Scarborough/ Goole

It’s been a busy week for us here in Scarborough. A visit from a plumber gave us a more favourable quote than one we’d had a month or so ago. Then last weekend we heard from Darran (the plumber) that the job he should have been doing this week was delayed so he could fit us in. He arrived Tuesday morning and by the time he left that day the old boiler and tank had been removed and replaced with a combi.

The new boiler provides heat to half the house and hot water to a bathroom. That night we both partook of showers and sat on the sofa warm without having to have electric heaters on. The following day Darran finished the set up then ran through a list of other jobs, including two new toilet innards and several sticking taps.

A builder has been to look at damp we’ve got in a couple of places and we’ve had a chimney sweep so we can now have fires again.

Paint has been stripped from the rotting window sills to see to what extent they need replacing and Frank by the end of yesterday finished securing the first new piece of wood onto the first sill, along with realigning a set of bannisters and gluing a spindle back together. Hopefully the weather will be okay to do more next week along with changing the locks on the front doors now that we’ve managed to get the springs changed inside them and have new keys.

Tilly hasn’t been too pleased with people coming and going, making noise and her areas of the house reducing in size depending on where people were working.

Her job title has changed a couple of times this week. On Oleanna she is the Second Mate, earlier this week she became Clark of Works and yesterday she decided on another job.

Her beautiful white paws no longer white!

As yet we’re not sure if she would like to be a chimney sweep or if she has ideas of being a feline Fred Dibner! Her route up the chimney has hopefully now been blocked successfully.

The kitchen and utility room are almost complete paint wise, just some undercoat and white gloss (hard to get hold of currently) to go and they can be ticked off the list. Just a shame that it looks like our kitchen floor will have to be dug up. Remedial work for damp a few years ago meant the builder, whilst digging up the kitchen floor put a nick into a gas pipe leading to the hob. This was spotted a year or so later and a new copper pipe was passed through the flexible stainless steel pipe. This works, but the two metals should not be together so will degrade, therefore it needs replacing. We’ll replace the gas hob with electric, but a suitable cable can’t go through the flexible pipe, hence the floor needs to be dug up! I am currently on the hunt for matching tiles.

Mick got several parcels. One containing some jelly beans which meant he could move the internet up to the room we call the shed. Our internet still isn’t as good as on the boat and another issue has been raised with our provider as when you pick up the phone the internet cuts out.

Tilly has ventured outside a few times, but isn’t that impressed. If we hold her cat flap open she’ll go through it, but she hasn’t as yet mastered coming back in. I think we will still be custodians of the door in the house as well as on the boat. I think once we let her out the front of the house she will be more enthusiastic as she’s already spied all the trees in the park.

Eggs delivered with the milk once a week

Friday morning we were up early to receive a Sainsburys delivery before it was even light. Then Mick got a train down to Goole to visit Oleanna taking his tool kit on a bike.

He gave Oleanna fresh oil and a new oil filter. Then he attached a couple of Temperature Sensors. One was attached to the batteries and the other end to the Victron system monitor. The other one was attached to the engine. This means we can monitor the temperatures remotely, either at the tiller or from further afield.

When Oleanna was built the control panel was housed behind a lockable panel which we requested. Because of this we ended up with a standard panel which doesn’t show the engine temperature, this is located just inside the hatch. Due to Tilly not being allowed up on deck whilst we cruise this means the back doors are always closed when we are on the move, so it’s not so easy to check the engine temperature. Mick can access the system monitor from his phone and see what the temperature is now.

Over the last three weeks Mick has been keeping an eye on the system monitor. He can remotely connect power from the hook up, but so far our solar panels have been looking after the batteries on their own. The new temperature sensor will enable Mick to see when the temperature of the batteries drops to 5C or less. Lithium batteries don’t like to be charged when the temperature is below 0C. So remotely he will be able to stop the solar from charging them. This morning their temperature was 7C. The big spike yesterday on the chart was when Mick ran the engine.

