Christmas Wreath

This afternoon, I have been out to High Tor, Matlock and wandering between the bare trees I gathered together a range of branches, holly, evergreen leaves and pine cones. My plan is to make a Christmas Wreath to hang on the front door. I used a wire wreath frame which I purchased for 90p from a Victorian Christmas Market in Hall Leys Park, Matlock last weekend. 

From my experience as a TA for students studying floristry, I have learnt a few skills in this area which I applied today. Firstly, I arranged the materials I was using and began covering the frame with a base of bare branches threading in and out of the frame....

I prepared the evergreen branches using a set of garden pruners. Leaving a stalk bare allows for easy threading.

I began to cover the whole of the branches, turning the wreath as I did to ensure even coverage.

Once covered, I gave the wreath a hard shake to ensure that there were no loose areas.

I layered loosely ontop of the frame the materials I had left to form a plan of my design. I had a piece of bright green moss I wanted to use and pinned this in place by unfolding paperclips to form basic floristry pins. You can use the real thing, it is easier to twist the ends together, but the paperclips worked fine. 

I pinned the moss in the centre and at either ends...

As I pushed the pin through, I twisted the ends together and folded flat, so as not to scratch the door it hangs on.

Here it is so far...

And the final thing with the holly, berries and pine cones...

I love the look on the front door! Mmmm, Christmassss!

Underway with DIY

Of late I have been having fun and games with our lovely tool kit and paint pots. I have finally got round to painting in the bedroom and gave the bow doors a sand down and fresh coat of white. I have been using 'bathroom' paint which is perfect for the changing temperatures and humidity on the boat.

I have been using my favourite investment, the powerdrill, to make holes in the battons and base of the raised garden bed.

I have assembled and then disassembled the base as things ended up a little crooked and I don't have a plane to take of the slight overhanging edge of the base panels. Fortunately, however, after talking to Papa Bear this fine evening, I can borrow his plane when I next visit. Horrah for Papa!

I am very much a novice at woodwork, having not had a lot of practice and I realised the other day, I have to be in the right frame of mind to tackle this project. And like the wise man says; measure and measure again. In addition, I have noticed that if I had a pound for every time a guy made a comment to me whilst I have been doing this DIY outside, I would be living on a gold plated boat!

Stepping into spring!

The spring equinox has arrived and the days are beaming full of bright goodness. Ahhh... we made it through our second winter living aboard pretty much unscathed.

The early mornings over the past few days have been delightful. During breakfast I have watched the waterfoul go about their business including a swan sleeping on what I think is her nest. We have a lovely view from the many windows of lime green willow trees swaying gently and dried reeds that reflect in the mirrored water like architectural monuments.

I am reading the Celestine Prophecy by James Redfield on the free bus to and from work and I am finding it truly inspiring. It was a book lent to me by a lovely lady who I find to be on the same page. It uplifts my mood, brings the goodness out and I find, balances the motions of paid work.

In the hour before the sun went down today, I got out the workbench, tape measure, power drill and pencil and set about measuring up and drilling the holes in the foundation batons and base of the raised garden bed. These pieces are now ready to be screwed together with some hefty brass screws I have. My vision for a garden afloat is coming together.

I've got some time off work this weekend and I am hoping we will go cruising, to get out of Nottingham and feel the breeze in our hair. Where to? Well, I'm wondering about heading out on the river towards Lincoln...

DIY garden

I started on the project of a raised garden bed for the boat today. With the help of Leigh's engineering skills, we worked out a plan...

I have no budget for this and so have been hunting about for things to use. In the utility room, I found a strong plank of wood from Dad which after half an hour of sawing into two, has become the foundation of the piece. We had some old wooden shelves left over from our land-living days which came in useful.

With a little trimming down, these shelves made a perfect base and will be used for the sides too.

Tomorrow, I plan to drill and screw the pieces into place and will have a completed frame by the end of the day. My next considerations are: the liner (tarpaulin or trying to find something like pond liner), the polytunnel (poundland one or trying to find some corrugated plastic) and the soil (I might just have to take a spoon full of soil from each area as we cruise along, failing that payday is at the end of the month!).

Projects for spring

The blossom is out on the damsel trees around us on the Nottingham Canal, a sweet smell permeates the air. The hatch is wide open today and amongst the din of passing cars on Castle Boulevard I can hear a the choral singing of birds.

I spoke to Mum on the phone the other day and already she has purchased her veg seeds, planning her summer grow. I have yet to sort anything out in terms of pots or containers and have been considering making a raised bed on the roof. I am on the prowl for an old pallet and piece of drainpipe to construct my vision.

