5thNov15. 2015
W. Drayton to Slough
Diary shows me overnight in Essex
where at 8am I was gardening
and from 9 to 11 writing,
while waiting for a dental appointment
By 1pm I was on a bus to Upminster to transfer to a train at 1.20pm and at Barking a tube. The 1.40pm Barking to Ealing arrived there at 3.20pm for a 222 Uxbridge bus to take me into W.Drayton. I was on-board preparing the Hampshire at 5pm as dusk gathered in. The diary declared that at 6pm I was making dinner and at 7pm the ship's log was being updated. The diary keeps an account of almost every receipt passing through my hands while on-board. It had chitties from Tesco ATM timed 16.49 showing the £ cost me €1.45 that day. (In 2023 it hovers around €1.23) Another chitty confirmed I checked out of the store at 5.37pm £4 lighter and again at 8.43pm with £6.21 of "groceries".
My GPS recorded "Co-Ord04" ... code for the 4th place the boat overnighted since the Sea-lock. Co-Ord01 was by the sealock. Glaxo was Co-Ord02 before taking on Hanwell. Co-Ord03 was "Three Bridges".
Stopped [by Morrisons now gone from Yiewsley] to fettle and locate a Grand Union Milestone at which a daffodil bulb was planted just to show someone had been through. Then I went down the Slough Arm on what turned out to have been an interesting mini voyage of discovery.
W. Drayton to Slough
Diary shows me overnight in Essex
where at 8am I was gardening
and from 9 to 11 writing,
while waiting for a dental appointment
By 1pm I was on a bus to Upminster to transfer to a train at 1.20pm and at Barking a tube. The 1.40pm Barking to Ealing arrived there at 3.20pm for a 222 Uxbridge bus to take me into W.Drayton. I was on-board preparing the Hampshire at 5pm as dusk gathered in. The diary declared that at 6pm I was making dinner and at 7pm the ship's log was being updated. The diary keeps an account of almost every receipt passing through my hands while on-board. It had chitties from Tesco ATM timed 16.49 showing the £ cost me €1.45 that day. (In 2023 it hovers around €1.23) Another chitty confirmed I checked out of the store at 5.37pm £4 lighter and again at 8.43pm with £6.21 of "groceries".
My GPS recorded "Co-Ord04" ... code for the 4th place the boat overnighted since the Sea-lock. Co-Ord01 was by the sealock. Glaxo was Co-Ord02 before taking on Hanwell. Co-Ord03 was "Three Bridges".
Stopped [by Morrisons now gone from Yiewsley] to fettle and locate a Grand Union Milestone at which a daffodil bulb was planted just to show someone had been through. Then I went down the Slough Arm on what turned out to have been an interesting mini voyage of discovery.
Stopped [by Morrisons now gone from Yiewsley] to fettle and locate a Grand Union Milestone at which a daffodil bulb was planted just to show someone had been through. I went down the Slough Arm on what turned out to have been an interesting mini voyage of discovery.
Fri 6th Nov 2015 contained a terse note ... someone syphoning the sump and dumping the contents into the fuel tank for some "experiment" or other. 11am shows casting off from Co-Ord4 for Slough. Within 15mins "heavy black smoke from the exhaust and engine shutdown". No lubricant whatever in the sump because some numpty had siphoned off all the lubricant and failed to replace it. Black smoke from a Lister SR2 can indicate, inter alia, that the engine has overheated and is trying to seize. 5litres of new oil was added and a jury rig to feed clean diesel to the enginel.
By 12oc Pentargon motors away, down to "Jacob" who has a garage workshop above the cut there by the M25. The purpose was to remind Jacob of some "unfinished business", the supply of some contraband diesel. I suspect he may have siphoned out of customers cars. Look! I don't ask. I don't judge, I need diesel ... The fuel probe was put back in the tank and at 12.35pm lunch was "on, in and carried on" The engine ran fine on the mixture of lubricant and diesel and by 13.20 the boat was tied up opposite HighLine.