All the doors were opened up to refresh the air inside the cabin and all was well onboard. Before we can return for a night I’ll need to sort the curtains for our bedroom. I may just take a pattern from them, give the old ones a wash and rehang them for the time being. But the curtains in the rest of the boat want new lining (thanks to Tilly!) and I’m aiming to make new curtains for the house, so it looks like I need to work out how much lining I’ll need and put a big order in.

Last Sunday the weather was fine so we decided to head to the North Bay to say hello to Freddie. Our route took us through Sainsbury’s car park and then along the cinder track, which used to be the railway line to Whitby. We then headed down towards Peasholm Park walking through Manor Road Cemetery, first bumping into an old friend Jim and then Jaye and Duncan.

The Cemetery is very atmospheric with little gardens, there is a memorial to civilians who died in the bombardment of Scarborough in December 1914. Every twist and turn brings more stories. Without really noticing it you leave the cemetery and enter Peasholm Park with it’s beck, Japanese Gardens and then boating Lake with pagoda looking down from above. Built in the 1910’s the park became the focus for fetes, galas etc and in 1927 the model Naval Warfare was introduced which you can still see today, although I’ve heard it I’ve never seen it.

We crossed the roundabout and walked down to what used to be called The Corner.

The North Bay watched over by the Castle

Here the footpath is nice and wide, despite being popular there is plenty of space. We walked round to say hello to Freddie, one of my favourite sculptures. This giant chap sits on a bench, in his coat smoking. The Ray Lonsdale sculpture depicts Freddie Gilroy one of the first soldiers to relieve the Bergen-Belson concentration camp at the end of WW2.

We followed Marine Drive round the headland, watching the waves. The seagulls waiting for unsuspecting visitors to drop their guard and loose their chips! A walk round the harbour would have been lovely, but it was far too busy so we side stepped away from the crowds onto Burr Bank, walking into town through the Old Town, waving to Alan and Heather as we passed their garden.

Hopefully this Sunday the sun will be out again, although I’m not sure we’ll venture far as one of my knees is seriously complaining about steps, climbing ladders and kneeling on the floor. Two days off decorating should help, I may even pick up my knitting needles again, something I’ve not had the inkling to do since early lockdown.

o locks, o miles, 2 trains, 9 litres oil, 2 sensors, 1 gravel barge, 1 parcel of yarn, 1 present for Tilly, 1 sill nearly mended, 1 spindle glued, 7 windows undercoated, 1 boiler, 1 chimney swept, 1 chimney climber, 1 MBE Congratulations Sarah! 1 brick laid, 1 patch of plaster required, 4 hidden knives found, 1 boater longing to walk the towpath with her cat, 1 bag of frozen peas.

Where were we

2019 On the Kennet and Avon Canal, All Cannings to Woolhall Bridge. LINK

2018 On the South Oxford Canal, Aristotle Bridge to Isis Lock. LINK

2017 On the Trent and Mersey, Taft Bridge to Lower Burston Bridge. LINK

2016 On the Leeds Liverpool, Bingley Five Rise to Holden Swing Bridge. LINK

2015 On the Nottingham Canal, Nottingham. LINK

2014 On the Shropshire Union Canal, Avenue Bridge to Little Onn. LINK

2011 On the Shropshire Union Canal, arriving in Chester on NB Winding Down. LINK

Trent Lock Pontoon to Sainsburys, Nottingham and Beeston Canal

Another lovely sunny morning, we woke to pink clouds across the river, these weren’t of interest to our silent Second Mate, the gulls kept her focus. I think she’s forgiven us for yesterday, nearly!

After breakfast we put our layers and life jackets on and said goodbye to our neighbours. Over night we protected them from the wind and the noisy lapping of the river on our hull. I suspect the pontoon also cuts down the noise, so that is the reason they were on the inside as they will be there for two weeks.

