All pumped up

Water pump replacement

November 2017

We spent all summer with an ailing fresh water system which was quite literally held together with gaffer tape and cable ties, standard fare for boat bodgers like me!

New pump and strainer assembled on the bench

The water system has remained largely unaltered since we bought the boat 12 years ago so I guess it was time for a bit of attention and up grading.

The most pressing issue was the intermittent, but relentless drip from the hot pipe under the sink. Now this issue was probably self inflicted because when I built the new galley a couple of years ago I reused a section of tap tails to reduce the food grade hose to fittings which would work on a standard Ikea tap. In the process of swapping the pipework over I suspect I applied pressure to a plastic reducer which then split under the jubilee clip. Of course, this was not immediately apparent and just seemed to drip from a poor jubilee connection. As a result we spent five months with an ice cream container under the taps which we emptied periodically.

Out with the old

If that wasn't enough, the pump became increasingly rough when it operated, grinding away with failing bearings. Then there was the puny 1ltr accumulator which wouldn't hold pressure and so the knackered pump cycled away every 20 minutes or so and we resorted to turning it off overnight.

With the pump's end in sight I took the plunge and bought a complete  Jabasco pump and 5ltr accumulator assembly when we passed through Braunston in August, a precaution which ensured the old one lasted out the 2017 cruising season.

With the boat laid up for the winter the time came to strip out all the old kit and install the new. Of course, it was kind of inevitable I would be short of some fittings so a further visit to the chandlery was needed to source a water strainer, a replacement pipe reducer, a "T" insert and some extra water pipe.

The source of all those drips

All went together well till I discovered that I couldn't get a seal on the two brass reducers on the accumulator. It turned out that Midland Chandlers has supplied the correct brass fittings but failed to include any washers to seal the faces. Hurray for City Plumbing in Aldridge who raided their oddment box and so solved my problem for free. 

A proper sized accumulator

Whilst I was tearing the fresh water system to bits I also replaced the filter cartridge in the drinking water tap, a £90 import from General Ecology which saves us using bottled water. This was the first time I had changed in in 18 months and the old filter looked very dodgy even was trying out patience when in use. £90 is a high price each year but the convenience probably justifies the spend.

Stepping up a gear

Another new gearbox

October 2017

Yes, that's right - another new gearbox has been fitted into Wand'ring Bark.

Regular readers will remember the saga of our gearbox which had to be replaced by RCR back in May as we set of on our summer jaunt. Well, from the off I was never entirely convinced that all was well with the new PRM 125 lurking at the back of the engine. When I engaged reverse it always dropped in with a solid thunk but forward was always a silky smooth affair, so silky that from time to time it didn't engage and the gearbox slipped for a few seconds before biting, and then all was well for the day.

Initially I put this down to a slightly overfilled gearbox and so after a week or so, I drained the ATF down to the level of the drain plug. This seemed to fix the slipping problem but it still didn't engage very positively. All was well till we got back to the Midlands and then, after the Black Country Boating Festival it started to slip most mornings. 

At that stage I could have called RCR who did the original replacement, but as the gearbox worked when warm and we were just a few days from home I decided to get the boat back to base and then consider my options. An inspection of the ATF revealed a dark red liquid rather then the cherry red I was expecting, and something was clearly amiss. A call went out to RCR asking for a review under their warranty, but there is no hurry said I, as I only live 10 mins from the boat.

This morning I received a call from RCR to say an engineer was on his way and could I get to our boat in 10 mins? Well, I was just finishing my breakfast so I stretched it to 15 mins and sure enough there was an RCR van waiting for me as I arrived. At this stage I was expecting a quick 10 minute inspection to assess the situation and decide what to do next, but then the apprentice bent into the van and out came a brand new PRM gearbox. Clearly this was not going to be a quick job.....

