Thursday May 24th, 2012

Thursday May 24th, 2012

At Braunston earlier this month

Firstly, I must apologise for the lack of updates to this blog since mid-April. It has been a rather busy time, with continued clearing and organising of the moorings, work on Draco and partial repainting of both boats and a couple of weekend trading trips to Braunston as well. The major problem, though, was a hard disc crash a couple of weeks ago, this should not have been the problem is turned out to be, and still is!

One of the 1 Terabyte drives crashed; in fact it was the on-line boot drive, which made things worse. However, I run a RAID mirror array, so all I needed to do was reconfigure the boot drive in the motherboard's set-up to the mirror drive and all would be OK again. How wrong could I have been? I found out that at the same time as the boot dive had crashed the RAID drivers had also gone down... Again that should have not been an irresolvable problem. However, in the process of going down the RAID drivers had apparently left the Volume information file on the mirror drive open and thus corrupting its entries, hence although the data is all intact on the mirror drive, there is now way Windows (or me for that) can read it....

After a bit of dredging with Draco

we can now moor singled ouy

Krystyna's flower 'beds'

from t'other end

So, after a lot of wailing and gnashing of teeth, an email discussion with Microsoft (not a lot of help there, it shouldn't have happened simultaneously, if at all!, was the reply - damn helpful I thought!) I contacted a data recovery specialist who seems to think he may be able to, if not restore the drive, at least get the data off it. The disc has been posted to him, we'll have to wait and see. Meanwhile, I have rebuilt windows onto another single drive, I'm giving up with a RAID array, and am in the process of getting control of the websites, Facebook, Twitter, etc. back, but the main problem is the websites, because I lost the web editor's base files I can only edit the sites by hard coding and that takes (me) a long time. Suffice it to say that updates to Draco Crafts will be simple and the continued building of the other sites is on hold at the moment.

Apart from all that, as I said earlier, we have been working hard on the mooring, making it more homely with Krystyna developing her flower gardens, my planting some veggetables and installing a landing stage and some more steps - we're getting there, although the rain we had late last month and earlier this month did stop play for a while as much of the site was either under water or several inches deep in mud.

I blacked the hulls of both boats down to the waterline, to smarten them up after winter's ravages and painted Draco's gunnels too. I also built a wooden fore-cabin on Draco over the tug-deck. The canvas cloths were getting very tatty and the temporary tarp we had used over the winter was very untidy, so all we need now are a couple of drop-sheets for the access ways on either side, much nicer and also totally weatherproof.

Today we moved off the mooring, winded the pair at Kilsby and moved on down here to Braunston opposite The Boathouse pub, for a weekend's trading. Next week we shall move gently on to Stoke Bruerne for the Jubilee Weekend and the following Gala Weekend, coming back to the moorings in 3 to 4 weeks time, for a short stay and then back here to Braunston for the Historic Boat Show.


Another hot day today

Wednesday 11th April, 2012

Pulling away from our mooring

Time to leave Braunston after a pretty successful, albeit quiet, weekend and head back to Barby. We set off at around 11.30am and it was my hope that the water point and sani-station by Castle Bridge would be free, as it is a tad easier to get the pair in from this direction. However, it was a mêlée of moored and waiting boats, with others not sure what they were doing it seemed. We crawled past and I gave the hooters a long blast to warn anyone heading towards the bridge from the other side, as it is a little blind. This was, however, to no avail, just as I was about to poke Draco's nose into the bridge a boat came the other way, at quite a lick of speed as well, and only decided at the last minute to do anything that might help him stop. We met in the bridge hole and the pair’s combined weight of around 45 tonnes made quite an impact on his stem post, although there was our quite large bow-fender in the way.... I backed off a little and let him sheepishly weave his way though without a word, or even an acknowledgement come to that and then we went on.



Looking across the fields to
Barby Wood Farm

Fortunately the main service point just past the turn was empty and after a little fiddling around we got the pair in and moored such that the hose would reach and there was still room for passing boats - just! An hour or so later and we were on our way in the glorious sunshine towards Kilsby winding hole. As we were going down the Barby straight we could see some rather ominous dark clouds heading our way and we could see that they were already precipitating over Rugby, so we both donned our wet gear and waited.

The impending storm seen heading
towards us!

