Brinklow and Cropredy marinas are very comparable and both offer excellent support to moorers so being here is not a major problem. It is, however, a slightly longer journey from home and both do not have a local bus service - but this is only important when a trip requires a car shuffle. On the few occasions we have need to do this, we have found good taxi services at both Rugby and Banbury stations.
Although we have nothing to add to the blog about our cruising experiences, the time at home has not been without boat activity: right from the start of our time with Alchemy we have wanted to tackle a downside in the electrical design. Although our detailed daily readings from the Mastervolt system clearly show what we want to address, none of a series of electricians has been able to suggest what to do. This has not been helped by being on the move when we have been able to involve them so time for an extended investigation has not been possible. Our present situation, with no boating for the last part of the season had prompted us to try again but with much greater determination!
We made start with someone who is resident in the marina but by the time we returned home he emailed to say that he was winding down his freelance work as he had now managed to get a full time job locally! Good for him - not so good for us!
So we started again and trawled through as many boat electrician web sites as possible looking firstly for those who state that they cover either Brinklow or Cropredy. We also tried to discern their experience but also their general approach to boat electrics - which manufacturer do they prefer, can they diagnose/service Mastervolt (our present installation), do they have a particular tendency towards lithium or lead acid and so on. In parallel we spent quite a bit of time trying to get some help from the original supplier but they were remarkably capable of infinite prevarication (despite advertising a technical support service!)
We are very keen not simply to change (expensive) parts of the system unless it can be clearly demonstrated that they are not only better in the identified aspects but also just as good on everything else as that which we already use.
We took the time to prepare detailed printouts of relevant data and also wrote a short description of what we were seeking which we could send to possible electricians.
We lined up three possibilities, one with a conventional lead acid background, one with a Mastervolt speciality and one who concentrates on lithium installations. We accepted that this might make our subsequent decision all the more difficult as we will have to judge not only their costs and skills but also between probably very different overall advice. However, as we may well have to spend quite a bit to get where we want to be, we would like to consider the various alternatives.
One confirmed definitely for Friday (yesterday) and a second indicated that they hoped to be able to come the same day, but did not actually confirm that they would be coming! The third has promised to come before we return home but cannot confirm when.
So, we came up on Thursday - the roads were not unduly busy although on the motorway we were glad not to be going the other way as an incident has closed the other carriageway just minutes earlier, judging by the length of the tail back. We arrived within four minutes of the original satnav ETA.
The first 'candidate' arrived just ahead of time and we had a very interesting and lengthy conversation, reviewing the data, before he started to look at our system. He was still going strong after two hours when there was a knock to announce that the second one had arrived (in this case actually a team of two) This was initially a bit embarrassing as at first it seemed as if Mike had made a mistake over timings but whilst Christine finished off with the first, Mike took the other two across to the boaters' room for a chat and review of the data etc. (It later transpired that Mike was the more correct in that we had not received any actual confirmation - we and they had made different assumptions about the last email exchange) When the boat was free we went back so that they could examine our system. They took a rather different diagnostic approach but also a similar length of time. As expected they differ significantly in their initial conclusions
We were very pleased that it does seem that we have this time been able to find people who are willing and able to take the matter to the depth that we believe it needs to identify a way forward. Both undertook to email us with their conclusions and a budgetary price indication for completing any work that they advise. Hopefully we will eventually have a third for comparison (Mike has long held the view that if you need more than one advice never take two, always at least three)
Another factor has always been that of timescale to do the work. Getting an estimate is one thing but having someone on site is very different! Fortunately, Christine has been able to establish with Brinklow that, if necessary, we can stay here into the winter. With the window to access Cropredy only seven days and with a warning that the canal may still be very shallow (of course, it also depends on Cropredy being able to remove their stop planks in time!) we have been getting increasingly nervous about making the move at that time, also with the clocks changing as well. At least we now have the luxury of options.
If you have read this far you will no doubt have realised that we are being remarkably cagey about what it is that we are seeking to do, This is largely because we as yet do not know the underlying causes and certainly do not have the confidence to know what changes we should make! If possible we hope to 'come clean' as soon as we have made progress . . .
But just as a teaser, and so that we have at least one photo to give a thumbnail for this blog entry, here is a clue!
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