WooHoo! Engine de-winterised and started and we have hot water in Freyja ;o)

We sucked a lot of water, oil and crap out of our engine bilge, re-connected all the hoses, primed the raw water pump and started the engine (very easily)
But the calorifier wasn't getting the the water hot, so, I carefully disconnected the feed and return pipes, expecting boiling water to gush over my hands, but nothing but a trickle, pushed a length of plastic pipe into the hose and blew down it, out came a load of rust and rusty water, then put a funnel in the top of the pipe and started filling it, using it as a header, when I got clean water out, I re-connected the hoses and started the engine again, this time the water got nice and hot.
But then the raw-water stopped pumping out, primed the raw water system using the same method and it worked again for a short while, but the hoses were collapsing so I'll have to replace them with better ones and have to hope that the raw water impellor has not self-destructed.

Oh, how I'd love a nice engine room, so I wouldn't have to stick my head down a hole to fix my engine!

We've got a new chimney

Glenda's son Nick gave us money for our birthdays and Xmas and said we should spend it on a chimney, we wanted to get one made by the owners of narrowboat Dove, but they were heading off for Easter and Nick was going to visit the boats, so we bought this one for Christina from Whilton marina.

So, thanks a lot Nick, looking great! We still need 2 more for Freyja but they will be shorter and custom made.

Fixing the rot in Christina's bow

While working on the new tarpaulins, I put my foot though the deck which supports the chicken coup, twice1 ;o(
So we ripped it all out and found a lot of very flakey rust under it, ground that back, then Glenda treated it with Fertan rust converter, painted that with red oxide and then painted the gunnels with matt black.
At the same time we took the old bottom sheets off and will fit the new bottom sheets using waterseal-treated oak instead of the pine batten.

The rotten deckboards have been removed, revealing the equally rotten support beams and the very rusty welldeck above the water tank

Just a little bit knackered!

A mess, where do you start?

The water tank, complete with leaking filter and pump

On the left is the filler pipe for the water tank!

Grinding away the rust and crap (photo by Glenda)

Hey! We've got a new (old) figurehead 'Usain Boat' (photo by Glenda)

After much dust and rust up my nostrils and a lot of work by Glenda, we even fixed the leaks, but then put my foot through the floor! HoHum ;o)

My workshop now has a treadle lathe

My 'Hobbies' treadle lathe, now built into the workbench next to the Singer

It has grindstone, fretsaw and chop-off saw attachments

I will paint it to match the Singer, but will need to pull it out from the bench to use the fretsaw.

I found my workshop under all that junk.

We've been getting water in the cabin bilge, despite having winterised Freyja, then we noticed a drain hole just above the waterline, Glenda poked the end of a hosepipe into it, and it went in a long way, so we decided to plug it, but, it was windy, no engine, I toyed with tying the step ladders to the handrail and climbing down to it, but after making a wooden bung, I decided to  screw it to a length of batten, then coated it with a liberal coating of Tiger seal, on the 2nd attempt I managed to snap the almost-paired-off plug. It's the white blob just above the waterline. Fingers crossed................

I started the process of digging my workshop from under all the of the crud that had built up, adding some extra cupboards and brackets, I can now see my workbenches and find stuff without sweat.

My nice tidy workshop, now complete with a freezer that was rescued, minus it's door, from the marina scrapheap, now fixed and working fine. ;o)

Canal pubs and their canal themes

The Trent Navigation pub, which is near the junction of The River Trent and the Nottingham Canal is the home of the Navigation brewery, one of their ales is called 'Lock In'

Sorry, this one is a bit fuzzy, there are three lovely canal scenes featured on the beerpumps at the Rodley Barge on the Leeds and Liverpool

It's funny what you can find on the towpath

Dydd Gwyl Dewi DDa pawb! (Happy Saint Dai's Day everyone!) 

While cycling the towpath, towards Gas Street Basin, I approached NB The Crusty Crow, Roy shouted to me, "wanna buy an engine mate?"
I replied "As it happens I do, but not another BMC 1.8! But I could be interested in some bits"
Roy, it's owner, is a fellow member of the Canalworld forum.

Roy of NB The Crusty Crow, with the BMC 1.8 engine he had just replaced, entertains a couple of local lads.

I headed, as usual, for the Canalside Cafe for some nice ales, at the Tap & Spile I had a dodgy pint of Tim Taylor's Landlord.
Roy told me that the Craven Arms had re-opened after a re-fit and takeover by the Black Country Brewery. It was a great tip, it's a lovely pub in Upper Gough Street and the friendly hosts Chris & Sharon keep 8 ales and a few ciders, well worth a visit and an easy 5 minute walk from the canal.
Here is an article from the Birmingham Mail :-
http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/local-news/memorabilia-wanted-decorate-historic-birmingham-1342783