Around the Hawne

Around the Hawne

May 2017

Following our weekend in Alvechurch we spent three nights in Birmingham tucked away on a friends mooring at Symphony Court.

 Birmingham's BT Tower

The lay over gave me an opportunity to attend a CRT meeting, catch up on a load of domestic chores, not least visiting home to pick up the post and to undertake a mega wash session.

Trading spot at Hawne Basin

Then it was on to Hawne Basin at the end of the Dudley No2 for the 2017 Coombswood Trust bi annual open day. The trip there last Friday was in terrible weather with rain lashing down all the way to Netherton Tunnel but then, as we emerged at Bumble Hole the sun came out and we were sweltering. 

Boat trips in Hawne

The Dudley No 2 is never exactly fast but the Gosty Hill Tunnel is something else. True its low and narrow now at present its shallow too, particularly at the northern end where the tug used to be kept. There seems to be a scour of silt and we made very slow progress through the tunnel.

Official opening

For the open weekend the motor was moored in the rank of boats end on to the bank with the butty seemingly located in an obscure corner of the basin, a position which at first glance was not very promising. But hey, what do we know!.  It turned out that all the visitors did a lap of the basin and we were the only show in that quadrant, so loads stopped to chat, sample and buy. Whilst the weather was never overly warm, the rain did hold off for both days and we did a very good level of trade, and took the opportunity to fill our tank with diesel at 51p per litre - enough to reach Bath I suspect.

Atlas and Malus on show

The event was opened by Richard Parry and coincided with a celebration of Stewarts and LLoyds which attracted a clutch of BCN, tugs which gathered outside the basin. Notable among the tugs was Bittell, fresh from extensive restoration and resplendent is a new paint job.

A gleaming Bittell

The rain clouds returned for our return to Birmingham, this time accompanied by high winds which made for interesting towing. We left Hawne Basin just before Atlas, Malus and BCNS's workboat Phoenix, but was caught by Phoenix as we plodded through the Netherton Tunnel.  Our progress through tunnels is always a ponderous affair and rather than keep Geoff waiting I suggested they pass us mid way through. This unusual maneuver was completed and then it was suggested that Phoenix latched onto the front of Wand'ring Bark and we double head the towing of The Jam Butty. This speeded progress no end and we soon stretched a lead over the pair following - but whose light was obscured in the pall of diesel and fire smoke pumped out by Phoenix.

Playing tunnel tugs with Phoenix

The idea was to put Phoenix's engine under load for a while and give it a good de-coke, so we stayed in tandem all the way to Brades. Phoenix, Atlas and Malus headed off to Titford and the BCNS rally being staged next weekend and we plodded on through the rain to reach a very damp city centre at about 5.30 pm.

Wild Side duckling rescue service

All stop at Alvecurch

Alvechurch weekend

May 2017

I am not used to dawdling along and for the last week we have done little else.

With over a week to get to Birmingham from Droitwich we have been taking things slowly, very slowly. We don't want to be in Birmingham before Tuesday, so our destination for Monday night was Hopwood, the last countryside mooring before Wast Hill Tunnel and the West Midlands conurbation beyond.

With guests on board our schedule is being largely dictated by the availability (or non availability) of sanny stations (Barry dont laugh). There is a distinct absence of this essential facility in the area with the last being at Black Prince in Stoke Prior and the next being in Kings Norton. Luckily, for a small fee, ABC Leisure will let you use their "little room out the back" so we elected to set up camp on the 48 hour mooring opposite. Whilst the mooring may not be the quietest, there is lots to watch in a busy hire base.

I always find myself drawn to boats being craned out or in, with 15 tons dangling below an ancient crane and all depending on the integrity of a single shackle. Of course, these machines are regularly inspected and the operators trained in their use so there were no hitches, but you always wonder "what if ?"

Saturday was cold and windy but not withstanding this we had a steady trickle of customers wanting to buy preserves. Sunday, by contrast, was roasting hot so we sat out the back all afternoon and didn't sell a single  jar - inexplicable! On Sunday morning we decided to visit one of the local churches and initially St Lawrence was the hot favourite, but a closer inspection of their service times swung us in favour of the Baptist Church in Red Lion Street. This traditional Baptist chapel has just been extensively refurbished and the welcome was a good as the ambiance. 

