Cromwell Lock to Gunthorpe Visitor Moorings

A slower start for us today after yesterdays major cruise. A top up of water from the tap on the pontoon proved that a stainless steel tank once nearly full makes a booming noise. We now have a water tank gauge but an audible sound prompts you to go and stand by the tap waiting for the over flow to happen.

Despite the weather report being for rain the majority of the day with wind we decided to set off and see where we’d get to before we got fed up. The river all the way up to Trent Lock is very familiar to us so we don’t feel the urge to stop and explore. A shopping list of things that Boyes in Newark would almost certainly provide us with will have to wait for Nottingham as shops would be closed today because of Easter.

We pushed off shortly before 11am and worked our way up the river. There were no fishermen lining the banks as we approached Newark. We found this odd for a bank holiday, but it turns out that it is the closed season from 15th March until 15th June.

Over the radio we could hear that there were boats on the way from Nether Lock, so Mick radioed ahead as we got to the A1 bridge so that the lock could be made ready for us. Each lock along the Trent is manned for most of the year, so a vhf radio makes it a very easy cruise. The light was on green as we approached so we could go straight in.

Going up these locks it is always best to sit as far back as you can and have both a bow and stern line around the risers as they can normally be quite fierce towards the top gates. We have done these with just a centre line and with me pushing buttons when they haven’t been manned in the winter. We never rush getting ourselves sorted and with a new boat we are taking it slower still, hoping to keep the gunnels looking nice.

The Lockie kept popping out of his little house to look at the top gates, it seemed to take forever for the level to start to rise. But rise it did very slowly. As at all the locks we were asked our name, number and where we were heading to today, they radio ahead to the next lock for you. I’m very glad they didn’t ask me as Oleanna’s number is not embedded in my head yet, but Mick being a boy the number has already been put into his mental filing cabinet where it can be accessed with ease.

We spent three months in Newark winter before last and it feels like coming home. On the banks just above Nether Lock were these little huts, they are new since last year. You can hire them for a weekend to fish from for £50. They come with a 12 volt kettle and a few basic home comforts. Of course they were empty today, a good idea but I can think of better places to sit for the weekend that don’t have two rail lines and the A1 nearby.

At Kings Marina it looked quite full and in our old space was the old Marina Supervisor’s boat Camelot. To our great surprise Kiln Pontoon moorings had plenty of space even at the end with electric and the low wall was empty too. Newark had always tended to be really busy, where was everyone?

Town Lock was ready and we were joined by a tug from Newark Marina called Friar Tuck. He had just been moving an historic Humber Keel down to moor next to the Castle Barge. We were envious of his wonderfully thick ropes that he just hooked over the bollards at either end. Oleanna came with quite narrow ropes, with my impaired grip I find them hard to cling onto. When we get near Braunston we’ll visit the rope shop and replace them with thicker ropes.

Pootling out of the town there was something  missing. Where had Blackbird gone? An old workboat, it hadn’t looked like it would be going very far without some serious work, but it has now vanished. The Cormorants sat as always on top of the poles warning of the big weir and showers came and went. Passing Fiskerton there was space on the pontoon, Naughty Cal was moored right at the end leaving enough space for a narrowboat. Despite the pub being appealing we wanted to get further today so carried on.

At Hazelford Lock we waited for Dutch Barge Anja to catch us up. They had big hooks attached to ropes which they hooked onto the risers and then tied off, leaving them free to do as they wanted as the boat rose in the lock. Last year long pontoons had appeared above the lock, it looked like there was so much mooring that it would never get full. But today it was reaching capacity.

DB Anja sped off ahead leaving us to pootle along admiring the trees on the hillside next to the river. Yesterday and today we have started to see a rather attractive bird flying around a bit like a Tern. A hunt on the internet and it turns out that they are Oystercatchers with their orange bills, red eyes and a striking white band across their black wings.

Next was THAT LOCK! Even though DB Anja had arrived well ahead of us they were waiting to go up and had taken the lefthand wall. We pulled in along the right wall slowly, I passed the end of my rope around the riser and signalled to Mick that I was ready so that he could do the same. I then looked up at the Lock Keepers hut, it was very familiar. I then looked at the riser, this had to be THE RISER! I took a deep breath and concentrated as we rose. When the gates ahead opened and I’d coiled my rope back up I turned to Mick and held up all 9.75 fingers, they were all still there, THE RISER hadn’t taken any more from me.

