SNB EmilyAnne

Drydock Prep

2010-11-09T23:43:00.002Z

I thought I would put up a quick post as its been awhile.

Emilyanne is due to go into drydock on sunday (14th) and his to have her engine and boiler removed over winter also. The drydocking will include full reblacking, new sign writing, battery compartment, resealing of leaking deck and cabin fittings, a new water pump, and a full replacement of the steering cables.

Progess!

2010-06-12T13:20:00.002+01:00

I feel its time for a new post.

Emilyanne is now on the leeds and liverpool on the main level into liverpool. Due to the issues with water supply to the leeds and liverpool, particularly down stream of the wigan junction where canal spits off to the bridgewater we were keen to get onto the liverpool leval as soon as possible to avoid being late for our passage into the docks.

The boat is due to pass through the liverpool canal link on the 16th, and will be moved upto bridge 9 (limit of free navigation) ready to be escorted down the day before hand. Then we just have a five day wait untill the 21st when we cross over the mersey and enter the shipcanal too elsemere port.

The trip from prestonbrook was suitable uneventful, passing through lymm, sale and worsley and passing boats parbella and spey we got to liegh for the evening of the 5th and rose early to get to leigh swing bridge for 8am when it was due to open, passing on through poolstock and getting out of the deep lock onto the liverpool level at about half one after the bw staff kindly waited for use to lock down. (locks where due to close at 1300h due to the water shortage issues).

IM not in loughborough enjoying my last week or so at a student here, working on the kitcar, repairing and painting the motorclubs container, and various BBQs and nights out with coursemates and friends.

To the Mersey!

2010-05-25T22:23:00.002+01:00

Breaking news, a space has opened up on the IWA trip through the new Liverpool link onto the Mersey and over to Elsemere Port.

Ellesmere Port

2010-04-04T15:04:00.003+01:00

Cracking weekend away at Ellesmere.

Unfortunately by car as having raised steam to make the trip from anderton a fortnight ago a number of previously unseen areas had sustained frost damage and the trip had to be canceled.

However non the less for it, with a very interesting and positive time being had.

YWBS, the young working boat society fielded a around 8 members including myself and had a number of great networking sessions, talking with Hazel Mayow of the 'waterways action squad' group, as well as the group of young people who have formed around the running of tarboat spay, the museum staff and BMS, who allowed us to take out there fishclass boat Shad, as well as doing a run in Liams own boat Ariel. Thankyou to all involved.

First Steaming

2010-03-14T17:30:00.004Z

Its been a bit quiet here, sorry, but today EmilyAanne raised steam again, for the first time this year.

There as been a little bit of frost damage this year, perhaps a combination of a rushed drain down and particularly cold winter.

The manual boiler feedpump was known about and is a repair job hopefully, however also the non-return valve for the engine driven boiler feed pump has seemingly failed and although a spare is held on board as the union is boiler side of the isolation valve it was not possible to change with the boiler in steam and as it wasnt found until the boiler was in steam and the engine run it wasnt possable to effect a swap. There is also a leak on the communication pipe on the side of the raw water circulating pump which will need to be repaired.

All in all a slightly frustrating day for some i feel but there little i could have done if i where there and less i can do from sunny Loughborough.

Tom hopes to fix the issues tomorrow and steam again on Tuesday hopefully.

The wheelhouse roof is also still in our workshop waiting for me to finish repairing it (ive done about one of the required three days work on it in the last three months :S) so we're on the 'winter roof' with a tarp over it!

Daniel

And we're home!

2009-12-26T23:07:00.001Z

Finally having returned to the boat this afternoon she has made it to anderton from the winter!

Also of note, last weekend was the YWBS christmas meet at stone staffordshire, with tug boat and narrowgauge railway.

Update

2009-10-09T18:47:00.002+01:00

Update, the boats not moved much recently, but it may attend the Norbury Jn meeting with myself (or i'll go without the boat). I also attended the black country meeting a fortnight ago with a number of others and spent time towing joeys with sickle and premoting the young working boat society (YWBS.co.uk) and generally having around.

Im now back uni for my final year, and full of head cold and freshers flu.

