Stocking up for winter

Well the mercury definitely dropped last night.  Jan rose early (as usual) but I played possum under the duvet.  Eventually one eye opened slightly to see the small blue led switch beside the bed was illuminated.  Jan had started the Hurricane central heater.  The heater pipes under the bed and in the wardrobes quickly warmed the bedroom enabling me to rise and join her.

After breakfast we left Waiouru heading in different directions with me walking into Rugby for a dental appointment and Jan going to Tesco.  Later that morning I noticed this fellow searching (successfully) for his nuts in the park opposite the mooring.

Jan also decided to do some storing of food and made blackberry jam.  I helped with the tasting!

There should be enough here to last me through winter!

Waiouru now appears to be surrounded by boats belching smoke.  We’ve yet to fit the flue to the diesel stove which I guess means she is better insulated.

Current mooring

I went for a second walk whilst Jan finished her latest knitting.  It looks rather 40’s-50’s, or even earlier.  Another fashion cycle?

Down at Clifton Cruisers there was a boat with a very familiar blog name.  I guess Petroc is there for the winter!  Whilst walking back I came upon this local canal underpass.

I wonder how many boaters pass over it without realising it exists.  Closer to Waiouru it was possible to see what the contractors have been doing.  There appears to be a 600mm corrugate running away from the canal overflow sluice at the right end of the photo.  The pipe is running parallel to the canal.  My assumption is bank erosion may be the problem as the bank has now been re-piled.

Jan cooked the last of the sausages we bought at the Audlem butcher.  The difference between them and the sausages purchased from supermarkets is very apparent.  The supermarket sausages emit large amounts of fat and water during cooking, whereas the butcher’s sausages need a small amount of oil added to the pan to prevent them from burning.  They also have a much nicer flavour!

The Sign…. An update

You may recall exactly one week ago I mentioned how the contractors had arrived opposite our mooring and erected a sign which both used and obscured the CRT 24 Hour mooring sign.  Subsequently Jan (nb Qisma) sent the information from the blog post to CRT.  They contacted the contractor and as we passed the area again today I noticed the contractor’s sign has been moved.

I noticed a large patch of ripe blackberries when walking on Monday.  Jan and I returned there to pick some and now we have 3lbs of blackberries to convert into jam.  Well, actually Jan will do the converting and I’ll do the testing!

I’ve just discovered there is a new English word to describe a recent style of political governance.

INEPTOCRACY (in-ep-toc-ra-cy)

Definition - A system of government where the least capable to lead are elected by the least capable of producing, and where the members of society least likely to sustain themselves or succeed, are rewarded with goods and services paid for by the confiscated wealth of a diminishing number of producers.

There is no ‘dot in the sky’ tonight but it’s not a problem because the small 12v powered DTV directional aerial is providing an adequate signal. 

It’s late…. dishes have to be done and dinner washed down with a beer!

Meeting fellow boaters

There we were quietly sitting in Waiouru either browsing the internet or doing some knitting (I’ll leave you to work out who was doing what!) when Jan suddenly exclaimed “Muleless is moored in front of us!”  Last time we saw nb Muleless was in the middle of the year when we were on the Soar moored opposite MGM.  The yard was still finishing her but already you could see she was a lovely boat.  Gary & Della were blogging about the build <here> and we had been reading the blog with interest.
Since then there was a brief exchange of emails regarding the lighting of Lockgate Refleks diesel stoves and now we find Gary & Della within stone’s throw easy walking distance.  An invitation was extended and accepted with the remainder of the day spent discussing all things boating, including toilets!  Muleless has a hybrid drive (diesel/electric) and is ‘all electric’ (oven, induction hob, washer/dryer, dishwasher, etc, etc……  Gary explained they had an 800Ah battery bank to power everything, including the boat and they were easily self sufficient for three days.  I was puzzled how they could get so much electrical power from 800Ah when Waiouru has a 900Ah battery bank and we don’t have anywhere near the same available energy.  Then Gary mentioned their system was 48 volt and the penny dropped.  Electrical power is volt x amps.  The rough comparison for both boats is:
Muleless   48 x 800 = 38400VA
Waiouru   12 x 900 = 9600VA
Muleless has almost four times the stored electrical energy as Waiouru.  It’s now easy to see how they can be an ‘all electric’ boat.
Gary then explained when they are running the diesel engine the electrical motor becomes a generator and recharges the batteries.
It was a most informative conversation.