By now we were quite cold from the wind so hoped that there would be space on the pontoon moorings above the lock. It was pretty full a couple of narrowboats were breasted up, but there was space for us on the inside. We drifted back into the mooring and tied up for the day. Well ahead of ourselves we’ll be able to get to Nottingham tomorrow and do a big shop at Sainsburys and maybe even go hunting for a few other bits.

4 locks, 18.45 miles, 4.6mph at the same revs as yesterday, 1 lie in, 2 Easter eggs, 1 packet of mini eggs, 3 oystercatchers, 10 showers, 2 centre lines attached, 2 gas bottles attached, 3 hours rising too long, 2 compliments on Oleanna, 1 scraped gunnel, 2 damp pink faced grins.

This is a dual post with NB Lillyanne’s Blog.
Our blogs will be changing, as we now have built our boat and NB Lillyanne will be up for sale in a few weeks. We’ll let you know what is happening once we know.

It’s a good job it’s spring with light mornings as this is helping us to wake before the alarm goes off each morning. Today we needed to be up and ready for the off by 7.30am, we were ready and waiting when the lock light turned green. The Lock Keeper came over to check everyone was okay and where we were all heading to, all three boats were hoping to reach Cromwell today. With an early start and a high tide it would be possible, but we all had the idea that if we’d had enough we could stop at Torksey for the night.

Once the road swing bridge was open we pulled in to one side of the lock, NB Lazy Jayne the other and then NB Anchor Management slotted themselves in between us both. There was lots of chat going on as the water started to be emptied out of the lock. Then shouts from the chap on NB Lazy Jayne, he thought that his rope was caught and his boat was starting to list. Everyone shouted and Mick bipped our very loud horn to alert the Lockie. The paddles were dropped and the boat sat at quite an angle, it wasn’t the rope, but it was hung up on something. Then whatever had held it gave way and the boat righted itself with a jolt. It was a horrible feeling for us, never mind for the couple who owned it! Everyone was okay, no time to have a restorative cuppa, the tide wouldn’t wait.

NB Anchor Management led the way and we brought up the rear of our flotilla. We’ve been out of Keadby once before back in 2015 when the Trent was a mill pond and we got sunburn, today there’d be no sunburn just windburn. Having said that there were moments where the river was wonderfully calm, but then a bend would take us straight into the wind and white horses faced us. Before the A18 bridge NB Lazy Jayne passed NB Anchor Management then soon after the bridge they waved us past. The last we saw of them was around Owston Ferry.

Our VHF radio sprung to life as two cruisers came into view ahead, they were informing each other of our presence and both slowed down. Downstream of Gainsborough there isn’t a speed limit so they had both been ‘riding the plane’. Their wake was the biggest we’ve ever encountered, hitting it with the bow of Oleanna had spray coming onto the roof. It was like the end of an episode of Hawaii Five O! It really is a good job I’m not prone to seasickness! As soon as they felt they were at a suitable distance they opened the throttle back up and sped away. Their wake continued for quite sometime, keeping us bouncing around, listening to the prop in the changing water for a good 15 minutes. Then turning round one bend the water calmed down again.

At West Stockwith a cruiser came out from the lock surprising NB Lazy Jayne, both boats slowed down and then the cruiser crossed in front of us and headed towards Keadby. A mile further on and we’d reached the halfway point to Torksey. We’d been told that if we reached Torksey between 11.30 and 12.30 we’d be fine to reach Cromwell, we were well on track. The channel through Gainsborough gets quite narrow, this has the effect of speeding the incoming tide up. Mick checked his speedo ap on his phone, we were doing 9mph. Good job there were no moored boats about!

Approaching Torksey we decided that we’d continue, NB Lazy Jayne carried on too. From here we kept a closer eye on our Trent charts, sholes, sunken islands hide waiting to catch you out, although with the depth of water we now had we were unlikely to have any problems. One problem we did have was as I opened the hatch to go below, Our second mate had decided to elevate her cruising position and sit on our Nicholsons shelf, it’s a tight squeeze, but the highest feline position in our new inside.

At about 10km to go the tide stopped coming in, it just stopped. Our speed had already dropped, but now we pootled along. With 5km to go I noticed a cruiser behind us, then another. They both sat patiently behind us as the river bends a lot along the last stretch before Cromwell and we’d all end up sharing the lock anyway, so why hurry. The cruiser that pulled in behind us in the lock was Naughty Cal, we knew we’d come across them today as they had come down Torksey Lock at lunchtime. So Mick had a chat as I tried clinging on for dear life at the front of Oleanna. I strongly suspect Cromwell lock has grated off some of the paint on our rubbing strips! Oh well it was going to happen sooner than later.