Fri 6th Nov 2015 contained a terse note ... someone syphoning the sump and dumping the contents into the fuel tank for some "experiment" or other. 11am shows casting off from Co-Ord4 for Slough. Within 15mins "heavy black smoke from the exhaust and engine shutdown". No lubricant whatever in the sump because some numpty had siphoned off all the lubricant and failed to replace it. Black smoke from a Lister SR2 can indicate, inter alia, that the engine has overheated and is trying to seize. 5litres of new oil was added and a jury rig to feed clean diesel to the enginel.
By 12oc Pentargon motors away, down to "Jacob" who has a garage workshop above the cut there by the M25. The purpose was to remind Jacob of some "unfinished business", the supply of some contraband diesel. I suspect he may have siphoned out of customers cars. Look! I don't ask. I don't judge, I need diesel ... The fuel probe was put back in the tank and at 12.35pm lunch was "on, in and carried on" The engine ran fine on the mixture of lubricant and diesel and by 13.20 the boat was tied up opposite HighLine.
14.51 shows me on a 58bus to Slough where I joined the library and at 16.30pm I was back on-board, preparing dinner in a stainless steel bowl found on an adjacent dump. [8yrs later I still have it] 7pm, I am walking at Slough station and at 9.20pm, back on-board writing up the log. The diary tersely notes a spotlight in an adjacent yard blinding me. I moved boat to the other side of Bridge 7 (CoOrd5) to overnight away from the glare.
From Hanwell to Morrisons for milk
Three Bridges to sleep on and Co-Ord03! Lengthsman Chris gets us to the E5 bus by doing the lock. Buses lead to hinterland exploration. Hanwell (nowadays St Bernard's Hospital, Hanwell) was a madhouse back in the day but later was upgraded to 'lunatic asylum'.
.. xxx ... ships carpenter ... xxx ...
An ongoing project inside the main cabin is somewhat disruptive, designing and making massive amounts of storage space in what will later become the spare bed. This work is ongoing whenever it is possible to moor up and advance the work. Today at the top of Hanwell was to be such a day ...
.. xxx ... ships carpenter ... xxx ...
An ongoing project inside the main cabin is somewhat disruptive, designing and making massive amounts of storage space in what will later become the spare bed. This work is ongoing whenever it is possible to moor up and advance the work. Today at the top of Hanwell was to be such a day ...
It took four months of spare home time between mid January and mid April 2013 to sort out last year's photos! I'd been using two Fuji Finepix digitals and was not quite careful about ensuring that the reference date was correctly set until I realised sometime in October that a lot of 2011 shots should actually be 2012. Also GMT becomes BST in late March in Engerland and the camera has to be TOLD. ESPECIALLY you need some sort of flag to tell you which camera an actual shot might be in. And VERY especially you need to be sure your 0700 is not really 1900, because the camera clock is 12hrs out when you misrepresent am for pm or v v. Now this might seem like a rather lame excuse but if I tell you I now have 'em sorted out to YESTERDAY and the count is well over 2200 shots. NOW and only NOW can I upload them to the Cloud. And THEN I can start linking back to the site. Oh! And I got a bedroom to rebuild in the front cabin and a boat to get to Aldershot by the end of the month.
2013 year end ...
River licence for three months please ... After all the blundering and messing in November and December 2013, Pentargon arrived back in the Lea at 23.49 on 31st December 2013 with 11 minutes remaining on his all-singing all-dancing £825 2013 Gold License. it was originally planned to have Pentargon heaved out at Stansted Abbotts before Crimbo, but late 2013 reality will make an even better story than the strategic plan. The 2013 Gold Licence cost over £825 for the year and was 'useful' to enable almost the whole of the C&RT SE region to be visited. 2014 was to be spent up the Lea so a 3mt licence can be bought for about £125, before pulling the boat for the following three months to do some relaxed painting and TLC. Here I want to comment on the Environmental Agency which administers the non tidal Thames. Not impressed. Maybe the Thames should be given to C&RT. I thought when buying the Gold Licence I was buying a years access to the non-tidal Thames.