I set to cleaning the boat ready for a council hygiene inspection tomorrow whilst the engineers set about the task of removing and installing the gearbox. It appears that this is quite a common problem with mechanical gearboxes where the cone clutches fail to engage fully and slip till the metal warms up and expands. The diagnosis I offered on the phone was so typical that a replacement was immediately ordered from PRM who ended up paying RCR to fit a replacement unit.

All this activity was played out under the strangest of red skies drought on by a mix of Saharan dust and ask from Spanish forest fires, all carried to us on the periphery of a hurricane tracking north up the west coast of Ireland.

I have to say that situations like this confirm the wisdom of having big jobs done by RCR's contracting arm. Had the gearbox been replaced by a boatyard somewhere outside the Midlands how would I have had it repaired and would it have been done promptly and with good grace? At least with RCR I am more than a one off transaction and they place a value on their reputation. Their communications leave a bit to be desired, but when the chips are down they are always there and if things go wrong they will come back and sort things out without quibble. That sort of peace of mind has got to be worth something.

Firing on all cylinders

Firing in all cylinders

September  2017

In my last post we left the boat as an inert lump of steel and an engine which seemed to have completely expired. Well, I am glad to say that the breath of life has been cast over it and it now starts with that classic puff of blue smoke all Beta owners know and love.

When I left the boat on its mooring the starter battery seemed to have suffered a cataclysmic failure, which was rather odd as it was working fine just 10 minutes previously. No only was the starter motor not turning, there was absolutely no power reaching the control panel. Odd.

I have never replaced the started battery in the 10 years I have owned the boat so I have always been expecting its demise, but whilst it keeps bringing the engine to life on demand, why  change it? I assumed the aged battery was the culprit so used a jump lead from the main battery bank to see if power reached the control panel - but no joy.

I therefore retired to the club house where a MacMillan fundraiser was underway and bemoaned my problem with a fellow boater. He suggested I check the next item in the electrical circuit being the isolator switch, so i ventured back out into the rain and by passed this unit as well. Sadly this had the same negative result so it was back to the club house for more tea, cakes and head scratching.

Finally a fellow boater joined our circle and suddenly said "lets go and fix your boat" and ran off to get his multi meter. His opening comment was, "I bet this will be a simple problem" and so we began the process of working forward from the batteries where we knew we had power and back from the control panel where we knew we didnt. After maybe 15 mins the problem seemed to me in the wiring loom and then suddenly. there is was. One of those multi plugs shrouded in a plastic cover. 

Immediately it all became clear. When I had stopped the boat I had a look at the ATF level and quality, as I have some doubts about the new PRM125 gearbox. In accessing the dipstick I had lifted a coolant pipe and in so doing has lifted the wiring loom it was attached to. It was probably loosened during the installation of the new gearbox and my lift was the straw which broke the proverbial camel's back.

With the multi plug pressed back into place the lights cane on, the warning siren sounded and the engine burst into life. Wonderful - life is good!

But then there is the new gearbox. It has a tendency to not engage in forward when I start it,

particularly after a few days idle. It whines and then kicks in, a delay which is disconcerting and underpinned by ATF fluid which looks more smoky than cherry red. RCR (who did the installation) have been contacted and I will let you know the outcome.

A fan on Maplins

June 2017

You will remember that at the heart of the galley / saloon rebuild was a small 12 volt chest freezer?

Well, whilst it has been working for the six weeks we have been away, it hasn't been operating as efficiently or effectively as I had anticipated. Sure it has been freezing the contents but the cold was not evenly distributed and as the temperature outside rose the level of frost reduced (if you know what I mean).

I knew from the day I installed it that I could be designing in a weakness. Whilst the compressor is remote from the freezer box, it is housed under a seat where the ventilation isn't great. As a result the ambient air around the compressor fan has been rising and it has been struggling to dump the heat. I have increased the openings into the compressor box but there are limited options and whilst things improved a bit, the cooling fan kept droning away most of the time, wasting power.

I recall Halfie having this problem with his fridge a couple of years ago and decided to use his approach to my problem. 