I untied the bow first (we’d moored using innie ropes) as this was only holding the boat in to the pontoon. The stern rope was doing all the work of stopping us from drifting downstream so was left until I had stepped on board having given Oleanna a little push, the flow of the river then did the rest helping her to turn.

Second left and we were into Cranfleet Cut, a big sign showing us the way north. From here everything is very familiar, three/four years ago we had to loiter near to Nottingham for me to visit the hospital weekly to get physio for my hand so we got to know the area quite well. HS2 will cross the cut in years to come and just add another railway bridge to the landscape here. The tap above Cranfleet Lock now has a tap fitted to it, there was one time when you needed molegrips to turn the water on, but as the pressure was only a trickle it wasn’t worth it, today we carried on.

No need for windlasses today as both locks we’d be doing have them welded onto the paddle gear. The lock needed filling so the top gate paddles were lifted, all four of them. When coming up this lock you have to take care in which paddle you lift when, best to stay back and even better to share it with another boat. The Lockie grins away waist deep in the flower bed, he’s only here for show!

River cruising is good for diesel engines, no longer constrained to going slowly, it is also good for doing your washing. One load was put on before we left Trent Lock, once this was well on it’s way to finishing the dishwasher was put on. The river is wide with several obstacles you have to avoid. Today there were masses of geese, Canadian and Greylags. It was interesting to see when they decided to fly off only one species would go leaving the other behind.

At Beeston Lock a boat had just left the lock coming our way, but his didn’t mean it would be in our favour. On leaving this lock you leave a red paddle up at both ends to keep a flow of water running through Nottingham, so the chamber starts to empty straight away. Once set we worked our way down, Mick taking Oleanna to the water point whilst I closed and lifted paddles.

The cottages just by the lock have now been restored and are open as the Canal Heritage Centre. These cottages were first detailed on the 1839 census, with 21 people living on site, but by 1980 the last inhabitant moved out. By 2010 the Canal Heritage Centre Trust was formed with the aim of creating a new community facility at the workers cottages. Works were on going when we last came through April 2017 and the centre is now open to the public. There is a tea room, exhibition space along with community activities including a Classic Film Club run every two weeks in the afternoon.

We made use of the time on the water point, did another load of washing hoping to top up the tank before moving off. Keeping a watchful eye out we had lunch too, if anyone came wanting to use the services we’d have moved off, but luckily they didn’t.

Now the plod into town. The daffodils are shooting up to find light by the willow trees, we saw our first snowdrops the other day! The new bridge crossing the canal to Boots is open, bits of work still happening around it and the locals have already left their marks. The works on the off side always amuse us with the funny noises, Nottingham Ready Mix Co. Spurts of ingredients get blown from hoppers, each making slightly different shhhht noises, it’s almost musical. There seem to be more toilets too.

Just after Castle Marina the visitor moorings start. The first stretch is currently filled with cruisers who all look settled for two weeks and have left modesty gaps between themselves! New posh student rabbit hutches are going up next door to the existing block. So we had a choice of builders, students or road noise. In the end we just moored at the end of the cruisers, within easy walking distance to Sainsburys. The builders won’t be noisy at night and the building looks to be made mostly from glulam so it shouldn’t be too loud. The road quietens down overnight, let’s just hope the current residential students are quieter than the first lot we encountered here who chatted and laughed away the nights.

2 locks, 8.18 miles, 2nd left, 1 cheesy grin, 2 loads washing, 1 dishwasher, 1 full tank water, 1 wet neck, 9 toilets, 6 git gaps, 1 marina closed on Tuesdays, 3 life jackets still waiting.

https://goo.gl/maps/XkcgrD8cJzp

Narrowboat Oleanna

Travels of Narrowboat Oleanna

Category Archives: Nottingham Canal

Sensors and Catch Up 2/10 to10/10

Where were we

Windlass Lessness. 15th January