There was space for us on the inside of the pontoon as well as NB Lazy Jayne. We were all moored up almost a day ahead of schedule by 2.45pm. Today is the furthest we’ve ever travelled by narrowboat in a day, so a record for us. Mick walked to the local shop (A1 service station) for our Saturday paper and some milk, NB Anchor Management was just coming up the lock almost two hours behind us.

2 locks, 44.34 miles, 1 swing, 2 close for comfort, 2ft waves, 7 going that way, 2 slices Tidal Trent Toast, 9 mph, 1 ski jump, 2nd mate being cheeky, 1 blogging boat, 3 cruisers on the outside, 1 thin bow rope, 1 bad grip, 1 sunk yacht, 2 hours behind, 2 racing boats, 2 red wind burnt grinning faces.

Bramwith Junction to Keadby Lock

Waking in the morning to a view is great. Todays view did however mean that we would be seeing some rain during the day. We did allow ourselves a bit of a lull in bed before a quick breakfast and pushing off at 8.45am.

Not far to our first lock, back onto short wide locks. Mick went ahead to fill the lock and just as I was untying Oleanna a huge widebeam pulled out and started to reverse towards the water point opposite me. A couple of minutes and I’d have been out of his way and in the lock, but instead I did my best to cling onto Oleanna (which is harder than normal at the moment) whilst he toed and froed back and forth. As soon as I thought there was enough space for me to pull out I did. Gosh the lock was short, yesterday I could motor in and have plenty of time to stop, today I gingerly edged Oleanna forward to be clear of the cil.

The first of todays many bridges was just up ahead where there was a boat waiting to come through. So we obliged by pressing the buttons for them so they didn’t have to come out of their wheel house in the rain, we were starting to get wet anyway. On we pootled through the wooded section where the towpath looks like it has had the pot holes filled to improve the ride for the local motorbikes.

Much sooner than we thought we were approaching Thorne. Yesterday I’d called ahead to check on diesel prices, Staniland 75p Thorne Boating Services 72p, so we continued on past Staniland to the lock. Here there is a swing bridge just before the lock and the two are interlinked, so you have to fill the lock and open the gates (all button operated) before you can swing the bridge. Since we were last here some alterations have been made to the controls. No longer is there a hole dissertation on the side of the control panel for you to fathom your way through, it is much easier.

A crane came into view at Thorne Boating Services, they were preparing to lift a boat out so we reversed into one of the service moorings to wait. When we were given the all clear Mick brought us round, only to be told that the hose wouldn’t reach. So back we went to the services to wind, which of course meant that we had to wind again after we’d finished.

The diesel tank was filled to the top for the first time in it’s life. Ricky had said that this would calibrate the gauge, however it still doesn’t read full. With gas heating we are not sure how long a 13kg bottle will last. On Lillian we change a bottle every three months, but that was only used for cooking. So we decided to pay the deposit on a second bottle of gas. If we come across an empty bottle or two somewhere we’ll pick them up and trade them back in for the deposit. Two new float keyrings and some weed hatch tape for our fender hooks were our other purchases, shame we forgot to get a bag of coal!

Due to waiting for the flying boats we were a bit behind and canalplan had suggested it would take us nearly four hours to reach Keadby, so no time to stop for lunch as we were meeting friends. The two times we’ve done this stretch I’ve had problems with Thorne Bridge, the barriers have been a bit temperamental and so were the lights on the panel. Mick went armed with this information and I expected to have to wait for a while. When he turned the key there was a ticking from the barriers, this stopped when all were shut, a new feature! Someone has at last solved the problems on this bridge, they were most probably getting bored of the phone calls.

Then we worked our way through more bridges, one lift the others swing, each one a bit different to the others. Our waterproofs earnt their keep as the heavens kept opening. The railway hugs onto the side of the cut for most of the way and the skyline is filled with wind turbines. With the deep grey clouds and the bright yellow rape seed the view was still a jolly even if wet.

As we approached the last of the swing bridges we could see another boat ahead, would they wait for us? No we were quite a distance behind. Just after the swing bridge is Vazon Sliding Rail Bridge which is operated from the signal box. As I was just bringing Oleanna through the swing bridge and Mick was starting to close it I could hear the sirens going that indicate that the sliding bridge was about to open. Before we’ve had to wait five ten minutes, but today as Mick stepped on the stern the bridge started to slide to open up the cut for us.