Daniel

IWA National and Shackerstone.

2009-09-07T15:50:00.002+01:00

Although the boat did not attend, spent a day at the national and was at Shackerstone for the weekend camping.

The National was blessed with dry weather and a good location, i bought a few bits and a coat and had a look at the pinder boat and the other craft on the water. The site seemed a little empty but prehaps this was just the larger ground?

Shackerstone was great after last years was rained off, i spend the weekend with the Parrots, Fullers and Phillips during the day who where the with Sickle, Ilford and Aquarious. There was a fantastic amount to do on the site on saturday with the stalls having little to offer and the large inflatable slide being for children only (apprently at 6ft2 and 22years of age i didnt qualify) although there was a good range of boats and promiss of the Red Arrows on Sunday drew in plenty of crowds, plenty of extra classic cars as well as a fair organ and of cause a cracking display by the team of red white and blue. My second, having seen them for the first time earlier in the year at Salcombe.

Photos to follow no doubt.... :S

Boiler Test

2009-07-29T01:25:00.006+01:00

Boilertest Passed!

On Tuesday we had our annual boiler test. A well maintained and operated boiler is a safe as any other peice of equipment on a narrowboat, but like all of these things if neglected can turn into a lethal weapon. So like MOTs for cars (which mine just passed today after a new exhast section)

our boiler has to have an annual inspect where its condition and state are checked and tested along with the feed water system and valves.

The first part of the boiler test is always to spend a day taking apart and cleaning the boiler ready for inspection. It was felt the boiler was a little oily inside so in addition to cleaning the tubes and firebox the inside was cleaned by filling the boiler with washing soda and boiling what oil the was off the heating surfaces with the boiler vented to atmopher through the whistle pipe (whistle removed).

A photo looking into the boiler at the boiler crown.

[What you can see in the lower half of the image is the water side of the firebox and in the upper half the bottom of firetubes where the meet the bottom tube plate which runs along athe middle of the photograph.]

The oily discharge from the whistle pipe exit.

Cleaning the tubes.

With the smoke dome and flue removed a mechanical wire brush is run down each of the tubes, starting with the 25 stay tubes as seen here.

Fueled by digestives, powered by honda!

The mighty boiler inspector at work!

Trent Rally, the River Sour Trip and the Leicester Section!

2009-07-18T02:15:00.003+01:00

Emilyanne took part in the SBA TrentLock rally and TVSC last weekend which was a great success.

She was then moved south through Loughborough and Leicester on the River Sour with myself an a number of freinds from university who where graduating this year to the foot of Foxton Locks. (i will graduate next year, having compleated a masters courses)

Three days later she was the picked up by another group of freinds and I, this time other students who i did my placment with last year at JCB, who moved her through foxton, watford and braunston before mooring near Warwick where she will undergo her annual boiler inspection

Photos to follow.

Working Week on the Boat

2009-07-07T23:48:00.004+01:00

For the last fortnight EmilyAnne has been moored at Willington in the new Mercia Marina and over the last week we have been working on the boat and engine.

The first thing we decided to do was try and locate some of the knocks within the engine as while there is nothing wrong with it as such after 20 years service its not quite as smooth as it was when new. There is some slop in some of the valve linkages when the eccentrics couple to the reverse slider and also some play in the big end of the high pressure cylinder. It was therefore decided to take the HP big end apart and measure it for wear with the plan to removed some of the thickness of shims holding it apart. In the end it was decided to remove the 6thou shims and replace them with 3thou shim to reduced the clearance.

We have also be struggling to develop any vacuum on the exhaust of the engine recently which was put down to leaks within the system between the engine, condenser, and airpump. Investigation revealed that as expected most of the joints in the system leak to some degree or other, so work set about disassembling each part, cutting gaskets, and reassembling with new gaskets or silicon gasket sealant (or both!).

Monday then saw the boat leaving Willington for the steamboat association trentlock rally at the trent valley sailing club which also served as a short test run to prove our weeks work.

Im happy to report that although there is still some knocking within the engine, the harsher knock of the big end is now gone, and although we can still only pull around 10 inches of vacuum (not the 2o we need) we do seam to have cured the leaks (vacuum doesn’t leak away when we stop) so all eyes are on the air pump with an aim to now service and improve that!

