Painting the boat - part 1 (of many!)

On Friday, we decided to take advantage of the improved weather, and do some of the necessary remedial work on Kantara's paintwork. Under white cloud, and in a total lack of wind, we left the marina (where any extensive painting is disallowed) and moored just a five minute walk up the canal, at a spot where there was a bank low enough for us to have easy access to the rubbing strake which was most in need of painting. This raised strip runs along both sides of a narrow boat, and protects the hull from the inevitable bumps and scuffs along moorings, lock and bridge entrances and so on.

Working in dry, mild weather, we rubbed down the rubbing strake and the various chips along the side panel above it, painted the strake with one-coat hull blacking, and primed the other areas with Red Oxide paint. It was hard work, and took hours. We went to bed tired!

That was the starboard side done, but now we needed to get to the port side. So on Sunday morning, misty and promising, we headed up to the nearest winding hole about three miles away, turned and came back to an ideal spot just north of bridge 27, where others had moored with the same idea in mind. The bank was very low, and we completed the day's work on the port side of the boat.

We were still working as the sun went down, and I missed taking photographs of the amazing light on the autumnal trees opposite the sunset, and the misty spectacle of the sky in the west. I did, however, get some good shots of our latest mooring spot, taken this morning as the mists started to clear.

Rising early this morning, we applied undercoat to the spots where we had primed the port side, and Grace did some preliminary rust spot treatment to the boat's name on that side. The paints dried quickly, and we left to return to the marina. The weather, which had been sunny and mild to start with, deteriorated as we neared Yelvertoft, and, by the time we had berthed, there was a cold, biting wind.

The remaining work on the sides of Kantara can now be done in the spring. The paintwork is winter-proofed, although far from pretty!

Mike's photos

Today I finally got round to looking at all of the photos brother-in-law Mike took during the days he and Christine cruised with us. Here's a selection from them. Thanks, Mike.

You might have to wait a few moments for the video to load.

Settling back in

It's odd really. We were only out on the cut for four weeks, yet it seems far longer than that since we were here in the marina. The time out with Christine and Mike, and Michelle, added to that cruising time too, of course, but then we came back here after each trip.

Life in the marina is going to be busy in the next few weeks before we go back to the house for the worst of the winter (will it be the worst, or will that come in March?). We have a long list of jobs to do, several of which we've already done - put low-wattage LED lights in all 22 of the 12v light fittings, meaning that we can run all of them on less energy than just three of the old halogen bulbs used; cleaned throughout the inside of the boat; cleaned and tidied the foredeck, the engine room and the aft deck; replaced the stern mooring rope and added a second centre rope, so that there is easy access from both sides; started the process of touching up the various bits of damage done by the inevitable bumps and scrapes a boat gets. We've booked Colin Rowe to come and do various jobs - replacing the packing in the stern gland, checking apparent oil loss from our gearbox (and servicing the engine), servicing the Alde gas boiler, and identifying and solving the problem with the bowthruster. He might be with us for the entire day at that rate!

Later today, we're going to a showing, "broadcast live by satellite to cinemas from the London Film Festival" of the Rolling Stones documentary "Crossfire Hurricane". I was a great fan in my youth!

Braunston, and on to Yelvertoft

On a day for which 24 hour rain had been forecast, we left our mooring in a fine drizzle which stopped after an hour, leaving grey cloud and a biting wind. I'd not been that cold on Kantara before. However, we arrived at Braunston by mid afternoon, and moored opposite Roy's workshop, at which point it started to rain heavily, and this continued on and off for some hours. We battened down the hatches and snuggled in, having arranged with Roy that he would do the jobs for us first thing in the morning.

On Friday morning, we took Kantara across the canal, to moor alongside one of the boats Roy was working on. He took a sliver off two of the foredeck seats/locker lids, and sealed around the basin he had fitted when he built our new shower room - we had left the option of sealant open at the time. I took a brisk walk up into Braunston village for some shopping, then we set off again, now under blue skies and a warm sun.

We passed the strange craft we've seen once before moored up in Braunston, a boat we dubbed The Stealth Boat, for reasons which will be obvious to those of you who know anything of stealth aircraft.

Our ascent of the Braunston Flight was done in accompaniment with NB Little Grebe, an Alvechurch boat, and the six locks were navigated in good time. Locking was now a hot task, the weather being as mild as it was.