Just as we were finishing tying up at the moorings two familiar faces were walking towards us. Bridget and Storm from NB Blackbird had come to meet NB Oleanna. Many things were inspected and we may have helped them find some good door furniture for their new house. A cuppa and catching up was done along with some toilet talk, I forgot to ask how their grandsons first birthday party was last weekend. We also reaffirmed plans of doing the Ribble link together later this year. Thank you very much for the presents Bridget.

Oleanna had reached 25 engine hours today, the gear box oil needed changing. So Mick got into the engine bay and gave her a freshen up. Several other boats have turned up ready to go down the lock tomorrow. We will be one of three going to Torksey or beyond if we are making good time. The anchor has been attached, so all we need now is a good nights sleep if the visitors to the car park allow.

2 locks, 15.06 miles, 1 lift bridge, 8 swing bridges, 1 sliding bridge, 13 held up plus 2 dogs, 2 wet boaters, 80 litres diesel, 2 key floats, 1m tape, £40 deposit, 1 low flying boat, 1 wire twist extension, 9 trains, 2 visitors, 4 bean plants, 2.5 litres oil, 1 anchor, 1 boat ready, 1 Mark out of 3, 2 grins, 3 motorbikes already.

This is a dual post with NB Lillyanne’s Blog.

Our blogs will be changing, as we now have built our boat and NB Lillyanne will be up for sale in a few weeks. We’ll let you know what is happening once we know.

Yesterday we had short wide locks, but today we were into the big commercial locks of the South Yorkshire Navigation. These locks are operated by using the key of power (C&RT key), they have a panel at each end which operates the gates and sluices at that end. So once your boat is in the lock with the gates and sluices closed you have to walk the 60m or so to the other end to empty or fill it.

Most locks reset themselves to being full after you have passed through them, but Eastwood Lock for some reason is always empty. There is no speeding up the operation of the sluices from the panels lock side, I suspect a lock keeper can though from their observational control rooms. So it takes forever to fill these huge olympic sized locks to then spend ages emptying them, but at least they are easy to operate.

Today we had stretches of river interspersed with locks, flood locks and cuts. I stayed at the helm apart from at two locks, well I don’t want to hog all the manoeuvring of Oleanna and Mick could so easily get out of practice!  Our second lock today was Aldwarke Lock which takes you down onto a river section. I decided that I’d like to press the buttons on this one and stretch my legs, nothing to do with the lock landing being a bit awkward to get to round the corner. A C&RT chap was there painting the bollards. Now I know how it feels when people think they are being really original and funny when they say “You missed a bit!”, but this chap really had. I could envisage his frustration when he stood back to check his handywork after tidying away to see half a post still white.

Once on the first stretch of river Mick decided to open up the throttle to see how Oleanna’s engine coped with higher revs, a kind of sea test before we hit the Tidal Trent on Saturday. She did well as we’d expected, looking behind our wash was minimal, but that could also have been due to the depth of water.

Kilnhurst Flood Lock was level at both ends, but you still have to go through the motions of opening and closing gates to walk to the other end to do the same there. Around here was where we were meant to have reached yesterday, so we were only 1.5 hours behind.

Through Waddington Lock where all the old work boats sit waiting for something to happen. One of them would make a gigantic home for someone, but I’d hate to think what a licence would cost. Between the Mexborough Locks we passed familiar boats, one of which may well have been in exactly the same position last year on the very long lock landing.

The next stretch was long, so there was time to make a cuppa and put the dishwasher on. The batteries need to have recovered before things like the dish washer are put on and having a stretch where the engine wouldn’t be idling was useful. Our new cooker is excelling itself, it only takes marginally longer to use the stove top kettle than the electric. No more waiting around for 10 minutes for it to boil! Just wonder how much gas it’s getting through though.

At Sprotbrough we thought of our friends Alison and Laura on NB Large Marge. They sing the praises of the butchers there every time we see them. We however had got side tracked at looking at the architecture of the church and missed the butchers completely. But then who appears on Google Street view, Mick at the stern, me by the bow and is that Tilly in a window!

Doncaster Lock was closed for a month during the maintenance period and has very new bottom gates to show for it. We had toyed with bringing Lillian back to Sheffield to swap boats there, but this closure got in the way and was possibly going to delay things. With hindsight it would have worked out for us.

We pootled on a bit further under Barnby Dun lift bridge to where the New Junction Canal heads off north and the Stainforth and Keadby goes east. We are back in the land of big skys with views in both directions, we do like our new windows. After two days of seeing no moving boats this afternoon that has changed. Boats have been motoring past us from Doncaster, four in one convoy. They headed up the New Junction so if they take it in turns to work the bridges they’ll zoom along.

