Boat Discussions

Burp……burp……..  Sorry about that! Jan made a delicious apple sponge with the last of the apples given to us by Phil and Anne when we left Kelly-Louise.  I managed to wolf mine down very quickly and shortly thereafter helped Jan finish her portion when she announced she was full. 
Can’t let good food go to waste.  Time for another walk!
We have now had discussions with Darren (painter) and Richard (joiner).  Both are keen to commence rebuilding Waiouru.  Darren was interested to know the colours we would be choosing for Waiouru.  As I have absolutely no sense of colour I’m leaving all of that to Jan.  However I’m more than happy to discuss the practicalities of the layout of the compartments and design of the built-in furniture with Richard.  The one area I know to avoid is the layout of the galley.  I don’t go anywhere near that area!  Happy to remain chief tester!
The erbarspasher Aberspker ebharspacher  German diesel central heater on Ufton has decided to work to rule.  Every 20 minutes it sits down on the job and refuses to work.  The end result is a luke warm shower and no central heating. If Ufton were our boat I’d probably fiddle with it to see if I could find out what’s wrong.  However, not wanting to be responsible for seriously damaging the unit, I decided to report the problem to Andy.
After carefully checking everything with his multimeter he picked up a heavy spanner and gave the Eberspacher (see… I can spell it correctly) a couple of stiff whacks.  He then declared he could hear a whine from the unit.  Actually I wasn’t surprised; I’d probably be whining if he hit me with the spanner!  After listening for a few minutes Andy informed me the situation with the unit was probably going to be terminal and I should brace myself to receive a replacement.  Apparently the Eberspacher is more than five years old and; accordingly to Andy; the defective component has probably reached the end of it’s life.  So the unit will be rebuilt.  In the meantime we will run the engine in the evening to heat water.
If necessary we can also huddle together in bed and share bodily warmth…….. I’m rather looking forward to that!  And just to make sure, I’ve stripped the winter 13.5 Tog duvet off the bed and replaced it with the summer 3.5 Tog.  Wonder how long it will take her to wake up to that trick!

Aldermaston Wharf Village

A crisp start to the day saw us off for a walk to warm up.  Kevin (nb Meand’er) had mentioned there was a local pub but that it was a little expensive.

About 200 yards down Basingstoke Road we came upon the pub.

The Butt Inn

The outside had some charm but we didn’t bother to go in.  It can wait for another day!  Then I noticed the sign on the verge.

It looks like the pub is a lease operation and perhaps it has been struggling.  Jan commented there were no signs down by the canal to attract passing boaters, which she thought was a mistake.

Across the road was the village green.  But no duck pond!  For some reason I expect every English village green to have a duck pond.  Too many episodes of Inspector Morse or Midsomer Murders!

There has been some redevelopment over the past couple of decades and I noticed this new estate close to the pub.

What really caught my eye were the garages which looked somewhat like coach houses or stables

We returned to the canal just as the bridge was being raised.

The dehumidifier appears to be functioning very well.  This morning the bedding was dry and there was another 100mls of water in the dehumidifier tank.  I can see it rapidly rising on our list of essential purchases.

I’m now going to spend some time reworking my electrical energy audit spreadsheet so I can review our domestic battery bank requirement.  The idea is to reduce the size and; more importantly; cost of the domestic bank without compromising the effectiveness of the electrical system.  

Humidity

Well the condensation control has improved.  Running the heater more frequently and opening the windows meant we didn’t “steam up” and we were getting around in short sleeves.  I was almost tempted to get into shorts but I didn’t want the hassle of fighting off all the girls!

Late in the afternoon Julie (nb Greyfisher) appeared with her second (spare) dehumidifier and offered to lend it to us for a trial.  It’s quite small and operates on 12v DC through a 240v transformer.

Julie purchased it from Coopers of Stortford and I looked up their website to see if there were any in stock and the price.  They cost £29.99 and after more online searching this appears to be the standard cost.  Last night we made up the bed but this time we didn’t tuck the duvet under the end.  We ran the humidifier whilst we slept.  This morning the foot of the duvet was dry and there was approximately 100 mils of water in the dehumidifier.  We also noticed there was no condensation on the windows.  We’ll run another couple of trials before decided whether to purchase one for ourselves.  If we buy one then I will run it directly from the 12v supply on the boat.  It’s rather inefficient to convert 12v to 230v only to convert it back to 12v for the dehumidifier.

This morning it was very misty.

