power issues resolving

Isn't it so often the case that once you get an answer to a problem, it seems blindingly obvious?
I had been trying to work out why my batteries weren't behaving as expected, considering they were new this year. I had blamed it on my old 12v fridge, which certainly was dying. Then I blamed it on my new 240v fridge which has to run in conjunction with an inverter and it is true that this was taking too much power to sustain it long term. But it was only when I talked to a knowledgable fellow moorer at Fradley that the light dawned.

There is no book to tell you how long to run your engine for in order to fully charge the batteries because it depends on so many variables from the size of your alternator, to how much power you actually use. So I had listened to various people telling me how long they run their engines for and then did similar. But what I hadn't asked was how much power they use or what size their alternators were or even whether they were usually attached to shore power or not. Chris, the knowledgable moorer, was the first to suggest that I just wasn't running my engine for long enough. I had thought that when my volt meter hit 12.8 that meant the batteries were fully charged, but no! When I started running the engine for an extra hour a day I immediately spotted that the volt meter started ticking down much slower, in other words, it would stay on 12.8 for much longer once the engine was off. I can now watch the tv for a couple of hours and only lose .2 of a volt However, Chris also pointed out that a volt meter only told part of the story; I also need an amp meter, but that costs well over £100 and will have to wait. - but all this is very exciting for me, but probably dreadfully boring to read about!!

Of course I'm running without a fridge at present, but tomorrow I am hopefully swapping my 240v fridge for an older 12v one. If this works out well, then my family have generously agreed to club together and buy me a new 12v fridge as a combined 50th birthday and Christmas present.

Meanwhile, for those who are not into the technical details of my life, last week I returned to the wigwams of Wolferow to meet up with some friends for a couple of days of meditation, discussion and whisky round the bonfire. I brought an extract of a poem to share with them which reflects where I feel I am spiritually at present, so I thought I'd reproduce it here. It is an extract from a poem by Walt Whitman called 'Song of the Open Road':

'Afoot and lighthearted, I take to the open road.

Healthy, free, the world before me,

the long brown path before me,

leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good fortune,

I myself am good fortune.

Henceforth I whimper no more,

postpone no more, need nothing.

Strong and content I travel the open road...

From this hour, Freedom!

From this hour I ordain myself

loos'd of limits and imaginary lines.

Going where I list; my own master

total and absolute.

Listening to others and considering well what they say.

Pausing, searching, receiving, contemplating,

gently but with undeniable will.

Divesting myself of all the holds that hold me.

I inhale great draughts of space;

The east and the west are mine,

the north and the south are mine...

All seems beautiful to me.'

power issues continued...

Just to prove that living on a boat isn't all peaceful cruising through idylic landscapes, my boat has decided to take me onto the next level of testing and learning.

I have already mentioned that I am finding it difficult to keep my batteries in a healthy state now I'm off shore (mains) power. Well, I had blamed it on my dying 12 volt fridge. It took me a couple of months of nursing the fridge before I could afford to replace it, but only with a 240v one. That means (for the uninitiated) that I have to use another machine (an inverter) to change the 12volt power coming out of my batteries to 240volt that the fridge (and TV) works on. This machine also takes power to work.

Once I got my shiny new fridge and settled down to watch TV in the evening, I quickly discovered that power flowed alarmingly out of my batteries and within a couple of hours they were down below 50% charge - which is not good for them. Within a week, I found myself sitting in the dark - worried about even putting a light on - and crying with frustration and anxiety.

My real lesson through this though was not about managing power, but managing priorities. I could choose to have the fridge on (at least some of the time) or the TV but not both and neither for any length of time. You would think the choice was easy, but it wasn't. On the evening when the power consumption was really bad and I sat in the dark, I realised how much I use my TV to stave off any feelings of loneliness. During the day I never notice the fact that I am alone, but at night, especially as the evenings are getting darker and on this day, the rain was coming down, I suddenly felt very isolated and alone. I also felt quite scared - not of the Bogie Man, but of my vast ignorance when it comes to the inner workings of my boat and the feeling that it's all down to me.

In the morning, as is usually the case, nothing looked quite as bad. I also was reminded that I'm not alone as one boater lent me a cooler box to use and offered to swap my 240v fridge for his older but servicable 12v one when he returns from being away. Another helped me wire the cooler box in and a third couple from my mooring - who have become good friends, lent me their sympathetic shoulders to cry on!

I think the biggest lesson to take from all this is that I need to face my fears and issues rather than distracting myself from them by using TV or hobbies or alcohol. None of these things are bad in themselves and I'm quite happy to indulge in them all some of the time, but I've got to learn not to rely on them to hide from the more difficult parts of life.