Long lining with the Fullers

2009-06-29T17:50:00.002+01:00

Having moved out of my University digs for summer on Sunday I drove stright over to the Fullers house in Stone after being at home for about 12 hours (10 of which i was asleep) in order to go boating.

Roger had Ilford (A 1912 ex FMC Braithwaites Butty owned by Roger for the last 5 years) at Great Hayward with Southen Cross and Aquarious loaded the three boats with logs from a logging contract with the National Trust to removed around 100tonnes of logs from the Shugborourgh Estate by water.

After turning Southen X at the jucntion and having BBQ on the boats on the Monday night we left Hayward on Tuesday morning motored through to Alvecote with the three boats and Sweden heading towards Braunston for the Historic Working Boat Rally. The first day went well and saw us moor for the night in the basin at the Samual Barlow pub at Alvevote for Tea with Clover& Fazley (amungst others) alongside.

We left early Wednesday from Alvecote and had a clear run through the locks and another good day making Hawkesbury Jn the following evening where we Moored against the warlf alongside the pub and again took full advantage of the pub for food and beer. Two good days boating had seen us ahead of schdual and we spent the thursday morning moored against the Greyhound to watch the sport, with many boats passing through the junction, including Clover & Fazley as well as Hare and Cactus, who i pleased to say all made the turn as well as we did.

We then left Hawkesbury after lunch and boated down to the moorings at Brinklow where we ate onboard cooking a meal of Potatoes, Carrots and FrayBentos pies cooked on the range using reclaimed coal from the hedgerow and where joined by Hadley. Leaving Brinklow Matt walked up the arm to collect Sickle as we passed by and the boats made Braunston at around 2.30 to take up our mooring by the marina entrance.

Southen X and Ilford made the three locks at Hilmorton in 21 minutes start to finish.

Trent adventures

2009-06-11T12:38:00.003+01:00

Got a phone call last night at about 7.

"Emilyanne is currently stuck on the mud 5 miles from Crowell on a falling tide can you think of anything clever to do"

Urrrm, not really! Fortunatly another canalworld forum member had do the same, in a simular of of the trent, just a few days earlier. So i got the low down of how it went for him and how quickly the tide came up and the like. He was luck enough to stuck at around midday so refloated around 5 in the evening on a sunday day. Where emilyanne has gone around on a rainy evening as was due to refloat at around one in the morning.

Anyway, they got off fine (at one, in the dark) and made a mile or so's progress towards Cromwell before sticking again. So are not waiting till two this afternoon to hopfully refloat for a second time and make it into Cromwell lock and on to Newark at last!

Emilyanne surround by Cows and very much on the bottom!

Wet weekend on the Chesterfield.

2009-06-07T22:10:00.004+01:00

Locks at the top of the Chesterfeild

Well, ok its wasnt that, better than forcast but compaired to the week before it could have been february again!

After a week fo exams I (daniel) joined the boat just east of Worksop for two days off before my lasy exam. Progress on Saturday was slow, at times the weed was that bad it was faster to walk the boat through it than try and use the prop. Sunday went well untill around midday, when the heavens opened, and clear lock free sections started to show up our current coal and how little steam it seams to make us!

Still, the boat is now at Clayworth, and will progess further tomorrow while i revise for my last exam which is in friday.

Emilyanne on the Chesterfeild.Down the weed hatch... (note weed on the right, this isnt round the prop as such, its growing there!!)

Sometimes this was the fastest way!The (unfortunatly broken) weed machine.

Nicely kept lock and lock landing.

IWA Campaign Rally

2009-06-01T17:52:00.005+01:00

Rally was a great success, the boat arrived mid afternoon on the Saturday and a fuss was made all weekend with a great number of people coming to have a look at the boat, which was kept insteam throughout the weekend.

I joined the boat breifly for Sunday including and evening in the Beer tent before returning to Loughborough for another week of work.

Then today i had my first of four end of year exams, which i can report went well.

The boat is now in the Worksop area, and will be leaving the Chesterfield on the Friday or Saturday of this week going South up the Trent.

