A small trip to the services with a boa constrictor

We had a peaceful night list night and when we looked out the potholes the canal was like a piece of glass. The smoke from the chimney was drifting vertically, and not a puff of wind in sight.

So after breakfast we set off on the mile and a half trek, down to the services. We had to turn and then reverse under a bridge to get on them but as the conditions were just the best, we did it with ease. We filled with water and got rid of our rubbish, and then set about where we would moor next. The only spot we could see to get a good TV signal was down by the locks but the only problem was we would have to reverse a good 500 metres passed moored boats, to get to it. Things were going great until the engine stopped. On lifting the weed hatch we pulled out the biggest piece of rope you have ever seen. It looked like a massive boa constrictor snake! You couldn't cut it, but we were lucky enough to be able to unravel it from the prop, a good thing about the Axion.

We then moored up in the sunshine, and it was quite spring like....A boat then passed us heading for the locks "You do know they're shut till the end of February" we shouted. "How am I going to get to Wigrams marina." he replied. "Not for a while" we answered. He moored behind us with his book out wondering where it had all gone wrong....

Del then went into Atherstone on his bike and did a circular route, just to suss things out and get some exercise. Al had the dinner ready on his return and we chilled by the telly in the evening.

Lazy Sunday afternoon

After the strongest winds so far this year (all 16 days of it) we were battered about all night and didn't get much sleep. We were pleased that on inspection we found no damage to Derwent6. What did we do today, well not a lot really which is what Sundays are all about. Del spent the best part of the day doing brasses down one side, and after all that snow they were very tough going. Al just pottered about doing girl things like sorting out her wardrobe. (Del doesn't have a wardrobe).
In the afternoon we were so tired after last night we dossed in front of the fire. Oh yeah and it did rain after Del had finished the brasses. Al spent the evening watching Dancing on Ice.........as if we hadn't had enough of that!

Windy or what!

Blimey it was windy last night and the rain hat on the chimney was sitting on the towpath this morning (luckily).

For anyone who is interested in what is going on with our heating, the parts are still on order with Fernwood our boat builder, and should be arriving the early part of next week. The insurance company have been very good and are still investigating the case. Because the central heating use to warm up the hot water in the morning we are finding that we have to now run the engine for three hours a day. An hour and a half in the morning and again in the afternoon.

With another cold spell looming up on us we will have to stock up with wood and other fuel sources, so Del was out early chopping up the wood we found the other day. Al made a cake and then we sat and listened to Pick of the Pops in the afternoon with tea and that cake...

In the evening it was Bruce Springsteen night on BBC 4..........

Walk into town

We had a bit of a lay in this morning but once up we wanted to stretch our legs. We thought we would take a walk down to the winding hole (turn around point) to suss it out. We would have to get water here as well and some maneuvering would have to be done. As we had walked down this far we decided to walk into Atherstone. We had a tip off that the canal was closed at lock eight (thanks Sue), but what we hadn't realised is that it was an extra mile to get into town. Still we had all day to do it. We did spot BW going along the dredged section picking out all the windlass,which if you look closely, they put on the wall behind them. One of the perks we think!!!!

The first thing we did when we eventually made it, was have some lunch in one of our favourite cafes. We had a wonder round but we had just missed the market as it was packing up. We decided to get the bus back because we wanted to see where it went. It took us to the Boot Inn at Grendon, a pub which has live music on Saturday's. It was a mile walk to get back to the canal on a good footpath, and we got back to Derwent6 at about 5.00pm and it was still light. We can't wait for spring....

Worn out from all that walking (and drinking) we can't really tell you where the evening went... before we knew it, it was 10.30pm and bedtime......

Cleaning day

Today was spent cleaning Derwent6 inside... We washed all the woodwork down and did all the brass pothole liners. We cleaned everything, so there are no spiders on Derwent6. We were only interrupted by the hedge trimmers who were covering the towpath with thorns and thistles, but it did look nice when they had finished, and they were careful not to get Derwent6 covered.

