Taylors of Fenny

Our boat was built by Ian Taylor at Fenny Marina and we started our maiden voyage to Oxford on Good Friday 2007.

Ian did most of the work himself, with help from Ron and Barry.

The good news is that from tomorrow, 1st July, Ian takes over the business at Fenny Compton and will be trading as Taylors of Fenny bringing over 25 years experience to the business.

Ian will be offering a comprehensive range of services for narrowboats including, electrical service and repairs, gas service and repairs, plumbing, repainting, engine servicing, heater servicing and much, much more.

He can also supply Epifanes paints and varnishes, Vetus marine diesels and equipment, Webasto diesel heating and Kuranda marine equipment.

I’m sure he will be very successful.

Posted on Monday, June 30, 2008 at 21:54        Comments (0)
Category(s): Build our Boat , Southern Oxford

Dragon Boat Racing

We returned safely to our home mooring at Sherborne Wharf by early afternoon.

Then we set off with cameras at the ready for the heart of the BCN - the short section of canal between Old Turn Junction and Gas Street Basin.

This is where the Dragon Boat racing was taking place.

It wouldn’t have taken much effort for a stranger to have found the racing, simply by following the sounds of cheering and shouting from the course where everyone seemed to be having lots of fun.

There was a BW marshal at each end of the course who simply stopped the passage of narrowboats for the two minutes or so each race took.

Boaters would hardly notice the delay and many wondered wondered why they had such a welcome to Birmingham.  All good publicity for the canals with an event like this.

Posted on Sunday, June 29, 2008 at 16:40        Comments (0)
Category(s): BCN

Boat washing

Last night it started raining, gently at first with heavy rain forecast so I thought it was time to try the advanced Balmaha boat washing technique (see end of post).  I soaped the roof with very artistic swirls, then the sun came out and dried it all up instead of the rain washing it off.  The instructions for making it rain seemed to be missing from the post.

Tonight it was raining lightly again with more heavy showers forecast so guess what.  A repeat performance.  I guess I’m not up to the advanced Balmaha technique after all.  Perhaps they will give me a practical demonstration when I eventually meet them.

Tomorrow I think I’ll have a go at the No Problem boat washing technique (see August 13th Post) with a hosepipe and see if I can get the hang of that.

Today we spent 6 hours climbing the Wolverhampton 21 which should have only taken 4 hours.  There was a party of 6 or 7 boats going up ahead of us, not very quickly, and a single handed boater sandwiched in the middle of them.

Now moored near the top of the flight, aiming for Sherborne Wharf tomorrow to watch the Dragon Boat racing.

Posted on Friday, June 27, 2008 at 20:36        Comments (0)
Category(s): BCN , No Problem

Up the Bratch

Up The Bratch locks this morning.

As soon as the sun was shining enough we were off, before the forecast rain and winds arrived.

First with the camera and tripod to take the still shots around the unique flight of locks, then with the boat for all the moving shots.

Built originally as a staircase it’s been modified to be three individual locks with only a few feet between them.

Then we spotted a man walking up and down with a GPS unit in his hand, and though he just might be geocaching - and we were right.

We also spotted James and his mum patiently waiting for his geocaching dad.  James was just too slow to help push the lock gate open, but he was in time to come for a ride between the lower and middle locks, carefully supervised by mum.

We moored before the weather got too bad, with the Wolverhampton 21 to tackle tomorrow.

Posted on Thursday, June 26, 2008 at 15:59        Comments (0)
Category(s): Staffs & Worcester , Stourport Ring

Stourton Junction and beyond

A late start today, as every time we thought of setting off it started to rain, so we waited, and waited a bit more and a bit more moored.

We mostly dodged the showers and managed some filming in the sunshine as it came and went during the day.

One little surprise along the way was the gate to the cottage at Hyde Lock - a miniature set of lock gates.

We soon reached Stourton Junction and ignored the signs to Stourbridge and Birmingham and continued towards Wolverhampton.

We’ll return later to film the other route through Netherton Tunnel.