River licence for three months please ... After all the blundering and messing in November and December 2013, Pentargon arrived back in the Lea at 23.49 on 31st December 2013 with 11 minutes remaining on his all-singing all-dancing £825 2013 Gold License. it was originally planned to have Pentargon heaved out at Stansted Abbotts before Crimbo, but late 2013 reality will make an even better story than the strategic plan. The 2013 Gold Licence cost over £825 for the year and was 'useful' to enable almost the whole of the C&RT SE region to be visited. 2014 was to be spent up the Lea so a 3mt licence can be bought for about £125, before pulling the boat for the following three months to do some relaxed painting and TLC. Here I want to comment on the Environmental Agency which administers the non tidal Thames. Not impressed. Maybe the Thames should be given to C&RT. I thought when buying the Gold Licence I was buying a years access to the non-tidal Thames.
Pentargon's Crazy 2013 New Year
I own and skipper a 36' Springer narrowboat named "Pentargon" which is cruising the cut 365 days a year but is treated like a well-used country cottage. The only reason it is not permanently occupied is because of my family situation. However, in a given year the boat is manned for about 180 days on average. "The Cut" is an affectionate name for the Canal Network which meshes much of England, parts of Wales and includes rivers which have been 'canalised'. It has been beautifully and accurately described as "England's longest, friendliest village".
Oxford to Braunston in as long as it takes
Kidlington Green Lock was due to open 13Dec.2013 and there were no other closures posted for the South Oxford Canal before New Year. Once the lock opened, the massive return trek could commence. Hopefully no more mechanical problems would occur and it would only be the un-ending tedium of lock after lock and bridge after bridge to contend with. Meanwhile, Pentargon was resting in a sunny, safe and protected nook near Wolvercote while I rested ashore, allowing nature to restore my hands particularly. They take terrible punishment in cold weather at the helm. Braunston was the first place on the back route where a boat might be lifted and lorried. That decision would be made over a Gongoozler's Rest breakfast if Avril and Jacqui were open when (and if) Pentargon got there.
The above was written while on shore leave and in low spirits.
In the event Pentargon went up Kidlington with a workboat 1300/Thu12thDec during the clearing up operations and before the lock re-opened for business on the Friday 13. Ship's Log records mooring up at the "Rock of Gibralter" in Enslow 12th/1645 about a mile beyond Bakers Lock, having made 4.25mls in 3.75hrs, including a delay at Thrupp lifting bridge sorting out the Black Smoke Syndrome. EOB
Kidlington Green Lock was due to open 13Dec.2013 and there were no other closures posted for the South Oxford Canal before New Year. Once the lock opened, the massive return trek could commence. Hopefully no more mechanical problems would occur and it would only be the un-ending tedium of lock after lock and bridge after bridge to contend with. Meanwhile, Pentargon was resting in a sunny, safe and protected nook near Wolvercote while I rested ashore, allowing nature to restore my hands particularly. They take terrible punishment in cold weather at the helm. Braunston was the first place on the back route where a boat might be lifted and lorried. That decision would be made over a Gongoozler's Rest breakfast if Avril and Jacqui were open when (and if) Pentargon got there.
The above was written while on shore leave and in low spirits.
In the event Pentargon went up Kidlington with a workboat 1300/Thu12thDec during the clearing up operations and before the lock re-opened for business on the Friday 13. Ship's Log records mooring up at the "Rock of Gibralter" in Enslow 12th/1645 about a mile beyond Bakers Lock, having made 4.25mls in 3.75hrs, including a delay at Thrupp lifting bridge sorting out the Black Smoke Syndrome. EOB
Cropredy to Isis in as long as it takes
The Grand Tour terminated at Isis lock. The Environmental Agency, by whose licence Pentargon would have floated downstream, closed the river in early Nov. til the end of March. Apparently they do this every year. Locks are closed for periods of up to four months. I can't even get the boat hoisted out of the water and wafted to Stansted Abbotts. The nearest places a crane and lorry can get to are on the other side of locks closed both to the west AND the east of Oxford. The Gold licence then is an over-expensive sham. In effect the gold part of of the C&RT licence is only usable for seven months of the year. I used it in May to access the Wey and then the Basingstoke but was on EA water for less than a month. I had "saved" the remainder of the gold til the end of the year expecting to sail down the Thames from Oxford to Teddington in November.