9 locks, 19.06 miles, 1 lift bridge holding up 27, 1 shouting cat, 0 people listening! 6 grease incidents, 1 set of new gates, 2 trains, 1 parcel, 10 inch not 8, 1 set fire irons, 6 passing boats, 5% to loose, 1 familiar mooring, 2 grins.

This is a dual post with NB Lillyanne’s blog.
Our blogs will be changing, as we now have built our boat and NB Lillyanne will be up for sale in a few weeks. We’ll let you know what is happening once we know.

Sheffield Basin to Eastwood Lock

Up early, it would have been earlier if Tilly had had her way! A mug of tea each and a bowl of cereal we pushed off to the water point to top up Oleanna’s tank. Because she has a bowthruster our water tank is quite a bit smaller (500L) than Lilllian’s (800L) but we no longer have a flushing toilet so we should save quite a bit of water there. At the moment it looks like we get through around 100L a day, almost a quarter of the tank, we have a gauge now!

Once full we pootled through the swing bridge and on to Oleanna’s birth place, Mick beeped the horn, it really is loud! The chaps at the yard couldn’t ignore it and most came out to wave us goodbye. Johnathan wished us well as we passed and we thanked him. No time to stop, we had a rendez vous with a Lock Keeper.

As we reached Shirland Winding Hole Mick gave Oleanna a bit more umph to make sure she wouldn’t just slow and turn around. From here on it is new water for her. That’s better a changing view again!

The top lock of the flight was open and ready for us, Mick brought Oleanna into it and then stepped off, she was all mine now for the flight. The Lockie asked how long we were, 58ft 6in is what we asked for and hopefully are. Once Oleanna’s bow was past the walkway on the bottom lock gates I could nudge her further away from the cil markers. There is only one cil that you actually get to see on this flight and that is at lock 7&8 which is deep.

She is that bit easier to drive than Lillian, the morse control is less stiff and she responds quicker. Although I do seem to be developing a certain stance whilst looking down the port side of her. Lillian has no back doors on the cruiser stern, Oleanna does, so even though opened fully there is a bit less room for me to stand out on the back and be able to move the tiller. So I have to stand and lean backwards to see where the gunnel is compared to lock gates. This may change in time especially when my right foot is better.

David saw us down the first section of locks. He had an electric bike which he rode back and forth up the main section of the flight. All the locks have to be unlocked then locked after we’d gone through. He was quite chatty and although he spends his days unlocking locks and replacing signs that have been shot at he feels lucky to have a nice flight to look after where he gets no bother, “I can just look after you boaters”. He waved us goodbye after Lock 9.

Under the M1 to Lock 10 Mick took over the helm to let me sit down for a few minutes. Here Gary was waiting for us a second Lockie. As Mick stepped off I warned him that this was the chap who just opens paddles as soon as he gets to them without checking to see if you are ready. He drove his van down to the next two locks and then waved us goodbye at the bottom lock of the flight.

Mick took over the helm again along the river section. The next lock is a flood lock and last year we were left to operate it ourselves, but it is now kept locked so we were met by Nigel our third Lockie of the day. He said to stay on board and he’d work us down which he also did at Holmes Lock, giving me chance for a longer sit down.

Now on our own we pootled on to Ickles Lock. A Humber Keel had taken up residency on the lock landing, very helpful on a windy day! No option but to drop mick off on the offside. The mouth of the lock was full of rubbish, Mick tried to open each gate but had no luck. So our boat hook was employed for the first time to clear enough rubbish so that the gate would open. This was of course the side that was partly blocked by the Keel. The girlie button came in useful to achieve the steep angle that was needed to get into the lock.

Rotherham Lock was also surrounded by rubbish and the wind was doing a good job of holding Oleanna into the side. I managed to get her into a good position but too early as the lock wasn’t set so had to back up even more to swing her round through all the footballs and beer cans. Once through we decided that we’d pull up for some lunch and remove whatever had wrapped itself around the prop, we continued on to moor above Eastwood Lock.

Mick had asked David where Exol Pride was at the moment, this is a large commercial barge that works between Rotherham and Hull, you know when it’s coming your way! We were in luck as it had left Rotherham this morning, it was unlikely that we’d catch it up.

The wind got stronger and stronger which didn’t seem to bother the swans at the huge winding hole, but it was starting to bother us as white horses were showing their heads. We pulled in and had some lunch hoping that it would calm down. But it didn’t. Our aim had been to go for at least another hour before mooring up for the day, maybe even get as far as Sprotbrough. So we’ll have to make up time tomorrow with an earlier start than planned and hope that the wind is kind to us.

