Astwood

Today's Canals - Droitwich, Worcester and Birmingham

Steve arrived (from  boat next door!) just after 9 and set about fitting the new fan unit which eventually arrived late yesterday afternoon. It was not long before there was further bad news! He spotted a fault with the burner tube. Whilst just putting it back with the new fan might have worked, we were concerned that another issue might thus be awaiting us just around the corner. Steve telephoned the nearest source of spare parts, Evesham Marina, and yes, they did have one in stock. We opted to delay our departure yet further whilst we sorted out the heater 'properly'.

Christine and Mike drove down to Evesham - around 40 minutes each way and a friendly member of staff in the Chandlery quickly relieved us of £262 (and we were relieved to have it in our possession!) The satnav found a slightly quicker route back so it was well before noon that Steve could start to re-assemble the heater and to re-install it.

The layout of the engine bay, never an easy place to work at best, meant that the least accessible spot was chosen for the heater! Well, something has to go there, not all can be close at hand. Meanwhile ha  , Mike went back into town to charge up the car but, alas, another car had just started a very long charging spell so Mike returned with nothing more than the loaf he was tasked to buy whilst the electrons poured into the battery (or not).

Once back in place the heater turned up trumps and worked almost immediately - thanks so much, Steve. Hooray, we could now set about casting off. Actually, lunch took priority and it was 2 pm when we were finally underway. Huge sigh of relief. (Still have the oven  burner to get fixed . . . )

Here is the offending burmer tube and, if you look very closely, you will see two tiny pinpricks of light through a hole that should not be there. It seems an added bonus is that the heater is now much quieter than it was, at least back in January when it was last on.

The pair of local swans were nesting in their usual place. OK, so we have included a photo of this before but tradition rules.

Shortly after turning out from the marina entrance we arrived at our first three locks. We were treated to a very easy ride as three very friendly volunteers were most keen that we should step back on board whilst they did all the hard work. (Do not fret, there will be plenty more for us to do ere long!)

After Hanbury Junction we had about half an hour level cruise before the start of the six Astwood Locks. Fortunately they were all set for us (except the last which had partially re-filled itself)

The after noon was very pleasant even if the wind had not abated much - made crossing the marina 'interesting'. The one or two rain clouds kindly dropped their water just a short distance ahead of us so we also kept dry.

By now it was 4.30 so we deemed it a bit too ambitious - in the circumstances - to tackle the next flight of six which would have left us with the Tardebigge flight tomorrow. Instead we will have a easy day before the marathon on Thursday.

3.2 Miles - 9 Locks

A Little Progress

We managed a number of small 'jobs' during the day whilst otherwise still waiting and trying not to be too frustrated. Mike went down to the main gate for 8 am and sat in the car just in case the delivery arrived before the office was open. In fact boats were being pulled out of the water or returned to it for blacking work so someone was around from very early. By the time the office was actually staffed, nothing had arrived and Mike returned to the boat for a welcome mug of coffee!

At times, forecast rain did arrive and was particularly heavy. Much of the day, however, was very bright and blue sky, but a very strong wind made life a bit uncomfortable when out so perhaps it was as well we were not able to cruise today.

Kindling was chopped and a stern locker emptied, unwanted paint times disposed of and rather a lot of rain water removed and everything dried out before being re-stowed. We have to empty all the lockers when the boat is painted so it seemed useful to make sure that the contents were all still wanted!

After lunch, Christine drove into town again for a little shopping! Mike had the much more interesting task of emptying the elsan!

Eventually the delivery did arrive but by that time it was too late for a start on fitting the heater back in place. Wr agreed an early start on it tomorrow! Hopefully, tomorrow's blog will have some photos.

Sunday

First today we went to St Peter's Church in Droitwich for their 9.30 morning service, well led by two lay people. There were around 40 people in the congregation - we recognised some from previous visits, although we have not been since COVID. (How long will we go on dating things by reference to a viral infection?) One or two even recognised that we had been before.

Before returning to the boat we visited Waitrose for a few more larder items. Still no new mop head!

We expected no great progress today and indeed there was none. It would have been a good day for cruising albeit a bit breezier than the days before.

Mainly a few chores filled the time as well as preparing the evening meal - as usual a roast, this time the final part of a large gammon joint we bought a while back and have kept in our home freezer until now.

What will tomorrow bring? I cannot get more exciting than today . . . 

Disappointment

 We are still in the marina - clearly today has not been as we had hoped. Steve came mid morning to tell us that the delivery company had failed, using the excuse that they could not find anyone at 8:30 to sign for the parcel. They made no attempt to call Steve on his phone nor leave a tracking number so that it could be chased up. On line, Steve could only re-book the delivery for Monday so there is little we can do at the moment but sit and wait.