Della & Gary
Great to finally meet both of you!
This morning Jan was hailed through the side hatch by a passing boat.  It was Andrew and Michelle on nb Ashdown.  We last met them in Chester when passing in opposite directions.  Time to put the kettle on and find out their cruising plans for the tail end of the current cruising year before they had to head towards Rugby and an appointment with Tesco.
The afternoon was warm and sunny so we decided to go for a cruise whilst charging the batteries.  First stop was the Newbold water tap.  I gave the roof a good wash and scrub whilst the tank filled.  Just as we were ready to move off two boats appeared going north.  Oh well….. we’re not in a hurry!  The first boat was going on tick-over so it was a slow but pleasant cruise up to the entrance to Brinklow Marina where we winded (turned around) and headed back to Newbold.  Jan managed to take a few photos along the way.

Newbold Tunnel, 189 metres long.

Bridge over the abandoned arm just before Fall’s Bridge
The carrots in the pantry were starting to look geriatric so Jan transformed them.  I’m now attempting to eat the carrot cake before it goes green <burp>.

Late Sunday walk

OK, it’s Monday and I’m a day late with the usual weekly walk.  The total length of the planned walk was 18km and I probably walked a slightly longer distance with some of the backtracking that had to be done when attempting to find some of the more overgrown footpaths.

I was able to record the blue sections which are footpaths that are not shown on the Open Street Map.  The green line is the Oxford Canal.

The paths in the bottom right corner are of concern because there were no signposts and some of the gates were padlocked.  In the top left the path goes very close to the following '”grim” looking building.

I thought it might be a prison but after some Google research I was only partially correct.  It’s the Prison Officer Training College, Newbold Revel.  Still looks grim.  But apparently the accommodation for the students is comfortable.  Not sure if they are locked in at night!

The fields were either fallow or potato crops ready for harvest.  I still have difficulty with the concept of walking through a crop; despite the fact it’s a designated public footpath.  I will walk the path if it’s well worn.

But otherwise I’ll take the longer option and walk around the border of the field rather than tread on a crop.

There were a couple of lovely small villages during the walk.  No village ponds, but both had a small village green with a park bench seat for the weary walker.  There was even a red telephone box complete with working phone.  It’s few years since I last saw one of these!

Opposite was the village church complete with a small sign announcing the date of the harvest festival.  I think the date was 18 October.  Rather quaint!

These walks through the countryside are very interesting. 

On the way back to Waiouru I came upon a large patch of ripe blackberries at <censored> just ready for picking.  Next were three plum trees grouped together laden with small ripe plums.  Perhaps another walk tomorrow complete with plastic bags!

Newbold on Avon

It was a misty start to the morning which usually means a dry, sunny day.  The folowing two photos were taken at 7.30am.

Looking forward (north)

Looking back towards Rugby

After the standard weekly one hour Sunday morning call back to dear old mum in Perth, Australia we did a few odd jobs inside Waiouru before settling down to a mid morning cuppa. The mist had burnt off and the day was looking very pleasant.

The moorings are quiet and nice, but the major reason for being here was the opportunity to enjoy a Sunday roast lunch.  There are two canal side pubs, the Barley Mow and The Boat Inn.

Barley Mow

The adjacent Boat Inn

We opted to eat in the Barley Mow for no other reason than it was the closest.  Both of us chose the large roast which included six types of roast meat.  It was a great decision as the food was some of the best we’ve eaten since arriving in the UK.  Moreover it was very reasonably priced at less than £7 each.

Somehow I managed to force 99% of it down.   After such a large lunch we staggered back to Waiouru to recuperate.  The unique sound of an old working boat roused us from our stupor and Jan looked out the side hatch to watch the boat slowly go past before breasting up against the boat ahead.  The boat was carrying calor gas cylinders and as one of our needed replacing I wandered down to enquire about obtaining a replacement.

I’d no sooner grabbed the shrapnel from Jan and lifted the empty bottle from the gas locker when a thrid customer appeared from the opposite direction.  Suddenly the canal was getting crowded.

Eventually everything was sorted and the canal reverted to its usual tranquil state.  But then I was aroused from my rest by Jan exclaiming “There’s a caravan in the cut!”……. and…. “Its floating past”.

I dragged myself to the side hatch in time to take one quick photo before it disappeared.

Well that was enough excitement for the day.  Tomorrow I’m going for a local walk to record some of the footpaths missing from the Open Street Map whilst Jan intends to finish sewing up the seams on the new jersey.

Snake on the Towpath

I was quite surprised by the number of comments I received about yesterday’s post.  So many fellow “geeks” out there! 

