Sort of getting ready to depart

The poor captain was abandoned for a day, left alone to do some chores whilst the crew headed into Bristol on the train to meet up with some proper renegades. Actually, old friends from university. You might recognise the lovely Julia as she came and stayed with us relatively recently. You might also recognise the lovely Debbie, from when we stayed with her in Germany. You will not recognise the lovely Alison. The crew hadn't seen her in 33 years but luckily she looked just the same to make meeting up easier:

The crew returned following a nice lunch and lots of catch up chat and rather oddly, we both then took the coach to Bristol the following day. We were planning to meet up with Debbie and Hajo but their family event timing meant that didn't work out. Instead we had a very good Sunday lunch in a waterfront pub and a chilled night in a local hotel. The following day was another National Express coach, this time to Heathrow T4. Why the coach? Well it is about 1/4 the price of an advance train ticket  (and a rounding error compared to a full fare) plus, you actually get a seat. Revolutionary we know but rather handy. Why Terminal 4? Well, we were not flying off anywhere, we had booked a night in a Premier Inn there so we could travel into London for the night and meet up with the crew's goddaughter Emily and her husband who were over from Australia. We had to take the opportunity.

London was a one evening visit though, we had to get the coach back the next day as the crew had an appointment for cataract surgery. Yup, one eye was growing a nice cataract and the difference to the 20/20 vision good eye was tricky. This guy:

a locally well know professor, gave her the required treatment and she returned with a  nice eye shield and a bag full of drops. The following day, way better vision too. Excellent result if a little costly. However, as she reminds the captain regularly, she is worth it.

After a few fun days, reality had to strike. We'd arranged to go to Hythe on the Sunday, ready for the new Brompton bikes to have their free first check-over on Monday, then we were to take Mrs Toddler to her hospital appointment for eye tests and the regular injection. Yes, eye issues seemed to be rather prominent. We also had a routine dentist appointment that day, something to "look forward" to indeed..

Setting the navigation system in the car to "home" gave us the first surprise - the trip was shown as 40 miles more than normal. Er? Double checking on the phone confirmed things - the M4 was closed around Bristol. We know from prior bad experiences that there are no good diversions. Our trip proved the point in spades.

After a really good day at Brilliant Bikes and meeting the owners of the Puerto Banus apartment we'd borrowed for a catch-up, life went south fast. Mr Toddler collapsed at the dinner table and after a Paramedics visit, a wait in the ambulance and then the usual corridor care thing, was admitted to Southampton hospital for checks. Oh boy, did he get checked too! The good news was that we could collect and bring him home a couple of days later. 

We returned to the boat, rather wrung out and in need of something. Something turned into a maintenance catch up and prep for the cruising season ahead. 

Maintenance News:

Wayne, the great local trimmer guy had finished fitting the new ceiling panels with the new vinyl / foam adornment and it was looking good.:

We replaced the old halogen downlighters with new LED units just as we did in our cabin. We wanted a few spare halogen units for the areas of the boat that have dimmer switches fitted, Three of the four ware good, only one of the casings had split upon removal and was effectively trashed.

To add to the general fun, the genset and wing engine had an oil and filter change and the wing had a new raw water impeller, Then, the spanners, sockets and torque wrench came out, the main engine valve clearances were checked and adjusted. More topless Deere porn for you:

Then the genset had the same treatment whish is actually harder although you are working on a much smaller engine with 2 fewer cylinders. Why? Well, as it lacks the timing pin setup of the big Deere that tells you it is top dead centre on a cylinder. 

What else - the RIB outboard had been running on old fuel, bad news. Although we drained the carburettor after each run, it decided to conk out and not restart as the captain headed back to the stern of the boat following yet more hull polishing.  The filter was removed and cleaned, the carb too and the engine was way happier afterwards.

Finally, we obtained some more diesel fuel additive (Stanadyne Performance formula) to dose the tanks when we next top up. That is a stabiliser as we keep diesel for many many months in the main tanks and it helps avoid the tar like stuff from settling out. It also improves the lubrication the fuel offers to the injection system and helps keep the injectors cleaner.  In case you don't believe that fuel can go bad, here is information from BP themselves:

Diesel is not a volatile fuel therefore it does not suffer from starting issues or from issues of evaporation that petrol does. The main issue with diesel fuel in storage is the formation of gums and sediments that can block filters. This is associated with darkening in the colour of the fuel. When stored under cover in sealed containers it will usually last for one year but it can last longer.

The main problem with diesel fuel in opened containers is that moisture from condensation will create a favorable environment for fungus and bacteria that degrade the fuel. The simple solution is regular treatment with a biocide every six months when storing for lengthy periods.