Whilst we were moored in Jericho (Oxford) we took a walk to Maplins and bought a computer fan plus a switch and wiring. Then it was off to Wickes to get some six inch ducting which would fit over the square fan (echoes of Apollo 13 came to mind).

Bones paid us a visit as I was assembling the various components and offered some interesting, if slightly over complicated suggestions including thermal switches. I am a bit of a "keep it simple at all  costs" sort of boy and decided a basic on / off switch would be fine. This switch was a bit swanky because it had an option to have a light on when running so in the absence of an instruction card I asked Bones which of the three terminals I should avoid. She studied them carefully and sagely advised that I avoid the gold one at all costs. Why, what does that one do? I asked. I dunno came the reply - I just don't like the colour.

So, ignoring this patently girlie advice I wired in the said gold terminal and the light duly illuminated when the fan was on. The trouble was that the resistance of the led bulb reduced the power available for the fan which then turned at about 1/3 of its previous speed. Grr - she was right even if the logic was a bit iffy!

So the wiring was altered to avoid the gold terminal and the fan started to suck the warm air out of the cupboard and up and away behind the fridge.

So, did it work? You bet it did. The locker is cool, the compressor cooling fan hardly runs at all and the freezer freezes the whole box. And as an added bonus the through draft is helping disperse the heat produced by the fridge and that now cycles much less frequently.

You may be concerned that I cant see when the fan is on, but given its miniscule battery draw and long fife expectancy it can run 24/7, and I can check its still running by sticking a finger over the duct outlet, a DIY thermal switch!

Lowdown on the gearbox

Lowdown on the gearbox

May 2017

Thanks to all of you who expressed such concern about our gearbox.

I am glad to say that our problems have now been resolved with a broken 120 PRM removed and replaced with a shiny silver 125, fresh from Beta.

The plastic bits shouldn't stick out.....

To be honest my biggest fear was that having removed and replaced the gearbox the problem would be diagnosed as a twopenny ha'penny washer, or something like it. As it turned out the contractors had real trouble getting the old one out. Firstly they tried to withdraw the propshaft only to see the driveshaft pulling out of the gearbox, which was unexpected as it is supposed to be held on by a locked nut. This problem resulted in a 24 hour delay whilst a puller was obtained.

On day two we had two engineers turn up at 8.30am and this time progress stalled when they attempted to remove the old drive plate from the flywheel. It appears that when it was first assembled the allen studs were imperial and, of course, the only keys they had were metric!

This is how a drive plate shouldn't look!

With this problem resolved the old driveplate was extracted and whaa sorry state it was in.

For those of you unfamiliar with the inner workings of the bell housing the driveshaft from the engine leads into a flywheel which is then attached to a driveplate which is two steel plates riveted to each other via a PVC buffer made by R&D. The old one had almost completely collapsed and was held together with just one rivet! Bits of the plastic buffer were splayed out all over the place and its a miracle it had held together at all.

Then the driveshaft passes into a gearbox which is a simple forward / backward / neutral mechanical affair bathed in automatic transmission fluid. This then attached to the propshaft which includes a Centaflex coupling which absorbs more of the shocks before it goues out to the propeller via the stern gland, which is lubricated by grease and packed with tarry rope.

With no retaining nut on inside the gearbox I am surprised the propeller hadn't pulled the shaft out when in reverse! From the hacksaw marks and silicon on the retaining nut there appears to have been a bodged repair in the boat's first three years of life, before we bought it 10 years ago.

All in all the system was completely shot, so whilst its a pain to have to spend over £1000 on a new gearbox, its a relief to get is all solidly fixed up. Whats more it is a bit weird to put it into forward gear and find is slipping in so smoothly. For years it has engaged with a clunk as all the slack was taken up.

Anyway, problem fixed and on we go. 

A sudden chill in the air

A sudden chill in the air

April 2017

Last minute setback are not what one wants at this stage in the game.

Life sometimes feels a bit like a game of snakes and ladders. One moment you are sipping up when good fortune shows you its smiling face and then, as sure as eggs is eggs, a nasty snake comes along and down you go!