Jan went off to the nearby Tesco this morning whilst I attempted to get a second coat of paint onto yesterday’s effort in the cratch. There are a few brush marks in the paint on the top of the bow thruster locker which might settle. The remaining area will be concealed by the hexipanel that goes on top of the forward diesel tank.

Yes…. the photo editing has removed the brush marks!

On her return Jan was able to tell me about the pet snake she saw on the towpath.  The male who owned it, had it poking out of his trousers, apparently it was spitting at the hedge.  Now this is a length of towpath that receives a significant amount of local pedestrian traffic so you might ask why he didn’t move to one of the more isolated local areas to exercise his trouser snake.  When he noticed Jan he remarked “Sorry love, didn’t see you coming!”  I did ask Jan if she had replied along the lines of “I’ve seen a larger and more deadly snake!”  Apparently not….

The canal was very busy with numerous boats going in either direction.  The boater opposite was heard to tell another passing boater all the moorings here are 48 hour.  They are actually 24 hour on his side and he should know that as his boat is moored beside the CRT sign.  But then he has already been on the mooring four days. 

Mr 4 day

We’ve been stationary for too long (4 days) and decided to move.  Not very far!  After stopping to fill up the tank at the nearby water point we headed towards Newbold on Avon.  Along the way we passed these two boats.

They were in exactly the same location (along with the tent) when we passed this way back in June.  But they are both licenced and probably not causing any problems.

We reached the arm leading to Rugby Wharf.  This is the furthest north we’ve been on the Oxford with Waiouru.  Back in June we winded here to go up the Grand Union, Leicester Branch.

Further along we passed nb Platypus, an Australian connection?

Now moored on the 14 day moorings at Newbold.  The plan is to stay until at least Monday and have a Sunday roast lunch at either The Boat Inn or the Barley Mow.  Both are handily located beside the canal.  We’re not sure if one of them serves better food.  Any recommendations from former customers?

Warning

The second part of this post is rather “computer geeky” so feel free to stop when you reach it.

The rain hammered down during the night but by dawn the rain had departed leaving everything rather damp and the sky grey.  It looked like we might receive a repeat performance later and elected to go for a walk around the local retail park before morning tea.  We’re getting good at this non-shopping business walking around with hands firmly stuffed in pockets and wallet/purse suffering from asphyxiation!  Jan managed to visually feast herself on the Arts & Crafts shop whilst I drooled over the carpet in Curry’s PC World.

We were back on Waiouru by 10.30am when the heavens opened again.  Jan spent the day knitting a fair isle jersey whilst I rubbed down some of the paint in the cratch and then attempted to repaint the area.  With a little luck my painting might be improving as the latest paintwork only has slight brush marks.  I’m aiming for no brush marks but have yet to reach that standard.  I think I’m too impatient and moving the brush too hard and fast.

As it’s getting close to winter we’ve decided to ‘winterize’ the Kipor generator.  This winter we’ll be on shore power and it won’t (I hope) be required.  It’s running as I type this doing the final absorption and float charge on the domestic battery bank.  If; as planned; it runs out of petrol I’ll do an oil change tomorrow and prepare it for storage.

Now the ‘geeky’ part.  The laptop is starting to show it’s age with the fan making some terrible grinding sounds and the odd hard drive error appearing.  It has had a significant amount of use over the last five years, initially as my business computer and now on the boat.  I started off thinking about an immediate replacement and my policy with computers is always to look two levels below the current “top line” machines where the price is usually very high.  My initial thoughts were to replace the laptop before it failed.  After considering two factors I reconsidered my approach!  First, we are in the early years of our retirement and need to manage the money. Second, if the laptop failed it would be the data we missed the most.  So a cheaper option would be to have a backup of the data on the laptop which could be transferred to it’s eventual successor. 

With all this free time to research I’ve been looking at the specification of the more modern laptops and ultrabooks.  The latter are smaller and probably more appropriate for life in a confined space.  Some of the cheaper Ultrabooks have small capacity Solid State Drives (SSD’s).  This is the emerging technology replacing the hard disk drives (HDD) which have been around since the 1950’s.  They are very small, no moving parts, run cooler, have very high speed data transfer rates, and use less power.  My current thoughts are that we should copy the data from the laptop to a SSD which could subsequently be fitted into the replacement computer.  It would need to be an external SSD.  The SSD’s come in two formats, SATA and mSATA.  The latter is a small printed circuit board that can plug directly into a socket on the laptop whilst the form usually replaces the old HDD.  Cheap Ultrabooks have a large HDD and a small mSATA SSD to supplement the work done by the HDD.  Obviously we will buy a cheap machine so I need to consider an mSATA format SDD which can be fitted into an external enclosure. 