With our late start this morning, the sun was a little low for filming by the time we reached The Bratch so we’re moored below and hoping for sunshine tomorrow.  Hopefully it won’t be too late a start again.

Posted on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 19:53        Comments (0)
Category(s): Staffs & Worcester , Stourport Ring

Meeting Famous People

Little did we know when we set off this morning that we’d be meeting famous people.

First, at Falling Sands Lock on the Staffs and Worcester Canal, narrowboat Phyllis May was waiting to descend and there were Terry and Monica Darlington.  Terry is author if the book Narrow Dog to Carcassonne of how they took their boat down the Thames, across the English Channel and through the French Canals to the South of France.

Now there’s a sequel Narrow Dog to Indian River about sailing it down the Intracoastal Waterway from Virginia to Florida.  If you look in the Window of Phyllis May you can see the two books propped against the window.

They are on their way to the Saul Festival where Terry will be speaking.

We continued on to Kidderminster and moored outside Tesco’s to top up our supplies.

Moored behind us was the Jones’ narrowboat “Keeping Up with the Jones family”.  We had a delightful chat with Allan Jones, although we missed Debbie who was, allegedly, purchasing most of Mr Tesco’s stocks.

Allan and Debbie have a website, although it appears to be off the air but I hope I have the right link here.  I’ll add it to our links page as soon as I see it’s working again - especially if Allan or Debbie leave me a comment to say it is.

Our journey took us onward past the church at Kidderminster which appears in so many photographs - so why should we be be different?.  Cropped to 4:3 that just might make the front cover of the planned Stourport Ring DVD that we’re filming.  We’ll have to see if I get anything better at Bratch.

And tonight we’re moored on the Staffordshire and Worcestershire Canal in Staffordshire and Worcestershire.  I sat at the table for tea in Staffordshire while Christine sat in Worcestershire and the boundary stone is right outside our window.  We didn’t even know it was there until we’d moored and investigated it.

And now, Matilda Blue has moored behind us.  Jeff Thomas had spoken to us briefly while we were moored in Stourport Basin, and he and his wife, Diana, had also moored next to us while we were shopping at Kidderminster.

Jeff had been introduced to us through Andrew Denny of Granny Buttons over 2 years ago while we were both researching electric narrowboats and we had exchanged a little information then, although never met until now.

I wonder who we will meet tomorrow and our journey along the Staffs and Worcester towards Aldersley junction.

Posted on Tuesday, June 24, 2008 at 20:33        Comments (0)
Category(s): Staffs & Worcester , Stourport Ring

Upstream to Stourport

A bright and sunny day today, so we head for the River Severn.

First down the two large locks from the Basin at Worcester onto the River Severn where we wanted to turn right.  Unfortunately the pontoon where we have to pick up the crew which operated the lock is to the left.

The solution is to head straight across the river, then keep turning left in a large arc to reach the pontoon facing upstream.

Once on the River Severn it was easy to make good progress with very little current to push against.

It can be quite boring with lots of trees lining the route but there are occasional cottages like the first photo here.

The locks on the River Severn are large, dwarfing our little narrowboat.  Holt Lock (second photo) has a wet mark showing just how much we go up in the lock as the river is so low.  It’s probably only about four feet.

At Lincomb lock I thought I saw a UFO hovering over the opposite side of the lock.  It was a funny round thing hovering just above the top of the lock wall.

Then I realised it was a mirror.  As we are so far down in the lock it was the only way the lock keeper could see the boats from within his lock-keepers office.

With some careful positioning of the boat I found I could see him too.  We both look a little funny in the round mirror.

At Stourport we moored on the River for a few minutes while we checked out the two sets of staircase locks which take us into the basin.

The locks were all free so we were soon up into the basin.  Plenty of time to fill up with water, moor the boat here, and to walk around and take lots of photos.

Tomorrow should be Kidderminster and, perhaps, beyond.

Posted on Monday, June 23, 2008 at 20:07        Comments (0)
Category(s): River Severn , Staffs & Worcester , Stourport Ring

Slowly to Worcester

It started bright this morning, good weather for filming so off we went.  The wind was awful and will make the sound track difficult to edit but we went anyway.