In the lead in to our departure we have encountered a couple of snakes:

1. I was investigating a strange mechanical noise when in forward gear and discovered that one of the studs in the flexible coupling had worked itself loose and was trying to cut its way into the back of our gearbox. I had noticed that the stud protruded a bit more than the rest ever since it was fitted 18 months ago, but assumed that the engineers knew what they were doing and left well alone. Big mistake - doubt everything.... 

The good news it that I caught it immediately and before the thread on the stud or the alloy casting was mashed, so I was able to wind it back in and get a good grip with all four nuts.

I guess that's a snake and a ladder really.

2. Our final task was to load the food aboard and part of this process was to fill the fridge. In went the food and I turned it on. But nothing happened, no rumble from the compressor, no gurgle of fluids. This isnt good. I checked that we had power and I wiggled all the connections but like Monty Python's parrot - it was dead, it was no more, its was an ex fridge.

It was 4.30 but a quick call to Midland Chandlers confirmed a 5.30 closing time so off we went. We walked in at 5.01 and walked out at 5.04 with a new Shoreline fridge and £560 less in the account.  Now to my way of thinking that was a snake. Not a humongous one but quite significant. But thats not how Mrs T saw things. She has been chuntering about a new fridge for over three years and with a separate freezer installed we were able to get a unit without an ice box and therefore more room for fridgey stuff.

Well thats it I think - all is set and we set off down the Ganzies tomorrow morning making for an overnight stop at Tividale. 

Hopefully thats all the snakes we will see for a while.

Bunging up the ole

Its curtains for curtains

March 2017

Its hard to believe it, but in just over four weeks we will be setting off on our epic jaunt. One level this is great but on another it highlights the need to attend to all this little jobs on the boats which remain undone.

One new porthole bung

Sure, the installation of the solar panels and battery bank was a big achievement but everywhere I look there are outstanding tasks which, if I get my finger out, could be addressed before we go.

So, yesterday set about one of the most obvious tasks - washing Wand'ring Bark. This may not sound too hard but our mooring is under a tree and as a result we suffer from chronic verdigris. It all washes off of but it was so bad that the gunnels had become like ice rinks in the wet. So, I ran the engine for an hour or so to get a supply of hot water and tackled the task full on. I have to admit that the improvement was immediate and impressive, even if it did highlight the flaky bits of paint here and there.

Whilst the water was heating I tackled some internal jobs like fixing the pictures to the walls and most particularly, trying out the new bung in the window on the corridor. We have never really cracked this particular window from a curtain perspective as anything we have used has been snagged as we walked past either wrecking the curtain or our clothes. When we had the rest of the curtains made by Elite we asked for suggestions for this window which has a rebate of just 1cm, which precludes a traditional fabric covered porthole bung.

The suggestion was a circular bit of ply with some form of tape found the edge to bake a tight fit. Not a bad idea so I thought I would give it a shot.

I has some 8mm ply and with care I was able to create a circle on the bandsaw with a margin of error of about plus or minus 1mm. This was varnished and a nice curvy stainless steel handle added. To keep in in place the edge was trimmed with some self adhesive P profile draught excluder and hey presto - one bung which fits tightly in its ole. Time will tell if the slightly over tight fit continues.

In addition I have been giving security a bit of thought. Last year when we were in Walsall Basin with one of the BCN Explorer Cruises on of the boats had its back deck boards lifted. Whilst nothing was taken I did clock the issue, which is a particular concern on a cruiser sterned boat. A winter of cogitating resulted in the idea to add wooden "prongs" to one edge of the board which hook under the metal surround on which is rests. On the other side I inserted a barrel lock bought from Screwfix and drilled a slot into the steel surround which the lever rotated into - making access to the engine and batteries impossible without serious crowbars. 

Thats four jobs down - but a long way to go.

Power to the People

We have power!

March 2017

After much anticipation this weekend was nothing short of electrifying.

