Goggers

 

After a couple of days at Hillmorton and with all the ice on the canal melted we pulled pins at 13.30 and after dropping down the locks and filling with water we cruised towards Rugby. We were very surprised to find only Keith and Ann on nb Oakfield the only boat on the moorings at Brownsover. These are normally very popular moorings and with a week of cold freezing weather you would have expected them to be full.

We were kindly invited by Keith and Ann to join them on Tuesday for a cuppa and a good old yap on their lovely boat Oakfield, and then on Thursday it was good that they joined us back on Inca for a cuppa and another good old yap. One of the best things about this way of life is all of the new friends we are making. But the downside is that as you travel all over the country and on different waterways it can be months and even years before meeting up with them again.

“My feet are bloody cold” . Quacked one Duck to the other .

A new shell being towed pass the moorings . By the height it is sitting in the water it looks like the engine is yet to be fitted.

Goggers (group of bloggers) . As well as ourselves and Keith and Ann on nb Oakfield we were joined on Thursday at Rugby by Gary and Della on nb Muleless and then by Paul and Jill on nb Falcon. So with all of us being Bloggers that has to make it a gathering of Goggers. It was good to have a cuppa and a catch up on Thursday evening with Paul and Jill who also come from Devon.

On Friday and with a thick layer of ice on the canal this is the last thing you want to happen. A boat speeding through the moorings. I usually shout at   ask boats to slow down if they are passing exceptionally fast, as the rule is to pass all moored boats with your engine on tick over. After politely asking this steerer to slow down I'm pleased to say he did , Although i didn't get much of a smile from him as he passed.

Hamish is still a bit down in the dumps . I'm not sure how long it will take him to get over the loss of Molly , but every day he seems a little bit better.

                                                                                                 Happy Days

Swan at 10 o’clock

 

After spending far too long in Braunston it was time to leave ,so after stocking up with supplies from the village shop and butchers we pulled pins on Friday morning at 09.00.

Passing the battle scarred tree at Braunston junction.

What a bleeding mess at the services next to Midland chandlers in Braunston. There is no way of getting to the water tap without getting wet feet. Add to that the rubbish pile is now worse than the picture in my post on the 14th January. And as for the Elsan , well we won’t even go there ( Although i had to ). There is apparently a sum of money now available from CaRT to be spent on service points ,so hopefully some will be spent here.

On route to Hillmorton and most of the fields are full of these humps. They come from a type of ploughing used in the middle ages and is known as Ridge and furrow.

Winter has to be one of the best times to cruise. On a day like this although it is cold we have the canal virtually all to ourselves. We only passed one other boat on our trip to Hillmorton

That was flipping close . This swan came within a few feet of us as we cruised past Onley (Prison) moorings.

After a night at Hillmorton we woke to find the canal frozen and a light sprinkling of snow on top of the ice.

On Saturday we had a walk down the locks and looked around the boatyard at the bottom lock. They always seem to be busy which is a good thing.

It was very good to meet and have a natter with fellow bloggers Keith and Ann off Nb Oakfield as they were filling with water at the bottom of Hillmorton. We met them briefly back in April at the top of Foxton locks and have followed their blog for a long time.

The loss of our dog Molly not only affected myself and Carolyn but it has had an enormous affect on our other dog Hamish. They have been together for over 8 years and have never been apart in all that time. He seems to be constantly waiting for her to come back and is just not himself. We are giving him all the attention we can and hopefully he will eventually get over the loss of Molly.

                                                                                              Happier Days

R.I.P Molly

 

                                                           

                                                                                                             Molly 07/07/2005 – 15/01/2015

Its with great sadness that we have recently lost our dog Molly . She had been unwell for some time and it was eventually discovered that she had a brain tumour. An absolute bundle of fun and a great little character….                                                                                                  

                                                                                              

                                                                                                  Carolyn's best and most loyal friend.         

                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                    Sad Days

Pot Belly Pig ? Not me surely.

 

With the stoppage now in force at Braunston locks we decided to have a walk up the flight and see what was going on. With the locks closed there is plenty of room to moor below the bottom lock. The closure is for lock and gate repairs and it should be completed by the 6th of February.

Empty pounds on the Braunston flight and doesn't it look strange.

I always thought it would be a good smooth bottom to the pounds and not full of rocks.

This is next to the mooring bollards in this pound. It just goes to show that you haven't got a clue what is below you , Just imagine the damage this could do to your hull.

The pound below Braunston top lock.

Canal and River Trust workers putting in the stop planks before the top lock and then dropping sand down to seal the planks and stop the water leaking through in to the lock.

How different does it look ? .

The locks are fenced off from the bottom lock to the top lock .

This boat was moored below the bottom lock.  What a strange name for a Narrowboat. I'm sure there must be a good reason why they gave it this name. Carolyn said i should have stood next to the boat name and let her take a photo ….I'm not sure why though !!!!

                                                                                                           Happy Days

Down the ole

 

We are still here at Braunston and are now stuck here for a couple more days as Molly has a vets appointment in Staverton Near to Daventry.

The waste disposal area at Braunston services and yet another facility with overflowing rubbish.

This Swan has been patrolling up and down the canal all day long and seems to have a real bad attitude as he hisses every time he passes us.

Yet again we have been spending money in the local chandlers .We are now proud owners of coal inserts which we bought for our Fire . We did have bricks in the sides before , but we have been told by other boaters that the inserts work better. So now £37 lighter we have the inserts , I must admit it seems a lot of money for 2 pieces of metal. The idea is that they funnel the coal towards the bottom of the fire and the riddle thus making it burn more efficiently and making the fire more controllable….We will see what happens.

Its service time again for our trusty Beta 43 engine and after replacing all the filters and filling the engine with oil and changing the Gearbox oil its lubrication time for the Volvo stern gland. This has to be one of the best bits of kit on Inca. All that is required regarding maintenance is a very small amount of silicone grease squeezed in to the seal once a year. I use a straw from a McDonalds take away, and put about an inch of grease in the straw and then flatten the end of the straw then insert just under the lip of the seal, the grease can then be pushed through the straw and in to the seal. The seal has never ever leaked a drop of water and you don't end up with a wet and greasy engine bay like you do with conventional stern glands. Volvo recommend that they are changed every 5 years. but most seals last at least 10 years and in some cases a lot longer than that.

After I've finished performing down the engine ole my number one assistant who is a lot more nimble than me and can get in to positions that i am no longer able to get in to cleans up the mess that i have made.

As a reward for our hard work today we went for dinner at The Boathouse in Braunston. They do meal deals a bit like Wetherspoons. On Tuesday it was 2 steaks and a bottle of wine for £20 . We must admit it was a very good meal and we were a bit surprised to have a bottle of Hardy's Shiraz which is a reasonable wine and at 13% vol not bad at all, we thought it would be a cheap old bottle of plonk.      PS   I hope you like the picture of the food Stewart  (nb The Boat) its just for you.

We have been promised snow and Carolyn was really looking forward to it , but so far we haven't seen a single flake. I can see her asking me to build her a sledge when the first flakes start to fall. I'm afraid she will be disappointed and will have to make do with an old plastic coal bag.

                                                                                            Happy Days