At Offerton the pounds between the six locks were all very full and when we emptied one lock the next one filled itself.

If you look carefully through the gate in the photo you can see the turbulent water as the lock filled itself.

And look at these proud parents who brought their youngsters out into the sunshine.  They were just at the age when they still look fluffy and cute but their necks are starting to lengthen and look just a little like a swan.

Their parents puffed up their feathers and came up to the boat, clearing their throats gently to attract my attention to feed them.  When I didn’t get the message they tried pecking my ankles so I went into the lock and ignored them.

The strong wind made progress very slow and we stopped at Worcester.  A short break to film around the town and to look at the big locks and the River Severn.  The River looked windswept and uninviting and those coming off the River reported a rough passage so we decided to stay in Worcester and head for Stourport tomorrow.

Posted on Sunday, June 22, 2008 at 20:32        Comments (0)
Category(s): Stourport Ring , Worcester & Birmingham

Rainy Days

This morning was too dark and wet for filming so we caught up with several odd jobs and made sure everything was working after the last few days problems.

After lunch it brightened up and looked a little brighter so we made a move.

First down the Astwood flight of six locks as we continue to head downhill.

Then past Hanbury Junction where the Droitwich Canal heads off to the right.

It’s un-navigable at the moment but under restoration with hopes it might be navigable by the end of 2009.  If it is we’ll have to come this way again.

We moored up early, for us, at Tibberton as the clouds were gathering and it looked like rain again.

If Nick’s reading this we expect to be in Worcester tomorrow afternoon, possibly somewhere near the basin.

Posted on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 19:11        Comments (0)
Category(s): Stourport Ring , Worcester & Birmingham

Going down in the World

At long last we’re on our way and filming the Stourport Ring.

Susan had joined us last night by train to Alvechurch where were moored for attention to our gas supply and we want to make the most of her services.

With Christine & Susan crewing the boat I can spend a little more time filming away from the boat rather than having to work the locks and film at the same time,

We made it down the Tardebigge and Stoke flights yesterday, making the most of the sunshine.  That’s down 36 locks and 7 Miles after a late start with the Gas Man attending first.

It’s raining this morning so time to catch up on a few jobs.  It’s forecast to dry up after lunch so we’ll probably move a little closer to Worcester once it’s bright enough to film.

For now we’re moored between the Stoke and Astwood flights.

Posted on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 12:35        Comments (0)
Category(s): Stourport Ring , Worcester & Birmingham

The Gas Man Cometh

Twas on a Monday morning the gas man came to call.
The gas tap wouldn’t turn - I wasn’t getting gas at all.

It wasn’t Monday but it was a Flanders and Swann sort of day, and our Gas Man cometh on Thursday and again on Friday,

We’d spent considerable time getting everything right on the boat for our cruise to film the Stourport Ring - even a weekend cruise to make sure.

When I arrived on the boat on Wednesday evening I turned the gas on in the gas locker and put the kettle on.  I had gas for 30 seconds, then it went out. I checked I’d turned the gas bottle on properly but that didn’t help so perhaps we’d run out, but turning on the other bottle didn’t help either, and neither did twiddling the changeover valve.

Lifting and shaking the gas bottles gently confirmed that the one we were using was at least half full, as expected, and the other new one was definitely full so why no gas?

Our gas bottles are in a stern locker under the seat for ease of access.  Two tails go from the bottles to the changeover switch and regulator then a continuous pipe goes to the cooker (our only gas appliance) with an isolation valve next to it - and I hadn’t accidentally knocked that off.

Taking the pipes off the changeover switch allowed me to blow through that and disconnecting the pipe at the regulator output showed no gas there so it must be the regulator.  That’s as far as I’m prepared to go with gas fittings and the dangers of tampering with them so a quick phone call to Alvechurch Boats who we would be cruising past later in the day and they confirmed they could look at it for us so off we went.

