Mr Jones and the vet

My last words to the vet were, "What if he changes his mind and wants to start a family?" Oh how we laughed!

Today's story is that Mr Jones (or Jonesy to his close friends) has been castrated. Not a pleasant experience (I imagine), and from Mr Jones' behavior: definitely exhausting. He looks confused, lost, sore, and unsure about food. But he will receive plenty of affection over the coming days, and I'm sure everything will soon heal up.

Wire Loop Game

Now it is usual to post photos to add value to your blog's words, but as photos of Jonesey's privates perhaps should remain private, I plan to post a video (a video itself an experiment and a first in our blog) of Princess Lucy passing through Marple gauging point. Isn't that more interesting?

Now for those not in the know this is a length of canal where the width of the canal is just a dog's testicle wider than the boat. It is a bit like that wire loop game where you try to not make the buzzer sound when your loop hits the wire (you know what I mean). Well its kind of the same except you try to not let your boat touch the sides.

Anyway here is a video of Princes Lucy rather successfully negotiating said gauging point. And it's definitely much more interesting than Jonesey's testicles - which first mate has just reported "are going black." So while I Google whether that is normal, you can watch the video.

The accompanying music is "Slow Train," a song by Flanders and Swann from 1963

Its subject is the Beeching cuts.

Me and Mr Jones

Mr Jones getting to grips with the boat

It is exactly a year since we lost Jemma and seven months since Rocky was relocated to his new life on the South coast with Jim. We told ourselves that we should celebrate the advantages of being dog free. For thirty years we have had this responsibility and couldn't just take off for weekends in hotels, stay over with friends, spend hours shopping and book holidays abroad. But it hit us both that this is not what we really enjoy.

On reflection our best holidays last year were on the boat with the dogs and in two gorgeous holiday cottages with Rocky. It was truth time and we have to admit that this is what we have been missing. It is true that we have been able to lie in with no dog needing a morning walk. However that's a small compensation for the hours of pleasure we have had walking our dogs over the years. No matter how bad the weather, it always makes us feel better and it is the habit of having to go out two or three times every day that is really rewarding.

So when first mate was asked to pick a piece of jewellery for her big birthday. She just blurted it out: I don't want jewellery. I want a dog. There has been a doggy shaped hole in our lives for long enough.

Enter our new rescue. In this picture he looks like a fox but he actually looks a bit like a smaller version of Jem. That was purely by chance. We went along to Netherlands Dog Rescue near Mexborough with our heart set on another dog but he had already been taken. The rehoming officer suggested Jonesy (now often being called Mr Jones). It was love at first sight. He is such a character and very affectionate. We have had him for three weeks now and took him to see Princess Lucy for a short trip out on Saturday.

It was a lovely, crisp sunny spring day on the Peak Forest and we had a little cruise down to New Mills and back just to see how he got on. There was a lot for him to take in but he seemed to enjoy the experience. There were ducks, geese, dogs on the towpath, low flying branches, bridges that move, even a home that moves! 

However, he is a terrier cross and the biggest problem for him seems to be boredom. He will need a lot of mental and physical stimulation. We think the canal gave him both as he patrolled the deck, checking out the flora and fauna. It's his first step to becoming a boat dog. We plan to take the boat out for a few days over Easter, and we have revisited doggiepubs.org.uk which adds a further complication to the itinerary. We will see how he fares when the boat becomes his other home for a few days. 

Eberspacher Expense ends in Ebullience

A few weeks ago the Eberspacher (the diesel heater for the water and central heating on our boat) began to fail. It would switch off for no reason and not attempt to restart. This was not good, as at the time the weather was seriously cold, and we do expect to wake up to a cosy boat. It only failed occasionally, so armed with a couple of screwdrivers, a 4mm allen key and a new gasket set I set about giving it a service. Surely the combustion chamber would be coked up, and a quick fettle might see it right?

Not so. In fact the combustion chamber was amazingly clean. This was a surprise as we have had the boat 2½ years and the Eberspacher has been well used. The cleanliness may be due a change in Red Diesel when, in 2011, it became ordinary diesel with colouring in. This meant we all got a lower sulphur fuel which burns cleaner. Well that’s all good then - but it didn't give me any confidence that I had done anything to cure the problem. And I hadn't.

Enter Ed Shires from Four Counties Marine in Leek. He knows his stuff. Most of his work is boat heating systems. So if you have a heater that is poorly, and kicking it hasn't worked, he’s your man. He came to the boat and plugged his tester in. It immediately showed a fault. The problem was, it then showed another fault, and then another fault and after some time Ed found that the fault was the brain of the Eberspacher. The brain, the control unit, the electronic control unit or ECU was failing and as a result throwing out random fault codes.