As we approached Kilsby winding hole we could see a Napton hire boat mooring up on the piling opposite the hole, right alongside the no mooring sign! After quite a lot of long blasts on the hooters they re-emerged from the boat to enquire what the problem was. After I explained to them that they shouldn't moor there, but if they insisted on doing so could they please move to allow me to wind first, they muttere3d things about not realising or knowing they shouldn't moor there and I explained politely that that was why there was a notice there. They quietly untied and slid off whilst I completed breasting up... The rain arrived with a vengeance!

The end of the storm in sight

A couple of boats had meanwhile come up behind us, but they were happy to wait whilst I turned the pair, although another boat came speeding up from the other direction and all but tried to squeeze through a gap that wasn't really there between Success and the towpath. He decided to wait after I politely asked him to. We complete the turn, singled out and headed back towards Barby. I thanked the two boats who had kindly waited for us and let the other boat past who was tailgating Krystyna. He thrashed past and off ahead of us and damn me if 100 yards around the corner he didn't pull in and moor up!!!!

Back on our mooring
Apparently it's been raining!

We plodded on in the April storm, with lightning flashing and thunder crashing above us with a sheet of ice from the hailstones covering the roofs. As we came to the end of the Barby straight the storm moved on and we were again bathed in sunshine. We rounded the bends and just as we approached our moorings I let Success go and breasted up again, we slotted in without much trouble even though it is still very shallow. All sorted out by 4.15pm.

6 miles, 0 locks

Thursday 6th April, 2012

Leaving the mooring

Our first outing with the pair since we came to our mooring here at Barby Wood Farm, off to Braunston for Easter Weekend. We have been doing a bit of casual trading here at the mooring, but being on the off-side and with no real space for any visiting boat to moor at the moment (once we are singled out then visiting boats will be able to moor alongside) means that such trade is a little limited.

The day was not too bad, more-or-less what we should expect in April and we did not have any showers until late afternoon anyway. We set off from the mooring just after 11.25am having put everything away and leaving the place nice and tidy. I had lowered and stored away the Solar Panels and Wind Generator the day before.

Approaching Braunston Stop House

An uneventful gentle cruise saw us arriving in Braunston around 1pm and as we approached the services point there was a Viking hire boat on the point and one seemingly having difficulty getting through and round. A bit of encouragement from me with the hooters and they realised that a pair was approaching, albeit very gently. They managed to extricate themselves from the quandary they were in and as they came away from the service point I threaded the pair through the gap and round the corner.

Winding at the marina

There were no apparent suitable mooring slots available, although some people on a hire boat said they would be leaving in an hour or so if that would help. I said if nothing else came up I would be back within the hour having winded at the marina.

Changing places

We got to the marina, breasted up on the fly and started our turn. As we were turning a boat that had been moored on the end slot the other side of the marina entrance started readying to leave. I indicated that I would back into that slot after having turned, so once around they came round us and I backed into the mooring. Success was on the outside, so we pulled her back and I took Draco out whilst Krystyna pulled Success into the mooring and then I breasted up again on the outside. Very smooth and professional looking the whole episode :->......

Moored up

We were all tied up and sorted by 2.30pm, but decided not to bother opening today, as we needed to sort out the display area and stock, etc.

4 miles, 0 locks

Saturday 31st March, 2012



Lovely show of spring flowers
at Willoughby Wharf

Time to fill up the water tank, so it's off to Braunston and back leaving Krystyna on board Success doing some painting, etc. The weather had gone downhill somewhat from the previous week's heat wave and the day was a generally cool one, more-or-less what we should expect from early April. I set off around midday and pottered around to Braunston, filled up the tank, did the necessary with the toilet cassettes and the rubbish and just after 2.30pm was on my way back. 

I passed the moorings just over an hour later, the van and Krystyna were missing, she had gone to see Michelle. It transpired that one of Owen's (our farmer landlord) cattle was in the canal, so I gave him a call and he came down and with his aid on the bank we coaxed her to just beyond bridge 79 where she could get back out up the not so steep bank.


A tree splendidly covered
with its catkins

I travelled on towards Kilsby winding hole with a Braunston hire boat behind me that knew neither the concept of not going flat out nor the one of slowing down going past moored boats. Consequently, he spent most of the way to the beginning of the Barby straight on my stern button! As I approached bridge 78 a boat coming the other lost control trying to stop and let me through and ended up across the cut pinning me to the offside bank, well, I would have been pinned to the bank if it was deep enough for me to get anywhere near it... The hire boat, as it turned out, managed to reverse back a ways but was still on my side of the canal and under very little control, so I managed under full power to weave Draco out of the mud and round him on the wrong side and got past.