Boats at the Rally.

Rally Grounds in the Sunshine.

Chesterfield

2009-05-21T14:19:00.003+01:00

Emilyanne is now on the Chesterfield canal approching Retford.

Trent crossing went withou mishap with Tom at the wheel with a recently recruited crew who seams to show good promiss.

Tom is now boating on the chesterfield alone this morning and is to be joined shortly by katherine who will crew with him upto the rally site at Kiveton where I will join them for the sunday of the rally. During while time i will hopfully collect the last few weeks photos.

Look forward to the rally, which will be our first campaign rally, if your around, pop in and say hi or else maybe we will see you in the beer tent.

Bingley Five

2009-05-16T20:12:00.006+01:00

Quick update: Progress towards the rally is going well.

There was tension in the air friday night when it was realised that the boat didnt have enough coal onboard for the weekends boating and nothing had been done anything about it.
- However after hald a days steaming the boat is now at bingley five having got there an hour after it closed (2hours where spent coaling in the morning) and so by the end of tuesday when the boat should be at or close to Keadby ready to go onto the tidal trent, from where its a few hours cruise to the base of the chesterfeild.

Im still not sure exactly how long i can take off over the week but im expecting to make it to the rally for at lease one of the days.

*Photo from online gallery

Two steam boats meet

2009-05-13T23:42:00.003+01:00

The leeds and liverpool is home to the newest steamboat on the canal system, owned by geoff laycock (emilyanne is the second newest) and as she was in the area a meetup seamed in order!

- Sadly i have still not been able to get to the boat myself, but geoff was kind enough to supply a photo of the event. There is also a short video on youtube.

On another positive note, after four days hard graft and the first proper all nighter i've ever done, today marked the handin date for my 3rd year major project report. A 13th of may i wont forget for a while!

Good progress.

2009-05-06T11:06:00.003+01:00

Im still stuck in Loughborough with far to much work and deadlines to be able to consider evern a weekends boating. HOWEVER!

The boat has now passed Burnley and is making good progress toward the river trent on her way to the chesterfeild campaign rally at the end of this month.

Photo to follow once i have had them sent over from her recent crew!

And shes off!

2009-04-27T10:43:00.005+01:00

Thursday last fortnight marked emilyannes departure from the marina at anderton on her next summers boating with her heading north onto the leeds and liverpool on her way to the Chesterfeild rally at the end of this month (May 23/24th) and has currently just past fellow steam boat whistle down the wind's mooring at hapton who left in the same direction in the morning. The chase is on!

Few photos from the wigan flight:

Some nice new gates sealing well.

The other end of the spectrum

One low pound.

But otherwise a very good day!

Planning 09

2009-03-07T00:07:00.008Z

This weekend marks the start of the boating year. We the crew all got together and planned emilyannes movements for the year and began geting her ready for the year ahead.

Tom and Katherine spend friday on the boat cleaning the galley and bathroom and assessing what needs doing on the boat before the off after eater. Joining Me (daniel) at home in the evening to get busy with a sasco wall planner, nicholson canalmap, and nick attys route planner on the laptop!

The two jobs that came out top where to revarnish the upper portion of the engineroom walls to match the recently repainted lower half, and to finally finish the refit of the backcabin start this time last year. Hence Saturday saw Katherine cleaning and rubbing down the engineroom walls and Stephen an Daniel fitting new linning out to the backcabin bulkhead and removing the old sink ready for the replacment.

Katherine cleaned the engineroom wall (can you see where she had go upto?)

Cutting up the wood for the back cabin wall.

Wall, Before (left) and After (right). Its cleaner if nothing else!

The aformentioned 'old sink' ready for removal!

Other activitys at the Marina during the day.

An Update

2008-12-26T00:25:00.007Z

Not much has happened to be honest, infact ive not personaly been on the boat since the last post although i probeberbly will before the end of the Christmas hol's.

However shes still afloat and well! Prehaps over spring some work will be done on her to finish the refit on the back cabin, give her a good clean up and maybe improve the engines exhaust vacuum leak (joys of finding vac leaks).