It seems to me that this living on a boat lark is all about letting things go and travelling light. I've already let go of things like the security of having a house and the support of being part of society (mains power, water etc provided for me). I have given up lots of possessions because firstly of the downsizing from house to boat and then because of financial circumstances. This is just another giving up and although all these letting go's have been painful or difficult, I believe they have all been good for my soul and that's the important thing!

last photos

Sorry about the delay in posting the last photos of the cruise - the reason was power issues, but more of that later. Here are pictures relating to my last post...

This is the Gatehouse to Shugborough Hall and a lovely view to wake up to when moored at Tixall Wide on the Staffs and Worcester.

I couldn't resist just one more picture of Tixall Wide - one of my top three mooring sites so far!

As we left Great Haywood and cruised the last leg of our journey, we pass very close to Cannock Chase. You can just see the woods and hills of the chase rising in the distance.

Home at last. This was the lovely sunset that greeted us when we returned home. The view is one I wake up to every morning and is seen through my bedroom porthole!

I mentioned power issues. I have had to learn a lot about battery management since living here at Fradley and being off shore power. I got myself a meter that tells me exactly what is happening with my batteries 24 hours a day. Thanks to that, I discovered that my 12 volt fridge was dying and taking lots more power than it should do, whilst not keeping my food very cold. Buying another 12 volt fridge was way too expensive for me (around £500 as compared with £120 for a comparable 240 volt fridge.) So with help from a generous friend, I bought a 240 volt fridge which is A rated for energy efficiency. I was very excited as I expected not to have to run my engine nearly as much as I would be using less power. Well, much to my disappointment that has not proved to be the case. In fact the new fridge is taking more power than the old one, although the insulation is better and it actually works which is an improvement on the last one. But I'm having to run my engine just as much and having to keep my inverter on 24/7. Oh well, at least I won't die from food poisoning!!

slower and slower

We left Norbury Junction the next morning and wended our way back to the splendid mooring between bridges 7 and 8 on the Shroppie. We arrived just after lunch and were fortunate to find a space on the mooring rings. Having moved at an increasingly snail like pace, we ground to a halt entirely here and stayed for 2 days. I walked, sunbathed (no clouds in the sky for both days) and chatted to the other boaters. One couple in particular were very friendly and had a great Staffie dog called Wallace, whom Bonny fell totally in love with. They played together for hours.

I was wholly into holiday mode by now and had no problem vegging out for 2 days. It also helped to rest my muscles before facing the run up the Staffs and Worcester to Penkridge with all those locks. We left the Shroppie with some regret - I will definitely return and highly recommend it as a cruising destination.

We cruised for about 6 hours and stopped at Gailey Wharf for the night. This is situated at the top of the lock flight running into Penkridge and is a lovely mooring; lots of rings and a good little shop, as well as water and rubbish disposal. However it is close to the motorway (M6) which chased us from here, all the way past Penkridge, roaring and snarling as if threatened in some way by this alternative and so much more civilised water road.

I think the locks had shrunk since we last passed through as they didn't seem half as scary on our return descent. It was harder work though as I didn't meet another boat for the first 4 which meant setting the locks myself and closing all the gates after me. This means balancing 'Don't Panic' in the tail of the lock, climbing back up to close both gates and then slipping my way back down to the boat, hoping she hadn't taken off up the canal without me!

The weather on the Staffs and Worcester took a turn for the worse and it was a very soggy dog and crew that tied up after a long day, past Penkridge. I was going to stop in the town but then remembered that England were playing in the World Cup that night and so thought discretion was probably the better part of valour and instead tied up uncomfortably close to the M6. I didn't mind though because I knew the next day I would be back at Tixall Wide and this time we were stopping for 2 days!

The mooring angel was with us again as I found a prime mooring site waiting for us at Tixall Wide, overlooking the gatehouse and a family of herons. (Pictures to follow) We had some lovely neighbours of both the human and canine variety. Bonny also learnt to swim as the Trent River flows alongside the canal here and as the hot sun had returned, we both took a dip and I held her as she experienced being out of her depth for the first time. She swam well but doesn't really enjoy it. She loves the water but likes to feel the land beneath her feet.

We moved the next day just round the corner onto the Trent and Mersey as there was much needed shade overlooking Shugborough Hall. We were joined there by Graham and Jan and their boat Huff n Puff, as well as Bonny's boyfriend, Bernie the Westie. They live on our mooring at Fradley and it was lovely to see them.

As we moved off towards Rugeley, I was a little sad to know this was the last leg of our voyage. I had been worried that I would so love cruising that it would make me dissatisfied with our home at Fradley, but actually although it had been great being out and about, I was also looking forward to being back at a mooring that was mine and was there waiting for me.