So, that was that. The options were
      (a) Cry into my oil stained tea towel.
      (b) buy a new control unit - around £300.
      (c) Obtain a second hand ECU or second hand working unit.
      (d) Buy a new unit - £700, but with a three year guarantee. 

There were other options, but I didn't fancy the one with the hair drier, and it would take some explaining.

New Unit

Without going into all the whys and wherefores, the THREE YEAR GUARANTEE seemed very attractive, so options (a) and (d) were selected. 

The following day after an hour of swearing at the control unit (which I thought may shame it into working) I took a steady drive over to H Bowers at Stoke on Trent to pick up a new unit. The man there was really helpful and by mid afternoon the new unit was fitted to the boat and warming the water.

I was so excited I took a video of it. I haven’t posted it anywhere in case it goes viral. 

The waters are hid as with a stone. And the face of the deep is frozen.

In the first of several birthday bashes for first mate, we arranged to meet friends last weekend. We kicked off with Bellini cocktails on Princess Lucy and walked to Zayka at Whaley Bridge. We say walked, we actually got as close to the basin as possible to avoid slips for our friend Rod who is bravely recovering from a quadruple heart bypass. Captain thought that his recovery would be aided by beer and curry. Whaley is just a couple of miles from our Furness Vale mooring and so the plan, when made, to move Princess Lucy there for a long and lazy weekend, seemed straightforward enough.

Not so straightforward though: Princess Lucy was held fast in ice an inch and a half thick, and the ice did not want to give her up. It took the best part of an hour to free her from its grip and get her facing the right way on the canal. And then only with the help of a neighbouring boater with a rope on the opposite tow path. But the pig-headed Captain just carried on, swearing occasionally and muttering: "Out of whose womb came the ice? And the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?"

Then the fun started: Twice we came to a complete standstill, and had to reverse and ram the ice a bit harder. And once we got stuck on the side - which tends to happen as the ice is thinner near the side and the boat takes the path of least resistance. But we soldiered on, watching huge sheets of ice buckle and break before us.

In the end, and weirdly, there was little or no ice at Whaley. How could it be so much warmer a couple of miles down the canal? Maybe it has its own micro climate. We regret not talking any snaps of this epic voyage, but we were prevented from doing so by fear and the concentration needed to keep the boat straight. Plus photographs of ice usually look like water. We could never have captured the cold, or the noise of canal-width sheets making that fearful cracking noise. With the heave-ho of all this, it felt as though we might be swallowed up at any moment.

We attracted many comments from passers by and liveaboards. They clearly thought us foolhardy. And there is the question: Were we foolhardy or, maybe, adventurous and brave? Was Shackleton foolhardy or adventurous Whatever you decide, he failed in his mission, and we succeeded!

Yes, we made it, and, with Rocky safely tucked up in bed in Eastbourne with Sebastian, we had no dogs to eat.

No coats and ruined hair in snowy Whaley

 We decided to spend last weekend at the boat without any intention of moving her. Furness Vale Marina is probably prettier than some static caravan sites at this time of year. Snow was forecast, it was freezing outside and it seemed fitting to go and give the boat an airing. We lit the fire and more or less kept it in for the whole weekend which was cosy. At times too cosy even with Captain's new toy, the Premiair stove fan. Lots of people swear by these but it may a case of 'Emperor's New Clothes'. If you have shelled out best part of a hundred quid on a bit of metal with four blades looking like something made in GCSE metal work, then maybe you are reluctant to admit that it does nothing other than go round fast. We tried exhaustive and scientific testing but it is almost impossible to say for definite whether it moved the warm air or not. We had 3 thermometers measuring different parts of the boat but it was all very inconclusive. We just might have joined the ranks of those people who have been conned into this one.

Since then, and this is really exciting, we have discovered that you can buy a device to remotely switch on the Ebaspacher heating and, frankly, that might have been a better use of funds for winter boating. Apparently, you just text the boat to put the heating on, and she texts you back 'Heating On.' and you arrive to a warm boat. Should you wish, you can also remotely turn it off. Marvellous!

We stayed in on Friday night and watched The Imitation Game with Benedict Cumberbatch. It was OK but not quite worth all the BAFTA hype. There was a BBC TV drama/film a few years back 'Breaking the Code' which was much better . On Saturday we went post Christmas shopping at Cheadle Hulme near Manchester. We got back and changed just in time to race to the train to Whaley Bridge. The great thing about The Peak Forest Canal is that it runs parallel to the railway and you are never more than minutes away from a station. Furness Vale station is literally just across the road from the marina and it took us 3 minutes to get to Whaley Bridge. There seemed no time for the guard to collect tickets and we travelled both ways for free. This meant that we could both have a few drinks and a great meal at Zayka without anyone having to drive. 