No firm plans have been formed for next year, but a trip up the Chesterfeild has been mooted, possibly co-insiding with the IWA campaign rally, possaibly going via the SBA trentlock rally on the way back down, and maybe even the IWA National at redhill after that. And theres always the work at liverpool to visit. Who knows!!

Cheeky photo of me and the Kitcar because boating it so quite!

Home

2008-10-25T23:42:00.001+01:00

EA is now home in Cheshire.

Emilyanne on the Rochdale.

2008-10-04T19:10:00.002+01:00

Im now back in loughborough at university (term started monday just gone) and so the boat is having a few days rest while i get sorted at loughborough, tom goes to see his brother on anglesea!

Again, im sorry theres no photos yet. I really will get them up, and work through the backlog of rather lacking posts. But for now thats where we're upto.

The westfield is still a non runner atm also.

Highest steamboat.

2008-09-21T00:41:00.002+01:00

Last night we belive we where the highest steam boat in the country, certaily the highest steam narrowboat as we traveled trans-pennine through the standedge tunnel. The longest, highest, deepest canal tunnel ever built

More later. Photos to follow...

Back on land for a few days.

2008-09-16T14:27:00.003+01:00

Having being boating since Sunday of last week im now back home for two or three days before our passage through the Standedge tunnel.

We had an excellent run up from shackerstone, everything well went well, although on the approach to Stone the cental secontion of the grate broke in two and fell out.
- Fortunatly however, as we have been expecting this to happen for a month or two we had a spare onboard. The previous one lasted eight years, and the spare was cast at the time time. The two side sections are still very servicable.

Standedge passage booked for Friday. Boat now waiting outside visitors center at DobCross.

We also got HADAR'ed. See NB Hadar's blog on my blogroll.

Long time no see.

2008-09-06T23:46:00.002+01:00

Been a while since the last post as ive been very busy.

National was a great success, including the lit boats parade.

Got to shackerstone well, but sadly it was rained off.

On to standedge and the hudderfeild canal then!

Return to the canal

2008-07-22T08:48:00.003+01:00

Emilyanne has now left the Weaver and returned to the canal system.
- We didnt get upto windsford which is a shame, but a good run non the less.

We are now effectivly on our way to the IWA national in the odd days we have between now and august.

Im also looking for a bunch load of fairy lights (if anyone has any) as i think it would be quite fun to decorate EA in lights while at the national. hehe!

Photos coming later....

More Boating

2008-07-04T23:49:00.002+01:00

Boating moves on.

The boat moved without me for the first time in a long time as my mum moved her from acton bridge onto the moorings above vale royal lock on sunday a fortnight ago.

Then last weekend I moved her with mum and dad travelling from vale royal down to anderton and up the lift back on the T&M canal.

A weekend of steam boating at Trent Lock.

2008-06-19T10:18:00.005+01:00

This weekend was spend with Geoff Newton and his boat at the SBA annual Trent Lock Rally held at the Trent Valley Sailing Club and organised by John Tilly.
Geoff unfortunately hurt his back in may of last year, and after an operation at Easter was ready to launch his boat for the first time in over 12months. He only lives a short way up the road, between me and the rally, so it made perfect sense as a first outing and for me to add a helping hand!

The event runs from Friday evening but we launched on Saturday afternoon and just moved down to the sailing club for the main evening meal and to steam up the Erewash with the others on the Sunday.

Suilven on the Trailer with the canopy up and ready to be launched, seen here dwarfing Geoff's rangerover!

Six launches in the mouth of the Erewash Canal.
Sandiacre lock house, home of the Erewash Canal Preservation & Development Association (ECP&DA) .
Other waterways users, a very nice national 12 sailing on the Trent.
Alpacas arrive. Geoff's new lawn mower now needs feeding food not Petrol. Probably cheaper these days!

I'm spending this Friday evening in Loughborough with friends form University who I've not seen much of while Ive been on placment, many of them who where freshers with me are now graduating have done there three years (I'm doing 5 in total) and its the last Friday of term. So it should be a good night!
Then in the morning me and Joe Fuller are going to the Newark Kit Car Show on Saturday which should also be a good day out, hopefully it wont rain too much either, fingers crossed for a dryish weekend and a good turn out at the show.

