Blue And Red Jobs. 31st May

Lockdown Mooring 3 and a bit that way, then winding, then there and back a bit too

Malvern our nearest neighbour

Tilly had an hour of shore leave whilst we had breakfast. As we waited for her to return I gave the gunnel a wash down to remove the fertan, hoping it hadn’t been too hot yesterday for it to do it’s job. Well there were a few places where there was still a touch of orange where I hadn’t quite managed to sand it well enough along with the fertan having dried a bit too quickly. Maybe I should have given those bits a second coat, but that would delay the repainting by a day. They will do for now, we’re considering taking Oleanna out of the water later in the year to check her blacking, so a better less knee killing job can be done then.

Oleanna with a go faster stripe

With the gunnel steaming away nicely and Tilly back on board we sought the shade again. Time to give the primer a good stir before applying a coat to any bare metal. This didn’t take long. I was now ready for the starboard side, so we pootled down the cut to Bunbury winding hole.

Where have all the hire boats gone?

For the first time a boat was pulled up alongside the towpath whirligig and just about all the hire boats had vanished. They had been two abreast right up to the locks before, but now only a couple were visible. On our last trip to Chester they had all been moored below the locks and had taken a bit to squeeze past. Maybe they have all been moved back there to make them ready for when hire boats can go back out.

I love this owl

We pootled back to the shady mooring, tied up all ready for me to start again! My poor knees!!

At least this side had been sanded back towards the end of last year, so there was less general sanding required, but a few new rust patches and the rubbing strakes needed loose paint scraping away and a good sanding down. Then a rinse off followed by more fertan.

Blue job

I wasn’t the only one being kept busy. Mick inside had decided to give the oven (or both of them) a good clean, a blue job. The glass fronts were cleaned as best he could with Bar Keepers Mate and Pink Stuff. They didn’t end up looking like new, but far better than they have for a while. The hob also got a clean just ready for me to spill cheese sauce on this evening.

It’s the same as this morning, just on the other side of the inside!

The crew have lost it again! They think they can fool me, but I’ve got their number. They thought I’d be pleased with three outsides in a day again, but two of them were the same as yesterday just on the other side! She thought I’d be confused and run off the wrong side of the boat, but I am far too intelligent to do that. I’d already taken note of which side the outside was on!

A nice bit of shade

0 locks, 0.38 miles maybe (didn’t have the trip computer on), 1 wind, 3 outsides, 1 side primed, 2nd side fertanned, 2 knees owing, 1 tasty friend consumed, 1 oven bright and twinkling, 2 wings, 1 cauliflower cheese with bacon, 3 glasses of wine well it is Sunday!

Two wings

4 thoughts on “Blue And Red Jobs. 31st May

  1. Paul (from Waterway Routes)

    As you realised, Fertan only works when it’s wet (or at least damp). If it dries out in the sun then you only need to mist it with water to re-activate it, you don’t need to use more Fertan. A small bottle with a hand squeeze trigger that cleaning products once came in from the supermarket is ideal, if washed out and filled with clean water. It only takes a few seconds to re-wet it hourly if necessary.

    1. pipandmick Post author

      Thanks Paul. I was aware of this but by the time we’d moved back and I’d managed to get stood upright again and hobble about I had forgotten it would be wise to dampen it again before going to bed. It will all need patching up in a few months anyway once we’ve been through locks again.

  2. christine geraghty

    Tilly has got you sussed. Impressed with all that cleaning, my oven door could do with a go.

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