Several jobs have been seen to this afternoon whilst I’ve been resting my foot. Mick has solved a problem we’ve been having with the freezer. As you pull the drawer out the cable was getting caught on the drawer runners and pulling the spade connectors out. A small cuphook screwed to the underside of the frame now holds the cable up out of the way. He has also crafted lengths of hose so that we can now empty our yellow water tank (wee tank). We have a 20 L tank under the floor in the bathroom where the urine from our composting toilet goes to. There is a gulper pump to help empty the tank which has an outlet on the gunnel a bit like with a pump out, except we pump out ourselves. The system has been tested and our tank is now empty.

15 locks, 7.42 miles, 1 swing bridge, 1 BIG THANK YOU to all at Finesse and Jonathan Wilson, 1 emotional moment, 3 lock keepers, 1 maiden voyage, 1st spotting, 3 gunnel scuffs! 2 much rubbish, 1 leaning helmswoman, 3 open drawers, 1 outside moved, 0 exol pride, 49 swans, 2 much wind, 1 early stop, 1st trip down the weedhatch, 2 wee hoses, 1 Tom in a drawer, 1 freezer sorted, 0 fire irons, 2 grins.

This is a dual post with NB Lillyanne’s blog.

Our blogs will be changing, as we now have built our boat and NB Lillyanne will be up for sale in a few weeks. We’ll let you know what is happening once we know.

10th April

Over the weekend we’ve been compiling a list of snagging jobs and we returned to the boat yard in the morning.

Ricky was in a meeting with some clients but popped out to check on things and have a quick check through our list. Soon we had Kris and Chris/Kev (he’s called Chris but everyone calls him Kev) on board armed with tools. They worked quickly through our list.

With four people on board on Sunday and things now in cupboards and drawers things were opening very easily as the boat moved. Just pushing off from the side would open drawers so Kris fixed a couple of magnetic catches on the top ones. We’ll have to see if this fully holds them in place once we start cruising properly.

Kris fixed a bin that we’d bought at the weekend on the cupboard door under the sink. On our old boat we’ve made do with an Ikea box hung on screws, but this one is far superior. It took him all of a minute to do, rather than an hour by us.

On Sunday morning Mick had had a shower and when it was my turn I noticed that there was a small puddle on the bathroom floor. Mick said he’d already mopped it up, maybe he’d missed a bit. So I did a thorough girl mop and made sure everywhere was dry before I had my shower. The puddle had returned so I mopped it again only for it to come back. Possibly there was a little bit of flex on the shower tray and the sealant hadn’t held. Kris scraped off the old sealant with a wedge of wood. I’d not see this before, but it worked far better than a stanley blade as there was little chance of it marking the shower tray or the doors, just a bit of brute force needed. Then a wider bead of sealant was applied. This will need at least eight hours to go off before either of us has a shower.

We had ordered a barge pole and boat hook through CV Marine at the basin. Of course the hook had come as a pole and a hook separately and the pole needed to be chamfered down to be able to fix the hook on. Kris took this away for us and returned with it all sorted for us.

Meanwhile Chris/Kev got on with problems we were having elsewhere. As we’d been on shore power we’d tried to use the immersion water heater, but it didn’t want to work. A nosy at the calorifier found the problem quickly, the thermostat on it had been turned right down so it wasn’t going to produce any heat. Once turned up we were put on a shore line and the immersion was turned on, after a couple of hours the water was definitely hot.

The freezer under the dinette had power but didn’t want to do anything. The cause was that the voltage had been reversed, easily solved. Although since this was solved we’ve discovered that the cable to the power socket has a tendency to get caught on the back of the drawer runners as you pull it out, this means that the spade connectors get pulled out. A little bit of thought needs to go into solving that one. We also suspect some ventilation holes will be needed to help keep the freezer cool.

The radio was receiving FM but not DAB. With the cricket season having started this would be very important to get solved. Mick didn’t know how to remove the radio from it’s housing so Chris/Kev managed to pull it out and an adaptor was needed to connect the aerial cable. Once one of these was sourced it all worked fine.

I’d spotted a big paint chip down to the steel on the well deck which got touched in with a blob of blue paint. One of our poppered blinds for the bow doors had lost a popper which meant it couldn’t be rolled up, this was redone, a bit like a rivet.The TV aerial had arrived but we were lacking the right connectors for it. Chris said he would pop to Maplins on his way home and get some that we could pick up the following day. We were given a rather nice looking cap for the stove flue, we’ll use this in summer to keep the rain out.