EmilyAnne is moving on Sunday, probably without me for the first time for many years, this first time my Mum will have moved the boat without either me or Tom there. Not far, but a short run up to Winsford is planned, which should be a nice way to ease into the roll. Including passing the IWA Chester meet at Anderton mid day.

First steaming of the year.

2008-06-10T15:55:00.008+01:00

This weekend just gone Emilyanne moved again and we had a delightfull weekend on the Weaver.

Bar a few very minor teething problems with some of the parts we had removed and refitted over winter, and a stuck inlet valve on a pump, she ran faultlessly all weekend, made steam well, and swam beautifully on the more open water. Although i feel a new set of firebars will be in order shortly as the grate is looking a little on the sad side.

Tom, my grandad and the baots owner, join us and enjoyed the trip too and we even had a supprise meeting with my uncal Thomas whos not seen the boat for a while on the sunday afternoon which was very nice, not least becuase of his comlimentry comments on the current state of the boat.

Heres a select few photos from the trip:

Leaving the marina at Uplands. Clearly a longer bow line is needed if it is to be used for turning around.
A classic 'Anderton Boat Lift' shot but i couldnt resist. I have others of the lift however.

One of the locks on the way down. Sarah mugging up on her driving theory and Michael holding the boat.
We also met Phoenix58 the infamous boat that is. I quite like her, she grows on me every time we meet.
Marsh lock. This is the lock out onto Manchester ShipCanal at the end of the Weaver and bar 500yrds to a very low swing bridge leading to Weston Point Docks is the limit of Navigation without a booking on the the MSC. Maybe next year.
All good things have to come to and end. This is where we left her at the end of the weekend, moored on ActonBridge moorings untill we return shortly.

Final image is of the viaduct just below Dutton lock (looking upstream) its two photos no so expertly spliced together. But a nice shot non the less i think.

So yeah, thats all really! Roll on more boating and weather like that one i say. Hopfully the boat will now move every other weekend, if not most, untill we attend the IWA national and Shackerstone Festival.

Back cabin complete...

2008-05-31T23:31:00.008+01:00

... and ready sail! Last Friday while i was off biking in Scotland that boat passed its boiler certificate. And we also got a letter back from the insurance brokers confirming we do not need another hull survey until 2014 having had one last year. Biking in Scotland was excellent. Four of us undergraduates from JCB borrowed our family car and trailer and spend three nights youth hosteling at Glentress near Melrose. The weather was fantastic and the riding even better. Beautiful!

A view from the track over the hill. Also my bike.

The group of misfits and myself!
One of the more technical parts of the 29km cross country trail.

The refit in the back cabin is now complete with the exception of a number more coats of varnish and a few bits that are going to wait until later. And we are set to leave the Marina under our own steam next weekend, only a week after we originally planned to do so.

We are now not planning to attend the SBA Trent lock rally, but will spend time around around the Chester/Anderton area until mid August when we will move the boat down the Autherley for the National rally en route to this years Shackerstone on the 7th and 8th of September. After which we plan to complete the Hudderfeild canal to Mirfeild, and return along the Rochdale canal with a plan to return to TravelReign (now Uplands Marina) for another winter.

An update on progress.

2008-05-20T14:43:00.009+01:00

Since i last posted the work on the back cabin has nearly finished, and boiler inspector has been.

My dads being doing some work on the back cabin in evenings which means progress has been fairly good, although as always it ridiculously easy to get side tracked onto doing something more interesting or 'important' such as resealing the roof light which seams to have started leaking this winter, or just having a cup of tea and talking to the bloke on the next door boat!

This is the new framing to hold the drawers.
We also had to remove a section of insulation for the draw to fit as the swim makes the boat narrower here.
These are the drawers now in. Then just the ash fronts adding and the trip around the seorting.

I left home this Friday straight away and headed for the boat, which was in the process of having its boiler tested. It had passed the cold/dry inspection as expected and was in the process of raising steam pressure and everyone was just having a late lunch and preparing for the second stage of the test.
Unfortunately that didn't go so well. One of the gauges failed to work, and without it there was no point in continuing the test. Which is a shame, because this will be the first time that the boat hasn't passed its boiler inspection first time. Presumably the gauge became damaged during winter and will be replaced or reconditioned this week.

