Engine:5.3h Miles:12 Locks:6
Start of our longest trip to date.Set off around 12:30. Through Barbridge Junction and mooring by about 14:30.
Needed long throw windlass for Church Minshull lock.
Logs and pictures of trips on the UK canals on Narrowboat "Mind Like Water"
Monday, 27 July 2015
4 Counties Ring - Day 1 - Swanley Bridge Marina to Middlewich Branch (Bridges 24/25)
Set off around 12:30. Through Barbridge Junction and mooring by about 14:30.
Needed long throw windlass for Church Minshull lock.
Sunday, 14 June 2015
Sorting out the gremlins...
My previous work had left us with a new new control unit but also a couple of troublesome issues which took a while to sort out and, for a while, baffled a variety of canal engineers...
The first problem was that the engine would mysteriously cut out for no apparent reason when put into gear. It would start OK but then when the throttle lever was returned to upright position would quietly die...
This made it pretty difficult to carry out most manoeuvres such as setting off from a mooring or winding. Pretty much anything really... Once restarted it would run fine.
At one point I even had to abandon the boat by the side of the canal at Wrenbury Mill and yomp back to the marina in order to go down to Worcestershire for (irony of ironies) a boat maintenance course! I picked the instructor's brain about possible causes, all of which sounded potentially expensive.
Alison and I returned to the boat the following weekend ready, if necessary to bow-haul the boat 4 miles back to the marina. We had the engineer from Wrenbury Marine on the boat for about two hours trying to locate the problem. He could replicate but not identify the issue.
This was eventually solved by a guy walking his whippet along the tow-path. He asked whether we had checked the stop cable... Turned out that the throttle cable was just touching the stop cable and would pull it enough to stop the engine whenever it was put into gear! The engineer, who had returned (100 yards) to base to consult with colleagues, was amazed when I wandered along to tell him that I had fixed it!
The second problem was an annoying problem with the alternator which would randomly decide not to charge the batteries. Would be fine when starting off from the marina but after spending a night moored somewhere else would fail to generate.
After removing the alternator, getting it refurbished, checked and tested didn't solve the problem, I eventually tracked this down (thanks Google!) to lack of excitation!
Apparently alternators need some current up front so they can remember what electricity is... This is normally provided through the warning lamp on the control panel.
Now... I had replaced the old style warning lamp with a nice purpose built job with nice neat symbols on it. Turns out that this does not draw enough power to excite the alternator... It was presumably OK when starting from the marina because the batteries were fully charged from the shoreline.
However after mooring overnight, the batteries were still plenty charged to turn and start the engine but not enough to excite the alternator.
I fixed this while moored in Middlewich at the Folk and Boat Festival by putting an old style bulb in parallel inside the control box. Now works fine. Go figure!
Since then things have been fairly trouble-free. (Did I really say that.... Touch wood!)
The first problem was that the engine would mysteriously cut out for no apparent reason when put into gear. It would start OK but then when the throttle lever was returned to upright position would quietly die...
This made it pretty difficult to carry out most manoeuvres such as setting off from a mooring or winding. Pretty much anything really... Once restarted it would run fine.
At one point I even had to abandon the boat by the side of the canal at Wrenbury Mill and yomp back to the marina in order to go down to Worcestershire for (irony of ironies) a boat maintenance course! I picked the instructor's brain about possible causes, all of which sounded potentially expensive.
Alison and I returned to the boat the following weekend ready, if necessary to bow-haul the boat 4 miles back to the marina. We had the engineer from Wrenbury Marine on the boat for about two hours trying to locate the problem. He could replicate but not identify the issue.
This was eventually solved by a guy walking his whippet along the tow-path. He asked whether we had checked the stop cable... Turned out that the throttle cable was just touching the stop cable and would pull it enough to stop the engine whenever it was put into gear! The engineer, who had returned (100 yards) to base to consult with colleagues, was amazed when I wandered along to tell him that I had fixed it!
The second problem was an annoying problem with the alternator which would randomly decide not to charge the batteries. Would be fine when starting off from the marina but after spending a night moored somewhere else would fail to generate.
After removing the alternator, getting it refurbished, checked and tested didn't solve the problem, I eventually tracked this down (thanks Google!) to lack of excitation!
Apparently alternators need some current up front so they can remember what electricity is... This is normally provided through the warning lamp on the control panel.
Now... I had replaced the old style warning lamp with a nice purpose built job with nice neat symbols on it. Turns out that this does not draw enough power to excite the alternator... It was presumably OK when starting from the marina because the batteries were fully charged from the shoreline.
