Down onto the River Trent, Alrewas section. It was such a lovely spot to stop at above the lock in Alrewas. I think there's a good chance we'll head back for 14 days once the derestriction of the 48 hours maximum stay comes into play in November. I'd like to have a walk back to the national Arboretum to see how it's changed since we last visited in 2013 Link to LJ blog here. We enjoyed a lovely day out taking pics back then, one of which I had printed out for a pressie for Mum and Dad
RNLI memorial
One of my least favourite bridge holes, it's a lot worse with any fresh water after rain
Leaving the river section brings us to probably my least favourite stretch of canal. On a map you can't even see there's a canal as it's that close to the A38 dual carriageway, I've actually seen fag butts hit the canal from moving vehicles. It was soon time to lock down to Branston Water Park and an available tie-up in the sun.
When is a workshop not a workshop?
Ditto engine room, although a hot 4.7 litre engine does a great job of drying
Back to finding a plod for us and the dog... I inputted a route into my view ranger app that skirted the water park at Branston then crossed the canal to one of the very many Merley gravel pits that has been transformed to a nicely done private members only fishing lake, through some well used paddocks and back along the offside of the canal past the new Burton Town Rugby club site.
Dudley's new post stroll routine
We reversed the route on the ViewRanger app the next day which brought us past the cafe in opening hours, bonus!
Deb's Coos have finally got a new home after being taken down from LJ's wall a good couple of years ago
More boating tomorrow, possibly - not far though... just to Burton
Another day another stroll, this time up over the hill above Alrewas and up through Wychnor Park Country Club, back across the flood plains and back across the old river bridges. Dudley enjoyed it and was really good going back through the cow fields (he seems to attract the psycho cows)
Some of the river really needs de-reeding
St Leonard Church, Wychnor
On to private parkland with a traffic light system for each property
True to his word I had a call about the leaking tank at about 9.30
This fella has been welding stainless steel tanks since I was just about going to secondary school so he knows what he's doing. We went through the likelihood of condensation, and in all likelihood some of it will be condensation before he asked for a decent idea of location and hopped on his late 90's Mk1 bandit streetfighter and headed our way.
It's without doubt a problem with pinholes above the weld most likely by contamination although how is unknown as he refuses to weld any mild steel in his workshop.
Anyway as it's far from pouring out so we agree that we'll head his way come early spring time to take it out and repair it.
We have a bit of putting back together when he leaves but the early afternoon is taken up sitting on the tug deck watching the world go by. Then tackling the bow storage.
I want to keep my folding bike but it's too big for down the side of the engine room if I'm going to be giving it an oily rag once over whenever we move. It does fit in the bow locker but it's really tight for everything else and means a bit of a parlava when it's needed. Looks like it'll be up for sale or heading for Mary's cellar.
Going forward the only real options are either something like a big frame on the bow (there is room for it) or something much smaller even like the ubiquitous Brompton. A decision for another day.
So the sort of Batman shape was for our front vent grills/shelf made by Dan and Keri from Reverie Canal Trading we're lucky enough to have quite a few of our finishing touches made by them on their historic butty boat Lyra.
Like all good boat things their purpose should be more than singular (the steel work not the engineers).
Bow vent
Or cactus shelf? Just need some magnets and glue so they stay there
There is of course going to be a matching one on the other side of the bow doors and I'm hoping to find a couple of vintage G clamps and make a mini bookshelf, above will probably go some family pics once I find some suitable frames.
Meanwhile Deb has made some nifty chair protectors.
Mainly my corner
Time for a plod around Fradley, well it turned into more of a slog at just under 5 miles (I'm really not used to it)
Should have a display phone to show the youff how lucky they are
A bit of wide open heath on a route to Fradley village
Pretty sure this would have been on the village green
Village church
Sunday morning from the side hatch, cracking day
Another lovely day and an early stroll up the Tent and Mersey Canal where we spotted Ian and Irene who'd recently turned tail and heading back down south to help with a family house move. Ian commented that he thought he'd seen LJ out on the dry probably for a survey. Nah said us, bit early for that but he was right. A day later we had a call that the survey had been carried out and there was a short list of minor recommendations that we agreed to have sorted.
Intermittent alternator alarm, it all works fine but has been mildly whistling for several years so diode or connection most probably. Out of date fire extinguishers. Bedside and port nav light bulbs needed. So nothing to grumble about considering the deal we agreed upon.
Still lots of gaps
A walk north up the T&M
Ian and Irene getting an early start
On Sunday afternoon a bit more fettling and cleaning and evidence of a possible issue with the water tank. That doesn't look like condensation. I sent messages and emails to every contact I have for the fabricator and get one back within minutes Saying he'll phone me Monday.