Padworth lock is down there somewhere

The moorings above Aldermaston Lock were also lost in the mist.  Even the BW Facilities Block looked cold.

nb Meand’er is now moored ahead of us.  Kevin & Sue are here for the winter and I’m already impressed with some of the interesting features on their boat.

nb Meand’er

Kevin has an interesting setup on the rear of Meand’er which enables him to store the anchor and fenders out of the way.  He also has a retracting hose behind a cap on the back of the boat.  The hose has a nozzle and dispenses hot water.  It’s ideal for filling a bucket to wash the boat, footwear, hands, etc rather than carry a bucket of water through the boat.

It’s rather obvious we have been handicapped by living in Australia whilst attempting to design the layout in isolation.  Spending a week on a hire boat doesn’t really give you a serious impression of what can be achieved.  We are on a rapid learning experience and I’ve already added a few more things to Waiouru’s specifications.

The learning curve

Today we discovered all about narrowboats and humidity.  For the past couple of evenings I felt the duvet was cold and damp but didn’t mention it to Jan.  This morning the duvet definitely felt damp and Jan pointed out there was a surface mould patch on the ceiling. 

Damp patch on the ceiling in the bedroom

The rest of the ceiling was dry so I was somewhat confused.  Then I noticed a horizontal band of condensation across the ply lining the exterior wall.

The ply must be in contact with steel along this line.

Then I pulled the mattress on the cross-over bed away from the wall and discovered the area was very damp.  Interestingly the area was damp despite there being a vent. 

That’s when I started to notice all the condensation on the windows.  We’ve pulled the mattress and all the bedding away from the wall in an effort to get it dry.  Meantime I had a towpath discussion with ‘Paul’ who is an experienced “liveaboard”.  He advised me it’s essential to manage the ventilation and heating in the boat.  Ideally the boat should be warmer than normal and all the vents need to be open.  You must also allow air to pass through the boat.

We now realise our problem has probably arisen because we’ve let Ufton get too cold.  This has allowed the humidity from our breathing (Oh… we must be alive) and the cooking to condensate on the cold surfaces.  I’ve also now remembered seeing other boaters in their boats wearing short sleeved shirts whereas we have been wearing warm polarfleece tops.  Obviously their boats are warmer!  So this afternoon we’ve made a conscious effort to raise the temperature in Ufton; increase the ventilation by opening windows and hatches; and regularly mop up the condensation on the windows.  It will be interesting to see whether we have the same problem tomorrow.

Happy Birthday Dale

The cupcake girl Can’t believe you will be XX (censored by the sisterhood) next year!

Local Transport

Yesterday we received a lovely email from Kevin and Donna commenting on the content of the blog.  It’s always interesting to receive feedback from readers. 

Meanwhile, I’ve been looking at local transport options.  There are bus and train services to either Newbury or Reading.  Jan isn’t particularly interested in going back to Reading as she can’t think of anything she needs.  You can see why I just love my “low maintenance girl”.  I’ve looked at Google Earth and there is a large Sainsburys and retail park on the outskirts of Reading.  It’s just over 5 miles away via the towpath.  Obviously another walk!  Newbury looks more of a train journey. 

The next thing to do was checkout the physical locations of the stops.  We did this earlier on our morning walk.  The bus route is No104 and the railway station is only 300 metres from the boat.

I also need to do something about obtaining a seniors bus pass for myself.  The young thing I married will have to wait until next year before she is eligible!

On the way back we stopped to look at the cafe and shop operated by the Kennet & Avon Canal Trust.  We didn’t go in and look around, saving it for another day.

Julie, on nb Greyfisher had invited us onboard for morning tea and it was a great opportunity to ask many questions about living afloat.  Julie also showed us around Greyfisher which was very interesting as it was the first time we have seen the interior of a “liveaboard” boat The longer we talked - the more questions popped into my mind. 

nb Greyfisher…….. Another Reading Marine built boat

Eventually we dragged ourselves away well after lunchtime hoping Julie didn’t mind a delayed lunch.  Back onboard Ufton we discussed the information we had gleaned from our conversation with Julie.  Back to discussing the merits of pump-out vs cassette and Bubble stove vs Lockgate Refleks.  Inner sprung mattresses vs memory foam!  Oh dear……. we need to stick to our decisions rather than chase the end of the rainbow.

Tadley

The easy way to walk from Aldermaston Wharf to Tadley is down Basingstoke Road, However, I’d been advised by someone who knew the local area, not to use the road as it was very busy and there is no footpath.  I wasn’t particularly interested in using any busy roads and would rather walk some of the public footpaths through the countryside and quiet country lanes.

Using Google Earth I planned a theoretical route and then used the free online Ordnance Survey website <here> to valid my proposed route.  This was saved as a kml file and then converted to gdb format using GPSBabel.  The track was then imported into Garmin Mapsource before being transferred to the gps.