A couple of weeks ago I bought four new 110 ah batteries to replace the two batteries which had been in place for 5.5 years, neatly filling the newly enlarged battery box, The problem was then how to wire them up in the post effective manner possible and a bit of guidance from Halfie came in handy.

A new 440ah battery bank

Then there was the small matter of sourcing the crimped wires of the correct thickness and length. Peter from Solar Kingfisher came to the rescue and quickly produced the positive and negative wiring I needed, and pointed out that as my new batteries come ready with M8 terminals there was no need for clamped attachments which can be areas of poor connection.

Friday was a day of biblical rain and I took the opportunity to sit on the engine and complete the battery wiring under the shelter of the canvas awning, connecting the whole bank together and, with the aid of a set of M8 nuts and a socket set. the task was soon complete.

Saturday saw me back at the boat, this time with my friend Mr G, who happens to be both an electrician and experienced in solar panel installation. Now admittedly his specialism is in the huge commercial arrays, but its all a matter of scale and he willingly offered to give me a hand. First we introduced a DC isolator switch at the fromntof the boat into which the wiring from the two panels was fed. Fortunately, there was already a 10mm hole in the bulkhead which used to carry a TV ariel, to this was recycled for our purposes.

The wiring through the boat has been in place for a couple of months so our next task was to install the regulator at the stern, as near the battery bank as possible. An extra hole was cut through the bulkhead into the engine room and the battery feeds were bolted onto the battery terminals. Then, finally, a remote monitoring display was cut into the instrument panel and hey presto - we had evidence of a supply from the panels, a steady feed into the batteries and proof that the battery condition was good. 

Ready to become a battery nerd

Put simply - the whole set up works.

But thats not the end of the story. If you remember we started on this electrical adventure to power a small isotherm freezer, which needed a new power supply and an enlarged electrical storage capability. So, Sunday saw me down at the boat again to complete the wiring to the freezer. Now it said, quite clearly, on the freezer delivery docket that the unit should be tested within 24 hours of receipt, and that would nave been in about November 2015..... so it was with huge relief that I flicked the new freezer switch was was rewarded with the sound of the compressor fan humming and the freezer cooling fast.

Not content with the freezer, I also discovered fixed the hot water pipe under the sink which appears to have caught the frost and resulted in a slow drip. The pipe was repositioned and the jubilee clip tightened and we now seem to have a leak free plumbing system too.

The new cruising season may still be a few weeks away but the boats are taking shape.

A bright spark

A bright spark

Feb 2017

Time is flying by and whilst there has been little action on the blog in the last month, there has been a lot going on behind the scenes.

New solar panels on Wand'ring Bark

The end of my paid employment is rapidly drawing closer, with just over six weeks left till I leave in mid April and then, almost immediately, we will be heading off to Droitwich for the first trading event of the season. 

Suddenly, all our plans are stepping up a gear and there is a veritable blitz of ordering going on to ready ourselves for our 2017 extended trip. Glass jars are being ordered by the thousand, new leaflets have arrived, blackboards are being re painted and various carpentry jobs are being finished off on both the motor and the butty. Truth be told the number of things on the "to do" list is frighteningly long.

Viewed from the tiller

This weekend represented something of a milestone in the electrical power department. You will remember that I built a small 12v freezer into the new saloon (32ltr Isotherm) but this needs an extra power supply and extra storage, which all adds up to quite marathon on the DIY front.

To start the weekend I bought 4 new sealed cell 110ah batteries from Coombswood Trust in Hawne Basin. These will replace our pair of five year old batteries and I was relieved to discover that the extra two batteries fitted snugly into the newly extended battery box. Now I just need to source some extra battery wires and we will be sorted.

Not content with the batteries I also bought two 160 amp Midsummer solar panels with a controller just before Christmas and have been itching to get them fixed in. I did spend a very chilly day on the boat about a month ago installing all the electrical cables which will carry the power from the panels to the controller and also the 12v supply from the batteries to the freezer, but the means of securing the panels to the boat was in something of a gestation period.

