boatyard

On Monday I took Don't Panic up to Fradley Services which is a tiny boatyard at the junction of the Trent and Mersey and Coventry canals. You know how you can have a pain for ages and then you visit the doctor and as soon as he asks where it hurts, you can't tell him because it has mysteriously disappeared? Well it was much the same when I ran the engine so the mechanic could hear the strange noise that has worried me for quite a while. No noise! All was normal! How embarrassing! Still, he still had my water leak and stuck filters to play with. He thought he had mended the water leak but when I ran the engine that evening it promptly overheated and filled the boat with smoke! The header tank was bone dry so the leak wasn't fixed after all! Mind you if you ever have to stay in a boatyard overnight, I highly recommend this one. It is set on a little island at the junction surrounded by grass and with a great view of the lock and the pub so lots to watch and listen to. The pub is The Swan (or to locals, the Mucky Duck) and is not only the best pub ever but also apparently one of the most photographed pubs in England!

Bonny loved being at the yard and was very well behaved; sitting at the edge of the water watching the world go by for hours whilst I took advantage of my position in the dock and painted my gunwales. The cost of the repairs wasn't as frightening as I had anticipated but has still left me on rations for the rest of the month! Unfortunately, although I am working on Easter Saturday and Sunday, I don't get paid any more and also do not get any advantage from the bank holidays as Friday and Monday are my normal days off. I feel a bit hard done by, but at least I have a job. As far as the strange noise is concerned, the best guess is that I might have bashed my prop at some point and knocked it out of alignment, which would cause the sort of noise I heard. Apparently it is possible for the prop to vibrate its way back into alignment and so recover. Still, whatever the truth of the matter, there isn't a noise currently and I am very grateful for that as it would have taken 2 hours labour just to check the alignment and that's before any repairing of the problem.

I hope my readers have a lovely and meaning filled Easter and enjoy all this beautiful sunshine.

Spring Itch

I know it has been a month since I lasted posted anything. This is partly because I haven't had anything to say and partly because life has speeded up with the blossoming of Spring. The days are longer, the sun is brighter and the nettles are energetic! So when I get home from work I spend time pottering around cutting back weeds and planting vegetables rather than diving straight into the boat to light the fire and close the curtains - bliss! Bonny is really enjoying it too, despite being on a tight training regime at present! I've decided it is time to put an end to her disappearing off for hours, so we are working hard on sitting and staying and on recall. Meanwhile she is on the lead for the majority of her time outside.

Spring has also brought me a bout of itchy feet. I have been chatting to boaters passing through the lock flight who are off out cruising from now till October or November. I ask them where they are going and most of them don't have a plan - they will wander the system as the whim takes them. How fantastic to have such a length of time to be free! Free to stop where they want, explore the area, do a bit of essential shopping or laundry and then drift off, not knowing where they will be washing their knickers next!

I only have a week here or there because of my work and the temptation to chuck it all in and just go comes over me in waves. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, the desire to eat and pay my bills keeps me tethered to the garden centre. In February I had the sniff of a possibility of a job with a boat yard shop which would have suited me very well. It was only a seasonal job - running from March to the end of October and so I had initially rejected the idea. But then I did my sums and worked out that since I would have been working a 5 day week rather than my current 4 days, I would only have had to find around 6 weeks work in the winter to have the same annual income. Temporary work around Christmas time is easy to come by and that would leave me with nearly 3 months of freedom! Yes it would be winter and the chances are I would be frozen to the spot for at least some of that time, but still, the idea of being mistress of my own destiny for at least part of the year, was hugely attractive. Unfortunately the job didn't materialise, but it would definitely be something I would consider in future. After all, I only have to last for nine and three quarter years and then, with my various pensions, I will be considerably better off than I am now and free for ever!

For the time being I will have to live with my itchy feet and take the boat out whenever I can. That is if next week's visit to the boatyard to investigate a strange noise in the engine doesn't finish me off entirely! My boat seems to have phases of being absolutely fine and other times where things go wrong all at once. My alternator died a couple of weeks ago and needed replacing. (Frightened the pants off me when I started the engine as normal, to be met with flashing lights and an alarm!) I have an engine water leak and when I did my first solo service last week, I found both my  oil and fuel filters were stuck on. So another boatyard bill is scarily imminent.

But it is Spring time. The leaves on the trees are freshly green from their seed wombs, the baby rabbits are playing chicken with Bonny and this season of new beginnings holds fresh hope and excitement. All is well.