After all our cleaning we were exhausted, so we relaxed in the afternoon listening to music.

Oh Bullocks!!!

It was a warm night, well warm to what we have been used to... We were woken up by some bulls munching grass alongside Derwent6. They had escaped through the fence in the field next to us and were making the most of the long grass. Del went outside and put on his farmers head to try and get them back through the hole they came out of. A hour later he was still trying. We then walked to the nearest farm but no one was about, so we went back and made some phone calls but we still couldn't get hold of the farm. So we had no choice but to be patient and entice them back into the field. There was a lot of eye to eye contact but Del won in the end. We then set about repairing the fence. This took up the best part of the morning and a hour later the farmer appeared with some barbed wire to thank us.

In the afternoon we spent the time organising dairies and last years photos.. We watched a film in the evening by the fire!

Fully Loaded

After some heavy rain we thought we would have seen the end of the ice for the time being, but we could still see it in the distance and no boats had passed us for weeks. As we were uncomfortable with being on the lock moorings and water point here, we knew we had to move as soon as possible. We were both feeling a bit better this morning, so Al first walked into town and got some last minutes bits to refill the cupboards but reported that the ice was still bad.

We decided to leave at about 11.30am, as the weather didn't look very good for the rest of the week, and make our way to Alvecote marina. The ice was still two inches thick and had only just been broken by the BW boat that passed us yesterday (he never got very far). It was very patchy with long clear sections and sections packed with ice but we just took it steady and got through to the marina.

We moored up and asked for a full house...fill with diesel, pumpout, a gas bottle and three bags of coal. You would have thought with that lot we would have got a free valet.....

We then got going again and were soon breaking ice.... but it wasn't long before we spotted a few trees down in the nearby woods. We pulled over and got out the chainsaw and added half a tree to the extra weight we had just put on. It will be good to be back on wood, but it also shows how important it is to have some coal on board, you never know! With a very heavy Derwent6 we carved through the ice with ease as we went through Polesworth. We were also very shocked to pass two other boats, blimey movement!!

After a hour and a half cruising we moored up at one of our favourite spots, in the middle of no where. It felt good to be on our own........

We have a good 3G and telly signal so after dinner we settled down to the football in the evening.

Broken Ice, but it's too late

The first thing we did this morning was to phone BW to see if the locks at Atherstone had been started today, and yes was the answer... So plan B....

We had another heavy frost here last night but there was water on the ice by 10.00am.

We decided to get some washing done as we are stuck on the water point here. We managed to get a couple of loads washed and dried in the tumble but the engine was running for three hours. We then refilled with water. While all this was going on BW came up through the locks with a barge of bits going to Atherstone locks. "Can we follow you up and have they started the repairs yet?" we shouted. "I'm sorry guys, but the lads have already started and we don't know if we are going to get there today, due to this ice" It took them half a hour just to get through our little section, so we don't know how they got on.

Next job....we have had a problem with the gauge not showing full when we know we have a full tank of water, so Del managed to recalibrate the pressure sender unit once we'd filled up.

We then went for a walk into Tamworth and had a good look around. On our way we found the cinema, so in the early evening we went to the pictures and on our way back picked up some Fish and Chips to walk back to Derwent6 with.

We're not going to make it

We thought it had been a warmer night, well it was on Derwent6, but when we looked out the pothole there was frost on the ground, so no thaw!!!!!

So we had some breakfast and then went for a walk along the towpath. It was still thick with ice and you should have seen the junk in the canal. It was clear blue skies and the sun was slowly starting to thaw the ice, but we knew we had no chance of moving today. So there goes our hopes of getting through Atherstone locks by tomorrow. The only chance we have now is if the start of work is delayed, still there's plenty to do here... To drown our sorrows we stopped on the way back in a shop and nearly brought them out of Cadbury's cream eggs....(well it will be nearly Easter by the time we get down south lol)

Both of us still don't feel the ticket, but it doesn't seem to be holding us back...mind you Al did have a long sleep in the afternoon while Del did the brasses on the roof...

