Forth leg and land ho!

[Yamanx]

Leg four, The Landing.

 

Just one weekend to re-fit the gearbox carry out other repairs and move the boat from Aston Science Park to, at least, Autherley Junction. Only seventeen miles but with thirty seven locks.

 

Left work early on the Friday afternoon and met up at Aston Science Park with Glen, a neighbour and friend who will be helping me over the weekend to both fit the gearbox and travel with me to help at the locks. Also a bit of a jolly for us as we had plenty of beer to consume throughout. We intended to prepare the boat during Friday afternoon, return home, leave Glens car at Autherley Junction early Saturday morning so we would have transport in order to return to my car Sunday afternoon.

 

We managed to fit the gearbox without too much difficulty, it was dark, cold and very windy but we had a generator going with flood lights so we could see ok. I had an idea of how to temporary repair the alignment coupling. This involved removing the drive dogs and rotating them one hundred and eighty degrees. This was because they had been machined away by the driving disc. Probably because the rubber drive was shot. But I thought it had lasted this long it should last a bit longer and I would have to come up with a more permanent solution once the boat is in its mooring. After brief testing all seemed fine and ready for the morning.

 

We set off at first light around seven thirty on the Saturday morning. It was hellishly windy and the control of the boat was very difficult. After about two hundred yards, yep just two hundred yards, it was clear the gearbox adjustment was wrong. It was not driving forward just slipping and the engine over reving. We pulled up on the non tow path side, this was because of the wind we just couldn’t manouver the boat and without proper drive it just blew us against the wrong side.

 

I got down into the engine compartment and adjusted the brake bands. To get this right, I now know, you can only adjust it in small increments as there is a cam inside that needs to be in just the right position. After some trial and error, more error than anything else, I managed to get the gear lever to operate the forward and reverse just perfect. However this created a second problem. When the gear lever is in neutral it rests on a welded lug attached to the boat structure. Now neutral was in a different position it was too far from this lug and we had no resting point for neutral. I bent the gear lever so it was in the right place but this then made it too short. I had a patio brolly lying in a cupboard so using the pole from this to extend the gear lever we were sorted.

 

The first set of locks was Farmers locks, a set of thirteen going up. Glen had never operated locks or a narrow boat before so the first few were a learning curve. Because of the wind it was difficult to control the boat. The pounds at Farmers locks extend right under the tower blocks of Birmingham City Centre. How they managed to preserve the canal and its locks whilst constructing these monsters is incredible. We had to ensure the succeeding lock was open fully before leaving the previous one so we could “fire” the boat across these pounds or risk being blown accross.

 

We took turns with locks and boat control Glen seem to pick it up fine under difficult circumstances. After about seven or eight locks, we were directly under a massive concrete tower block and the concrete piling went into the pound. Glen was operating the boat and the wind was unbeleivable, probably being made worse by the tower. He came out of the lock and was immediately blown into these concrete pillars. The boat managed to wedge itself firmly between two piles. This was out of my reach and I had to shout instructions to a fairly distraught Glen. He threw me a rope and it took us about twenty minutes to free the boat and after that I did most of the boat driving and Glen did the locks.

 

We got ourselves a great system going after that and had no problems all during the day. We stopped at Tipton for a quick pint in the pub, get some supplies. We arrived at the top lock at Wolverhampton about five thirty in the evening. We decided to keep going even in the dark and get as far as possbvle before stopping.

 

We did seventeen locks in break neck speed. Then at lock number seventeen the boat refused to move forward. I could see with the aid of a torch that the shaft was rotating but the alignment coupling had given up the ghost. We pulled the boat out of the lock and moored up for the evening. Warmed up our Bolognaise made and donated by Tracey for the journey, lit the fire and got a little bit merry (Understatement). We knew that no matter what, even if we had to pull it rest of the way, we had made it through the Wolverhampton locks and avoided the stoppages.

 

Next morning I dismantled the alignment drive coupling, the drive dogs had been machined away completely and we needed to come up with a temporary solution. We went for a walk into Wolverhampton town centre, there are a number of DIY shops where we might find something to replace the drive dogs with. I bought a stack of M12 repair washers. Bolted these in place and we were away again. Took it very easy just in case.

 

We didn’t get away until after twelve but still made Autherley Junction, where Glens car was parked, by one thirty.

 

“Shall we got for it?” “All the way to Norbury?”. Yep, we decided to try and make its mooring at Norbury Junction.

 

Generally we had a great trip and arrived at Norbury Junction at eight thirty on Sunday evening. The temporary bodge I had carried out on the coupling held up. It sqeaked like mad and we had to keep throwing oil onto it to shut it up. This has made a right mess inside the engine compartment. Also the gearbox jammed up once. Not good but it seemed fine afterwards and never got a peak out of it from Brewood to Norbury.

 

Land ho! Arrived! Hurrah! Berkhamsted on the Grand Union to Norbury Juction on the Shropshire Union.

 

Forth and final leg was 32.5 miles and 39 locks.

 

Epilog

 

The boat, “Joey”, my thirty six foot cruiser stern narrow boat left Berkhamsted on the 1st November 2004 and arrived at Norbury Junction on the 9th January 2005. Travelling over 140 miles and around 160 locks.

 

We had many problems and the brief account I have portrayed only really concentrates on the main things that went wrong, and there were plenty of them! One day I’ll write a full account, properly instead of the short paragraphs required for web site reading. But the journey was a real adventure and I would do it all again at the drop of a hat, not only had things gone bad but there were some really good times on that journey.

 

At first when stuff started to happen we just got on and fixed it, using all our desert island engineering skills and determination. Then as we progressed we found it quite funny when things went wrong. In fact we laughed at times so much tears were rolling down our faces. “Surely nothing else can go wrong?” But of course it did. On leg three and four I kept in contact with my Dad, because he had an interest being on the first two legs himself. I would phone him in the evening and relay our progress, we couldn’t talk for laughing. “You did what in the lock!”, “No, don’t tell me you’ve sunk it!”.

 

Highly inexperienced we brought a lot of problems on ourselves but, now we have gained a fair amount of experience even if it has been condensed into a short period of time. I am now halfway through my interior re-fit, I will have the inside and new electrics installed over the next few weeks. The mechanical problems sorted. The exterior will have to wait until the weather improves but by the spring and new boating season “Joey” will be ready for the next adventure. Cant wait!

 

David

[Bernie]

Well David, let's hope now that all problems are over with and it will be plain sailing from now on. You should be ready for anything now. I have enjoyed reading your 'maiden voyage' reports and your sense of humour in overcoming all the difficulties has indeed shone through.

[bottle]

Well done indeed

 

Never have so few learnt so much in such a short time.

 

(With ref to Sir Winston Churchill)