As I have changed around the battery connections to balance the heavy draw from the inverter I found that the lids covering the batteries don’t fit, yet another thing to do for the BSS.

So new lids have been made and a new box to house the two extra batteries. You need to be a contortionist to get at Alacrity’s batteries as when I have to top them up. I still haven’t modified the cupboard above them, that’s another job.

 So fitting the lids and extra battery box was to say the least a trial well that’s now done and all is ready for the BSS.

Its that time again, Waiting for me on the door mat when I got home was my licence renewal form from BW, always a welcome sight  Not.

Included was a notice telling me that I needed to renew my Boat Safety Certificate, minor panic ensued for a few moments while I located the last inspections paperwork. Since nothing has changed hopefully all I need to do is check that there are no obvious faults.

What I did notice was the warning that late payment now gets hit with a penalty of £150 OUCH !!!

Bones in her post Gas Struts Help  February 11th was bemoaning the loss of one of a pair of gas struts she was going to use to help hold up her new bed on the good ship bones.

I knew that somewhere in the depths of my garage I had an unused set of struts that I was going to use to hold the bonnet up on my offroad Land Rover  Discovery but had decided that there was no space to install them. So what better than to donate them to the Bones Bed Appeal they are a bit shorter than Bones’s original ones but hopefully they will do the job.
I should have known better than to post them off on Friday the 13th sent First Class Post they took a week to arrive.

Saturday dawned like a spring morning, the drive up to Braunston was a dream, all was well with the world, even Midland Chandlers had the brass curtain rails we had decided to fit…….all fourteen of them….They really look great now we only need to make the new curtains to go with them.
As there was no wind we moved over to the Loading Dock to fill with water and pick up a 13 kg cylinder of propane, what a shock at £21.40 Ouch!!
The sun continued to shine so I decided to do a spot of fishing not that I caught anything it was just so relaxing.

The neighbours were a bit rowdy, living it up until well after dark…………………….

The weekend saw most of the remaining bits finished leaving a small amount of scotia to fit and the varnishing to do……I even managed to service the engine…… with loads needed to be done at home before the holiday, it was a flying visit.

Tuesday 12 August 2008 

Thames-locks – epetition reply

I wonder if there will be a glass or two raised in the NB Caxton camp as today is the birthday of William Caxton the first english printer.

I thought that I would have finished by now but its all the small fiddley things that take the time. Work tends to get in the way as usual. The weather has been so bad that I’m having to cut most of the plywood in the galley area……..lots of mess…..

So what am I left with to do…………well there is two sets of cupboard doors to hang, the brackets for the folding chairs to make and fit, loads of sanding and varnishing and the tv surround and shelves to make and fit (those can wait……..) I will sand and varnish while we are on holiday.

I have been watching a boy fishing on the next pontoon in the marina, he hauled out a reasonable sized perch and on his next cast pulled out a very large and angry crayfish……..his mum said it was destined for a sandwich………………………

As I was carrying some timber back to the landrover I spotted NB Debdale passing under Butchers Bridge……..so only one weekend left before our holiday………………and an engine service to do………. 

My cupboard doors have come on well and have had their first coat of varnish. it’s perfect weather for varnishing or so I thought, i’d forgotten to factor in the Thunderbugs

The itching on my neck should have warned me……………….I only turned away for a few moments and the little b*****s had started their own synchronised swimming team on my newly varnished doors………………..

I’ve allways hated them one even got into my flat screen monitor and wandered about like a disembodied apostrophe even highlighting it and hitting the delete key didn’t work.

Oh well back to the sandpaper and midnight varnishing………………………………………

I was watching this mornings 6am Breakfast programme on BBC1, in their review of the papers the Daily Mail reports on:

  “The new age of the canal: More passengers now than during the 18th century heyday”

Ray Massey writes that:

Now however, 200 years after their heyday, they are booming again. A report reveals today that the number of boats on Britain’s waterways is greater than at the height of the Industrial Revolution.And this time round leisure, not business, is driving the boom. In place of the old horse-drawn barge there is the refurbished narrow boat, cruiser or sailing dinghy.

 Shhhhhh dont tell everyone……………………………………………………………!!!!

Read Ray Massey’s full report in the Daily Mail here

Report from British Waterways Newsroom (Going With The Flow – 60 Years Of Public Service)

The Full Report from British Waterways http://www.britishwaterways.co.uk/annualreport