UK Canals - Journey reports

Back to Harefield

Part of the reason for this trip was to check out the performance of the new batteries.  After an afternoon moored up and an evening watching TV the voltage this morning was 12.2.   Much better. We were facing the wrong way, so rather than wind at Cowley we motored on to Packet boat Marina and turned at the entrance to the Slough Arm.  Fun, because the wind was right for a real winding.  By taking the extra hour we also would give the batteries a better charge.  We had to turn the first two locks around, but Denham Deep was open for us, a dutch barge having passed us by the gravel loading wharf.   Moreover, someone was waiting to come down so we had help with the opposite gate.   We have noticed that wide boats rarely close gates on exit from locks.   Considering that this barge had a crew of 5 there is rally no logical reason why they could not, but of course we like open gates, so I am not grumbling.    Back at the marina we made a hasty departure into the Sunday rush hour where all the world leaves home to have lunch with mother in law.

Cowley

We shall be setting off for the Cutweb Rally around the beginning of next month, this year again at the Blue Lias Pub.  So a weekend out on the boat seemed a good idea to make sure everything still works before we leave.   Our calendar means that it will be a bit of a rush as always.

Got to the boat at 9:00 and found that the central heating had been on program one (1 hour's heat at 6am every day) since goodness knows when but most likely from our last visit about 1 month ago.  Considering we have no electrical hook-up at the marina, the batteries showed 12.7V, so the solar panels have proved their worth.  At least we had hot water immediately and the boat was comfortable and airy when we arrived.   How this has come about is hard to explain since our last two visits have only been for the day each and we would not have needed to use program1 in these circumstances.  The button must have been pressed inadvertantly and I failed to notice during close down checks.

Today we have our daughter's other dog with us.  Alfie.  He is more obedient than George and we reckoned that he would be fine without being tethered on the boat and in his brand new life jacket. He gets back on the boat on command which George would never do.  So he went to help Pat at Uxbridge Lock and promptly fell in right by the bottom paddle, presumably mistaking some floating weed for something more substantial.  The handle on the life jacket is very useful.  Moving on, Cowley Lock was very busy for some reason.  We had to wait above the bridge for a space in the queue and all in all it took us an hour to pass through.   Fortunately there was a mooring below and here we now are.

The carbon monoxide alarm had come to the end of its life and I took the opportunity to replace it.  I also returned the folding bike to its home in the middle locker after puncture repairs following the incident on the Lancaster Canal.  There were so many holes in the tyre, a new inner tube was required.  That's hawthorn hedges for you!    We have had some heavy rain showers today, tomorrow promises to be better so I will wait to check the battery wiring then.