Christine used the time to complete the cleaning whilst Mike spent quite a bit of time with the hob. The burners were not working too well and often not 'latch' to stay alight. A good clean of the burners, removing a fair bit of burnt food remains from inside, helped quite a bit but not with the two front ones. Some Google searches gave various suggestions. If it was a problem with the thermocouple safety devices then it is surprising that more than one developed the same fault simultaneously. Another tip suggested that sometimes the control knob does push in far enough to activate another safety device. Yes, there did seem to be quite a bit of resistance and also some accumulated dirt around them. A good scrub and a tiny amount of GT85, with a lot of repeated pushing seemed to free them and now they are much  better, although we are not yet confident that we have found the complete solution!

Mike took the supposedly empty gas bottle to the marina office to exchange for a full one only to be told that it was still perhaps a third full! It is now back in place and on-line so we shall see how long it lasts. Perhaps it needed a good shake after the winter.

In the past few years we have managed to schedule in an early short 'shakedown' cruise to flush these post-winter issues. Most times we have found at least one problem. We could not fit that in this year, partly because other things (including the health factors) intruded but also because all routes away from the marina had winter stoppages - we could not even have cruised as far as Worcester.

Time to learn patience!

Living and Learning

 The day started with Mike making a trip to the nearby Household Waste Centre, principally to dispose - eventually - of the small tyre that wrapped itself around our prop on the Slough Arm back last year. he was also persuaded to part with the remains of the shower control bar that we replaced a few weeks back.

Although only a short trip it brought up another problem - the tyre pressure alarm that gave us trouble last week. Just over a fortnight earlier we had to replace a tyre that had completely deflated whist we were at the market. A week later the car lit up a warning. Mike now went straight into Droitwich to Malvern Tyres - we sort of recall using them several years back with good service. They certainly lived up to such a reputation on this occasion. They thoroughly investigate but could not find any problem with the tyre, except to conform that it had lost some pressure. They even said that tyre checks were part of the free offer - we guess that the smiles and friendly service are also thrown in for good measure. Recommended!

Meanwhile, Christine had been cleaning through the boat - we thought that we had left it reasonably clean at the end of the season but after three months lay up it really did need some TLC.

Steve came to let us know that he had sourced a replacement for the part he believes is the problem with the Webasto which it is hoped will arrive some time tomorrow. To get a head start he opted to take out the pump ready for the replacement so that it should be a quicker turn around when putting it back.

After lunch we went into town to do the 'big shop' and, at the same time, charge up the car. There are only a couple of fast chargers in Droitwich that we know about and the more convenient is at Lidl. Alas, when we arrived another car was already using the connector we need. By the time we had picked up a small bag of solid fuel and a few other items from B & M the brought up another problem - the charge point was almost ready. Christine made a start on shopping in Lidl. Only a few minutes later we were hooked up and charging. It was not quite fully charged by the time we returned so we had a short wait in the car. Overall it had taken 58 minutes, from almost half 'empty'

We also need a trip to Morrisons for the remainder of our shopping list. It was just after four by the time we set off back to the marina - followed by a long stint of unloading the goodies and then stowing into various 'secret' hiding places.

Dinner was prepared in good time - fish pie - but just before it was time to serve up, Mike discovered that the gas bottle had run out, probably just after Mike had put the pie in the oven - and needed changing. Service was unusually late tonight!

Back on Board

Still in the marina

Christine had a telephone physio appointment early this morning but we were able to get away in good clear run across to the marina. Even the Air Balloon roundabout was not a major delay - the road works for the new intersection (aka The Missing Link) are now well underway. It is certainly a major undertaking as the new road has to make its way down the steep escarpment. So far we have only discovered one item that we forgot to pack - the pieces of wood for the fire!

All was well with the boat with one (important) exception. As in several previous years, the Webasto heater refuses to start up. Despite several attempts, it quickly shout down. Steve, the engineer in the marina took a look and has concluded that it needs a replacement part but attempts to track it down are still on-going. 

We were not planning to depart the marina until Saturday at best as we had one or two things to attend to. Our new EV car somewhat smaller - 2008 rather than 3008 - so we have had to re-think our tactics. In the past we have taken a good supply of food with us so that we could make a quick getaway. 

However, this time we only brought with us a meat and cheese supply, expecting to to a 'big' shop tomorrow in Droitwich. We also want to make sure that the car is fully charged before we set off so that also entails time in town. Over the years we have developed a standard way of packing the car so that we know what we can fit in and where. This has also had to be re-thought.

One of the tasks was to clean the cabin roof - we noticed on our last visit that it has grown a significant mould/algae layer which is never easy to remove. As a result we did fit into the car our pressure washer and once we had unloaded the car and had lunch, Mike set about cleaning. The pressure washer made considerable difference, not only effectively removing the dirt but also it meant that Mike did not have to scrub on his hands and knees - sadly not as comfortable a pose as in earlier times , , , The cabin sides were not in the same condition so we can leave that, given that we are booked in for a re-paint at the end of May.