The only real trouble with the additive is the price of the stuff.....

Medical stuff and G lines (no, not strings, behave)

When we made it back to the poor neglected boat it seemed only fair to give her a little attention. First of all, a good wash off although there were fewer black streaks than we expected. Then we made a start at polishing the hull only the return of VERY chilly weather put that on hold for a few days.

Since the main and wing engines hadn't had a run in many weeks, we did our usual trip around the bay, only it wasn't a totally usual one. There was so much floating debris and huge lumps of timber sloshing around out there that we dare not head as for north as we had before and we ended up dodging some rafts of tree branches and rubbish. A very short and quite worrying run ensued:

The main engine prop is reasonably protected with the keel / skeg and hull shape helping keep the stuff floating around the bay at bay. The wing prop is way more exposed so it didn't get a run, just in case. We quickly gave up after getting the main up to temperature, a few wide open throttle runs to test all was well and lots of swerving around to avoid the bigger logs. We pass no comment on the ability / desire within the harbour authority to clean the place up.

Heading back to the marina, our local expert photographer caught a picture of us topless - no bimini cover on. He's sent us many pictures before that have also appeared in here - usually involving the barrage lock. This time you have the captain sitting on the flybridge in the cold just to get a better view of whatever was floating ahead of us:

When the temperatures killed our desire to do more polishing, it tempted us out on the new Brompton G-line bikes. Basically they are a 20 inch wheel version of the original bike with many other improvements. The ride quality on rough surface is way better and they are trail capable too. We started testing them out on the tricky run to Pret a Manger in Cardiff:

They come in a few boring colours and this rather natty orange finish. As a half-Dutch person, guess which the crew preferred. They were treated to several outings after fighting with one front tyre that refused to hold air pressure properly (they had been converted to tubeless by the selling dealer). Some bad words and another dose of sealant helped sort that. We are deeply impressed with them and had great fun on some longer rides alongside the rivers here.

As you can see, they park rather nicely with the rear wheel folded away.

Fun continued whan Steve (the ex-Cardiff waterbus man) brought his newish pup Emily over.  She liked exploring the boat and showing off her tongue too:

She also rather liked Izzy's favourite toy ball. Good job Izzy was not around to witness this little video clip:

Emily is gorgeous. Steve tells us that he is too. No comment.

We did manage to finish polishing the transom and starboard side of the hull but then medical stuff overtook events. The crew had been diagnosed with a cataract in one eye (the other is still 20/20 and the contrast between them was huge) so we headed to the Gower area for a specialised test using some rather posh and expensive looking equipment. The challenge- to get a replacement lens that allows her to return to her previously excellent pot spotting duties out to sea. We spent a happy couple of nights at the quirky New Gower hotel in the "Room with a bath" once more. Yes, it has a bath in the middle of it. 

which had to be used of course. We then had a quick dash back to Hythe for the crew to get a pesky hip checked out (bursitis that she has been trying to resolve with exercise alone for many months) and she ended up with a steroid injection. Then it was time for the eye surgery in Cardiff to pop in the new lens. All rather medical really, we must be getting old. Or should that be older? The good news is that the op was quick and successful, long distance pot spotting is back 

Maintenance news:

Wayne the trimmer had been busy, all the ceiling panels in the forecabin had gone, leaving us to admire the battens and insulation, together with the dangling wires that normally attach to the recessed lights:

After a significant battle, he had also removed the stuff glued to the timber finishing around the Portuguese bridge area:

The panels are now in his workshop to be recovered..... 

We were not totally idle either. The many fuel filters were changed and the usual battle to bleed the fuel system on the genset ensued. Grr. Then the genset was treated to a new raw water impeller - just in the nick of time too as one blade had started to fall apart:

The little bits had gone up to the end of the cooler tubestack so removing them entails draining out the coolant, removing the boot off the end of the cooler and then rebuilding it all. That is going to wait until we change the coolant which is also on the to do list.

Finally, one of the all time fun jobs. The captain cleaned out the grey water tank, braving the smell (which was not too bad this time) and having fun watching the Bio-Blast stuff eat away the soap scum on the walls of the tank.  It fizzes so nicely.

Of course, as you clear a job from the to-do list, something else gets added. The RIB was in use for hull cleaning when the outboard decided to cough and stop. It was being run on fairly old fuel (not good) so we are pretty sure that the carburetor is gunked up. That will need to be removed, dismantled and have the jets cleaned out. A job for a warmer and dry day, when we get one. Hey ho.