This afternoon I let my fingers do the walking around the internet.  The following table shows the result of my research into mSATA SSD’s.

A 256GB drive is about the right size for the laptop data.  The four manufacturers quote different read and write speeds (speed of data transfer).  After tabulating the data it was apparent the Mushkin had the best read/write speed.  Fortunately the supplier was also the cheapest.

The SSD will need to be fitted into a small enclosure (case) which can be plugged into the laptop using one of the USB ports.  I could only find two suppliers of suitable enclosures.

The preferred option would be to selected the UK supplier.

in summary, the mSATA SSD could be fitted into the enclosure and connected to our existing laptop via a USB port.  This would enable the data on the laptop to be copied across the the SSD.  When the laptop needs to be replaced the SSD could be removed from the enclosure and replace the smaller SSD in the new laptop/ultrabook.  By doing this we would defer the need to replace the current laptop until it failed but retain the data on the SSD which could then be fitted into the new machine.  Well that’s the theory!

Cold to Hot

Not talking about the weather though.  Jan has been baking using some of those recently acquired blackberries and apples.  As usual I have the rough end forcing it down my throat and there’s no one to share it with!  It’s going to take almost a week to consumer all of it!

It’s currently going down with ice cream (cold) but the change in temperature means a change to custard (hot) is imminent.

Either way it’s damned delicious!

We didn’t move today but unlike the boater opposite we’re on 14 day moorings.  He has already overstayed on the 24 hour moorings and Jan heard a comment along the lines of “If they want me to pay them (CRT?) I’m not moving because I need to stay and earn some money”.  There are vacant moorings on our side but he appears well settled!

On a more positive note an email arrived today informing us that my passport is being returned by courier.  That’s good news, but of concern is…. how will the courier driver know where to find us? No doubt we’ll get that resolved in due course!

After two days of not moving I’m starting to get “Twitchy”…… I can feel a short cruise coming in the near future!

The sign and the dentist

Still moored at Brownsover opposite the designated 24 hour mooring along with the other bridge hoppers. This morning two vans appeared in the car park opposite the boat and the occupants sat around for a couple of hours until a truck lorry arrived with a 20ft ISO container.  The container was eventually placed on the ground and a temporary fence erected around it.  Obviously some work is going to be completed in the park.  We know the contractor is Greenford Civil Engineering Contractors because the employees erected a sign facing the canal.  It appears they didn’t want to go to a great deal of effort because rather than dig two holes for posts they fixed the sign to the CRT 24 hour mooring sign obscuring it!  I guess it won’t be long before some boaters take advantage of the “new” 14 Day moorings!

Our plan is to take a winter mooring in Rugby for the four months from November to February.  It will give us an address thereby allowing some personal administration to be completed.  Signing on with a doctor has already been organised and now a dentist is required.  Not being familiar with the dental system in the UK a search in Google was required.  It appears the system is somewhat like supermarket food.  You can go to Lidl or Waitrose.  They both sell food but the service/quality might vary!  Most dental practices do both NHS and private work however the NHS has a fixed, and subsidised, fee for various treatment whereas the cost of private work is negotiable.  I identified a  potentially suitable dental practice in Rugby on the NHS website that appears to have good customer reviews and walked into the town centre to see if they were accepting NHS patients.  Apparently dental practices can limit the number of NHS patients on their client list.  The practice actually had a sign out the front advertising they were accepting NHS patients which was a good start.  After looking at the number and names of dentists at the practice it appears there may be at least one new dentist which is probably why the practice is advertising for patients.  The first appointment is now arranged.  No doubt it will be for an examination rather than any remedial work. 

Like many people, I’m not particularly keen on visiting the dentist.  I had two bad experiences when I was quite young.  In NZ primary schools have a visiting dental nurse.  My first school was in Waiouru (yes, the boat is named after the place).  The dental nurse was only a slip of a girl and the drill was worked by a foot treadle much like old manual sewing machines.  She had to work the treadle with her right foot whilst simultaneously drilling teeth.  Unfortunately she used to get tired and the drill bit would jam in a tooth.  To extract it she had to stand and jump on the treadle.  My second bad experience was after our family had returned from three years in England where my tooth cavities had been repaired by an English dentist.  Back in in NZ the dentist discovered the fillings had been done incorrectly and their was significant decay under them.  All the work had to be redone and four teeth were so rotten they had to be extracted.  The dentist did all the work over many sessions without using an anaesthetic.   I won’t mention the dentist in Iran as it’s somewhat gruesome!   The NZ Army seemed to take perverse pleasure in scheduling soldiers annual dental appointments on their birthday and I’ve keep the routine going.  It’s one way of reminding me I’m a year older.

