HAPPY NEW YEAR

MONDAY 19TH JANUARY 2009

A rather belated HAPPY NEW YEAR to anybody following my blog, on this, the official, ‘most miserable day of the year’. Apologises for not having had much to say of late, but having taken the decision only to blog about our boating adventures there has not been much to report since having our stove fitted in November.

It amazing when you receive a comment especially when it comes all the way from Taunton in The US of A, courtesy of Bill Rodgers, happy that you have enjoyed reading about out little exploits, I hope 2009 produces some interesting happenings I can report on.

Thanks also to Swampy for your comments and good luck with your hopes and plans to win the lottery to finance your boat and I remember our meeting on a beautiful day in deepest, darkest Aston.

And thanks also to Brian & Diana, from N.B. Harnser for your interest. Skyy is still tucked up at Wigrams Turn Marina and our new stove is great. I see from your blog www.nbharnser.blogspot.com that you are now boatless whilst having a repaint, hopefully you have got a cosy place to hole up in until Valentines Day.

In the meantime we have spent four weeks during November/December, in France, dog sitting for friends. Their huge log fire and deep bath helped in our decision to offer our services, but we didn’t reckon on thick snow and minus eight degrees at night, but lots of healthy dog walking kept us fit and warm.

Christmas and New Year was spent in Spain with Jacquie’s Brother and family, a great time was had by all. We extended to three weeks in total, obviously trying to miss as much UK weather as possible. In fact we arrived back on Skyy on Friday 9th via Birmingham airport, see below. Very soon the stove got the boat up to temperature, the Frost-Stat on the central heating having kept the boat safely above freezing whilst we were away. Amazingly by the following Monday morning all of the ice in the Marina, which was up to three inches thick in places, had melted, it and water supply to the pontoons was back on. One boat on the marina had not had precaution taken against the frost, sadly this boat filled up with water leaking from the fresh water storage tank which then refroze in the rear cabin Opps!!

We had our first experience of flying from Birmingham airport, via Ryanair. and were very pleasantly surprised. The parking at Airparks, an off site parking facility, was first rate, park up, drop of the keys and get on the bus and ten minutes later we were at the terminal.

Our concern about the strict weight allowance on Ryanair was not a problem as we had bought a luggage scale and ensured that we were within limit. Everybody was very friendly, from check-in to flight attendants, including a member of the security staff who tried to persuade me to let her taste the Tesco’s tinned Christmas cake that was in my hand luggage, to ensure that it wasn’t going to explode. Such a change from the indifferent attitude of the staff at Gatwick. The flight took off and landed on time and the car hire at Mercia couldn’t have been simpler. We will definitely be using Birmingham airport again.

I don’t expect that we will be going very far before April, but I hope that some friends and family might visit before then and a short cruise to a pub would be in order I think. We now need to start planning our 2009 adventure, and it is possible that we might start with the Grand Loop down to London via the Grand Union, River Thames and the Oxford, not sure which way round we will go yet, but I would love to cruise passed the Houses of Parliament and under Tower Bridge, now that would be an adventure.

Watch this space!!

ALL FIRED UP

FRIDAY 7TH NOVEMBER 2008

Jacquie accompanied SKYY back to Braunston Junction before walking back to collect the car and driving to Wigrams. It was a beautiful morning in contrast to the miserable drizzly weather that we had suffered for the last three days and I fully enjoyed the return cruise, looking forward to lighting the fire as soon as I got back.

That’s exactly what I did, having of course read the instruction booklet, the fire was instantly blazing away and soon, the paint fumes coming off the stove set, off the smoke alarm, reassuring to know that that works OK, the instructions did warn of this, but said the paint would soon cure and I am pleased to say that now there are now no smelly fumes, no matter how hot the stove gets.

The stove is very controllable, maybe it has something to do with a quality fuel, each load lasts in excess of five hours, in total that’s about a scuttle and a bit a day and it is easy to get the temperature just right without having to throw open doors to bleed off excess heat. I can also, easily get it to go through the night, which is more than I can say for me.