The theoretical and actual tracks can be seen in the following screen dump.  Theory is blue and actual is red.  As you will have noticed; half way through the walk I failed to concentrate on my navigation and instead drifted along looking at the interesting scenery.  This resulted in me walking off to the north-west and then having to double back on my trail to get back on course.  I also failed to find the footpath down near Tadley and ended up walking around the road.

The first half of the walk was completed using either public footpaths across the fields and country lanes. 

I’m really starting to enjoy some of these public footpaths

Photo’s taken using the 3.2MP camera in the gps

The track took me across three concrete footbridges and through an experimental salmon race.

Then it was across a couple of fields and through a wood

There’s a rather large and impressive house over there…. Might be worth exploring!

The path through the wood bought me out onto a country lane

How’s this for a garage!

The lane ended opposite the MoD AWE, Aldermaston.  AWE maintains the UK’s nuclear stockpile under contract to the Ministry of Defence.  Obviously it’s a very secure facility.  However the major advantage was the firm clear grassed strip outside the chain mesh perimeter fence.  This made an excellent walking track and extended all the way to the public footpath at Tadley.

The purpose of the walk was to complete a reconnaissance of Tadley.  It has two banks; both with a “hole in the wall” and a reasonable sized Sainsburys.  I also took the opportunity to purchase Jan’s weekly supply of magazines!

The round trip is approximately 9 miles.  Apart from a couple of miles on a country lane; you are segregated from vehicle traffic.

Aldermaston Wharf

Well it’s been a grey and drizzly day.  But at least the temperature has been mild.  Jan peeled the apples we were kindly given by Phil & Anne as we were leaving Swanley and I can feel an apple slice cake in the air. Now there is the soothing background noise of click knitting needles so I assume the winter knee blanket is increasing in size. 

Meanwhile, I have emptied the waypoint memory on the Garmin Oregon 550 gps.  I’d inadvertently filled all the available memory with canal data leaving no room for me to insert local walking trails.  Google Earth shows a potential route from the wharf to the nearest village which I’ve converted to Garmin format and transferred onto the Oregon.  Someone has suggested she might like her magazines tomorrow, so an exploratory walk is probably on the cards.   I don’t want to get lost geographically embarrass myself by failing to take the gps.

Aldermaston Wharf is now full of moored hire boats laying over during winter.  This is a photo taken from Padworth Lock locking back towards the wharf.

Ufton is in between two unoccupied hire boats. 

I like the locking mechanism on the rear doors and hatch.  The tongue of the lock extends up into the hatch.  It looks more aesthetic than the common staple and padlock system.

Meanwhile, an occupied private boat appears to have settled for the winter immediately in front of Padworth Lock on the non towpath side of the canal.  Smoke was lazily drifting from the solid fuel stove chimney this morning.

I swept all the leaves off Ufton yesterday but of course she was covered in leaves this morning!

On the far side of the wharf I identified “favourite mother-in-law’s” bedroom and en-suite.

Any disagreements; and I can get out a sharp knife during the night.

Ufton

After two days we appear to have found a home on Ufton for all our possessions we brought with us from Kelly-Louise.  It’s somewhat frightening to think we also have a few boxes in storage.  However Ufton is a hire boat and already has an inventory for cruising so there is some duplication.  It also has built-in saloon furniture whereas we will have free standing chairs.

I suspect Andy has accommodated us on Ufton because it has a number of features similar to those we have specified on Waiouru.  It has an integral water tank in the bow and we would be happy to have the same setup.

The shower is 900x700 and lined in waterproof laminated wallboard.  This is what we want the entire bathroom lined in.  However I think we should consider a lighter colour as the bathroom on Ufton can be rather dark and gloomy.

The toilet is in its own narrow cubicle with little manoeuvre room.  But then the maximum space required is sitting room.  The total length of the bathroom is 5’6”.  The same as Waiouru!

I’m impressed with the flush mounted shore-power plug in the cockpit.  It resolves a potential problem where I imagined a protruding surface mounted bulkhead plug would be required.  We will be able to do something very similar on Waiouru.

The other revelation is how little room is required for electrics in the back cabin.  I envisaged a 2ft wide full height locker but very little room is used on Ufton.  The bulk of the rear cabinets is utilised for storage.  Another bonus!

I think we can improve on the layout of the galley.

The “U” shaped galley on Ufton has a “dead” corner created by the microwave, wall oven and fridge. Effectively this obscures 2ft of potential bench workspace.  We will stick with the “thru” galley.
So it’s been an interesting day!

We’ve Moved

Just a brief post as we are very short on time having moved from Kelly-Louise down to Aldermaston Wharf on the Kennet & Avon to be closer to Waiouru for her rebuild.  We were quite sad to leave Kelly-Louise as she is a lovely boat and our two months aboard gave us a wonderful insight into living on a narrowboat.  We have learned so much from the experience.