When we’d lit the stove the night before with a small fire we’d had quite a lot of smoke come off it. This is normal as the paint and cement need heat to help them cure. The first few fires should be small ones to help with this, then we can have a bigger fire and keep it in longer. Having checked through the instructions for the stove we’d noticed that we were lacking a riddler (this agitates the grate to remove ash from the fire into the ash box) and poker that should have come with the stove. A call was made to the manufacturers and they would be sent arriving on Wednesday. Ricky would catch up with us to deliver them as we were planning to move off down the Tinsley flight by then.

The gaps under the bathroom doors had on Friday caused me some concern as our cat Tilly had managed to squeeze herself under the door into the cabin from the bathroom. Later on in the day I had checked the height of each door to see if the gaps were the same. Luckily they weren’t, the one to the bedroom was lower, too low for her. I had been toying with asking if it would be possible to put a thin rod across the openings, not reducing the ventilation of them but barring any cat limbo dancing. But with one door capable of being a barrier we should be alright.

Ken and Julia had been in meetings with clients and when they finished they came over to have a look round and meet Tilly. We hadn’t seen Julia since October and I’m not sure she’d seen the interior finished. With all the jobs done Chris came on board with a huge hamper full of goodies for the three of us, yes Tilly had treats and a toy too.

On Tuesday we’ll pick up the adaptors for the TV aerial, Wednesday Ricky will deliver the fire irons and then that just leaves the lithium batteries. Once these arrive Ricky will bring them to meet us and swap them for the AGM batteries and reprogram the invertor. This hopefully will be in a couple of weeks time.

It was certainly worth staying in the basin for a few days getting to use everything and finding any problems as this meant they were a lot easier to solve at the yard rather than the boat being miles away.

Tomorrow we will start our cruise southwards.

9th April

As we haven’t had a launch as such we have decided to have several celebrations on our cruise to Crick.

After spending Saturday shopping and tidying up we had the first guests on board Oleanna. Friends, Steve and Frank, drove down from Scarborough to spend the afternoon with us. After plenty of chatting inside over cups of tea, sausage rolls and boat biscuits we went outside to officially give NB Oleanna her name.

A 1979 bottle of Bollinger champagne was opened and then poured over the bow. Sadly we already knew that this vintage bottle would be undrinkable but it was a suitable bottle for the job. We then opened a bottle that Frank had brought with him to toast Oleanna, it didn’t take long to finish it!

Steve and Frank were both impressed with her. Frank a skilled carpenter by trade gave the woodwork a big thumbs up. We now have the Matthews seal of approval. We’ll be happy to stop and share some bubbles with people on our cruise south.

7th April

Up early to finish packing and loading the van. We had originally only planned on taking the essentials for cruising, but having a van meant we could take a bit more of everything. So with about a third of our possessions we drove up to Sheffield arriving at about 12.30 pm our final stage payment having beaten us to Finesse as planned.

On arriving the first thing was to let Tilly our cat out of her carrier. With a bathroom door closed either side of us I let her out of the carrier and put out some food and some litter. Naturally nervous of the situation Tilly was running around all over and somehow managed to squeeze herself under the door leading into the main cabin. Fortunately the stern doors were closed and I was able to pick her up. A large box was put in front of the gap to save any escapes whilst our belongings came on board.

Most of the jobs had been completed on board ready for our arrival. The TV aerial and hook up cable were on order and not due to arrive until Monday.We were also missing fire extinguishers. The Boat Safety Examiner had said we’d need three large ones due to our boiler being inside the cabin, on most boats the boiler is in the engine bay. Paul one of the carpenters came on board and we found positions for two of them. Both went in the nearest cupboard to the doors, out of sight, they will need a label on the outside of the door. The position of the fire blanket was chosen on the triangular shelves next to the cooker. Here it won’t be in your eye line, but is very handy for swift deployment. We will have to think about the third extinguisher as there is nowhere obvious for it.

On board we now have two 12volt 100AH AGM batteries these will be on loan until our second Lithium battery arrives which should be in a couple of weeks. The original battery has been taken off and will be given a full charge and brought to meet us with the new one. This will mean that both batteries start at the same level of charge as each other.