However after mooring overnight, the batteries were still plenty charged to turn and start the engine but not enough to excite the alternator.
I fixed this while moored in Middlewich at the Folk and Boat Festival by putting an old style bulb in parallel inside the control box. Now works fine. Go figure!
Since then things have been fairly trouble-free. (Did I really say that.... Touch wood!)
Thursday, 9 April 2015
Constructing the new control panel
As described in the previous post, I was planning a new control unit to move the ignition and gauges from behind the throttle lever. I had done a lot of preparatory work but the final construction would have to take place on the boat.
The key (and rather scary) points are that 1) I would be making this up as I went along to some extent as it would be a totally custom made unit and 2) at some point, I would probably have to break the boat when I removed the old control unit before final connection of the new unit. One possible plan was to make the new unit plug into a large connector near the engine allowing me to retreat if it all went pear-shaped. However this turned out not to be viable... Scary! This gives an idea of the state of the wiring in the engine hole before I started.
That corrugated trunking looping round and round in the engine hole is, according to the manual is not meant to be longer than 1 metre ...
Anyway, I had prepared as much as possible at home. The various gauges, switches and lamps were fitted to the box lid and the shoreline connector to one side of the base. An LED strip on the other side of the base would be a cunning light that would help with late night returns to the boat.
This shot shows a trial run to position the new unit and work out how to run the wires into the engine hole (which involved drilling and filing smooth a new hole in the deck!).
The next couple of shots show the painted box being firmly fixed with self-tapping screws to the back wall of the cabin and the shoreline wiring being routed in.
Unfortunately, I didn't take any more pictures during the actual wiring of the engine controls as I was a bit busy... But I was quite pleased with the outcome!
The old control unit looked a bit sad though...
So I had to make a trip to B&Q in Crewe to buy some aluminium bits that I would be able to work using the tools I had on board. Then took the boat on a little trip towards Wrenbury and made a new cover for the throttle unit while moored up by the side of the canal. Et voila!
A pretty successful end to a fairly long and, at times, scary process!
There were a couple of minor complications which surfaced later which I will cover in the next post...
The key (and rather scary) points are that 1) I would be making this up as I went along to some extent as it would be a totally custom made unit and 2) at some point, I would probably have to break the boat when I removed the old control unit before final connection of the new unit. One possible plan was to make the new unit plug into a large connector near the engine allowing me to retreat if it all went pear-shaped. However this turned out not to be viable... Scary! This gives an idea of the state of the wiring in the engine hole before I started.
Anyway, I had prepared as much as possible at home. The various gauges, switches and lamps were fitted to the box lid and the shoreline connector to one side of the base. An LED strip on the other side of the base would be a cunning light that would help with late night returns to the boat.
This shot shows a trial run to position the new unit and work out how to run the wires into the engine hole (which involved drilling and filing smooth a new hole in the deck!).
Unfortunately, I didn't take any more pictures during the actual wiring of the engine controls as I was a bit busy... But I was quite pleased with the outcome!
The old control unit looked a bit sad though...
A pretty successful end to a fairly long and, at times, scary process!
There were a couple of minor complications which surfaced later which I will cover in the next post...
Saturday, 28 March 2015
Planning major engineering works!
When we first bought "Mind Like Water", all the controls were in one box on the stern rail.
Not very well designed as the ignition key was postioned behind the arc of the throttle movement making it very easy to catch one's knuckles on it... Also needed the cork key-ring to be secured out of the way like this...
So... Andrew started laying plans for a new control box!
This involved a lot of time searching the internet for information about narrowboat control systems which are mostly bespoke units. Not much available off the shelf.
Then needed to try and identify what the current connections were. Can be summarised as "a bit of a mess"! For example, one of the warning bulbs in the control unit only had one connection. Now even a rudimentary grasp of electrics will tell you that one connection does not a circuit make... These shots of the wiring show what I was up against...
During the investigation work it became clear that access to any part of the engine is pretty difficult. Something else to bear in mind when looking for boat II...
One purchase that helped quite a bit was a USB endoscope! This is a long cable with a tiny camera and LED lights on the end which plugs into my netbook PC and allows me to reach most parts of the engine and take pictures. Such as this one!
With this sort of detail, I managed to identify the exact model of engine and even buy a manual on the internet!
Had a bit of a hair-raising moment on one fact-finding trip when I managed to totally dismantle the ignition switch when trying to work out the connections in each key position. Alison was due to take the boat out with our son later that week, so I was very glad when I managed to gather all the terminals and springs and work out how to reassemble it....
