Weedon Bec

we had an early lunch yesterday as Jan needed to be standing on the towpath at midday waiting for her Tesco delivery which was scheduled between 12 and 1pm.  At 12:10 the delivery arrived. How come she doesn’t have to wait for hours in the cold?

A very friendly driver who didn’t know the road existed and who had never delivered to a boat.

Taking advantage of the fine weather, I went for a local evening stroll heading back towards Braunston before completing a circuit to the south.

Norton Junction

I had previously noticed the transmitter mast on the horizon to the SW.  It can’t be a TV transmitter because none of the local antenna point that way.

NB Albert, a Braidbar Boat moored behind us for the night.  Paintwork was polished but the brass was dirty…… duly reported!

We disposed of the rubbish and filled the water tank before heading down the Buckby Flight.  We frightened a stag on the offside as we exited the top lock.

Ben and Kelly have moved from below Lock 9 since we passed by this way in 2015.  I wonder where they went? 

The pig farm was abandoned!

Paul Balmer, is this a winding hole between Locks 12 & 13?

There was a slight surprise when we discovered the sneaky Penmakers moored opposite Wilton Marine.   How did they manage to pass us?

Debbie popped out to say Hi and tell us of their immediate cruising plans.

From this point to Weedon Bec numerous boats are moored along the cut. Some are rather interesting or perhaps more correctly described as unusual.

I’m not sure I’d want to steer looking over the top of that generator.

The “shipping container” widebeam. Must be plenty of room inside but navigating the bridges must be interesting.

The local village entity was seated in exactly the same position as before.

Some things have changed.  It appears a major road is being constructed from the east and is heading directly for the canal.  One assumes bridge abutments will start to appear shortly.

There were plenty of vacant moorings at Weedon Bec so we stopped and had a late lunch.  In the afternoon I sanded and repainted the stern cants. 

The engine compartment got deeper

With no suitable masking tape I decided to work on the engine compartment and give it the annual major clean.  All the items stored on the baseplate were removed, along with the mats.  Then I removed the bilge pump, but not before taking a photo of the wiring connections.

It was about this time that I realised either the engine compartment had got deeper or my legs shorter!   Moreover the compartment appeared to be narrower making it quite a wriggle and squeeze to get in!

I was pleasantly surprised to discover there was far less surface rust this time.  Most of it was dirty.

Wiped out with a cloth

The first area to be prepared,cleaned and repainted was the area under the domestic battery bank and around the prop shaft.  I got into it with a wire brush and Fertan followed by spray primer and top coat.  It’s just too far for me to reach with a paintbrush.

The bilge pump was removed and the spiders chased out of it.  The Vetus dripless stern tube means Waiouru has a dry bilge.  The only water we get in the engine compartment is from condensation. This gets absorbed using a rolled up newspaper which is stood vertically.  So the bilge pump is still new (well unused!)

With the pump out I was able to clean the bilge and give it a fresh coat of paint.

There was just enough paint left in the tin to get a coat on the starboard baseplate.  The portside will have to wait until I walk into B&Q Northampton for the masking tape.

I’ll re-install the bilge pump tomorrow whilst Jan waits for Mr Tesco.

Oh, and here is a photo of the repainted bow thruster locker lid.

Not perfect, but I think I might be getting better at this painting business!  Have I mentioned I hate painting.

Long Buckby

The bread supply on board was running low and after looking at the map a walk to the Co-op In Long Buckby seemed the obvious solution (well to me. Jan being more sensible placed an online order for a Tesco delivery to the boat).  I knew I’d previously walked this area but didn’t remember Long Buckby village.  The younger person on board with the excellent memory remembered the Co-op and the Costcutter!

Twenty minutes into the walk and it started coming back to me when I crossed the West Coast Main Line and the M1 Motorway.

It must only be a couple of weeks since we took the rental car down this same route!  Leaving the noise and bustle of the road and rail traffic behind I wandered along the footpath through spring crops.  It’s lovely countryside around here.

Having said that, I could do with a few more hills to exercise the relaxed muscle below my chest.  The Co-op was attractively positioned behind a thatch roof covered carriageway and I almost missed it.

Long Bucky Village . 

I opted to return using a different route which took me back over the fields and into Buckby Wharf.

Waiouru is out there……. somewhere!

I was wandering along when I heard the noise of a low flying piston engine aircraft overhead but I couldn’t see it because I was looking directly into the sun.  Eventually it moved out of the sun enabling me to see its silhouette.  A WW2 fighter with “pointly” ends to the wings.  I think it was a Spitfire.  The obvious thing to do was grab the camera from the backpack and take a photo.  

Hummm….. Must have been painted blue!

At Long Buckby Wharf the three main modes of transport converge and run parallel for several kilometres. The M1 and rail line go over the road into the village whilst the canal goes under.

Oh…. I bought too much bread.

Don’t buy this

Two weeks ago I rubbed down a rust spot on the bow thruster locker in the cratch.  The entire area had been repainted last autumn but I made the mistake of leaving a damp cloth on the locker over winter and that appears to be the cause.  I had applied primer and undercoat to the spot and today the plan was to repaint the entire locker top along with a panel in the semi-trad area.  Yesterday I rubbed back and applied red undercoat to the bow and stern mooring anchor points.  If the weather was good, today was to be a painting day. 

