Saturday 6th June
Well, the useful things did actually get done today, surprise surprise! I cleaned the Port side of the boat and rubbed down and red oxided some bits which needed it. This included the bit on the back deck which Ken rubbed down and put rust killer on some time ago!
It also included a couple of bits we managed to scrape off the gunwales when we stopped for water at Cranfleet lock. The height of the moorings there is particularly awkward for narrow boats and we scraped it before we remembered to raise the fenders, aaargh!
It was extremely windy and I nearly got blown away while I was outside. What was Ken doing I hear you cry? Well, our water pump had started playing up again and needed attention so he spent most of the morning titting about under the front deck changing pumps and putting in more pressure, letting pressure out, dismantling things and putting them back together etc, etc, etc. All this culminated in the pump turning on ok but not turning off when you shut the tap!
We decided we may need a new pump and turned it off on the control panel in the back room. This is a bit of a pain in the arse but not an insurmountable problem. I’m sure there are people in Africa and other places who would like to have the same problem!
Anyway, after we had done our respective jobs we walked in to town again. This time we went a different way so we could go to Machine Mart for a halogen lamp and a new diesel siphon. We had seen Arthur’s when we were on Arctic Skua last week and it was far superior to our Mickey Mouse one so we asked him where he got it from. He said Machine Mart so we went and got one.
It is quite a large thing and about 3 ft long and as I was carrying it round the shopping centre and market later on I nearly managed to stab quite a few people with it. I was carrying it because when Ken had it in his rucksack it stuck up so far he nearly became wedged under a bus stop as he tried to go under it!
It was fun trying to decide where to put it when we got to the pub as well. We started off outside The Waterfront by the canal but they have a plastic glass policy due to their proximity to the canal and unfortunately a gust of wind sent Ken’s pint flying all over me! We retreated inside but the arrival of a couple of Hen Parties and associated hangers on (groups of lads hoping to score) meant it got really noisy and too busy for two old gits like us so we had to go elsewhere.
Not sure what we are going to do tomorrow.