We spent our last night at Kings Bromley, before pumping out, filling with water and diesal at the marina, and then skipping down the Fradley lock flight - so easy after some of the big locks we had encountered. Bonny was getting very excited and looked rather concerned as we cruised straight past our mooring. But in order to be facing the right way for our next pump out / diesal, we needed to travel to Alrewas in order to turn round and finally after 18 blissful days, tie up at our home mooring. Bonny celebrated by running the entire length of the mooring barking hysterically, just to let everybody know she was home!

Since returning, I have been planning our next cruise, but I am in the happy situation that I love being out cruising but I also love our mooring and so, as they say, it's all good!

Thank you for showing such an interest in our travels - I shall be posting the last lot of photos from our cruise soon.

a few more pics

This is my mobile veggie patch! I have been growing lettuces, carrots, spring onions, tomatoes, radishes and herbs on my mooring. They wouldn't survive 18 days without water so I took them with me on my roof. The only problem was that the higher the tomato plants grew, the harder it was to see over the top of them! This is our mooring in the middle of nowhere as mentioned in the last entry. Bonny is a mere dot on the tow path!

We saw these strange beasts near Norbury Junction. They look like a cross between ducks and geese and are the colour of turkeys!! If anyone can identify them, please let me know! Here we are at Norbury Junction. Hopefully my next entry will cover the remainder of the cruise, before I forget it!

part 3 - The Return - in stages

I felt much more relaxed on leaving Market Drayton, as at least I knew what was in front of me as I retraced my wake. The weather, which at the beginning of my journey would have suited Noah and his ark, had steadily improved and as I left Market Drayton, the sky was blue, the temperature was climbing and all was right with the world.

We skipped up the Tyrley lock flight, without unfortunately pausing to take a photo . The only challenge at these locks was presented by water gushing out at great speed from about 3 feet up the cliff wall as we approached the bottom lock. This had the effect of pushing the boat to the left, spoiling my line to enter the lock. The only way to negotiate the lock entrance was barreling through at speed and hoping I had judged it correctly. Fortunately I managed it with my paintwork intact.

Next we faced the infamous Woodseaves cutting for a second time. I felt more anxious on this return trip as I knew exactly what was coming! This time the fates were not so kind as I met 3 different boats coming towards me, two of whom decided that I would be much better at reversing than they would! On the first occasion I managed to back into what was laughingly called a passing place, which I would describe as a mere niche in the cliff. The second time the boat approached was on a bend and my reversing skills were tested beyond their limit. I had to grab my rope, jump over 5 foot high nettles onto the tow path and stern haul her to the gap. I was unbelievably grateful to the final boat when its skipper waved me forward as he neatly slipped his boat into the undergrowth which concealed a passing place. As the light returned and the canal widened, it felt a bit like escaping from the River Styx!

I moored about a mile on, near absolutely nowhere, for a late lunch. After giving Bonny a well deserved run, my appetite for moving on waned and since we were no longer on a timetable I decided to stay for the rest of the day and explore the countryside. It was a lovely feeling not being under any time pressure. The rest of the day was spent mooching about and sunbathing whilst sipping a cold glass of wine - perfection!

One of my more inspired ideas came in handy the next morning. It had got really hot and Bonny was finding it difficult on the roof, but really didn't want to go below. Before I left I had thought about this and had brought the weighted bottom of my parasol, together with a large golf umbrella - a gift from my golfing brother. I popped the brolly into the parasol base and Bonny had a shady area to lie in. The only downside was that the brolly was just a bit too tall for some of the Lilliputian bridges which meant I needed to remember to whip it out of the base before we reached each bridge. I only forgot once, but that was enough to almost dislodge both the base and Bonny from the roof - my brolly hasn't been the same since.

By this time, we had slowed to an absolute crawl and after only 3 hours cruising I tied up for the day back at Norton Junction to enjoy doing absolutely nothing, bar watching the water world go by!

pictures for part 2 of the cruise

I know it is a little odd posting pictures seperately from the narrative, but I am tending to write when I have nothing to do at work and then wait till I'm home before posting the pics. Anyway, here are a few more...

This is the old wharf of the Cadbury's factory when all the sugar used to be brought in by boat.

This is Mary looking down the Mighty Shelmore Embankment near Norbury Junction. It may not look very mighty, but the next picture shows the view from one side of it...

This is an extraordinary bridge at the entrance to the Grubb Street Cutting. As you can see, it has an old telegraph pole built in under the top span. The bridges on this part of the Shroppie were very impressive - tall and old!

Here is an even taller bridge - so tall that you may not be able to spot it!

I will be writing about my solo return trip soon!