Holes in the Hurricane.

It was really quiet in marina and I slept well. The reason we were here  was because our Hurricane Heater had 935 hours on the clock and it is supposed to be serviced every 1000 hours. As well as that there has been a constant leak into the drip tray so thought it was time to get it sorted.

We were asked to move berths as the Marina is having certain roadways tramaced so the engineers couldn't get their cars/tools to the boat. Dave came down and set to work. This photo is of the fuel side. The diesel comes in to the square brass coloured book and then down the brass pipes to the black hose with the two red clips.

This is the ignition and burner side of the heater. The service kit comprises of a new air filter, two types of fuel filter and a new ignitor cable, all for about £50-00. The service was done and unfortunately there was still the leak of fuel. After a bit of detective work it was found to be a double crack on the brass tee piece of the fuel line. Sorted. 935 hours took us about 6 years so about £38 a year.

I had a chat with the chap doing the blacking at Calcutt as we will be needing a blacking this winter. As I was looking up later I noticed what looked like a thruster tunnel at the stern of the boat on the slip! I had to go over to check and yes, the boat has a bow and stern thruster!! Surely at least part of the challenge and so satisfaction of the life on the canals and rivers is to maneuver the boat, and get better at it with experience? I suppose if a boat was fitted with a bow thruster and I wanted it I could perhaps have it, but a stern thruster would just be a step too far for me.

Dave finished about lunch time so we had to wait until after lunch. Meanwhile we had our meal and then moved the boat that had tied up out side of us so that we could escape, and then re-moor it. We were free by 1415 and at the bottom of Calcutt locks that were out way, but no sign of anybody coming our way along the long straight, so we were on out own.

As we approached we saw one boat past heading east. A boat in the locks told us that it was mega busy on the Oxford Canal. We approached with caution, and I even asked Helen to go to the bow to check, something I very rarely bother with. Nothing was coming, fortunately.

On the canal junctions of canals seem to be major milestones and boaters seem to endow them with special meaning. When you actually get there they are usually a bit of an anticlimax.

I loved the striations of the field and in the sun. The rolling open hills on this stretch are always a pleasure to chug along.

Despite the scenery it always takes a lot longer than you think to pass through this length as there are so many boats moored, and they all want to have the biggest gap between each other as possible.

I still don't understand how this bling bloke manages to steer our boat without crashing every time we come to a bend. I suppose he is getting the hang of it now though.

As we approached the Puddle Banks the church and mill came into view. Also a couple of empty moorings came into view too. I thought it may have been too good to be true and there was no way to get into the side enough over the aqueduct area.

Braunston turn hove into sight and the cast iron bridges are a classic postcard/calendar/jigsaw of the system, and nobody was coming to the junction with us.

We were wondering how far we would have to go past the junction to find a space but loo and behold, just as we rounded the junction, the 'Wand' Ring Bark and the 'Jam Butty' hove into view, but even better news was the fact that there was a 'Holderness' sized space just ahead of them. Nobody home when we passed to go for a walk and a drink.