At the services point

Now, when Draco goes forward under full power from a standing start, the main thing that happens for the first few seconds is not a lot of movement, but a helluva lot of water going backwards. This proved quite useful in this instance, because as I powered forward weaving around the hire boat in front, the one that had been tailgating me behind (which was still on my stern fender, even though I had come to an abrupt stop) shot backwards and sideways into the bridge hole. Looking back I could see both boats still there until I was passing the Barby Moorings marina some 400 yards on :->

I got to the winding hole without further ado and was fortunately virtually round my turn when the hire boat appeared. He seemed a bit sheepish, but definitely more wary of Draco and kept back quite a distance until I set off again .... The run back to the moorings was uneventful and I was all tied up again abreast of Success by 5pm.

9 miles, 0 locks

Sunday 11th March, 2012

Krystyna's brother had come over yesterday and built us a set of steps alongside the boats to make it easier getting on and off, there being a slope up from the bank side. Today I modified them slightly to make them a bit safer for us 'oldies' to use.....I then, perhaps foolishly, asked Krystyna if she wanted me to remove the long dead and bramble-ridden tree that was just beyond the sterns of the boats right on the bank edge - she said yes....

So, out with the chain saw, machete, etc. and I started into this quite dense growth. I felt a bit like Indiana Jones to be honest and I have lots of scratches to show for it too. This tree and bramble was far more densely packed than any of the other ones I had removed. However, with Krystyna's help and using the van to drag the larger bits back out of the canal (!) by the end of the day it was gone. Another smaller heap to burn sometime.

Friday 8th March, 2012

Having spent most of yesterday at my Sister's place in Clifton helping my brother-in-law manufacture a winch-mounting plate for the solar panel and wind generator rasing and lowering systems, today was the day I decided to complete them and get both systems back on-line.

Originally I was making a turntable system for the solar panels for mounting on Draco's roof, but as we now have a permanent mooring I had decided to mount them on a bank-side pole system. The reasoning behind this being that for one I don't really like such things on the roof of the boat, those that know us well will remember that, apart from Krystyna's garden in the past, the only things I like on the roof are the necessary poles and planks and they have proper racks to keep them in. I cannot abide seeing boats with what appears to be most of the paraphernalia of life scattered on the roof!

Secondly, as when we are away from the mooring we will generally be travelling, or staying for relatively short periods at shows, etc., then the panels, or wind generator as well, would rarely be effective as when the engine or generator is running the system charge voltage is higher than the cut-off voltage for either. As it turned out the turntable system was not going to be entirely suitable anyway either.

So, today I mounted the solar panels in their frame onto their pole and hoisted the system up with the winch. The ground support pole is actually driven app 5 feet into the 'ground' on the bank-side of the steel piling (this is the 1930's steel piling and mush stronger than the stuff used these days) and then fastened to the piling by means of a u-clamp - a pretty ingenious idea I thought and the wind generator pole system is the same.

I then completed the changes to the then current pole system for the wind generator I had used on Draco and then hoisted that up into position. Both systems back on line,

Great! Time for a beer or three me thought.

Tuesday March 6th, 2012



Heap number 1 well ablaze

We were over at the house re-erecting one of the garden fences that had blown down in last month's gales when I got a call from Owen, our landlord. He had a spare hour or so and with the very light wind thought it would be a good day to burn the two heaps of bramble and trees that had been cleared on the site. We were almost finished at the house so I arranged to be back to help him in an hour or so.

By the time we got back Owen was back up at the farm doing his daily work in the cattle sheds so I carried on with my previously started turntable system for the solar panels.

Owen making some 'adjustments'
to heap number 2

Later in the afternoon Owen came back down and we set to starting the two fires and whilst Owen rounded up the stray branches, etc., I kept my eye on the fires, although it was so still that there was no real danger of them spreading where we did not want them to. A couple of hours later and they were more-or-less just smouldering heaps, which they remained as for several more days.

The resultant clearing of the 'plateau' on 'our' ground has made quite a change to our views.