Spent most of the day at the boat. Very productive morning spent on various maintenance jobs.
While looking for grease to fill the stern gland tube, found drill powered pump and hoses! Very useful in emptying the drinking water from the cabin bilges. Would have taken months using the oil extractor but got it done in a short time just using the oil extractor for the last dregs. Big relief!
Then used the manual bailing pump to move water from under the engine to the main engine bilge where the bilge pump could pump it overboard. Then changed the oil-absorbent bilge pillows which were looking rather mucky and cleaned the top of the bilge pump switch.
Filled stern tube with grease. Need to get some more.
Swept out the back deck guttering and washed the deck boards with canal water.
Checked the water tank inlet. The water tank doesn't line up with the hole in the front deck. Maybe it has shifted or simply never lined up? Will need to empty it to try shifting it. Would need much movement but won't budge at present with 300 litres of water in it!
Next checked out the non-working horn. Turns out the negative terminal had become detached. Now works fine.
Spent some time tracing and photographing electrical wiring. Partly in preparation for boat wiring course booked for late November. Partly to decide how to wire new LED reading light by front bed head.
Interesting to see that the charging points near the fridge are actually connected to the water pump circuit. Obviously the engineer who fitted them just after we bought the boat simply picked a pait of wires at random from the 4 pairs that run past that point...
After a busy morning, went to check out the Badger Inn at Church Minshull. Interesting footpath just past Bridge 13 leads through woods to within a couple of hundred metres of the pub. Had a nice pint and packet of crisps. Didn't stay for lunch as there was a 20 minute wait for a table.
Returned to boat for lunch of ciabatta and brie followed by fruit. Read for a bit then siesta.
Considered a yomp to Middlewich for Thursday live music at the Narrowboat but didn't fancy 2 hour walk back in the dark. Continued reading till dinner time. Steak and ratatouille (lovely) and more reading.
Last night there were only two boats on the whole mooring but full now with one behind me even having to put in pins.
Tomorrow plan to cruise to winding hole and return to Nantwich. May even go to the Nantwich Canal Centre on Friday rather than Saturday.
Logs and pictures of trips on the UK canals on Narrowboat "Mind Like Water"
No comments:
Post a Comment