On another side i break up for a weeks spring break this Friday and a load of us undergraduates are going off for a four day trip to Scotland with the bikes. A night in Edinburgh town and two nights in a youth hostal by Glentress.

Back cabin is no more!

2008-05-06T09:51:00.009+01:00

I was going to have a lazy day on Saturday, Ive not been getting much sleep and didn't feel great as well have having a few things i needed to sort out.

However i got a call from home asking what i was doing over the weekend, and in the end i went down to the boat anyway and we did a days work on the back cabin. I mentioned in my previous post that we had been making some new drawers for it, and now they are complete the rest of the work in refitting the bed/drawer area needs some attention. The plan is to increase the access to the storage in the backcabin so it can be got at by guests who may be staying onboard and so it doesn't fill with our clutter so much. There are a few drawers there already with tools and the like in, but the rest of the space wasn't really very accessible espcailly with the new cushions in place obstructing the ability to lift the lid of the bed up. But yeah, thats the plan anyway, more access and more storage!

Here is the back cabin before work started.
This is after we had removed all the drawer frames. Not sure the new ones will go in as fast.
This is use doing a test run of the spacing using the new drawers we made and packing parts.

It occurs to me as well that photos would be a bonus on the blog. I like photos, and everyone else has them. So i will have to get on with that! [photos added 22nd may]

I have some nice photos from Sunday as well when i went to the kitcar show at Stoneleigh near Coventry. Apparently its one of the best kitcar shows in Europe, and it certainly didn't disappoint.
- I have a plan to buy a lotus seven replica sometime soon, which would be a bit of fun. If said i would do it for a while, but now i have some money from my sandwich year that dream might actually become a reality. So Ive been looking at various cars and talking to as many people as i can for 6months or so now as well as reading and posting on a number of kitcar forums. Who knows eh!

A weekends work.

2008-04-15T13:46:00.005+01:00

We visited the boat this weekend having not been aboard this Christmas. I came over from Uttoxeter, mum from home, and grandfather from Bolton.

The remaining morning was spent briefly discussing our plans for the boat for the next year, various trips, supply of coal, work we wanted to do on the boat, and that sort of thing.
In the afternoon we stripped down and cleaned the boiler for the impending boiler inspection. First removing the roof/funnel/smokehood and first sweeping all the 200 fire tubes with a long wire brush and powerdrill and cleaning up the top of the boiler with the vax. Then cleaning out the firebox, removing all the remainder of the last fire and any clinker, wire brushing the tube plate and wet legs, and again hovering clean. Followed by emptying out the ashbox and again hovering that clean.

The boiler inspection happens annually and lasts for 14months and we choose to do it at the beginning of each season, usually before the first steam and after the risk of frost has passed, as we are then always close to home and have as much time as possable to correct any problems that we may have without having to redrain the boiler afterwards as we would in colder weather. Every four years we have a hydraulic test, where the boiler is pumped full of water upto 1.5times working pressure (300psi) and inspected for leaks and any sign of problem. The remaining years the boiler is inspected inside and out in a 'dry' state (no fire or water) and then filled and steam raised. Pressure gauges, safety valves and gauge glasses are checked to be function properly and necessary ancillaries (feed pumps, injectors) checked.

While all this was going on, my dad and brother where in the workshop at home making the new draws for the back cabin.

Holidays and Steamboats.

2008-04-07T13:33:00.008+01:00

I promised i would write about our week away in monmounthshire. It was great week as always.

Every year we hire a big house for a week and cause chaos in the local area. The house this year was Treowen where we have been every other year for since 2000 (going to varous other large houses around the country the alternate year) so we know it well and have watched it slowly being done up year on year as well. We got out most days, a days cycaling in the forest dean, a trip to caerphilly castle, cardiff model engineering club, the 'go-ape' highleval assult cause at FoD. And a more 'hardcore' day on the bikes at CwnCarn. As well as the usuall pool, croquet, music, radiocontroled cars, drinking and much good food .