Whilst on the marina pontoon we can have hot water via the immersion heater and the stove kept the cabin cosy - the outside temperature is not too cold anyway. However, we will need to work out a plan tomorrow as we do not want to fall too far behind in our schedule to get to Nantwich.

Another Quick Visit

 It was time for another check on the boat - just in case and also we had a very short list of tasks to do, including re-filling the fuel tank and replacing the shower bar.

We have been having a tussle most winters with the heating system. We are reluctant to forego the protection of the frost stat entirely but out neighbour has reported that the heater comes on much more frequently than that (as if it was on its normal schedule) and we do 'lose' diesel from the tank.

When we left last time, with the help from Steve next door, we really did think that it was switched off but more diesel had been consumed. Thankfully, the tank was not quite empty as that makes re-starting the heater system rather tedious (usually needed to employ someone more agile than either of us to get to the appropriate recesses of the engine bay!) 

First, however, was the shower. Right at then end of the last season, just before we were holed up at Alvechurch, the shower started to behave very oddly. When it was first turned on, no water emerged until the nearby wash basin tap was turned on just briefly. The shower would then work but all rather worrying. We did get the staff at ABC to take a look, which they kindly did whilst we returned home, but - despite being able to replicate the problem - they could not find a reason, other than to suggest replacing the shower bar, the combined on/off and temperature controller. Last week we bought a new one from  our local Screwfix - we were advised not to bother with anything more expensive than the basis, the chap indicated that they all do the same thing but some look fancier! Andrew had advised that it would be a simple task but we have never attempted it before and, with our track record on plumbing work (ie avoiding it like the plague) it was with some trepidation that we made it the first task (apart from connecting up the hose pipe to ensure that we had some water to test out the shower!) The old bar came off without a hitch and the new one was soon in its place. Could it really be that easy? We put the immersion heater on, as we were connected to the landline, and gave the shower a test. Well, we did not actually disrobe to get in under it for a full run but it does have the appearance of having fixed the problem.

We checked the bilges but they were bone dry and for once the drain channels around the deck board remained clear of leaves. However, we did notice a strange back residue around the rain hole from the starboard stern locker. After the contents had been removed, mainly at the moment a small stock of coke and tonic cans, we were able to mop out a smallish amount of liquid. But why was it black? Where did it come from? Normally if anything gets into the lockers it is rain and usually remains quite clean. No obvious answer until we started to return the stock - one of the coke cans was empty but with the ring pull intact. Even so, the mystery was not completely solved as the can was not keen to be crushed so there was no obvious leak!

Meanwhile, Christine had been stowing away the partial stock of boat clothes to save time when we eventually start off the season. Time then for the rolls we had brought with us for lunch!

After that we cast off and cruised all of the few hundred metres to the fuel point by the office and, after filling up, back to where we started. But at least it was a cruise!

A month ago we switched to an electric car for the first time. So far we had only been to Swindon and back, well within the range. Coming to the marina we should have had plenty for the round trip but we had had a lengthy diversion resulting from a weekend road closure we did not know about until we reached it. In any case, we wanted to try out charging from a public point - the nearest (and the only one working according to one of the online maps/guides) was at Lidl in town. So we locked up the boat about three o'clock and found the charge point - fortunately not in use as there is only one at a time! We did have to download an app but, for once, it went without hitch after we had fed it with all the usual personal details and top-up! We then went to the adjoining B&M and Lidl stores to fill in time and pick up one or two items, including milk for home. 

When we returned the charge session had finished - it had done as much as it could with the £10 top up we had put on, which put us back to just over 80%. We could then set off back without range-anxiety. In fact the road closure was only on the north-bound carriageway of the A419 so no additional miles needed.

We now plan to start our season cruising a week after Easter. We need to head northwards as we are booked in for an extensive boat re-paint, starting late May. (We had to book this two seasons back!) However, we have not been able to set off by now, even for a shakedown cruise, for two unrelated reasons. Firstly, we have had further health issues (more Mike this time) but a Consultant has prescribed medication (only available from last year) that appears to have had very beneficial results. Even without that, we could not have gone very far. There have been planned stoppages both north and south from Hanbury Junction on the Worcester and Birmingham, whilst the winter rains and flooding have closed the Droitwich with sediment that prevented lock operation. We understand that it is expected that all will be clear by Easter (unlike those hoping to do a route via the North Oxford) The River Severn remains closed to navigation and unlikely to recover to a safe level for some time so we do not have much hope of avoiding Tardebigge, yet again. we had hope to be able to avoid going all the way up to the Birmingham level and back down again at Wolverhampton - but we should have time to take it easy!