Not what we wanted to see on Saturday afternoon
Leaks from the tank welds
Fabricator contacted
More boating tomorrow, or the day after (most likely tomorrow as 48hrs is up)
The guy who fabricated our water tank needed an extra pic, I think there was a whiff of panic when I messaged that it was now built in. He's due to call on Monday to discuss the problem. I'm imagining it'll have to be removed which is a PITA but the way it went in I can hopefully keep the woodwork.
The Kingspan insulation is glued to the stainless steel tank with Sikaflex EBT+and the 9mm birch ply in turn stuck to that so I'm hoping it's just a sheet or so of Kingspan to sort out. Proverbials crossed!
Extra photo for fabricator
The sun taking later to rise is having it's knock on effect, that added to the bungs that Deb has made for the back cabin porthole and bullseye has mean't that I was unusually still asleep by 7.30
Deb was soundo so I asked Alexa for some music by Rebecca Laird, a Texan blues guitarist with lots of Gaelic influences on her Facebook feed so, with a name like that I'm pretty sure she's Scottish; and some Joe Bonamassa. It's the one advantage of Deb's worsening otosclerosis, once her hearing aids are out I can play music pretty well as loud as I want.
Leaving Fradley visitor moorings
By the time we left it was close to 10.30 but I wasn't too bothered we we're only planning a short hop to Alrewas about 2 slow hours away.
Firing up the Dorman the Amps in to the batteries leapt to 180A and settled fairly quickly at 130A ish. On LJ that would have been 50A and down to 20A before the first lock. Its the main reason I wanted LiFePO4 lithium batteries. By the time the safety relay had cut the charge from the alternators we had replaced 120Ah of the 129Ah we'd used over the last day or so... within 45 minutes. For any non techie/non boaters that's about 4 hours of normal engine run time!!
Common lock
About 2 hours later we had arrived at Alrewas, the 14 day moorings on the tight bends we're full, the ones near the footbridge we're full so I wasn't holding out much hope for stopping this side of the river Trent section.
Luckily the only spot left was the best and that's the last mooring before the drop onto the river. Wide enough towpath with grassy areas and enough depth for us, oh and clear sky's for the solar to finish off the last few ampere hours charging. If we decide to stay here tomorrow it'll be nice to see how many Ah we actually use from the batteries between tonight and tomorrow night. I'll try and remember.
So yesterdays little afternoon job, can you guess what it is? Nope not an out of scale batman emblem.
Today we had a special anniversary to celebrate.
Our first box of shite is one today (well really its August/September 2019 vintage). Yes Ernest has one of these ever-so-popular "composting" loos. Composting in " " because compost they do not. And anyone kidding them selves that the last fortnights collection going in a bag and straight in the biffa bin is composting are deluded.
These are pre compost collecting loos, desiccators possibly. But collection is only the first stage. Hot composting is the second if you're trying to compost fairly rapidly. Ours is closer to a box and forget regime (we'll turn the pile over once a month) so takes longer. How long, well details are sketchy and do depend on diet. Many are happy for non food use within a month or so. We've decided on at least a year and then, as no family members have offered to collect for their rose gardens, we're planning on finding quiet locations away from the watercourse and planting out a few spring bulbs. Who knows if we make it to 18 months (storage says no) then we may plant some garlic or something as a massively spread out allotment.
Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear shii-iite happy birthday to you.
We left Whittington after lunch and after starting to polish the neglected solid brass portholes. It'll take a bit of doing to get them as new again, and then a fair bit of regular polishing. Worth doing though I think.
After yesterdays chat with the guy with the hinged exhaust stack, I decided to drill the rivets off the splitter on our stubbie to see what the effects were. I think I prefer it and the cabin top was certainly clearer. A tall hinged one is the way to go I think, at least at the moment. I don't think Dudley was too bothered either way
"I smells of diesel :("
One of my least favourite corner/bridge combos, with fallen towpath stones and sunken boats on the off side and enough silt that even in a shallower boat reversing will do nowt apart from clog the prop
Cute little boat, Brumtug maybe?
The moorings on the Cov side of Fradley were choca block (unsurprisingly) so we dropped down through what felt like a very short 70ft lock even lifting the bow button to get a bit further forward. As we went down I even had to shut myself in the stern doors to avoid filling my shoes.
I'm sure I'll get used to it. Below the lock looked full to, but it is more often than not. Luckily though the last 100ft of the visitor moorings was free so we tied off on the 48hr moorings early evening.
Through the swing bridge to the Mucky Duck (Black Swan)
Glad we didn't go 72' long, we're close to the cill marker with the button up
Luckily there's room for me on the steerer's step with the doors closed
Down through to the visitor moorings
The last 100ft free!
By the time the washing machine had finished and the washing strewn about the engine room and workshop it was just about beer o'clock at the Mucky Duck before heading back home and grabbing something to eat.
In an actual pub! I'm not complaining now it's an Everards
