Expletive Deleted

On Saturday’s post I mentioned the installation of the external 12V power socket on the cabin rear bulkhead.  It’s primary use is to provide power for the Mio pda gps which has the Waterway Routes canal maps on it.

Modesty prevents me from stating how good the final installation looked.  The problem started on Sunday when I plugged the Mio into the socket AND IT DIDN’T WORK!!! There was no power to the Mio cable.  I checked the cable terminals at the node and there was power. That’s when I made my first mistake erred in my judgement.  I assumed one of the spade terminals inside the socket had disconnected when I glued it to the bulkhead.  The adhesive is seriously strong once it has gone off and without thinking through the entire problem I managed to cut and tear the socket off the bulkhead only to find the connections were OK. <grrrrrrr>  After cleaning all the adhesive off the bulkhead and the socket I re-glued it.  This morning the Mio wouldn’t work in the socket <double grrrrr>. Further checking with the multimeter revealed the cable had continuity so the cable was eliminated as the fault.  Sticking the multimeter probe into the socket revealed it had 12V at the socket.  As the socket is low on the bulkhead and facing downwards I couldn’t see into the socket and so it was cut off the bulkhead for a second time <triple grrrrrrr>.  After looking inside the socket it was apparent this new socket is different to the others on Waiouru.  The positive terminal is recessed.  Instead of inserting the Mio power plug I used the mobile phone 12V plug and the socket worked. After examining the Mio 12V plug the problem became apparent.

The Mio plug has a black plastic “collar” (left arrow) which is preventing the plug being fully inserted into the socket.  As a consequence the positive terminal on the plug (right arrow) isn’t making contact with the positive terminal inside the socket.  The current socket is therefore as useful as hip pockets on a singlet!

After some consideration I decided to exchange the 12V socket with one of the 12V sockets inside the boat.  The phone socket was selected because it had already been tested in the cockpit socket and worked.  The two sockets were exchanged, but not without difficulty!  Then I had the onerous job of removing all the construction adhesive from the cabin bulkhead before masking the area for the third time.

If it doesn’t work this time there is going to be one seriously annoyed boater!

Thank you to my blog readers who left a comment advising I had walked over the River Mersey and not the Weaver.  I still can’t believe the Mersey is that small!

This morning we stopped at Thorne Marine to buy a replacement gas bottle (well actually the gas inside the bottle) and ask if they would take our used oil from the engine service completed yesterday <they wouldn’t>.  I managed to also buy a small tin of Universal Gloss varnish.  Not much timber in the boat is coated in gloss so I’ve been looking for a small tin.  Finally we wanted to use their water tap to top up the tank.  there was a £1 charge for the water.  Facilities on the Bridgewater Canal are “few and far between”.

On a happier note we have arrived at Lymm (pronounced Limb, not Lime). 

I remembered Lymm from our 2005 Cheshire Ring canal holiday.  There was the sundial and stocks with a supermarket behind.  Jan wanted to know if it was a Tesco, Cooperative, Sainsbury’s or Waitrose.  I just thought I was clever remembering the supermarket existed.  OK, it’s a small Sainsbury’s.

We moored today just short of our 2005 spot and wandered into the village.

I remembered the picturesque canal side cottage beside the bridge from our last visit.

It’s the narrow alley between the cottage and the bridge that sticks in my mind.  One assumes the cottages were their first and the owners didn’t have sufficient influence to prevent the canal builders constructing the bridge immediately in front of their homes.

Would you like your front window view to be of a bridge abutment?

Jan was able to buy a wrist support in the village pharmacy which should result in an almost immediate increase in the volume of baking coming from the galley.  Whilst she discussed wrist braces with the chemist I took a few photos of the village square.

This is what Wikipedia states about Lymm Cross

“Lymm Cross is in the village of Lymm, Cheshire, England. It is designated by English Heritage as a Grade I listed building.^[1]

The cross dates from the early to the middle 17th century and it was restored in 1897. It is constructed of sandstone and stands on an artificially stepped natural outcrop of red sandstone. Its shaft stands in a square pavilion of red sandstone with square corner pillars. It has a stone roof with a pedimented gable to each face and ball finials. Above the cross is an extension which carries a stone ball and an ornate weather vane. On the east, south and west gables are bronze sundials of 1897 carrying the inscriptions "We are a Shadow", "Save Time" and "Think of the Last"

There is a set of “stocks” on the south side of the Cross

I wonder if using stocks in today’s society might have a positive effect in reducing petty crime?