Jan 13 2007
Fisrt on the list is to make then telly work. Interestingly it is 12v telly supplied with a mains adaptor so perhaps a smoothed power supply would be better rather than the inverter.
Second on the list is an engine oil change.
I've managed to find a manual for the engine. I e-mailed the Isuzu agent at
http://www.hmiengines.co.uk asking if we could get an engine manual for our engine (a 4LC38) they replied 'contact our suppliers' and gave me a list. I rang up Grebe Canal Cruises (they are near my mum so we could see them and her). A very helpful guy (who's name escapes me) suggested ringing the agent. I read out their e-mail and he said ' leave it with me'. A few days later he had got a manual but was very apologetic about the price £££. It seemed reasonable for a car manual from the manufacturer and anyway I needed it so I said yes. Within a few days it was in. We picked it up, together with oil, oil filter, air filter and fuel filter. The manual was a zerox bound by clips so I felt slightly peeved with Isuzu or their agents!
The boat is fitted with a Kleanoil filter as well which according to Alvechurch increases the hours between oil changes. Off to the boat to find out what Kleanoil filter I needed and to tinker! We found out on our first cruise that the socket in the rear cabin isn't working. I checked all the fuses but didn't have the right tools to take apart the socket. I found out how to get at the heater header tank (which is on minimum so needs topping up). It was nice just being on it and we were glad we weren't moving as it was very windy. We saw Martyn from Calcutt on the way out who gave us a cheery wave and a questioning thumbs up, presumably about out last chat about winterising. We waved back happily.
We popped into the shop to hand over a spare set of keys and enquired about pump out and fuel. Apparently you can get a pump out in the marina but need to go up the first two locks to get fuel (you can get a pump out there as well).
Jan 15 2007
I've found out a little about the Kleenoil filter. Apparently the filter out particles 10 to 20 times smaller than normal filters. They extend the oil life by 2 times or more. The recommendation from the suppliers is 2 times for narrowboat use. In private use they will save money but not necessarily enough to justify the fitting cost. The new cartridges are coming tomorrow.
Jan 28 2007
Mum lives about an hour from Calcutt. Her best friend has just gone into hospital with a major stoke. She's 91 and has been very active, including driving her car until about 6 months ago. We were going on a train trip having won some free tickets from South West Trains but decided to take Mum out instead. She likes the boat and while we were there we attended to a few things.
Jo's managed to remove most of the old lettering on the side but we still need to remove the glue left by the vinyl letters.
I found out what was wrong with the cigarette style socket in the back cabin. It had been fried! I decided to replace it with a round pin socket. Mistake number one was buying it from a chandlers £16.00! I've just seen them about £6 with £5 delivery (and the £5 covers anything up to £150 so I could have bought sockets, plugs, wire all for the same delivery charge). I do find it a bit of a problem working on the boat as when you find you need something the only convenient source is the boatyard.
Anyway, Mum is looking forward to her first cruise, Llangollen was mentioned! (She's Welsh). We had a nice lunch in the Olde Mint in Southam and are now back home.
Jan 29 2007
Mum's friend, mentioned yesterday, has died. 91 is a good age but it's sad to loose a friend.
There will be photos coming shortly I promise, I didn't seem to take many in the early days.
Cheers Graham
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