Eileen Dover has been at the Narrowboat Navigation Company in Nantwich since we dropped her off in January, having various bits of work done, and this week we finally got to go and pick her up. With the improved weather over the past few weeks we have been really missing the chance to get out on the water, so this was none too soon. It also struck us that this is exactly the same journey (same end points anyway) as the Home Run last summer, but with the Middlewich branch open now it was just two easy days cruising, rather than eight days hard labour.
We had been across a few times as the work progressed, but this was the first time we had seen her with everything done, and we are very pleased. The most obvious change is to the internal lights - we have had them all replaced with LED bulbs, which are much brighter and whiter, and which also use about a tenth of the current.
In the saloon we have also had a lot more installed, six down each side of the glass roof, and we also had new lights installed under the galley cabinets, to illuminate the work surfaces. Those have made a major difference to the light at that end of the boat. We've had a new TV installed, slightly smaller than the old one but this one works through the internet rather than requiring an aerial on the roof, so that has gone.
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| The saloon with the new TV and lights |
Although those are the most visible changes, the most important one is a full set of new leisure batteries, a bank of four, not only new but a much improved and modern type. These take and hold a much better charge, and the difference is immediately apparent. We no longer have to run the engine for hours after mooring, we just switch off when we stop. There is no weakening at all in the lights as the evening goes by - in the old days we'd sometimes have to turn the engine on because of the deepening gloom. The other major effect is the heating - this now comes on immediately when switched on - it needs a good battery charge to do this, and again last year we'd have to start the engine and rev it up in the morning in order to get the heat to come on.
There were lots of other things done too - the engine has been serviced, they have put sound insulation in the engine compartment, and they have fixed the problem with the bow thruster. I also have a little cup holder behind the stern rail to hold my teacup rather than having to leave it standing on the top of the rail.
We packed all our luggage and the dogs into my car and drove over to Nantwich on Tuesday afternoon - we were leaving my car there to be collected on Friday. After loading up we spent an hour filling up the water, and then set off. We didn't go too far, up the canal to Barbridge and then along the Middlewich branch for a bit, through one lock at Cholmondeston, and then we moored for the night, well out in the countryside.
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| A frosty morning near Cholmondeston |
The dogs got me up at 6:30, but it was a beautiful if frosty morning, and I went back to bed for a couple of hours. We weren't in a pressing hurry, and we set off about half ten. Quite soon Loulie got off with the dogs to do her half hour run - she had to double back to avoid getting too far ahead, as she is doing at least twice the speed of the boat. We went through the remaining three locks on the branch and dropped into the Trent and Mersey at Kings Lock, where we filled up with diesel. Our local hire boat company, Claymoore, has closed down, so we need to be a bit more strategic about keeping fuelled up.
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| Helmswoman and assistant on the poop |
We paused in Middlewich so I could do some work and have a Skype call with my boss, then we dropped down through the four locks and out of the town. We only went a couple of miles further - we were hoping to moor at Bramble Cuttings, but as usual there were other boats there before us, so we went just past to a spot which we have used before, where the Dane flows down a slope behind the towpath, and there is nobody around for miles, perfect for the dogs who could run up and down freely.
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| Resting |
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| Secluded moorings near Bramble Cuttings |
I was up again briefly at 6:30, another beautiful if cold morning, with a woodpecker drilling away in the trees across the canal. We set off again about half ten, but the journey today was not quite so leisurely. The tunnels at Saltersford and Preston Brook with their strict timetables impose a constraint - if you just miss a sailing you can waste nearly an hour waiting, and we wanted to get home with plenty of time to moor in daylight. We had to wait at the Barnton tunnel for a boat coming the other way, but we just made it to Saltersford at 14:15, so five minutes to spare. But that squeezed our time to get to Preston Brook, normally two hours, and again we just got there with five minutes to spare, after doing the stop lock at high speed.
We could relax now, and we went up towards Moore, winded and then dropped Loulie and the dogs at Keckwick Lane to walk home, our usual routine. When I got Eileen back to the marina we discovered that there had been a bit of shuffling on the piers, and our space on pier Q was too short to take us. We moored on the other side of the pier,and I have since spoken to them - we may stay in that spot but we also have the choice of a pier-end spot on M, which might be better. We're going to have a look at that soon.
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| A pile of Labradors |
So all in all a nice little introduction to the cruising year, and we are very pleased with the changes we have made to Eileen. We have a couple of big holidays booked in the summer - our plans at present are to use one to get down to Chester and Ellesmere Port, and to do the Cheshire Ring in the other. We also intend to get as many weekends and short breaks as we can. The great benefit of owning our own boat is that we can do that at short notice, and depending on the weather. We can't wait.
Voyage: 18.1 hours. 36.3 miles. 9 locks.