On a practical note, having pots around the stern isn't ideal. With a working boat, moving around the cut we both feel best with a clear roof and space on the stern to move around. The raised bed I am planning is going to be closer to the bow and so shouldn't cause too much of an issue with the center rope. I would like to grow potatoes again, so somewhere we will have to make space for a pot.

In addition to all this, we have been talking about solar power. Keen to have a panel, we are contemplating making one ourselves; not only a good DIY project, it should keep the cost down and hone our skills.

I will keep you posted on the developments of my garden afloat and our DIY solar panel.

Back on track almost!

We left Atherstone on Tuesday and stopped off to see our friends Rupert and Dylan at their mooring just before Hartshill.


After tea and cakes in the sun, lunch and more drinks, target shooting with a catapult, getting coal from a passing coal/diesel boat and visiting the local goats and horse...


and feeding them grass...


we realized we had better make a move.

The plan was to stop off at the marina to use the facilities and carry on back the way we came - towards Rugby. We said farewell to Rupert and Dylan, it was 4.15 and the marina would be closed soon. Delia was itching to get out the boat and stretch her little legs so we found a lovely mooring next too a wheat field and made dinner over a camp fire under the darkening sky.


We were soon enough back at the 180degree junction - Hawkesbury Junction where Leigh did a beautiful maneuver winding the boat in one great swoop to head straight in an empty lock. We cruised another mile until there was an almighty crunch and scraping noise in the engine bay. We moored up at a suitable point as soon a possible to discover that the drive belt from the pulley on the shaft to the alternator was twisted and the metal pulley had moved and was scraping against a metal bracket.

For those that have no idea what this is about, i'll quickly explain. The shaft from the propellor goes through the engine casing and at one end is the pulley (which looks like a big cog). A rubber band - the drive belt, goes round this to another smaller cog on the alternator. This movement of the cog on the alternator charges our batteries; the engine starter battery (much like a car) and the two domestic batteries (our brilliant 6v traction batteries) thus, we can start the engine and have electricity aboard.

Let me point out that neither of us are mechanics in any way. I might know how to change an inner tube on a pushbike but that is about it, Leigh has great instinctual skills but he is not experienced in tinkering away under a bonnet. After half an hour of trying to turn the belt round, we called up some more knowledgeable folk who advised on what to do. We slackened the alternator and popped the belt off. This was a new belt we purchased in March - when we had the engine serviced. Being made of rubber, the belt had softened and buckled being twisted on the pulley. It would no longer sit straight and we had to fix it back on at an angle until we reached the next boatyard to get a new belt. We carried on and then the heavens opened so we moored up for the night.

We reached the rose narrowboat marina the following day and picked up a drive belt. In replacing it, we discovered that the nut to secure the pulley was no longer tightening. On further inspection, the hole was threaded on the pulley and the thread on the nut was gone -it was an aluminium pulley with a steel nut as Leigh pointed out not a good combination. The pulley was beyond repair (unless it could be melted and reset - but who does that now?) so we looked into getting a new one.

By this morning we had our hands on a smashing new pulley and after a bit of brute force from Leigh we had it in place and the belt on by the early afternoon. During all this, we had it made clear that the cogs (alternator and old pulley) required different thicknesses of belts so with the new one we now had the right belt and the right sized pulley.

As as we set off for Rugby again, the rain poured and poured so we pulled over and moored and here we are on the outskirts of Rugby wondering if we should head through the festival goers and boats moored in threes at Braunston this bank holiday weekend or not.

DIY

Today, it has quite literally been teaming down with rain all day. So, I've been looking into some jobs outstanding on the boat. Sure the list is endless, but you have to start somewhere. We have some lovely new barge-pole holders which we need to secure to the roof of the boat. Trouble is how?

As it happens, whilst buying some more engine oil at the chandlery opposite our current mooring, I ended up speaking to a very helpful engineer who pointed out that self-tapping screws wouldn't work on their own going through 5mm of steel. He recommended two options, tap and drill and then screw in using the pre-made thread, or drill through to the inside if there are no batons at the exact spot and screw into a piece of wood fixed to the ceiling.

I think I prefer the neater idea of tapping into the roof. I could see some problems occurring with rain water overtime coming through into the cabin with the latter.

I had a look at the set of tap's they use and he explained how they work. I recall now from when I was a teaching assistant in engineering, the use of taps on a lathe machine.


Doing some research into tap and die sets, you get what you pay for, as with all tools. This engineer suggested I would probably use a M8 for the pole holder so it might be worth investing in a one size set, get the tap holder and have it for any other jobs requiring tapping. Already I can think of the mount I want to attach to the stern handrail for the life-ring which will require tapping to attach then screw the mount in place.

