Christmas on board...

Ok so it was a little squeeze - 7 of us in the saloon, with the heat building up, dinner was served via an assortment of make-shift benches and anything acted as a seat!! However presents were opened, food was eaten, and everyone had a good time

K2 now has a ships bell and a fantastic thermometer to tell me how cold the inside really is!! Oh and a 2 way telephone so that we can communicate between the back counter and the galley, despite having an old thumper in-between!

Home is now being rented out properly... Bit of a nightmare really as it will cost me more, and I need to store all my furniture somewhere, but the hassle of watching it deteriate will stop hopefully, when a family uses it as home. So if anyone knows where I can store furniture, as well as a trailer, that would be brilliant. K2 will house some of the additional things, but she can't take too much more - as NB Mr David commented when I first loaded her - she's a narrow boat not a 4 bedroom house!! Watch this space, she's about to become a 4 bedroom house !!!

Of Oil, Heavy Oil, and vintage engines...

So of course, it had to happen given the high price of red diesel now.. apparantly the RN DM3 can run on old engine oil. difficult to start in the cold I guess, but then a little diesel may help that along.
Anyone got experince of this sort of thing? I know it would mean a tank conversion, filter replacements, and so-on, but it could mean cheaper running, and no declaration of tax that is incorrect.....
hmmm

Picture or two - to keep us all going...

For no particular reason, except that it is boring moaning about diesel prices, sad talking about the economy, and we all need to remember cruising days!!

At least I'm not a super-tanker with $100m worth of crude oil on board - so no fear of pirates in the UK inland waterways. Having said that - my Dad was passing yesterday and went on board with a friend to help himself to Cheese and crisps and hot drinks when I wasn't around - is that piracy???!!

Thick me....

OK - so I don't get it!!
I paid £1.10 a litre for my diesel. Apparantly that is split 60% at full fuel duty for propulsion, and 40% at discounted rate for generation and heating. Forget the fact that that is all wrong and daft in the first place. However, how come given that equation - I can buy white diesel at 100% full fuel duty for £1.07 at the most expensive garage in Warwickshire and Nottinghamshire. I can only guess the boatyards are now ripping us off.....
Anyone got a 57foot trailer and hoist?

Long lost friends

After many a phone call, email, text and any other method of communication you can think of, finally Dave and Sheila made it to K2 to visit. Haven't seen Sheila for about 4 years, and Dave for about 2... So in the wind and rain that is our winter, or late Autumn if you look at the colour of the trees, we luxuriated on Fish and Chips and cruised out and back, via the bank.... No not the one that we own and doesn't have any money, rather the mud one, courtesy of Sheilas helmsmanship and my non-watchful eye!!
Still it was a great trip, and good to be out and about for a bit! Filled with diesel - £1.10, that's a shock from the old 84p thing. First time I've filled up since November 1st, so best I get used to it I suppose! I could rant about Europe, and our governments confusion, or just accept that taxes and death are the 2 certainties in life and get on with getting the cheque book out!!
Now K2 is snug as a bug, and shut down against the wind and rain, and I'm heading for a hot soak in the bath!!!

Pictures!

So being a rude blogger - forgot to post the picture of Nb Ten Bob Note - so here it is, with my apologies to Ernie, that it was taken but not published!!

A picture exchange means a couple of pictures that I would never be able to take...

Your view, just so you can recognise me coming the other way down the cut... All Oaks is a lovely spot - and is a beautiful backdrop to a cruise start. Here we are really fortunate to have such a lovely starting point.

Oh yes, and second picture, K2, yes she does go round in one go!!

Out and back...

Out Saturday at 0800hrs for the first ever flotilla cruise! A long day saw the fleet moored up in a fantastic spot just below the locks, and down the cut from a winding hole, perfect for me to turn and continue up the flight on Sunday.

No sooner had we turned out of the marina, than who should we pass than Ernie on NB Ten Bob Note (again for me!!) although Andy hadn't crossed paths before.

An uneventful, but beautiful run to Atherston, with us passing very few boats along the way.

With a Sunday roast on Saturday, and a fried breakfast on Sunday, I was geared up and ready to head for home, but forgot the reduced hour on daylight, so didn't quite make it back to the marina on Sunday night, so ended up a mile out, a fantastic spot, although hopeless for mooring as it has a concrete bank side that you can't stake to. I couldn't continue as my tunnel light didn't work, never mind, another job for John when I'm back in the marina!!

Beautiful Autumn days

I think they are my favourites!! when the sun is so weak and low that it casts a mist all day, and the stove in the back cabin keeps you warm and cosy whilst cruising along. Nothing on the canal at all, (well apart from NB Ten Bob Note, who I played ping pong with, passing or being passed by Ernie 3 times during the day!!) so blue skies, sunny weather and empty water - better by far than summer!!

Passed a fishing convention though - no not the human kind, 3 herons within 200 yards all on the same bank side, all very reluctant to fly off when I went past. Of course they could've stayed, I would even have slowed down for them!

Well the ol' donkey has been serviced, and he sounds good as well. Ingenious little brass tap allows you to pump out the engine sump, and the gearbox sump, just by swinging a lever across, so that was easy..

Here's two rare pictures one of blue skies, and the other of me - errr, actually my shadow! I thought it was a bit of fun seeing myself cruising along the hedgerow...

Too many Birds

Spent the weekend acting ferry (car ferry that is) I have a new pony. They take some looking after! and I can't even see her being harnessed up and saving the legs of my DM3 by hauling K2 down the canal!

All too unpredictable for me, my donkey kicks in every time, and answers to the call of the controls when I ask....

The canal still has too many of those black and white geese things. I hate them - apart from making a mess and squarking a lot, I can't see the point of them!! I for one will be glad when they all fly off for the winter... this pack ( can't think of them as a flock) only just got out when I went past... I'm sure they felt it was their right to stay in the water.

Tourism Traffic...

Thursday and Friday - best days of the year, weather wise, or so it felt! Hardly October as K2 made her way out glorious sunshine and blue skies!! Just one of those days that made you glad to be out on the water. And to add to it all, and back into the countryside again, there moored up was Nb Ten Bob Note. I've been following Ernie's blog even before I got K2, very envious of the wandering waterway life-style, so it was great to stop for a minute and say hi, and meet boat to boat.

As usual had no mobile network, but a great pub that Ivor and I ate well in, and was relatively empty, as we had a choice of moorings, before being joined by Tom and Jay on Friday.

All the way I held K2's tiller only for the locks - felt very strange having so many people desperate to steer... and greet all the other passing boats!

It was a great 2 days - passing too quickly, and now heading into a busy weekend....