BOTTOM BLACKING

I left Brinklow Marina in high spirits when we went out for our first cruise in 2014. I cannot say that I am a big fan of marinas, but as marinas go, the Brinklow one is pretty good - if you want a quiet life. Exiting the marina, and in foggy weather, we made it as far as Newbold. The next day was another short cruise to the Rugby moorings, from where I topped up with provisions. The next day took us up to the golf course, and the following one saw us at Hillmorton, a full 5 miles in 4 days from Brinklow Marina!

I had to wait a few days until Dave Bixter - who runs the Hillmorton boat yard - had room for us. Whilst I was away from Rosy, a boater T-boned the moored Rosy - as I discovered when I happened to be on the other side of the canal, and saw that a chunk of paint was missing from Rosy’s upper works. Fortunately, it was on the same side of Rosy as all the other crunches, so Jeff - the Hillmorton boat painter - only had to tweak one side of Rosy, the other side being un-damaged. How he did it, I do not know, but it is impossible to see where he had to touch up the hull. When Dave was ready, we got into the dry dock. Rosy’s bottom half was blacked - it needs doing every 2 or 3 years - and various other bits ’n’ bobs were also completed, namely:

  -  My old ’Sterling’ inverter (it changes 12 volts into 240 volts) only gives a ‘square’ sine wave from which (for example) my computer cannot re-charge. The new Vitrinox inverter costs more, but gives a pure sine wave.

  -  Rosy’s gang plank - which I sometimes have to use to get ashore - was showing signs of wear. Indeed, it broke in two as someone was using it to get onto Rosy in the dry dock.

  -  Six new anodes were welded on to Rosy. The anodes help to maintain the integrity of the hull (I think).

  -  The local van Gogh was called in to sign-write Rosy’s Small Ships Registration (SSR) number. This number is not required on the UK canals, but is required on the mainland European canals.

  -  I had a cover made up to fit over Rosy’s pigeon box (it admits light into the engine room and helps to alleviate engine room smells). Mine is fine - except that admits too much rain water. The cover will go on when we moor and rain is forecast.

Whilst all this was going on, I got to know the inside of the nearby ‘Badsey’ café quite well, as various friends dropped by, and the café does very good ice cream, coffee, tea, snacks and food.

Dave Bixter then enquired if I wanted my old French gas bottle back. Eh??! Apparently, on my return from France - in September 2008 - I dumped it on Dave’s junk heap, and there it has remained. It’s now back on Rosy!