The only question now is, is it worth buying a quality set or paying for someone who has the tools to do the jobs.

What's all the racket about?

As of late on The Kite Experiment, we have steadily been moving along the Coventry Canal and blowing away the cobwebs. We are moored at Hartshill Boat yard a stone's throw from local family. We have good neighbours and vast fields surrounding us.

Projects have been progressing on the boat as we are looking into a new battery system of 6volt Traction batteries and a regulator so that we no-longer have to spend evenings illuminated by candle-light and going to bed early. We have painted the side hatches a lovely pea green colour and have cut and sanded the wooden inserts for the interior side. When the rain stops we will be able to glue the wood in place, fix up the beading and varnish them.

Wonderful news is that I have successfully secured a place on a writers residency in Shropshire run by Arvon. This will enable me to develop the poetry I have been working on of late and share with other writers etc. Horrah! I can't wait!

And now we are looking towards moving to Brimingham for christmas time which should take about 5 days of journey time so when I come back from Shropshire all our of ink, we will be thinking of moving on.

Continue the noise, noise, noise as the generator runs to charge up the starter battery that has run flat again.

Wednesday working

As the rain has been pouring down today, I have set to sawing up the left over beech ply from our entrance hatch. We had our side doors welded during summer and since painting with primer we haven't got any further. The plan is to line the steel doors with the ply and finish with beading.

So this is how they look at the moment...


And I had this heavy lump of wood to saw through...


These are the four pieces cut up. Next I need to sand them down (a planer would come in handy here). It's dark now and the fire is on so I'll leave this job for another day.


Living aboard our boat, I do find that there is always something to do, collect coal/wood, get to a water point and fill up with water, pump out in a marina, move the boat, sweep the leaves off, clear the stern deck channels (like guttering on a house), run the gennie and charge every thing up, turn the stern gland, mop the outside, clean out the burner and tend to the fire, see to the oil in the engine and gennie - change when necessary, find a rubbish point and ditch the black bag, get rid of the many spiders, etc, etc. And I wouldn't change a thing! (Well maybe the pump out.)

Loom of the moon

As of late, we have been grafting hard with DiY projects, family arrangements and finding work. I have been scrubbing the engine bay with a wire brush, coating my jumper and unfortunately my arms with tiny shards of metal. Leigh has sealed up the weed-hatch located above the propellor so that when we force the engine in reverse we limit the amount of canal water that flows into the engine bay. We have had many a conversation with fellow boaters about how to's, where to's and what abouts! We've decided against the use of Hammerite and are opting for red oxide paint in the engine bay. I have treated the rust and there was a fair lot of that so when the pennies are plentyful we will get the paint.

Speaking of which, we haven't yet found local work but things have come together back in old Nottingham with several days of work in early October, much of the same stuff as before, so that is a spot of luck!

I've started a new knitting project with these beauties...


and as it is a gift, I have a deadline to work towards, so am knitting at any opportunity, in between rust treatment coats etc. There are some additions to the boat too, we have been concentrating on storage and ease of access issues...

Leigh found this cabinet in an antique shop and it fits so perfectly with the boat that it looks like it was made for her!

This lovely item was kindly passed on by Leigh's mum, who has very fine taste!



And with the left-over green curtain I was able to fashion a divider and noise reducer between the bedroom and living area...


Today Delia has dragged another half dead mouse into the boat and so we have purchased her a collar and tinker-bell to ward off suspecting prey as this cannot go on! Although very shocked, with stories of her leaping about from the hedgerow, she is currently settled next to me, taken to the fact of our need to curtail her natural instincts.

These latest days I have been feeling the swell of full moon and the inner tides, floating in a fog that I can't wait to pass...
Tomorrow we plan to move, not far, just through the rest of Atherstone locks, on our way to Hartshill. And so I leave you, dear reader with this found woodcut; river, moon-light and mountain...

A darkening night

As of late on The Kite Experiment, all ends are tied up, bon voyage's have taken place, we have provisions on board and have been looking into the route ahead for our narrow boat journey. Our first major destination is Atherstone in beautiful Warwickshire.

For those following the route in the Collins waterways guides, we commence our journey from WaterWays guide 6 - Nottingham, York and the North East, page 141. We will be leaving Nottingham from the City Centre, along the Nottingham Canal between Carrington Street Road Bridge (Bridge 7) and Bridge 6. This location is directly next to Nottingham train station and below the tram track, along with the fact that it is Saturday night, there is a lively atmosphere in the air!