It started snowing properly whilst we were out. Really big fluffy snow flakes were falling on Whaley Bridge station as we waited for our return train. A group of lads and a young girl were running over the bridge to get out of the snow when we heard one of them say "My hair's ruined!". It was a young man wearing just a shirt as were most of them. The young woman said nothing but primped an impressive cloud of blonde hair using her mobile as a mirror. She was wearing an off the shoulder top, capri pants, no tights and very high heels. It was obvious that she was frozen and her shoes were rubbing already.

Would they survive the evening in Manchester's 'Tiger Tiger' and 'Gorilla'? How would they get back? Who knows but we felt very steady in comparison as we headed back to our boat, fire still in, snow covered, snow filled deck ice bucket - but welcoming nevertheless. We had gone dressed for the cold and unlike our young travel companions, there was no risk of hypothermia.

On Sunday we walked to Bugsworth Basin in the snow again and stopped for coffee at the Navigation. They seem to have had a sort out and clean up in the pub. There was a good fire and it looked tidy and cheerful.

We wondered where the Whaley youngsters were? Had they survived? Were they home? If Princess Lucy had been fitted with her new GSM technology, she could have texted them: "CLOTHES ON!"

Crispy, Cosy, Comfy, Cheery Christmas

A brief post from Princess Lucy. We are too lazy to write much. Hopefully the pictures tell the story. We've had snow and ice but managed to get the boat down to Marple in the dark. Since then we've had loads of sitting round the fire, eating too much, drinking fizz and bingeing on episodes of Breaking Bad. Walked down the lock flight yesterday and remembered the same walk with Rocky last year and how Jem was recovering from major dental surgery. That made us a bit sad but only for a moment because everything else is pretty much perfect.

British made narrowboat on Grand Canal

We've upped the game from those boaters who bragged about taking their Narrowdog to Carcassonne. They only had to cross the channel.

We made the epic haul down the Rhine and Moselle and briefly out into the Adriatic. Thereafter Princess Lucy majestically entered the Guglie canal, under the bridge called Tre Archi and turned into the Grand Canal. There is a lot of wild water and a good deal of fog between Venice and the Peak Forest. The picture shows first mate dodging the gondolas. We wondered what all the shouting was about. They are gobby on the canal. Anyone would think they owned it. We  thought it best to tie up at Ca Rezonnico, paid a street boy to look out for our boat and wandered. We happened upon an exhibition which reconstructed Leonard da Vinci's inventions. This was held in the beautiful, vast and icy Church of San Barbara. Here we learned that Leonardo invented the swing bridge and paid homage to the genius who made it possible for us get off our own waterway. We wouldn't go anywhere with out him.

But these Venetians are the real masters and mistresses of the waterways, Everything that happens, life, death, fire, flood happens here and on this canal. Every single thing that has to be delivered comes by boat. Here is a Venetian version of our Brian and Anne Marie and just as cheerful and hard working. They must have been up before day break to stock their floating fruit stall. We didn't see a coal boat but it would have been there somewhere on the system.

Princess Lucy issued a huge sigh when she got back to Peak Forest and is now safely moored at FurnessVale. She awaits our Boxing Day explorations. Who knows where she'll end up.

The Bar Opens on Boxing Day

The last three months have seen Captain furiously refitting the galley. Pretty well everything was renewed in the end. The replacement of the cream enamel Vanette oven and hob gave us the opportunity of selling them on ebay. They sold for much more then we had thought, and it all helped balance the books.

New items added to Princess Lucy were the Candy washing machine and a ceiling mounted glass rack to hold our newly acquired (yes, ebay) Babycham glasses. I suppose it is logical, when you have filled every cupboard and fitted shelves where you can, the only place left is to fasten things to the ceiling!

Anyway, the boat is now decorated with its Christmas lights and a small tree. On Thursday we leave for a short break staying at the Palazzo Stern with a view of another canal (The Grand Canal in Venice).We will be back in the Peak District for Christmas and will cast off on Boxing Day if the weather is reasonably clement and try out the new galley.It looks good but how well will it work?

On the subject of weather, sort of, a neighbouring narrowboater at our Marina lent us his anti-freeze tester last week. Nothing, No antifreeze at all. Hmmmm. The bigger shock was that the engine and skin tank and the calorifier piping probably totals about 40 litres, and the cost of putting in 20 litres of concentrated antifreeze is scary.