Our plan was to stay in the basin for the weekend and work our way through NB Oleanna finding any glitches so that we could compile a snagging list. So with hook up possible in the basin we needed a cable. Ricky headed off to pick one up for us locally, whilst we went to the winding hole to wind. I stayed below with Tilly trying to calm the situation as Mick pushed off down the cut. I heard a short blast of the bow thruster and then we were off. At the winding hole Mick turned her without using the girlie button and returned us to the boat yard.

Below I wasn’t aware that the bow thruster had actually stopped working as we pulled out, so Mick hadn’t the option to use it as he turned. After we’d moored up he tried pressing the buttons, but still nothing. Chris and Ricky came to have a look. Ricky first checked the isolation switch in the bowthruster locker, it was off. Turned on, problem solved, phew!

With a hook up cable now on board we could move off to the basin. Except Oleanna wouldn’t start! Ricky returned and started to eliminate causes, she had started every time up to now. Isolation switches were turned off then on, engine board lifted. A look in the electrics cupboard behind all the isolation switches and a bit of waggling of cables. One was loose, a check with a volt meter confirmed it needed re-terminating. Huge bolt cutters were brought in to chop the connector off the cable, then it was re-crimped back on, this time with a crimper that took both Ricky and Chris to operate. Everything back to how it should be the engine started. Switched off and then it wouldn’t start again! Another cable needed re-terminating too. These two cables had been done by the chap who fits the engines and it seems his crimper isn’t up to scratch.

With the engine started we cruised into the basin with me at the helm and Mick operating the swing bridge. Over the weekend we would be unpacking and make a snagging list, then return on Monday to have things sorted and pick up the TV aerial.

After almost five years we were finally cruising with our very own boat built to our spec, admittedly it wasn’t very far. A bottle of bubbly was opened in the evening once we’d found enough room to sit down amongst all our bags and Tilly decided that she should sit all neat and tidy in her new home.

Visit 5th April

Today we headed back to Sheffield to have a detailed walk through and check on anything that still needed doing. The AGM batteries were due to arrive today so would be fitted on Thursday and all being well we would then get the keys on Friday.

We have decided to cruise her away from Sheffield, my ankle is improving and standing at the helm in locks will be achievable, so we’ll be saving on transportation and craning. Just hope that the weather stays good for our trip on the rivers Trent and Soar.

The hooks on the back doors have been adjusted so locker lids don’t interfere with them anymore. The bolts holding the back doors closed are still to be extended or a catch added so that we can cruise with the back doors closed. The radio aerial needs an adaptor so that it can be plugged into the socket on the stern. A TV aerial will be ordered in for us. The plank and pole rack position was discussed and decided on. The black band on the stern still needs painting black to separate the cream and red bands.

Ricky talked Mick and myself through everything in the electrics cupboard. Alde boiler control, inverter, battery monitor. A lot of information to take in, I think we got more than the basics and will soon understand it all after going through the reading matter.

I walked through the whole of the interior checking that cupboards and drawers opened correctly. Only a couple were sticking a little, just small tweaks to hinges.

The cabin floor had been given a coat of oil. It had been covered in cardboard for protection for so long that it had gone dull and one or two marks showed up. But as I’d hoped when I chose the flooring a coat of oil brought it back to life and any small marks disappeared.

As we will be cruising NB Oleanna to Crick the first two servicing jobs will need doing. At 25 hours of running in gear the gear box oil will need changing and at 50 hours the engine oil and filter will need changing. Mick had a good look round in the engine bay. He currently services Lillyanne which has a Barrus Shire, Oleanna has a Beta 43 so things are in different places. He asked Ricky if he could get in the correct oil and filters for the services, this will not only save time on our cruise south but having actual filters means we’ll have good references for the future.

We have ended up ordering poles through Paul at CV Marine in Sheffield, this saves us worrying how to get them from Crick to Sheffield in a car. Prices of planks were extortionate so we plan on buying a scaff plank which I will paint and antislip at some point. We’ll also need a hook up cable so we asked Ricky if they could order one in for us. The diesel tank will have enough in it for us to get to Thorne where we will fill her up. She has a fuel gauge which will need to be recalibrated when we do this as the tank hasn’t as yet been filled. Then we’ll need two gas bottles, we may end up having to pay the deposit on two unless we see a some lying around!

All the jobs would be done for Friday when we can pick her up and sail her away!

With this in mind we stopped at some services on our way back to Crick so that we could make arrangements. NB Lillyanne would need to be put into the marina whilst we are away, Noel said he’d find room for us. A one way car hire was sorted to be picked up on Thursday swapping it for the van we currently had. This would give us a day to pack essentials for a two week cruise. Insurance and Licence needed paying for and then it would be the final stage payment to Finesse.