A bit of a music night as Al cooked a lovely dinner in the evening, which we had while we listened to the radio.

Taking a chance!

It was quite a warm night with some heavy rain, and when we surfaced the canal looked like it had thawed enough to make a move. The BW boat from yesterday had broken the ice and made it easier for us to maneuver about.

We checked to see if the rain was going to hold off but the strong winds did give us some doubt.

We set off at about 9.30am and crunched our way slowly past the boat moored by us. It felt like we were escaping and it really felt good to be moving. Saying that, Lichfield has been kind to us, and there are a lot worse places to be iced in. We had a good co-op and station just a mile away, and a great pub that supplied us with water and beer 200yrds from Derwent6!

We carried on, and as we suspected the ice was worse in the shady areas, but Derwent6 managed to plough it's way through it. We had some patches where all the ice had gone but you soon found that it had just been blown down the canal, and all joined up like a massive jigsaw puzzle. The bridges were a bit tricky as the ice all came together here and tried to deflect Derwent6 into the bridge walls as you were entering. We were tipped on our sides at times where the ice had got underneath the bow and it didn't help that we were so low on water that the bow was trying to come out the water. This also made it easier for the wind to get hold of us. But with all these problems we still made it to Fazeley junction. The sun came out just as we managed to get on the water point. After clearing the ice away, we filled the tank to the brim.

After having a look round the corner we could see that the ice was still broken, so we chanced our luck to get through the two locks at Glascote. We had to move some ice to get the gates open but it all seemed ok at this point. When we got to the top lock we could see that the ice was only broken from the marina here, and it was pretty solid from then on. You could even see the footprints of some pratt that had tried to walk on it. We tried to break the ice and it soon became apparent that it was still two inches thick and Derwent6 was going no-where. We managed to reverse back up to the water point after clearing the ice away. We are just two hours away from Atherstone where the locks close on Monday, our gateway to the south. If this ice hasn't got thinner by the morning we won't be going any further.

We couldn't get a TV signal here so we watched DVDs all evening, pondering over the weather.

Too much snow for Mr Tesco?

Woke up to another sprinkle of snow this morning!!! Then, just as we had got up, a BW boat came past us and broke the ice...Hurrah!!! The ice was still two inches thick but the snow started to turn into rain... We hope we may be able to move tomorrow..

We were then waiting for Mr Tesco to turn up between 11.00am and 1.00pm but the phone rang, and we missed his call at 10.55am with a message saying "I can't wait any longer so I will have to move on due to the snowy conditions" This was even before our time slot... A call to head office at 11.05am did no good either, as they only offered us a slot for tomorrow or our money back.... Oh well!

So it was a walk into the nearest village to pick up a few bits, so at least it saved us some money. It seemed to warm up a bit more in the afternoon and we chilled out watching the rain on the ice turning it very slushy. We also managed to get 40 litres of diesel from Graham, the diesel in a can man.

We also got our prices for the central heating water pump which came in at £170.00 + vat and the radiator was £200.00 + vat. Lets hope this is covered on the insurance......

Derwent6 gets a drink

We didn't have a very good night and ended up over sleeping, but the good news is Al felt a little bit better than yesterday. There was another heavy frost last night and the canal was iced over again after the rain had fell on it yesterday. Great!

We had David, an assessor from the insurance company, turning up at 10.00am and it was a bit of a rush for us to get ready for him. We were pleased to see him give the system a thorough inspection, by checking even inside the radiators.

We have now got to get some accurate estimates off to the insurance company, and David will send his report into them... He wouldn't tell us his verdict!

We then had to try and get some water so we had a walk up to the pub and had a chat with the landlord. He opened his side gate and allowed us to fill our 25 litre container. Derwent6 was getting a bit thirsty!!!! This should last us another couple of days!!!

