Wednesday, 9th March 2022

Life ended up being so sociable on the boat that the last ten days have flown by with no time for blogging. We returned to Naomhòg on 1st March’s and with some trepidation looked at the watertank. However all looked good and we had managed to keep the rain out, so it was bone dry. We then had the excitement of filling the tank with water and oh, the joy of having running water once again at our fingertips. Amazing what we take for granted. We have decided to go on using bottled water to drink for the time being. There are plenty of discussion forums for narrowboaters and one was discussing whether or not to drink direct from a watertank. After all our hard work I hope we will eventually, although my main reason for cleaning up the tank was to stop getting a rusty hole in the boat! R feels this is unlikely due to the boat being regularly blacked on its bottom – a bit of a sore point. I am learning that boat time is a law unto itself. Not only has the blacking of the boat been delayed but so has the measuring up of our cratch covers and some necessary upgrading of the boat’s battery system. Everything is blamed on the weather so we are learning patience as there is no point getting frustrated – the whole ethos of narrowboating is to slow down and take life in a relaxed and leisurely fashion. The changing of the bow cratch though involved R and I in some preparation as we were asked to remove the front triangle of wood, which supported the previous cratch cover, before the new cover could be patterned. We had already done this before we got the last minute call to say the new covers could not be patterned the following day because of the wind! Now our watertank is at risk of rain water leakage as the hatch has not yet been suitably sealed due to us wanting to work out how many showers and bowls of washing up water we can use before the tank runs dry! As the headlight to the boat is attached to the wooden cratch frame R was getting a little ruffled at the thought of disconnecting and temporarily removing it because of the risk of ‘shorting the electrics’. I in blissful ignorance had no such qualms as electrics is not my strong point. Suffice to say we managed and all went well excepting that until we reconnect the headlamp we cannot go through any tunnels and I’m not sure quite where we are going to now place it!

The lovely element of our week was having friends renting the Lock cottage on our marina for two nights. On a practical level it was great having access to a washing machine and a proper kitchen in which to cook supper for them on their arrival. The weather was reasonably kind so one day we walked around the nearby Draycote Water Reservoir and on the following day we went along the cut to Braunston, having ferried our friends car there previously. Six on the boat was a bit of a squeeze but the men helmed whilst we ladies sat in the cabin enjoying warmth from the radiators! Who said chivalry was dead?! Already we are noticing a lot more traffic on the canal system. You really have to keep your wits about you as sometimes rounding a corner you meet another boat heading at full speed towards you, all 60 foot or more! Our six month trip during the winter with the addition of lockdown meant we hardly ever encountered any other boats. I think we may be in for a bit of a surprise as spring turns to summer. Having found a mooring at Braunston opposite a pub we enjoyed a meal together before our friends headed home and we settled down for the night. The following morning another couple arrived and we returned with them to our marina and were then able to taxi them back to their car at Braunston. All very neat! It was such fun to meander along, although slightly bracing, appreciating the countryside whilst catching up with our friends and hearing about an amazing Shakespeare production of Othello they had enjoyed the previous evening at Stratford. Boat visitors are always welcome, especially when there are a few locks to tackle! This trip we only had three each way but they were slightly tricky due to there being a surprising amount of wind.

So now we wait for things to be done – because the boat is about to be taken out of the water we cannot live aboard it so we are home, which is lovely, but there’s lots to catch up on. Juggling our parallel lives is going to be quite a challenge, especially when we leave the marina and won’t have our car nearby. Marina life is comparatively easy and I think we will be in for a bit of a shock come April 1st as we venture forth into uncharted territory!