The repainting of the bow thruster locker lid and cockpit went well.  My problem occurred when I attempted to apply the masking tape to the red handrail at the stern on the port side.  This was the section that had ‘bloomed’ when the rain got on it last autumn.  I intended to rub the handrail back and repaint it whilst I was repainting the dollies.  I had purchased some expensive masking tape in Rugby and went to apply it today.  The damned stuff wouldn’t stay adhered to the paint.  I’d align it and press it into place before moving on to the next section only to look back to see it falling off.     My recommendation is Don’t buy this brand!

I’m now going to have to walk to B&Q or Wickes in Northampton for tape.  Needless to say the handrail didn’t get painted.  However the anchor points have turned out OK.  But they now highlight the need to repaint the bow and stern decks.

Knowing that tomorrow was going to be busy, we had an early Sunday lunch at The New Inn.  Both of us thought our meal was tasty and filling. 

In the afternoon I attempted to walk off some of the lunch going down the towpath towards Wilton Marina.   Last time we passed this way a long and large trench was being dug from the canal back up the hill.  Today all that can be seen is the white pole with the red top on the canal bank.

  

A shinny boat was moored below the top lock.

No doubt another member of the Braidbar Owners Club! 

We’re back!

Not from deepest darkest Africa, but back on the internet.  Our thanks to Pip & Mick and Robert for their suggestions on where to move to get a better signal.  The coverage at our mooring location was weak and infrequent.  At 8am the little coverage we did have died and we decided to turn and head south winding in the entrance to Crick Marina.

Crick Tunnel was just as wet going back and Jan sensibly stayed inside the cabin.  We stopped and moored for the night on a lovely rural mooring about a kilometre short of Watford Locks.

Where there was NO phone signal. The first time we’ve experienced a mooring where there was nothing!  So there was no blog post yesterday. Towards the end of the day Jan heard the sound of a working boat.  

NB Callisto

It was starting to get cold so we lit the Refleks  and Jan decided to bake spuds on top of the stove for dinner.

   

This morning we dropped down through Watford Locks with the assistance of Ray & Gill the rostered volunteer lockies.

Does this next sign mean dredging is required?

There was a half hour stop while we filled up at the water point at Norton Junction and then we moved on to moor above the top lock.

Only 89 miles to the Thames

Is this nb Lillyanne’s sister?

We had the moorings all to ourselves until 5pm when within 30 minutes they were all taken.

Crick

Dear Readers this will be very brief because we are moored in Crick and despite having that large outback mobile phone aerial on the roof, the signal from Three is the poorest we’ve every experienced.  It regularly drops out and photos won’t upload.

Hopefully normal service will resume tomorrow!

Watford Gap

Yesterday I called into the Braunston Butcher for some of his famous sausages.  Whilst in the shop I made an impromptu decision to buy one of his family size steak and kidney pies which we had for dinner.  It wasn’t until this morning that something happened to remind us the pies are made with laxative pastry.

A cold but clear start to the day and we were on our way at 8.30am. A short cruise to the water point by the old toll house where after a week of use we topped up the water tank. There was a minor incident whilst we were filling.  A hire boat came in behind going too fast and despite frantic gestures on our part the steerer managed to hit Waiouru’s stern. No damage and the elderly couple (they were probably our age!) on board apologised.

The owner of a moored boat we were passing on our way to Braunston Bottom Lock called out ”Are you from Waiouru?” (with correct pronunciation)  We confirmed he was correct and then he said “I’m from Taranaki!”   A small world

Two boats had already come down the flight so we were fairly certain they would all be in our favour.  We passed another three coming down whilst we were on our way up. There was an interesting boat moored above the second lock.

The hull of an old canal ice breaking boat?

Nick Wolfe and Alton was moored at the top of the flight.  He followed us all the way to Norton Junction where he winded.  It was a reasonably quick transit through Braunston Tunnel where we met an oncoming boat at each end.

On our way to the junction we passed a lady boater going in the opposite direction who called out she had read the blog.  By then it was too late to ask her name or read the boat name.  So thank you lady boater!

I was ¾ through the turn at Norton Junction when a small boat also appeared coming from the opposite direction.  Somehow we managed to avoid hitting each other.  We stopped at Weltonfield Narrowboats for a pump out.  Our last pump out was five weeks ago and the tank gauge was starting to flicker on half full.  At £20 it was one of our more expensive pump outs and a marked contrast with Hawne Basin at £8.50.

It was now noon and starting to get cold so we opted to moor below Watford Locks.  This appears to be a terrestrial TV black spot but we also have the ‘dot’.

This is almost exactly the same mooring as our last cruise this way in mid 2013. 

After lunch I walked up the flight and along the towpath as far as Crick Tunnel. 

I don’t think the former lock keepers cottage at the bottom of the flight has road access.  You might be able to see the large motorhome and caravan storage park to the right

Watford Gap is a low piece of land between an eastern and western range of hills.  The narrow gap forms a relatively flat north – south route.  Originally it would have been used by foot traffic and then horses, followed by stage coaches.  Then the canal squeezed through followed by the railway.  Finally the M1 motorway arrived.

After all the recent rain Crick Tunnel is going to be very wet!