The last couple of days have been quite frantic.  We packed all our possession and squeezed them into the Enterprise rental car.  We hadn’t heard of Enterprise until reading about them on other boaters blogs, but can now agree they are the best rental company we have ever used.  Highly recommended!

Over the last couple of weeks Jan had run down the food stocks in anticipation of the move south.  So once we had moved everything from the car to our new temporary home (one of the hire boats at Aldermaston Wharf) we headed back into Reading to do some essential shopping.  One of life’s small irony's was the multi-storey car park we found ourselves parked in.  It was adjacent to the canal.  I took the opportunity to have a good look as we walked along the towpath into the CBD.  First time I’ve seen traffic lights on a canal!

After purchasing some thermal underwear (winter is coming) we headed to the nearest large supermarket for dry goods.  By the time we returned to the boatyard it was dark.  AND THE GATE WAS LOCKED!   I formulated a plan and explained it to Jan, I would climb the gate and she would pass over the bags of food.  The car would be left out on the street.  Jan then stated she couldn’t climb the gate.  It looked like divorce!  But then from out of the dark appeared a stranger who started to unlock the gate.  I got out of the car (it was parked in front of the gate).  He then stopped unlocking the gate and asked “What do you want?”  I explained we were living on a boat in the boatyard.  To which he replied “I’ve never seen you here before!”  I then explained we had only arrived that day.  He then informed me he was expecting his wife to arrive in their car which was why he was unlocking the gate.  As he was telling me this his wife arrived.  So we were saved from spending the night in the car sharing bodily heat (or cold).

Sunday morning was spent trying to find a home for our possessions.  Space in a narrowboat is so limited you sometimes have to double (or triple) handle items when finding a suitable home for each.  However the bulk of the work has now been done.  I was also able to have a conversation with Nick (boatyard engineer) who organised shore power to the boat.  This meant we could plug in the freezer without having to worry the domestic battery bank would be flattened.

In the afternoon we headed back to the supermarket to purchase perishables.  We then stripped all the meat from its containers and broke it down to meal size portions which we placed into freezer bags.  These were then “shaped” to fit into the freezer. 

After all this work we’re too tired to have dinner and will nibble on a couple of biscuits and a cuppa before hitting the pillow.  Up early tomorrow as the car has to be returned to the Enterprise depot in Reading.

More place names

A little more exploring around Nantwich resulted in more street names that must have been related to the location or purpose.

Peter recently left a comment on the blog about the Crown Hotel, mentioning it was reputedly the site of an earlier castle.  This would be logical as the castle would be on the east (town side) bank of the River Weaver adjacent to the crossing leading Wales.

And this is the long enclosed gallery on the first floor

Next to the hotel is……..

Well that’s logical.  Round the corner is…….

Obviously where oats were sold.  Towards the river was…..

That also makes sense.  Water was needed to drive a mill.   But then I wondered what businesses operated from the next street.  And then I realised it was connected to Pillory St!

Many of the older building originate from the period immediately after the great fire of 1583.  Hence the plaque on the wall of the Crown Hotel.  I suspect some of the the buildings have started to show their age and; like me developed “middle-age spread”.  They appear to have been fitted with a building version of a corset.

I assume the bracing “cross” is connected to an iron rod that joins the opposite sides of the building.

Another version of the bracing technique.

Last Cruise on Kelly-Louise

With sad hearts we had our last cruise on Kelly-Louise.  A very short trip down the Swanley Marina to do a pump out. 

As we headed off the mooring I was able to catch “she who doesn’t like her photo taken”!  Once we were underway a smile came to her face.

Just off the mooring and underway at tick-over rate. We’re not in a hurry

I know….. emptying the tank is a sh*ty dirty job but someone has to do it.  During the next five years there are going to be many occasions it will need to be done so I’d better learn how to do it now.  The staff at Swanley Marina were very good and offered to complete the task.  But I volunteered!

Yes… I have to remember to add some water and rock the boat to give the tank a good rinse.  This will require a hose.

I’ve already asked Andy (our boat builder) if Waiouru will have a separate “rinse” inlet and he confirmed she will. Despite this; I don’t believe I’ll be allowing our water hose to come in physical contact with the inlet.  It could just leave a bad taste in our mouths.

I’m still practicing my locking technique and the by wash going back to the mooring was rather fierce.

Left..left…left!  Get the darn bow across.

Too far….. Right..right right!

Now I can relax

Meanwhile…… a woman’s work is never done!

Yes I know……. the photo is out of sequence.  It was taken on the way down!