Polesworth to Atherstone

Even hotter, even though we set out by 9.30 to try to beat the heat. Inside the cabin this afternoon it reached 33.5˚

Came up the first 6 locks of the Atherstone flight, and tied up on the 48 hour moorings that offer good access to the town itself. That was enough for today.

3.75 miles, 6 locks, 3 hours engine time 

Fazeley to Polesworth

Another really hot day. Came up the Glascote locks and took on water at the slow point above them.

Stopped for lunch after Alvecote marina in the shade. Tied up after Bridge 51 in Polesworth after seeing a notice about the Abbey, to which we walked (but couldn't get in). Found ourselves in front of Liz and Graham (BCF members) on NB Reeve, so had some nice fruit-cake with plenty of water.

6.2 miles, 2 locks, 3.25 hours engine

Huddlesford Junction to Fazeley

Very hot. Stopped in the shade for an hour for lunch. Engine temperature mostly 90 - 95. Hit just under 100 at one point.

New gas cylinder from Fazeley Mill Marina (£32.45)

Tied up opposite Kew, and went for a cuppa with John & Jane Pescod and David and Mary.

7.8 miles, 0 locks, 3.5 engine hours

Wood End lock to Huddlesford junction

Called in at Streethay Wharf:

(a) Chimney repair. Nigel said he would check availability of parts. Agreed that we would postpone the repair until beginning of September, dependent on:

(b) Radiators: check integrity of the system. Check with Nigel for a clear date once we've been up and down the Ashby Canal.

(c) Overheating engine. Nigel checked for airlock in the coolant. Concluded the overheating was probably due to a sticking thermostat valve. He thought it would sort itself out – meanwhile monitor it. They don't normally do Isuzu engines, so probably find an alternative boatyard if the problem continues.

Water at Fradley. Tied up at the moorings just before Bridge 83 (Plough Bridge).

5 miles, 3 locks, 1 swing bridge, 3 hours engine

Rugeley to Wood End Lock

 6 miles, 0 locks, 3 hours engine

Engine overheating (just over 100˚). Oil and Coolant seemed OK.

GH Marina to Rugeley

 5.5 miles, 2 locks, 3 hours engine

GH Marina to Tixall Wide

Lovely sunny day, so decided to take the boat out for the only saunter of the summer so far. Got a pump out before we left. Tixall Wide looking great in the afternoon sun.

Contacted Amazon about the failed delivery to GH Post Office. They promised to contact the driver about deliveries to the Post Office.

1 hour engine

GH Marina

Mains electric was down to zero. Bought £60 = 461.54 units (KwH), as price is about to go up by over 30%.

Ran a wash load, after which the reading was 460.88.

Rubbed down the sags on the undercoat above LH kitchen window. Did another coat slightly thinned with WS.

GH Marina

1st undercoat on LH kitchen window. Re-applied the masking tape to provide a bigger area, top to bottom.

Moved across to the other berth to facilitate removing RH kitchen window. Came out without much difficulty, though the inner wooden frame fell off. Removed silicone, rubbed down and applied Fertan.

GH Marina

2nd coat of primer on LH kitchen window.

BBQ in the shade, while England / Stokes beat Australia.

GH Marina

1st coat of primer on LH kitchen window.

GH Marina

Drilled and tapped the extra M4 holes on the LH kitchen window, using the new Volkel tap and the cutting paste. Went very well.

GH Marina

Drove up, finding everything as it should be.

GH Marina

Packed up the car during the dry morning and drove home in torrential rain in the afternoon. Dremel arrived.

GH Marina

Dave Freeman came to do the low-setting adjustments on the hob, and also to remove the two rusted kitchen window screws. He did them with an angle grinder, which prompted me to research and order a Dremel tool with metal cutting disks.

Window came out, so I cleaned out the screw holes with my M4 tap. No countersunk holes were apparent for fixing the wooden inner frame, so I'll have to create some.

Replaced the window with M4s to check how everything sits. Will leave it in place and covered with a tarpaulin while we are south for a week.

GH Marina

Pump-out (£20 with blue)

Then far too hot for anything.Washed the pram-hood cover.

GH Marina

Dave Freeman came to install the new gas hob. The cover underneath was considerably larger than that on the old hob, so we took the cover from the old one, and managed to get it into shape, though the screw holes were in different places. Also had to use the hexagonal nut from the old hob to secure the ignition switch.

Dave said £40, which was way too cheap. He pushed it up to £50, but I gave him £60. He was worth every penny – he'd been here over an hour and a half and had to use a lot of ingenuity.

GH Marina

Getting settled in. Shopping at Rugeley. Rain in the evening, some heavy.

GH Marina

Came up to Erin Mae, setting out about 17.30. Brought the bikes on the carrier, so some nervousness, but the journey was uneventful, apart from a tyre pressure warning sorted out at Cherwell Valley.

Partial eclipse of the moon.

GH Marina

Rang Dave Freeman and arranged that we could ring him again towards the end of next week to arrange a time to come and fix the gas hob.

Brunch at the Canalside café.