Oooo the excitement

At 0810 I was in the lock at Torksey and Neil, the lock keeper had already let one boat through that was heading for Cromwell Lock.

I was asked as I left to let the two boats that had moored outside the lock yesterday, having come down stream, know that it was time to go.

The first piece of interest on the Trent is the the ruins of Torksey Castle. 

I was soon overtaken as I still have my doubts about the engine and don't feel inclined to give it the gun. One boat was heading for the Chesterfield Canal and the other was making, like me, for Keadby.

There are a number of scenic views on the way and one of them is the very French looking folly that is called Burton Chateau. The corners along here are taken at speed and the boats leans quite a way over as they are rounded.

The village of Knaith comes next.  One of the days I will visit the church as it looks rather unusual.  It is wider than it is long by the looks of it and has two gable ends side by side.

More excitement when the carrier - Fusedale of Hull caught up with me on a bend.  I slowed down to let him through and pulled in to the inside of the bend.  As we rounded the bend straight in front was the bridge at Gainsborough.  I normally go through the centre arch but as he would need it I took the left hand one and hoped that it was deep enough.  It was.

A few hours after leaving Torksey I passed Stockwith Lock.  No sign of the boat so he must have made good time.

However as I passed I noticed the amount of water going over the gates.  Remember this.

At last.  The M180 road bridge.  Not far now to the lock. For a while now the boat has been doing 12kph and with the engine ticking over, as when the carrier passed I was still doing 7kph.  Naughty Call can stop laughing immediately. :-)

Nearer and nearer to the lock and the lift bridge with road and rail traffic.  Pity it has stopped opening.

From the bows

Getting into Keadby is bit of a trial.  It is no good trying to get straight in with the speed of the ebbing tide.  When along side and heading straight for it one turns up stream and then has to go full ahead to make any headway.  Managed to just get round the corner but slight problem with the sand build up outside.  The other boat was inside and had had to wait till I arrived.  Here the problems began.

Normally the lock keepers are brilliant.  This one was having a very bad hair day it seemed.

As I got into the lock and the gate closed behind me I didnt have time to sort out the ropes and there was no one to pass a rope to on the lock side before the gates closed and the sluices opened to fill the lock.  The water from the sluice rushes under the boat, hits the sea gates and then pushes the boat forward.  With the engine going full astern and me pushing and pulling like an idiot the bows are stuck against the gates.  Remember the water at Stockwith. A similar situation was happening here.  The water cascaded into the bows and filled the well then over flowed into the boat.  Not as bad as it might have been for a number of boats in the past have been sunk by this sort of thing happening. I did think - Pillock - or words to that effect.

I did have a word with the lock keeper and suggested it might be a good idea to make sure boats are secure before opening the sluices.  The next two hours were spent mopping up.

The fire is now lit and all windows closed and is like a sauna.  Just what I needed. 

The view from the stern

More on the other boat later.  We will travel to Thorne together as it is easier to operate bridges with two people.

Short hop to the Lock

As I said there are plenty of boats just around the corner.  Ahead is the lock and the mooring for water is on the left. In the distance, with the steam blowing away in the strong wind, are the cooling towers that I spoke with Abz about.

As soon as I got to the mooring I had a word with Neil the lock keeper to book passage tomorrow.  High tide is shortly after 0815 at which time I will be let loose onto the Trent.  For the first part of the trip I will not be assisted by the tide.  It is about 28 miles to Keadby so to get into the lock there I will need to be moving somewhat faster than normal.  Much of this extra speed will be down to the tide.  I will use the GPS to guage my speed and use the engine revs accordingly to get there at a decent hour.  I don't want to be stuck on the Trent with the Lock closed.

The view over the bow.  

I have carried out the usual checks. Oil in the engine and gear box, water in the oil cooler, topped up the stern gland greaser and having bought a new battery from the nearby caravan sales installed it.  The water tank has also been filled with enough for a couple of weeks. The anchor has been deployed on the stern in case of emergencies

As near as damn it all ready for the Trent 

One kilometre to go

After a trip to the Co-op to stock up on cat food and bad habit materials it was time to set off from one of my favourite moorings - Saxilby.

Having passed Drinsey Nook and rounded the corner one is then faced with the problem of The Foss Dyke.  The long straights.  On the far horizon there is only a kink in the canal and then another long straight. Drinsey Nook by the way gets its name thus.  Drin-sey comes from - it seems - a chap by the name of  Dreng who lived in the -sey which was the marsh.  The Nook in Lincolnshire is a corner and there is certainly a corner here both on the road and on the canal.

