Today we intended to go and ‘downsize’ our storage unit at Banbury first thing (well 9ish anyway) as most of the stuff we need on the boat, is now on there and all that remains is boring stuff like business accounts which HMRC say I must keep for donkey’s years and sentimental stuff like photo albums which we simply can’t bear to part with.
….. however, just as we were leaving the phone rang and it was Wilsons of Kinver from whom we ordered a new cratch cover last week (a kind of hood on the front of the boat for you non-boaters) and were quoted 6-8 weeks delivery. I must have sounded pathetic with my tales of rain coming in, because they said that they had their man Scott in the area and could he come and measure up, well of course we said yes and by 11 o’clock he was here with a large roll of plastic sheet which he cut, taped, snipped and marked to produce a pattern for them to work from. He suggested improvements to the original design so we hope to have a lovely new cover with no less than two windows each side within a fortnight.
While waiting for Scott to arrive I made a start on fitting the new brushes to the bowthruster and am please to report we now have one that works 😀
Just need to try it out now… Yes I know… Real Boaters don’t need them but my excuse was if I have something it has to work! (Our friend Gilly remarked that she has something that doesn’t work… He’s called Ian! She has a cruel tongue that woman :D)
After a light lunch we continued with our original plan of downsizing the storage unit and managed to pack it all into a unit of half the size with room to spare.
A little shopping was done in Banbury and a new PortaPuzzle was purchased for Joy to do her puzzles on and it also enables her to store them away.
The newly moved washing machine was successfully tested today as was the (camping) clothes drier, although it’s cover appears to have disappeared into the canal whilst were out!
In the midst of all this I had a call from another boater who had heard about my (ahem) skills in boat electrics and so I went and had a chat with a view to doing some jobs for him, but tomorrow I must attend to our own boat’s electrical system as when I plug the shoreline (mains-power) in, nothing comes out the sockets on the boat. Members on the ever-helpful (if sometimes argumentative) Canalworld Forums have suggested a solution which I shall investigate.
Catty continues to enjoy being a Boat Cat and and amused Scott no end this morning by arching her back, fluffing herself up and scaring a passing dog whose owner declared it to be a “great poof” I’m sure she’s going to come unstuck one day!