Motor and butty await the start of the new season

My key criteria is that the panels have to be as inconspicuous as possible, protected from accidental damage and also capable of some angling to maximise power gathering. What I didn't want was those triangular brackets screwed to the roof which are, to my mind, unsightly and add significantly to the air draft. Success means that I can still navigate the Froghall Tunnel and failure is not an option.

My solution was to set the panels end to end in front of the centre ring and to the port side next the the pole rack. The panels have been fixed to a hinged frame which in turn is attached to three hardwood strips which match the curve of the cabin roof, wedged into position under the the handrails. The production was a bit tricky but in the event turned out better than I expected, with a very even 5mm gap all round the panels. When flat the panels are below the level on the handrail and even in the centre of the roof they stand up less than the height of the cratch. Froghall remains within our reach.

All in all I am very satisfied with the end result. From the stern the supports look a bit like boatmans beams and from the side they are all but invisible.

Now I just need to sort out the wiring.

Tanked up for Christmas

Tanked up for Christmas

December 2016

The Jam Butty has been receiving some attention over recent weeks as we turn our thoughts to the 2017 trading season.

My time sleeping on the butty identified a deficiency, apart from a lack of internal height which is inescapable! Whilst the cross bed is very comfortable, there is no way to secure the back doors and hatch from the inside. I discovered this in Walsall Town Basin and I spent a night wondering which would open them first - a gust of find or a curious local. In the event the doors stayed shut but some catches were needed and this has been addressed.

Tearing a new hole "where the sun dont shine".

The next change was to maximise the storage space for jam at floor level. Last season I took the side panel off the locker under the long seat and exposed a space to store nearly 400 jars. To extend this even further I converted the drawer front under the "bed ole" into another side opening locker and made space for an extra 200 jars - all nice and cool below the waterline.

The latest development has been the creation of a locker in the stern triangle off the stern deck. In its previous incarnation the butty contained a raw water cooled diesel generator fed from a diesel tank in the stern. The generator is long gone and our needs are met by a 2kw petrol unit purchased from Aldi. The problem this brings is the storage of petrol - the boaters nemesis.

There is no way I am keeping any petrol in the body of the butty so I decided to convert the old diesel tank into a ventilated locker which will be perfect for a small can of petrol.

Good idea in theory but achieving the end proved a bit of a challenge. First I marked it out and then drilled each corner - so far so good. Then I attemped to cut it out with a metal jigsaw blade but after a difficult six inches it was clear the tool wasnt up to the job. Time to wield the angle grinder. I came armed with a set of 1mm discs and set to - soon discovering that rather then the 3mm steel I expected it was 5 or 6mm, and soon wore out the cutter discs. Another trip to screwfix and I set to with some 3mm cutters which although slower, did manage to achieve the desired cuts.

Inside a diesel tank

I had drained off the diesel before I started but I was very aware that there was some left sloshing around in the bottom of the tank. I know diesel is pretty inert stuff, but I was not entirely sure what would happen when it was showered in sparks from the cutter. I therefore had an extinguisher and a fire blanket to hand during the process.

As I cut the bottom line I thought I had trouble. Suddenly I was enveloped in foul smelling smoke, but rather than setting fire to the diesel I had burned out the motor on the grinder! It hung in there till I had almost finished and was able to pull the steel panel out, and then died a death.

The old tank was found to contain maybe 12 litres of the most disgusting diesel you ever saw. This was all decanted out and the tank wiped down ready to have a set of doors added. 

All in all a bit of a disgusting job but well worth the effort.

All change on The Bark

Renovations continue

December 2016

Whilst there have been no boat movements in recent weeks, there has been no shortage of work on the boats, preparing them for next year which will be on us in no time.

To start with Wand'ring Bark there is a whole pile of work left over from last spring. Our few outings of 2016 revealed a major flaw in the redesign of the saloon. The key issue was the creation of the L shaped settee. This new settee offers loads more space but it became apparent that we both like to sit with our legs up and as it was me who was left uncomfortable, a further refinement was needed. 

