We departed on Wednesday and travelled about 1 1/2 miles before stopping for the day.
On Thursday during our daily walk we ended up in Foxton village. We found the Black Horse PH and as it was lunchtime decided to try the cuisine. They had a very good choice on the menu and specials board. Another plus is they are dog friendly. Oscar is settling into the routine at pubs well, knowing that if he behaves he will be given treats. Foxton is a lovely rural village with some large expensive looking homes. We were told that a farm shop is currently being built close to,the canal so that should be good for supplies when it's finished.
We had a lazy day on Friday and then on Saturday we set off for Welford. The trip had a few interesting moments. Due to the high winds some small trees had been blown down and in two places had partially blocked the canal. On one occasion we had to resort to using the pole to push us past an obstruction. Once through Husband Bosworth tunnel we arrived at North Kilworth Wharf. Here we topped up the water tank and also filled with diesel. We only pay the full rate of duty on the diesel we use for propulsion which I have assessed to be 20%. The remainder is cheaper as it is used for domestic stuff like heating, battery charging etc.
At Welford junction we turned left and travelled the 2 miles along the Welford arm for the first time. There is just one lock prior to the wharf which was set in our favour. At the end of the arm is a winding hole where we turned. We had some shopping to do and I also lit the stove. An hour later we returned to the junction and turned left and moored a couple of hundred yards along on the mooring rings. Soon after we arrived we were joined by at least six other boats, so lots of neighbours tonight.
Today was a maintenance day. We have a tarry/rusty residue seeping from between the chimney and the chimney collar. This has made a mess on the roof which now needs to be cleaned. We have tried using WD40, as this was recommended, with limited success. When we get back to Yelvertoft we will have to obtain something better. The second job of the day was dealing with an increasing loss of coolant from the engine. This entailed cleaning and drying the bilge first then running the engine until the leak showed its self. This required some close inspection of various joints in a tight engine bay. Not easy unless you slim and flexible which i am not. An added complication is the necessity to lay across a hot engine.
Not much room in which to work
At one point I was upside down to reach the deepest area
Whilst I had the engine bay opened up like this I thought it would be prudent to check all the hose clips and was pleased to find that it was only the one that was leaking that was lose. This included the hoses to our Hurricane diesel heater which provides us with programmable hot water and central heating if and when required. Again not much room is available for inspection so this is one benefit of camera phones which can be positioned in the small space to obtain a photo of the item needing inspection. By doing this I have been able to confirm that the Hurricane as only been running for 83 hours. We don't need to service this until it has done 1000 hours so some way off yet.
The fitters must have rubber arms to connect all that pipe work together in this space
We will stay put for a couple of days, making an intermediate stop on the way back to Yelvertoft. We aim to be there on Friday as there is a Halloween party on Saturday which we are attending. By late afternoon all the other boats on the mooring had departed, so now we are all alone. It is now dark (17.30) outside due to the clocks going back. I for one will be happy if this is stopped next year as I prefer the lighter evenings.
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