It now looks as if the stove and its surround have always been there, and just in time especially as the tax situation on red diesel changed on November 1st, increasing the cost substantially. We will now be able to keep SKYY at a constant temperature for about a quarter of the cost of using the diesel fired central heating. Many thanks to Phill and Justin for their excellent work.

THE STOVE IS IN

THURSDAY 6TH NOVEMBER 2008

Justin’s turned up with the cut and welded stove pipe, all nicely blacked and soon the stove was bolted down on the hearth and the pipe elegantly exiting the roof at exactly the right angle. The smart black and chrome chimney was the crowning glory. Unfortunately Justin warned that if we w ere sensible we wouldn’t light the fire for twenty four hours, to allow the mastic and fire cement to properly set, so another night listening to the diesel boiler ticking away. All that remained was to settle the bill for the work, plus a coal scuttle, also in black and chrome, a little companion set, an Eco Fan and a couple of bags of PureHeat. Job done.

SEALED AND GROUTED

WEDNESDAY 5TH NOVEMBER 2008

Phill was on and off the boat all day. First the base tiles were glued down and then the screw holes in the timber work were plugged. Later, when the tiles had set, a very pungent sealing fluid was applied. Another hour or so Phill returned to trim off the wooden plugs with a neat Japanese flush cut saw and then grouted in the tiles, now it really looked good and only a final polish of the tiles tomorrow was required. In between Phill had been making up an oak ring to finish off the hole in the ceiling lining, it was the perfect finishing touch.

Phill’s work was now complete and it only remained for Justin to fix the stove and pipe in place tomorrow.

TILED

TUESDAY 4TH NOVEMBER 2008

Justin from JG Marine came on board to check the alignment of the flue pipe and then set about cutting the hole in the roof. He made it seem so easy, a jig saw and a metal blade made short work of it and the collar was a perfect fit. A long strip of board, the same width as the pipe, with a shorter length pivoted at one end enabled Justin to get the angle and position of the bend were the pipe would exit through the roof, just right, it was important aesthetically, that the pipe followed the same line as the cabin wall, Justin went of to do a bit of pipe bending confident that it would fit.
As we prepared to leave the boat for the rest of day, Phill said that he should get the fire board fitted and the tiles laid. We had chosen a natural stone tile that was in a small brick format on a mesh backing. Phill had said he was happy to lay these but it would take more time.

As promised, on return, the tiling was complete to both sides and cut, but not glued down to the base. A good choice, they really give the impression of a brick hearth.

PLINTH AND SURROUND

MONDAY 3RD NOVEMBER 2008

Phill came on board with the ash edge that would finish off the low level bulkhead that he was going to construct as part of the stove surround. We had particularly wanted a curved edge to this bulkhead to match the other curved tops and cabinet fronts. Phill had laminated up from mu ltiple strips of ash veneer this capping edge to exactly the right curvature, very clever.

We left the boat in Phill’s safe hands and headed of the Leicester to do a bit of Christmas shopping and see the latest James Bond film. A successful day. The new High Cross shopping centre is very attractive and the cinema is conveniently situated right alongside.

We arrived back on SKYY concerned as to what we would find, but were delighted in Phill’s progress, the plinth and bulkhead were in place and the Becton Bunny stove was standing on the hearth, it looked great.

STOVE TIME

SUNDAY 2ND NOVEMBER 2008

Monday was the day that Phill from Wharf House Narrowboats was to start constructing the plinth for the stove. It was a miserable day, but it made sense to head for Braunston today to be in place for work to begin early on Monday. Jacquie saw us safely to the marina exit before jumping ship to drive to Braunston, I cruised on single handed and arrived nearly two hours later, cold and wet. Jacquie had checked in with Phill at the Chandlers and confirmed where we should moor the boat and then walked up the cut and jumped back on board just before the twin bridges at Braunston Junction. We moored up alongside a new boat that was being fitted out and warmed ourselves up.