No mega cruise this year, although we will be on the boat - as now. The paint is deteriorating rapidly now. It’s 18 years since the boat was new. So we are booked in with Andy Russell in June and plan to take the boat up to Furness Vale to have this done. There are one or two maintenance issues as well which are in hand. The cratch board had patches of rot around the bottom edge and Braidbar agreed that it would be wise to get a new one made rather than try and patch it up. So that has been done. The top plank appeared to be OK so it was taken home, but again there are signs of deterioration, so a new board has been acquired to be painted in due course along with the new, just in primer, cratch board. The gang plank had serious rot at one end and a new one bought and painted. This came with us yesterday to the marina, but the other items we will keep clean for the boat painter to deal with. Lots of thought about our walk on solar panels. The roof is badly rusted around the edge of all of them in spite of attempts to keep this at bay. Clearly they will have to come off for the painting and Andy tells me that he can deal with the rust, however, a casual attempt to remove one screw provide too difficult without tools. It must be rusted in and might need the angle grinder! We installed the panels when we moored at Harefield with no mains electricity and thought they would help to keep the batteries topped up, which they did, but now with shore power at Brinklow they are not so important. I will not replace them, at least as permanent fit. The wind generator is not permanently fitted other than its electrical socket and the four roof rings for the stays. The base bracket is mounted on a plastic board and just slots onto the roof with no fixings At the moment it is not with us. So other than all those things the boat is in good shape after the winter, no signs of damp, electrics all appear to be working, no excess rainwater in the bilge, heater works and the engine started easily (it has been run over winter every month or so).
So this is just a re-familiarisation cruise to make sure we have what we should have before we leave for the north in May. For example we have dry good storage for food items which remain here and we are known to enjoy some items like fruit pies which are six months beyond their best before dates and are quite nutritious allbeit a bit chewy. We both agreed, however, that some suet (which Pat got out to make some dumplings) did not seem quite right. The BB date was 2009. So we agree also that an inventory needs to be made! So after leaving the marina, we stopped at Rugby for Tesco to purchase some suet.
Yesterday was sunny and warm, but today cold and windy though at least some afternoon sun. Hillmorton was comparatively quiet, but above, a procession of opposite direction boats often appearing at awkward moments like bridge holes and opposite moored boats where in the wind crabbing is necessary or risk getting blown onto the unsuspecting boat.
The new Dunchurch Pools marina is open for business. One half looks very busy and, I guess the newer part, empty save for a few boats. We stopped for the night just past Willoughby Wharf on a bit of straight sheet piling. We are just outside the entrance to a badger sett, although no signs of recent activity.