, thank you for letting us know.  The canal between Watford and Foxton goes through some fairly remote countryside so do take advantage of the Co-op in Crick if you need any shopping.

[TheShipsCat]

32 minutes ago, Lady M said:

Excellent, thank you for letting us know.  The canal between Watford and Foxton goes through some fairly remote countryside so do take advantage of the Co-op in Crick if you need any shopping.

Also a great place to stop if you are sick of having a connection to the internet. 

[Lady M]

Well you can't have everything.

[TheShipsCat]

26 minutes ago, Lady M said:

Well you can't have everything.

Actually I might stop to catch the cafe in Crick that everyone raves about and I seem to miss every time.

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, TheShipsCat said:

Actually I might stop to catch the cafe in Crick that everyone raves about and I seem to miss every time.

The pub does a good meal 

[Ronaldo47]

3 hours ago, Lady M said:

Excellent, thank you for letting us know.  The canal between Watford and Foxton goes through some fairly remote countryside so do take advantage of the Co-op in Crick if you need any shopping.

When we went that way in the 1970's, one of our party had a guide book that said the population in that area  had never recovered from the Black Death in the Middle Ages. Certainly pubs and supplies were hard to find, and the OS map showed widely-spaced villages.

Edited August 27 by Ronaldo47
Typos

[Stroudwater1]

3 hours ago, TheShipsCat said:

Also a great place to stop if you are sick of having a connection to the internet. 

Stopping in Crick tunnel is good for that too  but it upsets following boaters apparently.
 

Meeting no other boats in Braunston tunnel is a real treat usually experienced at early/ late hours or in a widebeam..! 

[Ronaldo47]

In the 1970's, bats used to roost in one of the tunnels in that section, possibly Crick,  quite unconcerned as you passed by just below them . They could sometimes be seen flitting around in the open near the tunnel entrance in daytime, feeding on the midges. 

Edited August 27 by Ronaldo47
Typo

[ditchcrawler]

11 hours ago, Ronaldo47 said:

In the 1970's, bats used to roost in one of the tunnels in that section, possibly Crick,  quite unconcerned as you passed by just below them . They could sometimes be seen flitting around in the open near the tunnel entrance in daytime, feeding on the midges. 

There are bat boxes in Saddington Tunnel

[TheShipsCat]

Just moored up to the Foxton locks waiting area.  Tomorrow morning. 

[IanD]

On 24/08/2026 at 08:34, TheShipsCat said:

Getting back to this with some experience.  I've used the welding blanket for weed hatch operations twice now, and it's not only adequate to the task, it's rather overkill.  I ordered a large one so I could use it folded several times, and honestly I think a single later would have done.  I don't regret the purchase, though.

 

Caught an insulated nylon jacket in the Coventry arm the other day, thoroughly tied around and over the prop in a tentacular, Alien style.  15 minutes of hacking with various kitchen knives barely marred the thing and no amount of pulling and cursing would budge it.  It took surgery with a scissor to finally get it off.  I honestly don't think a cabin shaft would have been an effective tool for this particular operation.  The welding blanket was welcome for the amount of time I had to spend draped over that hot hospital silencer.

 

I hope all of this amused the Coventry Canal harpies.

A folding pruning saw does wonders on things like that.