Brownsover

A late start for us leaving the overnight mooring at 9.30am.  It was overcast with a slight chill in the breeze so it was the first time we’ve worn our woollen hats since April.  As it was the last day aboard for Daniel and Joyce he took control of the tiller.  I went below and worked on the laptop until just past Barby Moorings when I re-joined him for the last stretch. 

I can’t remember whether the bridge in the following photo has been rebuilt since we were last this way in June.  But work has obvious been completed recently.

Just after Barby straight we caught up with another boat that was going considerably slower.  Actually we dropped back to tick-over to maintain the same speed.

There were boats either side of the canal at Hillmorton Wharf and Daniel found himself attempting to negotiate a passage without hitting any boats. 

Continuing on behind the slow boat ahead we reached Hillmorton Locks (3) which are paired.  The boater ahead naturally chose the fuller of the locks which is exactly the same decision I would have made.  However he then proceeded to assemble his folding bike.  As I walked past him a comment was made about us being a speeding boat with the inference we were doing something wrong.  My initial intention had been to raise the paddles on both locks for him but had a change of heart after being slightly offended by the remark as we hadn’t been speeding.  They could work their own locks!

We were well ahead of them by the second lock and I had overcome my initial displeasure over the remark so I set both locks.  There was a lock keeper at the bottom lock, however he could see I didn’t need any help setting the lock.  I asked if he had been busy and apparently it had been very quiet with only seven boats that day.

We found a vacant spot at Brownsover opposite the 24 hour moorings and went to the cafe in Tesco for a final lunch with Daniel & Joyce.  Unfortunately it’s now a Costco with no hot food.  We last ate here in 2005 so things have obviously changed.  A quick search on Google Maps reminded us there was a Harvester on the other side of the canal.  After lunch Joyce & Daniel packed their bags and I accompanied them to Rugby Railway Station where they managed to catch the 2.53pm express train with 10 seconds to spare <phew>!  They will be on the Eurostar heading for Belgium as this is written.  It was lovely of them to find the time to make a detour on their way back from New york to come and visit us.  Hopefully we’ll see them again.

To Braunston and beyond

We’re working to a timetable as Daniel & Joyce have to catch the Eurostar back to Belgium on Tuesday evening and we plan to have them depart Waiouru at Rugby. Despite being jetlagged they managed to stay sufficiently alert to work Waiouru from Leamington Spa to just beyond Bascote Locks before we stopped for the night.

This morning we departed at 9.30am and quickly reached Stockton Locks.  We were able to pair up with another boat owned by a South African couple who spend their summers on the canals and winters in Cape Town.  Having two crews allowed us to fly up the eight locks.  There were four boats going down including a working boat.

Daniel has steered a narrowboat on one of our hire holidays but it’s a first time for Joyce and she was reluctant to take the tiller.

Are we going left or right here?

“OK…. we’re going left!”

Daniel took Waiouru through most of today’s locks and did rather well despite because his mother had her heart in her mouth.

Along the way we passed a boat with an obvious NZ name.

Tui is the name of a native NZ bird.  It’s also a brand of rather nice NZ beer!

We topped up the water tank above Calcutt Locks and then headed to Napton Junction turning left to Braunston.  There was no time to dally as we had a late (very) lunch planned at The Boathouse.  Chas & Anne (nb Moore2Life) were in the process of mooring as we went through Foxhangers but regrettably there was no time to stop.  Perhaps next time!

We managed to find a mooring in Braunston just beyond the junction water point on the towpath side.

It was a very late lunch in The Boathouse before returning to Waiouru via Midland Chandlers where Jan purchased the October edition of Canal Boat and I bought a couple of non slip pads for the rear steps.  We wanted to get an hour north of Braunston before mooring for the night.

Daniel had some work to complete (remotely via the internet) whilst joyce and I went foraging for blackberries (successfully).  Daniel then joined us for a walk along the towpath.

The was a rather attractive canal view from the local farmer’s brick arch bridge.

Hummmmm… The jetlag must be wearing off!