Mechanical delays on the way up the GU pushed everything into late running and I ended up south-bound on the Oxford in mid November about a month later than originally pencilled in. I was fully aware of C&RT closures of selected locks along the Oxford in November and must commend C&RT for very organized planning which permitted me to thread my way through the closures by forward planning. Now I am lying near Wolvercote awaiting the re-opening of Kidlington Green lock on 13thDec. when I will then have a clear run to Braunston and a calculated risk or two to factor in: ice!, possible leaf-mugging and, heaven forbid, catching weeds and or briars which calls for a most unpleasant visit down the weed hatch in freezing water ...
The Grand Tour terminated at Isis lock. The Environmental Agency, by whose licence Pentargon would have floated downstream, closed the river in early Nov. til the end of March. Apparently they do this every year. Locks are closed for periods of up to four months. I can't even get the boat hoisted out of the water and wafted to Stansted Abbotts. The nearest places a crane and lorry can get to are on the other side of locks closed both to the west AND the east of Oxford. The Gold licence then is an over-expensive sham. In effect the gold part of of the C&RT licence is only usable for seven months of the year. I used it in May to access the Wey and then the Basingstoke but was on EA water for less than a month. I had "saved" the remainder of the gold til the end of the year expecting to sail down the Thames from Oxford to Teddington in November.
Mechanical delays on the way up the GU pushed everything into late running and I ended up south-bound on the Oxford in mid November about a month later than originally pencilled in. I was fully aware of C&RT closures of selected locks along the Oxford in November and must commend C&RT for very organized planning which permitted me to thread my way through the closures by forward planning. Now I am lying near Wolvercote awaiting the re-opening of Kidlington Green lock on 13thDec. when I will then have a clear run to Braunston and a calculated risk or two to factor in: ice!, possible leaf-mugging and, heaven forbid, catching weeds and or briars which calls for a most unpleasant visit down the weed hatch in freezing water ...
... Leaf mugging occurs when the propeller picks up and retains sodden and partly submerged or suspended leaves onto the blades reducing the ability of the prop to move the boat forward. Generally, provided it is anticipated!, simply by stopping the prop for a moment, forward way will cause the water flow over the blades to clear the prop. Sometimes a momentary selection of reverse speeds up the clearing and when forward is re-engaged it should be possible to see leaves being churned away from the stern. Experience teaches to avoid or minimize these hazards and makes one aware of where to look. If bankside contractors have been chopping up rose briars and dropping them in the cut, they can hang about for days just under water level slowly either sinking as they rot or accumulating at the head race above the top gate of locks. Top lock gate is a favourite hang-out for ice too, where the water flow is least.
Marston Top to Cropredy in a day... The mere thought of it almost seven years later is making me tired ... Just THINKING about it ... But the boat had to be there when Lock25 re-opened so we didn't get snookered enroute to the Thames ... EOB
Norton Junction to Marston Doles... IN ONE DAY. I kid you not. The tunnel, the descent, Gongoozler's Rest Breakfast (Jackie, Avril you are masters of the art of feeding hungry boaters and the HONEY is divine) The run to Napton, the climb and eventually mooring up in pitch black of night. Wait for the hot link to the detailed journal .. EOB
Three Locks to Stoke Breurne ... in a day .. EOB
Berko to Three Locks ... Gimme time I have to get the feckin boat to the Thames EOB
Up the Grand Union
As of 30th Oct. Pentargon is at Berko and may not be going further for a while. The water heater has still not been seen by Buster Gasman and on checking the sump last weekend I found she is making her own lubricant. The injectors inside are possibly loose and spraying diesel. The storm meant I could not open her up to have a look until Wednesday which I am now at in glorious sunshine. I was eventually got going by John Carpenter after a long bus trip to and from Chris Bennett in Uxbridge. Check back later for the link to the full story EOB
As of 30th Oct. Pentargon is at Berko and may not be going further for a while. The water heater has still not been seen by Buster Gasman and on checking the sump last weekend I found she is making her own lubricant. The injectors inside are possibly loose and spraying diesel. The storm meant I could not open her up to have a look until Wednesday which I am now at in glorious sunshine. I was eventually got going by John Carpenter after a long bus trip to and from Chris Bennett in Uxbridge. Check back later for the link to the full story EOB
Stort Lea Thames Brent
It had been my intention to escape from the Lee navigation by the BowLocks and take the tidal River Lea (Bow Creek to Leamouth on a dropping tide. I would wait for the turn and ride the Autumn Spring to Brentford. Pentargon commuted between Three Mills and Limehouse for many days while tides and moorings were examined andeven the possibility of over wintering at Three Mills was looked at and rejected.
