Summer 2013 - London Calling

We decided to take advantage of some extra time we had this summer and attend a barge rally in West India Docks in London. This was organised by the DBA (the barge association) and they had arranged a convoy from Teddington lock down the tideway. This gave us a sense of security as we know we are not that experienced and Misterton is pretty big and not that fast. We also decided to get a bit of extra help in the form of a couple of watermen as pilots. David and Paul both work on the river professionally and we felt would give us some useful advice and guidance as well as enable us to keep Nate amused during the trip. It turned out to be a wise investment.

We set off on Friday the 16th at about 0830 to catch the tide. There were 10 barges in total, making it worth using the 'big' lock at Teddington.

The weather wasn't great, but it was due to ease up later in the day. The trip was pretty uneventful initially, the river just seemed a bit bigger.

 There was lots to see and before long the bridges started to get more frequent as we got towards the center.

In terms of speed we seemed to be holding our own, although the engine was smoking a bit as it burned off excess carbon and oil. We passed the Battersea barge, the venue of our Wedding reception, David and Paul listened to our stories of the big day with commendable politeness.

 As we passed Westminster, the river traffic got much busier as between here and Tower Bridge is the most congested part of the river.

 Soon we were amongst the traffic and passing HMS Belfast, we suddenly seemed like a small fish in a big pond.

 It was quite a good feeling to pass beneath Tower Bridge under our own power, even if I was a bit anxious about the engine (which was fine by the way, despite being 70 years old).

 More famous landmarks were passed, including the Cutty Sark that I completely missed. The river became even wider here, but the main traffic was the Thames Clippers which are very fast - up to 30 knots (compared to our 5 knots....). Paul was able to relax and catch up on some texts on this stretch.

As the Millenium Dome came into view, we knew that our destination was not too far away.

 The entry to West India Dock looks easy, but Paul knew of various back eddies that can lurk there and he guided us in safely. It was this sort of knowledge that made us glad we'd opted for professional help, we learnt a lot.

 The lock was one of the deeper ones we'd been in, David volunteered to climb the steep ladder to put the stern line on, it was pretty dirty, but luckily he took it in his stride.

We'd been a little anxious about the rally itself, as we didn't know anyone from the DBA and weren't sure how we'd fit in, but everyone we met was very friendly and we had a great weekend. Nate was the star of the show and won a prize as the youngest attendee, which made us quite proud. All in all we met a lot of lovely people and our thanks goes out to the DBA team that organised it and gave us a focus for making the trip.

A lot of the other barges had bunting, we had none, but as a result were asked to fly the big DBA flag, it looked pretty good I must say. One thing that struck me was that as well as being the largest barge there, Misterton was the only one that still looked like a commercial vessel, which is something we've always wanted to achieve. I think we were the only 'British' barge, in the sense of being a ex-working vessel from the UK. No prizes for that though, so we'll have to be content with having a beautiful son.

The trip back on Tuesday after the weekend was with Paul only, but was straightforward and we were at Teddington by mid-afternoon. It was a great trip, and many times we were thankful to have had David and Paul there to help, as it reduced the stress considerably. We're aware that we are relatively inexperienced and that Misterton is large, heavy and not too powerful. The trip has given us more confidence in our ship and also in ourselves, which is all I'd hoped for.

Summer 2013 - Upriver

We've been able to spend some time using Misterton this year, which has been great. Lines were cast off in early August and we headed upstream, although not too far on day one, as we only got to the Runnymeade park. Past Windsor was the result of day two and on day three we made it to Cookham lock and managed to get a mooring on the lock layby. The next day we found a lovely mooring on Cookham green and were visted by Harry and Hannah, our friends from the barge 'Jenner'.

We set off early downstream and managed to find a mooring in Windsor. Our use of a willow tree as shelter was a little unconventional, but it was a great spot for a few days.

The friday night there was our 5th wedding aniversary and we managed to have a 'romantic' meal in the wheelhouse once Nate had gone to sleep.

While at Windsor, we made a 'stick garden' as pioneered by my father, here are Nate and Mary with the result. Naturally we kept my parents abreast of developments.

 After Windsor we again made an early morning departure and went back to Runnymeade. We find that given our barge's size, its easier to travel early as there are fewer boats around.

We managed to find a lovely mooring on the National Trust land, near the JFK memorial and Magna Carta island.

Another 'stick garden' was duly created and pictures transmitted to the aged parents.

After that, we headed back to Staines for a couple of days before our next adventure, more of which soon.

Sunshine

As Britain reels in the grip of a heatwave (fine weather for more than 3 consecutive days) it seemed like a good idea to install our solar panels. I was thinking of getting the cheaper framed type, but Mary pointed out that the flexible type would look better and she's right.

They seem to work, guess we'll see how well on a trip in a few weeks.

The other minor project of the last few days has been replacing the copper washers in the Lister change over valves on the engine. There are two used, depending on which bit of the combustion chamber is to be sealed. Of course, I'd used the wrong (larger) ones.

 The one on the right is correct for the valves themselves. Nate and I fitted them and then test ran the engine. Happy days.

Quick Update

As usual we've been busy with work etc, but an unexpected spell of good weather has meant the summer projects can start in earnest!

First up, I made a new (smaller) workbench to free up some space in the workshop. I made this out of some offcuts and some of the material left over from the kitchen worktops. Mary did comment that I seemed to spend more time oiling the workbench than the kitchen tops, but its a matter of priorities.

The big project of the moment is repainting the roof. This was looking a bit shabby of late, we'd used a solar reflective paint and while it did a good job for a while, it wasn't lasting well in the marine environment. This paint was bitumen based, which means that most other paints won't stick to it, so I had to spend about 12 hours over three days grinding it off. This was done with a 'tercoo' disk and a cheap electric drill. I think the neighbours were pleased when it was done.

Here is the cleared roof, with Nate sporting his new life jacket.

Here it is with the first coat of paint part way on. Ironically the high (for the UK) temperatures have meant painting in the late afternoon when there is more shade.

 The mast also needed a spruce up, so that's on trestles on the dock to get re-oiled.

More is going on inside, there are engine room electrics being installed, along with a heat exchanger cooling system. Part of the challenge these days is finding ways for Nate to 'help' as he is fairly obsessed with the engine and anything to do with it. Still, there are worse problems I could have....

Features

One small job I've been able to do over the last week has been to paint the side of the hull in the engine room. Previously I'd treated this with a mix if boiled linseed oil and Owatrol, but I thought a coat of paint might not go amiss. The plan was to paint it grey, but I found an old tin of red undercoat which I thought might make a good base. Having done it Mary and I quite like it as it is.

Speaking of features, Mary has been part of a focus group that was broadcast on BBC radio 4 recently, I've tried to embed it here.