Just as I was getting bored I received a phone call from Abz to brighten my day.  I described the scenery as it passed - which didnt take very long - and mentioned the power stations I could see and was asked to explain the towers so said I would put a pic on the blog for her to see them so here it is.

At the speed I travel at it takes one and a half hours to get to Torksey and at the end of another straight it hove into view.

Not many boats here but just around the corner there are loads. I will pop down tomorrow and check out the tide times.

I have a big job on.  Mal brought a delightful postcard album up that needs some work doing to it.  At the moment I have just stripped it all down and taken out all the rusty staples and now need to figure out how to best put it back together while using as much of the original as I can.  I will put pics on as it progresses.

So far..................

Left The Woodcocks moorings in bright sunlight after bit of a bumpy night.  The high wind speed keep the boat moving about and the waves banging against the side didn't help me get some sleep.It isnt all that far to Saxilby and the road bridge soon hove into view.

Before mooring up I wanted to put in some derv to top the tank up and Tongs would be closed tomorrow when I moved on to Torksey.  Not only do they lend you some cans to put the derv in but also let you use a trolley to move it back to the boat. One of the old style shops that seem to have everything somewhere.

Abigail Jenna to the rescue

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Stocking up for the cold weather

It was back into Lincoln for the weekend with a visit by Abz on the Saturday after dance classes.  The was a possibility that she would only be on board for a few hours as she is becoming a home bird. 

Had an enthusiastic wave from Naughty Cal who will be off on the Trent over the next few days.

In the end she decided to stay as we might go off to do some shopping.  Like mother like daughter.

She is training to be a teenager I was told.  She wanted to stay in bed later than usual on Sunday leaving me to move the boat from the Uni mooring, turn around and move back through the Glory Hole. She got up to go through the Glory Hole and touch the underside of the bridge.

Ian and George were visiting us in the afternoon to go out for a meal.  A bit of a walk to the Hut or a Burger bar was not on when it started raining with a vengeance.  Easiest way was to move the boat back to the Uni mooring   and walk from there.

A very nice meal and the unlimited supply of cola and ice-cream with all the trimmings went down really well with the shortest member of the group.

Then its back to the mooring and the short trip before dark to Waterside North for Abz to have a ride back home.

A wander around the charity shops on Monday to pick up some reading material and I am ready to move out to moor up for the wait till Thursday.

A brilliant sunny day but very cold.  The hat was out to keep the brain usable. Not very effective.:-)

The mooring is just past the Pyewipe Inn.

I will do some  foraging for firewood here and enjoy the view and quietness.

Bardney to Barton and Back

Having moored up at Bardney I spent a few days house sitting while Karyn and family took bit of a holiday.

While they were away I got to know the footpaths around the Waters Edge Nature Reserve in Barton on Humber very well after taking the dog out for a walk that would last three to four hours a day. I also found the Waterways channel on the TV which was very interesting.

On their return and after a very late, and I mean late, night that went on to the early or should that be late hours of the morning I decided that it would be best if I stayed another day. This would let Andy get back to normal before yet more travelling.

On arrival at Bardney I went to move the boat down to the lock to unload the car. As seems to be the norm these days - a problem. The batteries are absolutely dead and this with both the wind genny and solar panels up and running.

Still had a couple of litres of petrol in the can so filled the generator and hooked up the charger and away we went. For about ten minutes until the charger read-out started playing up. Another fifteen minutes and the charger stops working altogether.

A kind boater moored astern lend his spare battery - no go. We then link to his engine battery - still no go.

Luck Andy was there. Off into Lincoln for new charger and battery. The traffic is horrendous and it takes an age to get back and evening is coming on.

New battery fitted and the engine starts. Off to the lock with headlight on. All running well until I went to moor. Going ahead was fine but I had no astern gear. The eagle landed but it was bit of a belly flop and a bit harder then I would have liked. While changing the battery I had dislodged the gear cable from its restraint. Easily fixed with a garden tie to make sure it stays in place.

I decided to carry on to Fiskerton Fen in the dark to ensure that the battery was charged and that I didnt upset the neighbours running the engine.

After a day in Washingborough and two in Lincoln to carry out some business which ended up being put back to the 12th I am now making my way to Saxilby to get the new fuel pump.

A couple of days running to make sure that this time it is OK and its off to the Trent.