Braunston Tunnel presented us with an unpleasant experience. An oncoming boat had its headlamp mounted to the port side of the bow, giving the wrong impression of its alignment in the dark tunnel. Furthermore, the light was far too bright, and neither Grace, steering Kantara, nor I could get a clear picture of how far away the boat was until it was almost on top of us, nor of how far over to her side of the tunnel she was. This is the worst case of over-brightness we have experienced, but it has happened often. I wish boaters would realise that their lamp is most important as an indicator to oncoming craft of their presence, and does not need to beam several hundred yards along the tunnel to show them the way.

Headlamp mounted centrally (as it should be!)

Out of the tunnel, we turned left at Norton Junction, north up the Leicester Line of the Grand Union. It had started to rain, and was threatening to be very heavy, so we stopped and moored just above the junction. It rained and hailed heavily on us as we tied the boat up, and we were glad to get inside and dry off.

After the rain and hail!

Saturday morning was dry again, after some downpours during the night, and we ascended Watford Locks under blue skies. We only had a short wait at the bottom lock, then went up the staircase with no delays. Crick Tunnel was next, empty of other craft. The remaining couple of miles back to the marina were done without the wind which is characteristic of this stretch of the GU, and entering the marina and moving into our berth was far easier than is usual.

Our cruise is ended. Four very enjoyable weeks, 131 miles and 102 locks, with interesting diversions along the way. Now we have a list of jobs to do returning the rather grubby Kantara to her former state, getting repairs done, painting and so on. The hail which came down hard just after we moored reminds us that winter is on the way.

Heading for Braunston

I've been in touch with Roy at Days Afloat, asking him to shave a sliver off the edges of the foredeck seats/locker lids he made for us, since they have now swollen in the wet weather and don't fit together any more. He's happy to do this for us, of course, so I said we'd stop off at his place on the way past. Next stop Braunston then.

Wednesday had good boating weather, with early white cloud breaking to give us lots of sunshine, and the early chill giving way to much warmer temperatures. I spoke to a guy yesterday who had been out for a cruise with his wife back in April. I can't remember where they started from, but they were out for 10 weeks, and their turning point was on the Llangollen Canal. In their 10 weeks, they had just 10 days on which it did not rain! With that in mind, we really cannot complain about the rain we've experienced on any of the occasions we've been out this past year. It has rarely been so bad as to stop us from travelling.

From our overnight mooring, we moved on up to The Wharf Inn where we took on water, and bought bread and milk from the tiny backroom shop in the pub.

We were delighted to meet for the first time Mike and Marian on NB Duxllandyn, fellow moorers at Yelvertoft. They are travelling to Banbury, and are out until the end of the month, after which they will be having the boat hull blacked at Debdale Wharf, the place we are thinking of taking Kantara for the same job. We look forward to meeting up with them at the marina, to swap stories and experiences. Mike's a retired teacher, too, so we'll have to try hard not to talk "shop"! Marian is a retired Exams Officer in a school, an office in which I stand in awe! These people do an impossibly difficult job, and I have always had enormous respect for those I've known.

Leaving Fenny Compton, we got onto the most twisting part of the canal again. It was very quiet; we passed just one or two other boats. At Napton Top Lock, however, we found six boats ahead of us, queuing to descend the flight of seven locks. Only one passed us going up the flight, which meant that all but one of the seven were full when we came to them, and needed to be emptied before Grace could take Kantara in to them. This slowed our journey significantly, and gave me lots of extra exercise! Meanwhile, poor Grace suffered from Kantara's exhaust fumes in the locks, probably simply because of the direction of the wind at each one.

Having heard talk of impending heavy rain and thunderstorms, we moored shortly after the bottom lock as heavy skies slid in above us. I have a feeling we won't be getting to Braunston tomorrow.

Moving on - in good weather!

A brighter day greeted us on Tuesday, and we left Banbury in hazy sunshine which broke through with time, and the afternoon was positively warm. We were surprised how many other boats we passed, several of those whose crew I spoke with on their way back to winter moorings, as we are.

We passed a brilliant sign in a boat window. You might need to read it aloud once or twice to understand its full meaning!

“Considerate souls slow down as they pass moored boats. There are souls who don't.”

Passing through Cropredy, we ascended the nine locks to the top of the Claydon flight in good time, found Fenny Compton tunnel (which isn't a tunnel, you remember) free of oncoming craft, and moored up for the night just below the Wharf.

Our stern gland is still letting in too much water, although not as badly as it was yesterday morning. This will require some attention when we get back to Yelvertoft – as will the Alde gas boiler, which now fails to come on, and the defunct bow thruster (battery?) which might well have been useful at times on this cruise.