Their Engineer went through the same diagnostic process and also thought it was the regulator but then decided to check what nether of us had checked - the tails from the bottles. We both knew nothing could go wrong with those !  Well would you believe it.  The non-return valves in both tails had seized up at the same time - and they’re both still shiny new and only 14 months old.

Well past 5 o’clock their stores were now closed and the Engineer past his finishing time.  I’m sure he would have stayed to finish the job but he couldn’t without new tails.  During the evening I conduced the un-scientific test of bashing the end of one of the tails on the concrete and putting it back on the gas bottle and we had gas.  It proved our theory but I left it all turned off.  He returned in the morning, fitted new tails, tightened it all up and got their CORGI registered fitter to check it.  We’re cooking on gas again.

—– o O o —–

And just in case that hasn’t bored you to death we had plenty of other tasks to keep us going.  The GPS display that allows us track our progress could only find one satellite so it didn’t know where we were and that took some hours to coax into life - even though it worked fine when we last left the boat.

And the desktop and laptop computers both denied existence of each other so I couldn’t synchronise any files - that was eventually traced to a Norton update since we last used the boat.

And the mobile phone charger stopped charging, although the phone display still said it was being charged, so we lost contact with the real world when the phone battery went flat.

Now we’re all sorted and cruising again so look out for further updates.

Posted on Saturday, June 21, 2008 at 11:18        Comments (0)
Category(s): Build our Boat

Steam at The Bratch

The Bratch is a famous location on the Staffs and Worcester Canal - but more of that in the next blog.

It’s less famous, at least in canal circles, for having a steam pumping engine which was used to pump water out of the ground and up to the reservoirs near Wolverhampton.

The pair of engines, Alexandra and Victoria were commissioned in 1897 and pumped water until 1960 when replaced by electric pumps.

Victoria is now restored and two or three times a year is steamed for an open day.  A fun day out for all the family with lots of entertainment.

First you can see the steam engines and get surprisingly close to them inside the engine house, sampling the smells, sights and sounds of the working engine.  I can still hear the noises now.

We arrived a lunch before the afternoon crowds to allow chance to take a few photos.

Outside there were several fairground organs, all taking turns to play their great range of tunes.

Then there were steam rollers, steam cranes and even a traction engine - although the oil can in the photo may give a clue about the scale of this one.

Then there were wood cutting displays powered by a tractor just like the one Sue’s family owns, and vintage motor bikes, and busses and too much more to write about in one short blog.

Posted on Tuesday, June 17, 2008 at 21:31        Comments (0)
Category(s): Staffs & Worcester

New Bow Fender

We have a new bow fender for this summer’s travels.

The original one, supplied with the new boat only lasted one season.  It had been refastened several times and it was beyond hope - there was nothing left to repair.

That was a traditional fender made with rope all the way through and I wondered if one with a rubber core would last any longer.

So, a new rubber cored fender is now fitted.  It’s surprising how heavy a bow fender is and I didn’t fancy hanging over the bows trying to fit one upside down so I simply reversed the boat in our normal moorings.

With the nose inwards and the fender sitting neatly on the jetty I could take as long as I liked to adjust the chains.  I simply pushed the boat back a little to let the fender hang to see how it fitted.

Now all we need is a few locks to press it gently into shape, then, no doubt, I will have to take up a little slack on the chains, and we can see how long this one lasts.

Posted on Thursday, June 12, 2008 at 19:31        Comments (0)
Category(s): Build our Boat

Birmingham Babies

Two proud parents were introducing their young to the centre of Birmingham.

The youngsters kept so close to their parents that most photos only showed one of them, with the other completely hidden.  At least I managed on and a half babies in this shot.

The parents were so protective, making lots of noise and flapping around as soon as anyone came past on the towpath, or any ducks came near.

On the opposite bank were the parents of slightly older triplets.

They were much more relaxed, allowing the youngsters to move away from them as they searched for food along the edge.

And no screeching and flapping around whenever anyone walked past on the towpath.  A much more relaxed attitude to life.

Posted on Tuesday, June 10, 2008 at 08:18        Comments (0)
Category(s): BCN