Heading South

Friday night in Nottingham, moored near a main road, was as expected noisy.  However we didn't expect an idiot to be speeding up and down the canal in his narrowboat at 11pm not too mention the honking, amorous canada geese.   After shopping at Sainsbury's on Saturday morning we headed out of civilisation and moored up on the quiet jetties outside Cranfleet Lock. 

On Sunday morning we came to a crossroads and a much debated decision about our route had to be reached.   The River Soar, through Leicester  and onto the Grand Union canal  is the direct route south but there are a lot of locks and a long day from Leicester city centre to safe moorings at Kilby.  We decided to take the scenic route: south-west on the Trent and Mersey then south-east on the Coventry and Oxford canals. 

Filling up at the waterpoint at Trent Corner as we decide which direction to take.  The board on the opposite bank shows our options: right for the Trent and Mersey, left then right for the River Soar and straight left for the weir!

  The Trent and Mersey, starting at Sawley Locks, is now a familiar route.  For the first time this year we dropped the wheelhouse ready for the low bridges.  Bess enjoyed sitting on the roof again but only for short periods, even with her coat on it was quite chilly.  

The approach to Sawley Locks - there are two locks side by side but the right hand one is hidden from view in this shot.  

One of the old warehouses in Shardlow.  The semi-circular windows feature on many of the canal buildings in this village.  

Our decision to take this route was not influenced by the Ragley Boat Stop, one of our favourite hostelries on the canal network; we had a couple of nights on their moorings and forgot about our diets.   

After setting off from Goole we realised we had a distinct shortage of tubular fenders, protecting Brent III's hull in soon takes it's toll.  Just outside Willington we moored up and called in at Midland Chandlers for some replacements.   Having put the wheelhouse up we left it up for the short distance into Willington and travelled very slowly under the low railway bridge.  We cleared it with 3 inches to spare.  

At Burton-on Trent we stopped at our usual spot at the park and playing fields, Shobnall Fields.   There was a surprise, we hadn't been here in spring before so were seeing a mass of daffodils for the first time.   

Strong winds and rain were forecast for the weekend so we were up early and stopped at the mooring for Morrisons on the way out of town.   With our fridge replenished we continued through to Alrewas where we battened down the hatches. 


Our journey from Nottingham to Alrewas

The River Trent

From Goole we sailed to Doncaster to give Brent III a local run to check all was well after her lift out.   Whilst on the moorings Kev started the engine but it cut out twice indicating a problem.   Kev suspected fuel flow problems and, sure enough, a check of the diesel filters revealed a sediment blockage in the in-line fuel filter; probably the result of disturbing the sediment in the fuel tank.  To be safe we changed all the diesel filters and then were ready to sail back up to Bramwith and east to Keadby. 

When the Keadby moorings came into view we were surprised to see a line of fishermen occupying all the moorings.  They clearly weren't very pleased to see us but we only ousted one of them from his place and as the Lockie had come down to meet us there wasn't any grumbling.  Apparently the fishermen can use the moorings during winter opening hours but risk having to move if a boat arrives.  

On Friday the 13th we locked out of Keadby onto the Trent and had a very good run down to Torksey, arriving 4 hours later.  We had been advised to leave Torksey after noon the next day to make the best use of the tide to Cromwell.   Unfortunately high tide wasn't high and it didn't give us any help at all, most of the time we were chugging along below 4mph.  It became obvious we weren't going to arrive at Cromwell before the Lockie finished for the day and we spent the night on the pontoon outside the lock in the company of two cruisers who wanted an early start in the morning.   The current from the weir and the wind made it a rocky experience and we were pleased to moor at the top side of the lock in the morning.  

One of two sunken barges supporting the bank at a disused gravel wharf.  The signpost gives the distance in kilometers to Meadow Lane Lock, Nottingham where boaters wishing to continue south turn on to the Nottingham Canal.

There was just one other boat at Newark so we were able to hook up to the electric.  We are currently dieting so Kev didn't pay his customary visit to Just Beer and consequently we didn't stop at Newark for long.  The electric card readers can be temperamental and on this occasion our electric card with it's remaining credits was swallowed instead of being returned to us.  Cheryl in the Newark CRT office arranged for an electrician to retrieve the card and will post it back to Rotherham for us, luckily we have some spares if we need them.   

During the winter opening hours the locks on the non-tidal Trent are unmanned so it's 'do it yourself ' using the control boxes at the side of the lock gates but we had some luck.  At Newark Town Lock a maintenance man arrived as I was walking up and he happily locked us through.  At Gunthorpe we were almost at the lock jetty when we were surprised by the lock light suddenly turned to red and green, indicating the lock was being prepared for us.  The Lockie had been equally surprised to see  us as he'd just gone up into his station to prepare for a training session with a volunteer.  

The overcast cloud of the previous days cleared to give us a good view of the eclipse at Gunthorpe.  Kev and I took it in turns to look like Darth Vader, wearing the welding helmet, as the moon crept over the sun.  The temperature dropped along with our solar power as the disc of sun was reduced to a slim crescent.  

With the solar spectacle over we moved on, heading towards Holme Pierrpoint.  When we arrived at Holme Lock we found the turbine construction works had taken over the lock.   A temporary bridge crossed the channel out of the lock and this had to be moved to allow boats through but the workers had it ready for us so there were no delays.   We had intended to stop at Holme Lock but there were no suitable moorings so we continued on to Nottingham and moored up near Sainsburys.  


Our journey from Goole to Doncaster and then Nottingham

On Dry Land

As we prepared to leave our winter moorings at Viking Marina strong winds picked up and created waves on the canal but we couldn't delay our departure.  Our destination was literally across the canal and into Goole Boathouse where Brent III was booked in for a week on land and some maintenance work.   On arrival at the slipway Brent III was manoeuvred onto a trailer and pulled out of the water.  She immediately had her first treatment, a pressure wash to prepare for blacking the hull.  

Brent III on the trailer being pulled up the slipway.

The trailer was pulled up the yard and we were given steps up to the stern for access.  It took a little while to get used to Brent III being out of water, the trailer was parked on a slight slope which was reflected inside and her lack of movement as we moved about felt odd.   Paul G came on board to assess the work we required on the propeller shaft which we have noticed vibrating.  As we expected all it's components needed replacing including the boss which holds the prop shaft as it passes through the hull.  Paul cut out the boss leaving a precise straight-edged hole for plating.  The replacement parts arrived on Tuesday and Paul carefully aligned them and welded steel plates around the new boss.  Paul explained each step of the process and we were impressed by his attention to detail in the work.  

The shaft, boss and propeller lined up through Paul's hole before welding.

Meanwhile Kev and I prepared for blacking and mixed the hardener into the epoxy pitch. Unfortunately it was a cold day and the blacking thickened into an almost unworkable consistency; this was remedied by standing the tin in a bucket of hot water.   Two days later we were ready to apply a second coat but this time the epoxy pitch was warmed to start with.  

On the trailer after all the work had been completed.  Bess is standing on the back deck waiting for a lift down the steps.

Over the weekend Cath and John of TV fame, after an appearance on Barging around Britain with John Sergent, came to see us before we sailed off and Shaun and Paul came to take our car back to Rotherham.

On Monday morning the trailer was gently rolled back down the slipway and Brent III re-entered the water.   Due to her length and the angle of the slope her stern was almost submerged before she was able to float off.  

Re-entering the water.  A wooden bung was used to plug the exhaust which was submerged.

Back on board we were ready to sail off but once again our first destination was across the canal, back to Viking Marina for diesel.  Then we sailed down to the docks to turn round ready to start this years continuous cruising.  

Heading into Goole Docks to turn round.