We awoke to the promised grey day although already a little warmer than yesterday. By the afternoon it was still largely overcast but almost uncomfortably hot and muggy.
We set off early as we had an appointment at Worcester Marina for around 8.45 but they were only 10 minutes away.
Just before the marina the canal is spanned by an impressive railway bridge, carrying the line out of Foregate and going up to Birmingham via Droitwich.
We made the tight turn into the marina at Lowesmoor - never been in before. There is rather more space than it looks from the canal but still not much room for more than the ABC hire fleet that operates out of here. They have re-started sending people out but are still leaning the somewhat onerous 'guidance' that they seek to follow.
Although there was initially a bit of confusion as the manager/engineer had been given a message that it was a problem with a gas heater, not a Webasto diesel heater. First, we had to spin the boat around so that the stern was closest to the small working area and then he and his assistant started work.
Of course, the somewhat disconcerting thing was that last night and again the morning the heater had started itself OK. However, we were concerned to be sure and accepted their suggestion of checking the fuel filter to see if it had become blocked. Although the fuel in the cup was a bit dirty the filter itself was very clean so we all surmised that the running-out-of-diesel event when we could not visit the boat might have picked up something after the tank had been refilled.
After reassembling the filter it takes some time for it to re-fill with diesel and for the heater to purge itself of any air locks. The control system locks out after six attempts and then has to be reset by removing the fuse. Eventually, the unit decided that it was time to return from furlough and began to work properly. We gave it time to run through and heat up before turning it off, allowing it purge, cool a little and then restart. We did this a couple of times just to be sure. We have learnt at least two new techniques/adjustments this morning.
Whilst this was taking place they noticed that there was a very small leak from the pipework connections to the calorifier and so tightened them up. Further, they spotted some slack in the throttle level and tightened that as well.
Apologies, chaps, but we completely forgot to find out your names! The 'assistant' (specially recruited to be able to get into the confines of an engine room?) told us all about his band and how different its music is but in a genre that gives them plenty of satisfaction - entirely instrumental with no vocals. His inspiration seemed to come very much from Beethoven! He was chuffed that before we left, Christine managed to find a video of them on You Tube - Soden.
Overall we were exceptionally impressed by the reception and support we received, only outshone when Christine went to pay and she found it hard to believe that the calculation was correct. Based on this experience we are more than happy to give them a promotional plug.
The turn out of the narrow entrance arch is a but tricky as turning right does not have enough room to make it direct from the basin and required numerous back and forth small turns. There is officially a winding hole at the entrance but is not symmetrical.
It was now just after midday so we set off to our planned overnight mooring just after Shrub Hill at the visitor mooring near Asda and the city centre. There is only room for about three boats here and one was right in the middle but they soon told us that they were leaving after lunch. So we tied up as best we could and had our lunch.
After they had left, Mike tried to pull the boat onto a better alignment with the bollards, only to discover that there was something underwater preventing us coming close to the edge. In the end he had to employ the engine to move back a further boat's length where there was better depth.
Later, Christine went across to Asda for a few food items. Not finding a newspaper there she opted to return and spend the rest of the after looking around the city centre shops whilst Mike prepared our evening meal. and wrote up this blog.
And another plug for Worcester Marina!
1.0 Miles - 0 Locks
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