A selection of people at breakfast in the kitchen.
A number fo bikes loaded ready for FoD.
Go-Ape at the Forest of Dean. My sister and various cousins.
My cousin Patrick with one of his RC cars, another regualar feature.

Sax Trio. Music of all sorts is made, be it live instements, or more MP3 based!

Also this weekend i visted another steam narrowboat. Ive been making an effort to get in touch with all the steamnarrowboats on the system. Theres only about 10 active boats so it seams silly for us not to be in touch.
This boat 'PussyWillow' as currently called was origanally started many years ago but she was never finshed and changed hands as a unfinished project a number of years ago but is still as yet unfinished.
However i got in touch with her current owner a while back and as i had a free afternoon drove down to Kettering to see her and her owner on the banks of the Nene.
He has done a fair bit of work on the engine a Leak Compound like ours, which when bought wasnt in a running state. And as seams to be not uncommon with these engines the crankshaft wasnt in a fit state to run and the timing miles out. So that has now been rectifide and the engine runs satisfactorally on compressed air, which is an excellent sign of things to come, steam engines always run better on steam than compressed air anyway. And then i was invited for tea! Excellent.

Sadly i dont have any photos, so clearly im going to have to visit her again sometimes soon!

Another post.

2008-03-19T15:43:00.003Z

The injector arrived!
I went into uttoxeter again in my half hour lunchbreak to collect my bike and run it back home having droped it off for a service the day before. But what should await me on the door step but a ticket from royalmail. Much confused i hurried round to the post office before they shut to find one jiffybag with one injector.

The whole injector story has been a right farse. It was ment to be a quick "throw money at it and get it working" operation so we could refit it and test it before the end of last years crusing as we had planned to tidy up some of the pipework around the boiler and how the injector worked would have dictated how that went. However it was not to be, and its taken around six phone calls two letters and nearly £200 to get it back over four months later. Appalling, but there we go. Lucky we have two and can work without them if needed.

On a sunnier prospect, the weather here has been lovely the last few days. This morning i was out in various machines roading them to testsite for noise testing with the new engine. And on friday i finish for easter and am going for a weeks holiday in monmouth with 20 of my extended family, with bikes, model cars, music and alcohol. I will report back on that!!

Second post.

2008-03-12T13:09:00.005Z

Well ok, so not a massive amount has happened boatwards, but there's plenty to talk about still.

The weekend before last i went upto york with Rebekah (roger fullers daughter) in the hope that we would see a certain busker. His name is Ed Alleynes-Johnson and he used to busk a lot in Chester which is where i first saw him, and plays a five string electric violin which he made himself, producing a wonderfully unique sound and some fantastic covers. He's appeared on later with jools holand, toured with the new model army, has a rampant following on youtube, and purple shades. What more can you ask for!! Anyway, it was all a success! After a 100mile drive up the motorway, and a half hour wait for the park& ride we practically walked right into him on the first corner. Brilliant. And it was sunny to boot!

But yeah in terms of work on the boat, not much has happened as i said. While we where at york i received a phone call from our landlord-to-be for next year, when we move back to university after our placement year, unfortunately pulling out of signing the contract. So a fair bit of time and the last weekend has been spend finding another, which hopefully we have just about sorted now.

However i have also been on the phone to chase one of the injectors we sent off for repair this week, so that should be with us in a day or two. And we now have a full sketch of what size we want the replacement drawers in the back cabin to be, so maybe they will get made sometime if i can get my dad started on that!

First post.

2008-02-26T12:35:00.003Z

This is the first post of this blog. Which is to be about steam narrowboat EmilyAnne.

The new season is fast approaching, spring is just around the corner, and the year promises to be a good one. So what better time to start than now!
Ive thought about running a blog on the boats progress before now, choosing instead post information on the forums at canalworld.net in the past, but it would be nice to have some of our own space and consolidate the information.

As we stand the boat is generally in good working order, certainly there are no major things that need to be done before shes bought back into steam after winter. Although as always there is plenty that can be done to improve things, and hopefully some of that will happen in the next month or so as time allows.