Time or Tide wait for no man so, when an opportunity arose to depart Limehouse one September morning, Pentargon entered the Thames on a rising Spring at 11.50hrs and went in at Brentford at 15.20. The trip up-river was entirely uneventful and as a result rather forgettable. Are we becoming so blasé that a solo transit of the Thames from Limehouse to Brentford in a 36' narrowboat is so easily dismissed? EOB
Time or Tide wait for no man so, when an opportunity arose to depart Limehouse one September morning, Pentargon entered the Thames on a rising Spring at 11.50hrs and went in at Brentford at 15.20. The trip up-river was entirely uneventful and as a result rather forgettable. Are we becoming so blasé that a solo transit of the Thames from Limehouse to Brentford in a 36' narrowboat is so easily dismissed? EOB
Pentargon remained in the tidal Brent at our favourite mooring for some days before moving north through the Gauging Lock at Milestone 93 and mooring overnight by the A40. Rising on the morrow and seeing a boat heading north we quickly got underway, knowing the next few miles might be completed in company. And so it was that we negotiated Clitheroe, Osterley and the interminable Hanwell Flight in the company of the Aussie crew of a Black Prince hire boat who made the passage extremely enjoyable.
Some people have problems with 'hire boats'. I tend to test the mettle of the actual people and this works for me. I have met dickheads and gobshites on all types of canal boats including work boats but have yet to encounter either category in a hire boat. Sometimes they can be lacking in know-how but it is usually counter-balanced by a humility and an eagerness to add to their skills and store of knowledge. EOB
Some people have problems with 'hire boats'. I tend to test the mettle of the actual people and this works for me. I have met dickheads and gobshites on all types of canal boats including work boats but have yet to encounter either category in a hire boat. Sometimes they can be lacking in know-how but it is usually counter-balanced by a humility and an eagerness to add to their skills and store of knowledge. EOB
My current quest (as part of a bigger overall plan to take us to the end of the year) was to locate Buster Gasman to have him dismantle the on board Vaillant heater and put it together working. We stopped off to spend a very convivial evening at the Grand Junction Pub near Hayes with Robert Beard, a canal colleague and veritable mine of knowledge and lore and know-how who confirmed Buster was "The Man".
Onwards to Uxbridge, where our first overnight was between the asbestos bridges. Here we were close to canal facilities such as a Lister specialist and a chandlers but a long way from a useful bus-stop. At the end of September I went for 14day mooring by the Oxford Road and see how I could reel in Buster to do the hot water. It did not happen and so the next chapter was opened. EOB
Onwards to Uxbridge, where our first overnight was between the asbestos bridges. Here we were close to canal facilities such as a Lister specialist and a chandlers but a long way from a useful bus-stop. At the end of September I went for 14day mooring by the Oxford Road and see how I could reel in Buster to do the hot water. It did not happen and so the next chapter was opened. EOB
Lea and Stort surveyed stem to stern Summer 2013
Pentargon entered the Lee Navigation System on 15th June 2013 via Bow Lock and remained there until 15th September 2013, during which time she found her way to Top of Navigation(River Lea) at Hertford and (River Stort) at Bishop's Stortford. I discovered (and now understand) the anomoly of "Lee" and "Lea". I already know that the River Lee is in Ireland and its mouth is the mighty Cork Harbour the largest enclosed harbour in Europe.