From here we will be going through the lock at Wilford Street Bridge 10, heading West towards Beeston and the lovely willow trees along that stretch of the Nottingham Canal. Going by our previous calculations on journey times we should be doing about 10miles a day, that is all being well of course! We will be going to the major waterway junction, Trent Lock (see page 139 in guide 6 or page 99 in guide 3 - Birmingham and the heart of England) via Cramfleet and then going a new way for us, down the Sawley Cut. Sawley Marina appears to have some good facilities so that might be our first good stop over, we will see.

So, when do we go? Sunday or Monday.

This evening I have completed another curtain, just in time as the lights have gradually been dimming even though we ran the engine to charge the batteries. Now that is 4 completed curtains with 2 still to do and it looks like there will be excess material so I'm thinking of making a bag maybe (a bucket bag?!). On the battery front, we have three leisure batteries (one which is the engine starter) which all seem to be very inefficient and due for replacement but from the research done so far, it sounds like that will be a couple of hundred pounds to fork out so it will have to wait until work comes into fruition again.

Other dangerous activities...

Leigh has been hacking up some shelves to help us keep our belongings below the water line on the boat preventing any unfortunate boat-toppling-over on to our heads!

And I've been knitting circular style, some fancy leg warmers for the cold days in the winter time! It is quite an achievement as I thought I'd never know how to knit tubes like these!

Quite alot of too much sun

We have decide to stick around at Redhill and get the last bit of steel work done to the boat. This time it's the side doors. Soar Valley Steel boats are at work again after their great work on the stern. Here is a taster of what Dave from SVSboats got up to today...






Leigh worked on the bilges, mopping the water that has got in from when the old boards were on top. We are planning on treating the rust inside and giving it a good paint job so that it is easier to see what is going on in the depths of the engine bay.


We discovered early last week that the engine wouldn't start. The service was due in March and we still hadn't made arrangements for a mechanic to give it a once over! Time just seems to fly by! This meant that on Wednesday we had to pole (gondala style) over to the other side of the river to the electrics to enable the work to commence, that was a bit of fun indeed!

Leigh and I were going through a process of elimination of what it could possibly be and thus came to the decision that engines were not our strongest point and got on the blower to Papa Bear.

"It's got to be the batteries if the engine wont turn over, try fully charging them first and see how you go... No, I don't think it's the alternator..."

Under these wise words I climbed into the engine bay, working out how to undo the connectors of the batteries (set up in a series of three leisure batteries) with Leigh's help. I pulled out the multimeter to measure the DC voltage of 11... but what is the full charge supposed to be??

Dave the welder wasn't too sure but added his tuppance saying that he knows of problems where Diesel can get into the oil on Lister engines...

Leigh promptly checked the dipsticks of the engine and found the gear oil's were fine but the main oil chamber was rather black. Andy Bailey the builder was called and we arranged the service for next week!

And so with the batteries, we were leant a charger to run from mains electricity and upon initial hook up the battery showed itself to be as flat as a pancake! We suspect that having left the switch to the water pump on for a long duration of time has drained the battery, there will be further investigations once all three batteries are fully charged.

Then this afternoon, I got my hair cut in preparation for tomorrow's "Hen-Do". Nice.

Here are a few photographic delights captured by Leigh from aboard our boat the past day or so...

Bridge 11

Leigh has spoken to Yorkshire-man Brian, who advertises his capentry skills from the side of his narrowboat, about a new hatch. With a great quote for the work we decided to go for it. With this new hatch we hope to improve the security of the boat and make the stern area look alot more aesthetically pleasing.


After sourcing the beech ply from a timber merchants off Lenton Lane, I managed to coerce them into carrying the 8ft board down to the canal and putting on the boat. God knows how Leigh and I would have done this. We had to move next to Brian, so we upped sticks (or ropes in our case) and pootled down the Nottingham canal towards town. Our moring area was busy with folk going to and fro Sainsburys but there is the weir to the side of the towpath which adds to the natural environment of overhanging trees and small shrubs. We were facing the wooden bridge number 11. When cycling along the towpath under the bridge I decided to stop temporarily to aviod the rain, at this moment I listened to stilletoe heels charging their way across the surface of the bridge sounding like thundering drums pounding from above.

Here is the hatch as it currently stands...


It is rather weathered as you can see...



And here is what Brian produced over two days inbetween the rainy spells.


Leigh is in the process of staining and varnishing with Yacht varnish, ready to fix inplace. In the fine weather today Leigh got two coast of stain on, so keep looking back to see the finished article on The Kite Experiment.