Pump out & Gas

Pump out light came on, so we took Erin Mae to the service jetty during a brief lull in the wind. This will make work on the toilet easier when the non-return valve arrives. Replaced a gas cylinder. Ordered some Milliput for the shower tray. Checked out Mike Baker in Rugeley for Yacht Varnish.

Dropped in on Mike and Mo for a cuppa.

Wildwood Christian Fellowship

Found WCF on the internet. Met Robin & Linda and had a good natter after the service. Hollybush, Salt for lunch, and then did the grouting in the shower later on. The Norcross worked well.

Tiling

Got the tiles back on the shower wall, with a fair bit of grinding of the small ones below to give enough space. Dropped one onto the shower tray, which left a bit of a dinge.

Thermostat

As arranged, took Erin Mae round to Anglo Welsh. Keith changed the thermostat (£20) and gave the cooling system a check and a nod of approval. Looked at the toilet and its manual, and together we decided on replacing the non-return valve, which I ordered from Lee Sanitation.

Carried on down to Tixall Wide for lunch, where a friendly swan came up under the hatch.  Engine temperature was normal, albeit this was a short run.

2 miles, about 2 hours engine, what with the testing.

Grout, aerial, mattress

Yesterday got the Norcross grout from Staffordshire Tile and Stone Cº in Milford, though he normally just deals with the trade. Also chatted with an aerial guy, who said there shouldn't be a problem with BBC programmes, unless it was the omni-directional aerial messing with the mux, and confusing the tuner.

Having advised a 7.30 p.m. delivery on Wednesday, the mattress firm first postponed that to 11 p.m., and then said it would be Thursday between 9 and 12. At 12.20 they showed up. The mattress itself looked fine, but the 6" strip was only 5'3" long – a foot short. So I paid for the mattress but not the strip. Angela rang today as we travelled home to say that a strip of the right size would be delivered next week – Wednesday or Thursday matches our travel plans reasonably well.

Tixall Bridge to Great Haywood

Quiet night. Started late. Canal depth much better than previous stretch. Met a Dutch couple at Tixall lock, and South Africans Brian & Celia next to our mooring for a week at the marina. GH by coffee time.

Asked Steve Pemberton about the suspected overheating of the engine. He volunteered to come at look at it in his own time.

Walked into GH to pick up book from the post office. Checked out the washing gadget again with plain water – seemed to work well.

2 miles, 1 lock, about 1.5 hours engine time.

Penkridge to Tixall Bridge

7.30 start to avoid traffic as we reversed down Filance Lock, through Princefield Bridge to the Penkridge winding hole. Thought we'd run out of water, though it was actually an accidental flick of the water pump switch. Also, the poo-tank warning light came on. Last time, that meant it needed to be emptied pretty well immediately, so we called in to see whether a boatyard would give us water if we paid for a pump-out. Teddesley Boat Company above Midland Chandlers wanted £20 for the pump-out, so we moved on – we weren't that desperate. Stafford Boat Club did it for £12, though we had to wait nearly two hours while he did other stuff and had his lunch. Put the Blue in myself later on.

Parts of the Staffs & Worcs was very shallow, which made any speed impossible, and we got stuck when we pulled over to let a faster boat past. Very windy in the afternoon.

Engine still seems to be overheating – nealy 95 for quite a while.

Did a roast in the oven, which seems to underccok. Probably needs to be a mark or two higher than what it says.

Moored just through Tixall Bridge.

9 miles, 6 locks, 1 aqueduct, about 7 hours engine time

Wildwood to Penkridge

Pleasant cruise after a lazy start, with the breadmaker going, though very shallow in lots of places. Stopped off at Midland Chandlers but they were closed for Sunday. Passed five very trad barges, returning from a rally. Advised not to moor where Nicholson's says to moor, so came up further, just above Filance Lock. Went for a walk into Penkridge.

Engine seemd to be overheating slightly, getting up to 90º. Oil pressure and Voltage readings seem normal. Weed hatch checked clear. Coolant could do with a little topping up, perhaps, but did not seem particularly low.

5 miles, 6 locks, about 5 hours engine time.

Great Haywood to Wildwood

Filled up with diesel – asked Steve about the ratio in the light of what we have been doing and expect to do, and he suggested 40/60. So it was 129.81 litres, @ £133.17.

Got held up by an AW boat at the GH junction, and was embarrassed by the wind when we stopped for lunch at Tixall Wide. After that we were into new territory as we continued down the S & W. Got delayed behind an AW boat going extremely slowly and not letting anyone by. Probably inexperience and possibly something round their propellor.

Tied up around 6 p.m. after Bridge 96, just past the Staffs Boat Club at Wildwood.

6 miles, 1 lock, 1 aqueduct, about 4 hours engine time.