Found a nice range of weather-proof boxes from RS Components. and gradually gathered parts for the new control box.
Plans started to take shape...
See next post for the actual final construction which took place over the Easter break..
Not very well designed as the ignition key was postioned behind the arc of the throttle movement making it very easy to catch one's knuckles on it... Also needed the cork key-ring to be secured out of the way like this...
So... Andrew started laying plans for a new control box!
This involved a lot of time searching the internet for information about narrowboat control systems which are mostly bespoke units. Not much available off the shelf.
Then needed to try and identify what the current connections were. Can be summarised as "a bit of a mess"! For example, one of the warning bulbs in the control unit only had one connection. Now even a rudimentary grasp of electrics will tell you that one connection does not a circuit make... These shots of the wiring show what I was up against...
During the investigation work it became clear that access to any part of the engine is pretty difficult. Something else to bear in mind when looking for boat II...
One purchase that helped quite a bit was a USB endoscope! This is a long cable with a tiny camera and LED lights on the end which plugs into my netbook PC and allows me to reach most parts of the engine and take pictures. Such as this one!
With this sort of detail, I managed to identify the exact model of engine and even buy a manual on the internet!
Had a bit of a hair-raising moment on one fact-finding trip when I managed to totally dismantle the ignition switch when trying to work out the connections in each key position. Alison was due to take the boat out with our son later that week, so I was very glad when I managed to gather all the terminals and springs and work out how to reassemble it....
Found a nice range of weather-proof boxes from RS Components. and gradually gathered parts for the new control box.
Plans started to take shape...
See next post for the actual final construction which took place over the Easter break..
Sunday, 22 February 2015
Making deposits in the sanity bank!
More and more we are finding that time on the boat is an invaluable counter-balance.
In fact we have come up with the term "making deposits in the sanity bank" to describe the way that even a single night on-board helps to replenish our depleted reserves ready for the demands of the working week.
In fact, with a little mental gymnastics, even going to the boat in my mind can help! Not as good as actually being on board with the stove lit and a glass of something refreshing though...
Good to know that we have several trips already planned during 2015 with plenty of weekends as well!
Saturday, 21 February 2015
Cholmondeston Lock Open Day
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| Hail at Cholmondeston Lock Open Day 21st Feb 2015 |
The lock was open to visitors on Saturday and Sunday and it was a great opportunity to see what happens under the water.
Apparently there were about 250 visitors over the 2 days of the Open Event which is not bad considering that the site is well away from the main roads and the weather was not great. There was a heavy hail shower just after we had set up.
Friday, 13 February 2015
Short trip to Audlem for Valentine's Day
We had a nice Valentine's Day trip to Audlem and back. Travelled to the boat on Friday night ready for a prompt start on Saturday if the weather looked OK.
It was a bit nippy pleasant enough so after a quick visit to the marina office to top up the electricity card, we got under way about 09:20. The trip to Audlem took about 5 hours with a brief stop for lunch. We are getting pretty familiar with the Hurleston Locks though do need to remember that you definitely need a short throw windlass on one of them.
Passed through the Hack Green locks and the signs to the Secret Nuclear Bunker that we visited way back in August 2001. Read about our trip on the Shropshire Union canal in August 2001 on our website.
Got turned in the winding hole at Audlem and moored up by about 14:30. Had a wander round the village and got a few bits and pieces in the Co-op followed by a pint at the Shroppie Fly.
Then back to the boat for a very nice meal of steak and jacket potatoes with chocolates for dessert. With a bottle of wine to wash it down, it was a very pleasant way to pass the evening.
Uneventful journey back to the marina.
It was a bit nippy pleasant enough so after a quick visit to the marina office to top up the electricity card, we got under way about 09:20. The trip to Audlem took about 5 hours with a brief stop for lunch. We are getting pretty familiar with the Hurleston Locks though do need to remember that you definitely need a short throw windlass on one of them.
Passed through the Hack Green locks and the signs to the Secret Nuclear Bunker that we visited way back in August 2001. Read about our trip on the Shropshire Union canal in August 2001 on our website.
Got turned in the winding hole at Audlem and moored up by about 14:30. Had a wander round the village and got a few bits and pieces in the Co-op followed by a pint at the Shroppie Fly.
Then back to the boat for a very nice meal of steak and jacket potatoes with chocolates for dessert. With a bottle of wine to wash it down, it was a very pleasant way to pass the evening.
Uneventful journey back to the marina.
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