The variant "Lee" was introduced to Essex and East London at some stage during the development of the Lee and Stort Navigation to differientiate between the man-made watercourses while "Lea" was reserved for the original river. While at Bow we met a strapping young cyclist (well he could have been in his mid 30's) enquiring as to how he might best get to the end of the River Lea or even where was the end. It is perhaps a story for another day but he had come on his bicycle from the very source of the river near Luton and wished to complete the trek before cycling to Kings Cross to take a train home. EOB
The variant "Lee" was introduced to Essex and East London at some stage during the development of the Lee and Stort Navigation to differientiate between the man-made watercourses while "Lea" was reserved for the original river. While at Bow we met a strapping young cyclist (well he could have been in his mid 30's) enquiring as to how he might best get to the end of the River Lea or even where was the end. It is perhaps a story for another day but he had come on his bicycle from the very source of the river near Luton and wished to complete the trek before cycling to Kings Cross to take a train home. EOB
FATHER THAMES TAMED JUNE 2013
PentargonSpringer and Pogue cracked How to transfer from Brentford Thames Lock to Bow Lock in 8hrs rather than the three or four days it might take overland. By harnessing the tides, a motley crew which included Danny Creedon and Tony Buckland locked out of Brentford at 0750 on 15th June 2013 and locked in at Bow Lock at 1550 on the same day. Below will eventually be a picture of Bow Locks when I can find a suitable one.EOB
© MMXXII [email protected]
Meanwhile enjoy a careened sailing brig near Dover in the early part of the 19th Century
Kingston Upon Thames endured early May ...
Pentargon had a horrific week by Lower Ham Road after an engine failure. It turned out to be a loose olive union on the tap on top of the port tank. Hindsight is wonderful. After waiting a whole week for a Lister specialist who, eventually, could not attend, I located and fixed the problem myself. The horror was provided by a combination of speeding boats and howling gales causing Pentargon to be repeatedly bashed off an adjacent tree while I was away, arranging for repairs and over-nighting at the land house. Serious damage was done to the cruiser deck railings, finally 'repaired' (well actually bodged up) at Ponders End in late August. It is well nigh impossible to keep Pentargon off a weather shore in even a moderate breeze; the windage is considerable on narrowboats.
Lesson learned
Pentargon made it to the Basingstoke on 9th May 2013 and got as far as Brookwood on 12th. Shay, Brenda, Patricia, Jacqui, Karl boarded for a short trip from Brookwood to St.John's. Time precluded the passage of the 20 or so locks between there and Mychett which had been the original destination. EOB
Lesson learned
Pentargon made it to the Basingstoke on 9th May 2013 and got as far as Brookwood on 12th. Shay, Brenda, Patricia, Jacqui, Karl boarded for a short trip from Brookwood to St.John's. Time precluded the passage of the 20 or so locks between there and Mychett which had been the original destination. EOB
PENTARGON'S ENGINE TAG 3849 SR 226 M
I don't yet know what story is fully told by the number. The SR series was built by Lister between 1969 and 1976, within which window Pentargon is known to have been built. 1973 is a provisional stab due to rudder features on the boat which relate to that year and no other. SR2M series: diesel fuelled, air-cooled 2cyl, 1103cc Bore/Stroke 3.5"x3.5" 13BHP@2000rpm Weight 635 lb. ... The engine is NEVER revved above 1250rp as it was found to go into overheat mode when pushed for considerable periods. EOB
I don't yet know what story is fully told by the number. The SR series was built by Lister between 1969 and 1976, within which window Pentargon is known to have been built. 1973 is a provisional stab due to rudder features on the boat which relate to that year and no other. SR2M series: diesel fuelled, air-cooled 2cyl, 1103cc Bore/Stroke 3.5"x3.5" 13BHP@2000rpm Weight 635 lb. ... The engine is NEVER revved above 1250rp as it was found to go into overheat mode when pushed for considerable periods. EOB
©MMXXIV
[email protected]
[email protected]