We chilled out for the rest of the day and took down our Christmas decorations. Derwent6 looks so bare now, but easier to clean.

Oh and it looks like we might get more snow tomorrow!!

Inspection Day

Al was still not feeling too clever so we just stayed in today... We are really trying to conserve water as we are now getting a bit low, and will soon have to start filling our container... We have been static in the ice for 45 days, but 18 of those days we have been off Derwent6 with the problems with Al's mum and Christmas... Our waste tank still seems to be holding out and diesel is just below half, so we seem to be coping quite well. We were lucky as we did get some washing done when down in Kent, but you still have to carry it back. Del had a look at the engine leak today and it appears to be water from the leaking radiator running into the stern, so the engine appears to be alright, good news! On inspection under the floorboards there appears to be no damage and the water has either dried up or runaway to the stern. We were expecting an assessor from the insurance company today, but he is now coming tomorrow. We have also been monitoring our use of coal as we need it to last till we get moving again and can get back on wood. On speaking to other boaters around here the temperatures dropped to minus twenty on Christmas day and other boaters have got burst pipes and water tanks, so we consider ourselves lucky with our problems. Mind you we haven't had the waste tank and water tank filled to the brim to see if there is any damage at the top of the tanks. Fingers crossed, touch wood and all that!!!
With Al still poorly we went to bed early and kept warm... we have plenty of honey and lemons!

Boiler inspection

We had a flurry of snow first thing and the canal is still thick with ice. We really do miss that central heating in the morning as it warms the stern of the boat up before getting out of bed! We are hoping to get through Atherstone locks before they close for a couple of months on the tenth, but there doesn't seem much chance of that. With Al still not feeling the ticket she stayed in the warm bed with a honey and lemon drink.... Del was up and soon fetched three bags of coal from the coal boat stuck with us about a quarter of a mile away. Good job we did as he only had five bags left...

It was then time to look at the heating. First Del removed all the pipes and exhaust from the boiler and then removed the boiler assembly. After close inspection of the pump bolted underneath, is was clear that it had split. It was then a call to the insurance company (who were very busy) and then to Fernwood who would also help us out!!

Al was feeling a bit better and decided to walk up to the Co-Op and pick up some bread and milk.

We got a call from the insurance company saying that we had to send a claim form in, which we could do on line. We also attached some photos. They would be coming out for an inspection of the system.

Ken from Fernwood came back to us with a price for a water pump, not cheap at £290.00, and he was also arranging a new radiator.. goodness knows how much that will cost!!

We snuggled up by the fire and watched some telly in the evening....

On Return Rads split in 2011

Hi All .... Happy New Year!!!

We have had a wonderful time and had a nice break with family and friends.. Steve with his new seven iron, check out the iron, Morphy Richards we think!!!!The best present was for Al to be with her Mum and Dad after the trauma's we have been through... Al must have had repercussions as she wasn't very well herself over the Christmas period, with a sickness bug and now a chest infection.

We decided to get back to Derwent6 and were a bit worried what we would find due to the very cold conditions we had had on Christmas day and Boxing day. We were surprised to see that we are still frozen in so we won't be moving yet. Things looked fine as we got onboard and fired up the engine. The water pump seemed ok and the toilet was working fine, but on checking the central heating pressure.. there wasn't any!! Turning the taps on to build it up water was coming out the bottom of the Dayroom radiator and we found a big split in it... Also the other rads had chipped paint all over them which meant they had been under stress. On checking the Eberspacher boiler we found that the water pump had also frozen and was pouring out water... So that was the central heating out of action. The engine had a small leak, but we can't see where it's coming from yet.. We lit the good reliable Morso fire and after a couple of hours we were starting to warm up. With not much food on board we had cheese on toast and nibbles as we are on a crash diet anyway. We warmed up the bed sheets round the fire, before we went to bed. We will investigate further tomorrow........