The extended settee (awaiting cushion)

After a bit of thought I removed the old stereo cupboard (which was pretty well redundant) and replaced it with an oak table level with the seat. This seems to work well and an additional cushion has been ordered from Elite Furnishing. This configuration has the added benefit of making the settee into a nice long single bed, which increases our hospitality options.

Linked to the new settee I have also made a set of shelves to go on the other side of the cabin, under the gunnel. This proved to be a bit more challenging than I anticipated because it needs to support a laptop without projecting too far into the room. Lots of ideas were considered and in the end a section of the top was made to flip out, extending the flat space to about 32cm.

Shelf with flap

Another new feature of the galley is the inclusion of a 32 litre 12 volt freezer which sits under the settee. This unit has been in place for a year but has never been run due to and absence of wiring and also an insufficient supply of electricity.

Shelves fixed but without power socket

But this is all about to change. Last week I took the plunge and installed the power supply cables which reach back to the bus bar in the electrical cabinet. It just needs wiring in.

This links onto the power supply issue. Whilst  the engine has always provided the power we need whist travelling, our prolonged stops will soon reveal its shortcomings. The only sensible answer is to go solar. After much research two 160 watt panels plus an MTTP controller were purchased from Midsumer. These big boys toys are currently cluttering up our store room, but will soon be fitted and plugged into yet another power cable which I ran alongside the one for the freezer. What the sun giveth, the freezer will certainly take away!

The next project is to create a tiltable cradle for the panels on the roof and the purchase of a new, larger battery bank - but thats for another day!

Musical Chairs

The ongoing redevelopment of Wand'ring Bark

September 2016

When I rebuilt the galley and saloon on Wand'ring Bark last winter there was one corner I left untouched due to a lack of time and also a lack of inspiration about what to do with it.

The area I am referring to the the front left corner opposite the stove, which is currently a cupboard with an unused CD / radio inside plus various electrical sockets and a draw underneath. With the advent of the i-pod and digital radio the stereo is now redundant.

The elongated bench seat

When I made the new L shaped sofa to replace the two parallel benches I kind of promised Helen something comfortable but our short time aboard this year highlighted a design flaw. We both like to sit with our legs up and when Helen has bagged the length of the settee there is nowhere for me to sit!  

With the DVD player now being sited opposite the settee (not on the stereo cupboard) I came to realise that I could remove the cupboard and replace it with a table / seat base in effect making a 9ft bench seat on which Helen can sit and one end and I can sit at the other with out toes getting intimate in the middle.

And so three planks of oak were purchased, joined, moulded and varnished to make the table top / seat base and the old unit reworked to support it. Of course, reworking is never that simple and it took a good two hours of persistent unscrewing to get the unit free and then to trim it down to size. 

Patience paid off and eventually the base was prepared for the new top which, after a bit of fettling, will be glued into position and the trimmings made good. Then there is the small matter of a new cushion form Elite Furnishings and we will both be sitting pretty!

A pressing issue

The Cider Press in action

September 2016

Over the years I have used my old trolley jack to press surplus apples into cider, but I was never really satisfied with my Heath Robinson contraption. Not only was it ungainly, it was also inefficient.

Jon with the new cider press

With a bit more time on my hands I invested the princely sum of £4 in some oak battens and recycled lots of bits and bobs from around the shed, including two donated sash cramps, into what appeared to be a workable apple press.

To accompany this bit of the cider making process I also prepared cheap and effective "scratter" to smash the apples into squeezable lumps, but stops short of liquidising them, which is also ineffective. There are many very dangerous looking DIY scratters on the YouTube, so I opted for a safer plasterers whisk with a sharpened blade which was about 80% as effective as a commercial unit and a fraction of the cost.

Scratting the apples with a plasterers whisk

With autumn upon us and windfall apples being offered in abundance it seemed a good opportunity to christen the kit, so my friend and fellow home brew enthusiast Jon came round for a couple of hours and we set to work on the bags of over ripe apples in the shed.