Having used up our allotted 48 hours on the mooring we progressed on to Hopwood, a mere 2.5 miles distant stopping for water at the Lower Bittell Reservoir. The pressure is good but the associated mooring is horribly silted, which explains its lack of use. CRT have just spent a lot of money on the reservoir and its surrounds, dredging and piling the feeder from the canal to the upper reservoir. They have also spent a lot of money on electrically operated hydraulic stop gates in the bridge holes at either end which are needed should the embankment with canal on top breach. The lower reservoir is way down at present to accommodate the trout fishing club who wanted to net the fish, and are now chuntering about the time it is taking to refill.

The old lengthsman's house at the end of the reservoir is still empty and awaits CRT attention to make it let-able. It is quite an attractive three bedroom house but is probably unsaleable given its lack of foundations and its precarious closeness to water on all sides. Still, its a shame to see it empty. It appears that it suffers from damp and the remedy is to apply a waterproof membrane, insulation and rendering.

And so we arrive at Hopwood with a plan to visit the Hopwood House Inn for a meal this evening. And as for trade in this remote location - I had a queue within 15 minutes of our arrival!

Tardebigge

Tardebigge

May 2017

Having had the new gearbox installed we set off up the Droitwich Narrow Canal, mooring near Hanbury Junction for Wedneday night. Then it was an easy day to the Queens Head where we sampled some rather fine G&T's. The mooring opposite the Queens Head is ok, but as Thursday included live music it was a bit noisy till 11.00pm.

The last boat at the Droitwich Party!

Friday was the big push up the thick of the Tardebigge flight, something we were a bit nervous about given Helen's limited strength and the high easterly wind which made towing very tricky. In the end we swapped back and forth, with me winding the paddles and then steering the more tricky pounds where the cross wind was likely to blow the boats onto the shallow offside.

Starting Tardebigge

The first 10 locks were awash with water and it appears that a boat we passed was leaving the paddles open. From then on the pounds were over two feet down which gave us trouble getting the butty over the cills of some locks. This shortage of water continued till we reached the water take off to the reservoir.

Radio Tardebigge gets ever bigger

We stopped just before the top lock, selling some jam to fellow boaters who came over to see the butty.

Saturday was an easy day, using the Tardebigge facilities before pressing on to Alvechurch. Oddly, by passage through Tardebigge Tunnel was simple but then it all fell apart in Shortwood Tunnel. Firstly Helen decided to light a fire just before we entered and then about a third of the way through the butty decided to have a mind of its own and swung from side to side. Nothing I did could bring it to heel and, of course, that was the time we had to encounter another boat! In the and I found myself glued to the left hand wall and the oncoming boat went past on the "wrong" side.

Hmm - a bit of smoke! sorry......

Then, as if by magic, the butty centred up and out we came, shrouded on a huge pall of smoke. My apologies to the boat we passed, who took it all in good part - all in all I made a right mess of it!

So we ended up opposite ABC Leisure's base in Alvechurch where we will spend the weekend. The preserve menu board was put up and as a result we had a steady trickle of customers buying a sample of our wares.

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. 

Geared up for trouble

The Saga of the broken gearbox

May 2017

I left you moored in Stourport Basin eagerly awaiting a new gearbox, the old one having spewed its contents into the bilge as we made our way out of the Black Country.

Droitwich Canal Festival 2017

Well, things have move one, but only a bit and truth be told its all been a bit of a saga.

Our expectations were that we would have a new PRM120 within a few days and we would be on our way, but sadly this proved not to be the case. There were no spares on the shelf so a new one had to be ordered from Beta before the job could be scheduled. Days dragged by with no firm news till eventually at noon on Wednesday it became apparent that there would be no repair till after the Droitwich weekend.

Trading at Droitwich

So a decision had to be made, to set off down the Severn with a very dodgey gearbox of to resign ourselves to another week in Stourport. The options were considered and as the oil was only dribbling out of the gearbox I figured I could keep topping it up and hopefully we could make it to the festival site. If all else failed we could stop on the river and wait for a tow from one of the other boats making for the event.

It was a nervous 2.5 hours but we made it to the Droitwich Barge Canal without incident and refilled the box and saw an alarmingly large pool of oil under the engine. We carried on up the canal and reached Vines Park with no oil showing on the dipstick!

Festival goers enjoying some sun

And so we managed to trade at the 2017 St Richards Festival under a grey and leaden sky. Not ideal weather but our loyal customers came out in force and we ended up with a very satisfactory event from a sales perspective. Of course, there is more to events than sales and it was great to spend time with other traders and the festival organisers.

As for the gearbox - it has arrived. Sadly an essential tool was missing so the engineers will return tomorrow and hopefully we will be off by the afternoon.

Colours from Morgana