Preparing for Bedford again

We're off to Bedford again so I have been preparing Skylark over the last 3 days. I took a short hop into Ely to boost the batteries, and to give me time to tidy things up before 'Lady Saga' joins me. The weather started off nice but yesterday the predicted thunder storms arrived.

 

I could say something about dark clouds and silver linings - but I won't. During my time in Ely I touched up the a few bits of interior paintwork, filled a few gaps between the panels brought on by the high temperatures and fitted a couple of brass door catches so the front doors don't bang shut when we're caught by a gust of wind.

 

I think the work I have been doing to fill the gaps and repaint has really paid dividends. Skylark is looking her best in her relatively short life.

 

I should explain about the panels and why this work has been needed; if you think about it, there are a lot of different materials in the building of a boat from her 60 foot steel hull, through to the tons of brick ballast, thick ply decking, B&Q laminate  flooring, softwood carcasses, insulation, large ply wall panels, wooden frames, tongue and groove boards, metal fixtures and fittings, ceramic sinks, gloss and emulsion paint, and even a black marble hearth. All these materials have different properties; expanding and contracting at different rates according to the changes in temperatures and the various stresses and strains placed upon them. It's not surprising then that a few gaps appear between some of the different surfaces. The main ones, those that are most visible and cause me most concern, are those between the walls and ceiling, and those between the tongues and groove boards. The gaps don't amount to much in the way of millimetres, maybe two or three at the most, but they look 'anus 'oribilus' ( as the Queen would say).

 

So a well aimed careful squeeze with a carpenter's flexible filler and some over-painting and the job's done.

 

I got back home by 4.30pm today and plan to be away again tomorrow morning. I'm hoping the predicted downturn in the weather will not amount to much and the cat won't miss us too much.

 

Oh, I just remembered! As I chugged past the Fish and Duck Marina, I saw this scene...

 

 

 

 

It looked like two vast cranes and a number of lorries. I had assumed they had been brought in to move a couple of Dutch Barges back into the water following a sprucing up. A bit over the top I thought. But as I got closer I could see a smaller lorry and crane, presumably the one used to lift the barges, had toppled into the marina and was upside down in the drink. Obviously the two big cranes had been brought in to fish it out. From where I was, it looked like a major case for the Health and Safety Executive. I hope no one was hurt.

Huntingdon

I have just got back from a few days away. I took the Old West River and Great Ouse to Huntingdon.

It took about 3 hours to reach Hermitage Lock and this raised me about 300mm into the short tidal stretch. I saw a couple of adult seals, both with pups; one was even suckling. How lucky was that!

Brownshill Staunch and St Ives locks were easy to get through and each of them raised me another 1.5m. I reached St Ives in a total of 6 hours. I pulled up at the Town Moorings, next to the medieval bridge. What a view from my side hatch!

The next day I went further up the Ouse to historic Huntingdon. This took less than 2 hours. The river and its adjoining buildings along this stretch are beautiful, especially in the sunshine.

I headed back to St Ives in the afternoon, once the heat of the sun had started to moderate. I hitched up at the Town Moorings again and settled down for the evening. These moorings would have been a bustling centre of trade and transport in the past with large ships moving produce far and wide. Now it's temporary home to the odd narrowboat and cruiser.

 

On Wednesday, I headed home. The only problem was the build-up of submerged and floating blanket weed on the middle section of the Old West River. At some points near the Aldreth Bridge it was like pushing through a grassy field! After about the sixth time I cleared the prop, I was starting to get a bit peeved.

 



All in all, it was a good few days. The river between Brownshill and Huntingdon is lovely. There were lots of things to see - wildlife, buildings, boats, etc. It's just a week before the school holidays so it's still quiet on the river - lovely!

Wednesday evening, I went to a read-through for Cinderella. Auditions next Sunday. I may have a shot at one of the Ugly Sisters. Sorry to any readers outside the UK - you probably have no idea what I'm taking about!

BFN

NEW BLOG launch

To try and overcome the problem I've had uploading photos, I have created a new Blog called Narrowboat Skylark 2.

I'll post a few photos of this weekend's Ely Aquafest to see if it works.

 

So far, so good...

 

 

I'll try another one...

 

 

It seems to be working so I'll stop using my other Blog and start using this one. Please still read the old one - it's there but I'm not added to it.