Apple ready for pressing

I should hasten to add that the lovely cider apples provided by Sue and Richard (Indigo Dreamers) and featured in this post were not used in this pressing. They are ripening up and will be processed in a few weeks when they have softened up a  bit more. For this pressing the apples we a mix of Emery and Wolferson Bramleys plus some softening cookers scrumped from Pelsall Common and some from my brother's orchard.

Apples awaiting the next pressing

The scratting in a beer vat half filled with apples was remarkably successful. We used the plasterers whisk attachment through a hole in the lid to minimise the splatter and after five minutes of churning up and down the apples had been reduced to smallish chunks.

The next stage was to load the pulp into the new press. Each pressing comprised four layers of apple, each wrapped in muslin and separated by wooden slats to let the juice escape. We found that half a vat of scratted apples fitted nicely into the press.

It works!

Then the press was engaged by screwing down both sash cramps and the juice poured out in a torrent. The pressure was enough to force juice through the side slats to it appeared to "cry", but the basket held as the top was screwed down. When the cramps were fully extended we added a wooden block to let us press further and by the time the pulp had compressed to about 40% of its original volume the flow slowed and the nearly dry apple crumb was removed.

Bleeding wood slats

This pressing process was repeated four times and we produced about 13 litres of apple juice. This was decanted into demijohns and left to ferment with an airlock inserted.

In the past I have had to use brewers yeast to start off apples picked straight from the tree but have found that if windfall apples are used the natural wild yeasts are introduced on their skins and it should ferment all by itself. 

13 litres of apple juice

We were delighted with the effectiveness of the kit, messing around like a pair of schoolboys as the amber nectar flowed from the press. Time will tell if the fermentation kicks by itself, or if the resulting cider is any good. Past results were very positive so we are hopeful. Not that we will be drinking it anytime soon - the juice needs to ferment out, be bottled with a teaspoon on sugar (to make it sparkling) and then left to mature over the winter. Then, in the spring the temperature will rise and as it reaches 15C a secondary fermentation will take place altering the acids. 

So we wont taste the results of our labours till next summer - time for a party!

Fettling before the off

Fetfling before the off

May 2016

You may be puzzled by the lack of boat movement and if you are not aware, this deserves some explanation.

Helen was diagnosed with cancer some months ago which resulted in successful surgery to remove the area concerned. Whilst she is healing well it has been deemed prudent to undergo a course of chemotherapy which will run from June to September - all of which put the kybosh on our summer travelling plans and effectively limits our boat movements (including trading) to the Birmingham and Wolverhampton Levels at best.

We never anticipated that this would be the way we use my sabbatical!

The new oak table in place

However, a window of opportunity has presented itself to latch onto the first BCNS Explorer Cruise of the season which passes through Aldridge tomorrow morning and, as usual, I am scheduled to lead the historical walk to Bradeley Workshops on Tuesday morning. As I have  the time I thought "why not make the trip by boat?" staying with the flotilla at Broadwaters and then again in Walsall before returning to base via the Wyrley and Essington.

The carbon monoxide alarm suggested by Bones

I am being supported by Fed, a boating friend so its very much a lads trip and just for the hell of it we are taking The Jam Butty out for a spin. Fred will sleep on the motor and I will enjoy the cozy environs of the butty back cabin for the first time.

An adaption to hold the cushions in place

In the meantime there was some washing and fixing to be done, including trying to squeeze some power into the butty battery (probably wrecked by a careless full discharge), fitting a carbon monoxide detector (less said about that problem the better - but three cheers for Waterways World) fitting a restraint for the new cushions and finally having another go at sealing a leaky corner of a window initially with creeping crack filler but most effectively with two inches of insulating tape!

The forecast is good but as I was preparing the boat it went from 24 degrees of sun to this in 5 minutes:

I have packed by shorts and my fleeces - I will let you know how we get on.