However, I am thinking that the skin tank is insulated from the frosts by the canal, which is unlikely to drop below 0 degrees C. The calorifier is sort of in the boat and as I have a frost stat set up to switch on the central heating, then that should be OK. That leaves the engine. Now the theory here is that the central heating diesel heater (Eberspacher) is next to the engine, as are its exhaust and some hot water piping. So tomorrow there will be tests to see if the heater significantly warms the engine bay. We will see.

I asked First Mate what she thought about the antifreeze dilemma.

She turned to me, and I waited for her thoughts. Then she spoke.

"I'd love a Babycham!"

Buckets for Wine

Time to post an interim blog on the galley refit. We spent an industrious and enjoyable Sunday pottering about and moving things back to make the galley into a galley again. We even managed a walk along the tow path into Whaley Bridge for Sunday lunch at The Cock Inn. Inevitably, we were remembering Rocky every step of the walk and missing him. But having seen how happy he is with Jim on our visit to Newhaven last weekend, it seems totally unjustified to be sad about his new life. We will have to be resigned to missing him whilst knowing that he is so much safer and better off where he is. And we couldn't have hoped for a better outcome because we can stay in touch. Jim has promised to bring him up our way again at some point. Even though we are hundreds of miles away, we have managed to see him twice since September.

Back to the Galley. Captain has made terrific progress, beating all his own deadlines as usual. We have a few snagging jobs and there is promise of an over hanging glass cupboard. When we were in Brighton last weekend we bought some gorgeous gold rimmed wine glasses from Zara Home.
They are perfectly proportioned. Every glass we had looked at elsewhere was way too big for our design. When did wine glasses turn into such monstrous vessels? Has this fashion come over from Venice where you get a thimble full of wine served in an oversized but beautiful glass? Very sophisticated. More likely it is a response to the availability of cheap booze in the supermarkets which means that you can neck a half pint at home without it costing that much. And claim that you have only had the one.

Generally, we are amazed that we seem to have created space, There is more worktop due to the re positioning of the sink and in opting for one without a draining board. We have also fitted a new three burner hob - space saving again. The cooker is slightly smaller giving us more bottle storage underneath (and God do we need that!). The biggest surprise is that the washing machine has forced us to clear out all the underneath cupboards, throw duplicate cleaning stuff away and generally reorganise things much better. So we have won a washing machine and gained storage under the sink. How did that happen?

Captain D.I.Y. has built a brand new fully functioning drawer where there was just a pretend front. So we have won space again to store miscellany (foil, cling film, bin bags etc.). We are pretty pleased with how it has turned out. The new under cupboard lighting has made a huge difference to the feel of the space. It is now warm, welcoming and provides a good working light. The overhead lights will only be needed occasionally and we have come up with a plan to fit new LED moveable spots into the original brass fittings. The boat will be 95% towards having all LED lighting. So all is well on the power consumption front.

That's all for now but we may be able to post an additional picture of the glass arrangement (very exciting) in the near future. It's at the pencil drawing stage at the moment but knowing the Captain it will materialise out of thin air some time soon.

What Watts?

We can report three weeks of steady progress on Princess Lucy's galley refit. At two or three days a week, and at Captain's working speed - which is slow and involves a lot more looking (thinking he says) than doing - the galley is probably two thirds of the way there.

If all that seems a little mathematical, then you haven't seen anything! Captain's post on CANALWORLD explains how the washing machine is fooled into using less power than it might! And it details the electric and water consumption. If you are interested you can follow the link HERE. We have now run the machine three times and the towels came out fluffier than our big machine at home. So we are very pleased with it.

Anyway, the new worktops are in, as is the new sink, new tap, washing machine (as you know), the new hob is half in, and a new oven is to go in on Monday.

We had a moment where we wavered about the new hob. We have quite a soft spot for the cream enamel Vanette's retro appeal which is almost trendy. We have a horrible feeling that the new replacement won't be as well made or as durable. What we are ripping out is still clean and functional and, as we can't bear to skip it, it might just go on Ebay for a modest sum. We replaced a 4 burner hob with a triangular 3 burner having figured that no one uses 4 gas rings at the same time. However, the new hob seems so small and wobbly that we have had to replace our large frying pan with a mini wok. How long will this new kit last? We'll see.

That just leaves tiling and a good few days miscellany and snagging.

Our next trip out is scheduled for Boxing Day so we are well on target for that, We are longing to finish up and tidy all the tools away in time to put up some Christmas lights, maybe.