A little sunshine

As some of you already know I've spent much of the last few days in rather a lot of pain with kidney stones. They're still here and still hurting so to distract myself from the pain until I can pop some more of the wonderful pain killers that the hospital gave me I thought I'd post a quick picture that someone else took of Relativity and me.

The nice doctor said that the stone was small enough to come out on its own and that it should happen in the next day or so. It's now three days later and still no sign! I wonder if she'd factored in that boys have longer tubes in that particular respect?

Ah well, back to whimpering in the corner. At least it is sunny :-)

S.

Give me more power!

Ok, ok, I know you've had nothing to look at but the loo for a while but I have been busy. For a start I have stripped my bedroom out and built myself a new bed. It is fabulous and I'll write more about it when it is completely finished. Suffice to say it is very comfy and the boys and I have watched movies all tucked up nice and warm.

The other major piece of progress has been a lovely set of coincidences. One of the issues on Relativity is that the alternator isn't really up to charging the batteries if we're out of the marina for any length of time, especially if we're having hot weather and the fridge is working hard to keep all the chocolate from melting. To solve this there are two solutions but my favourite was to get a Travel Power unit and fit it. These things are basically a mains generator that you bolt to the side of the engine and some electronics to plumb it in to the rest of the boat. There is one problem. They're expensive! Very expensive and cash is tight at the moment.

It turns out that one of my neighbours had one that he wasn't using so we did some haggling and moved it over to Relativity. The amazing thing was that he had the same make of engine so most of the mounting brackets were the same. Ian has been a major help and got the final bracket custom made so that it would fit my engine. He then came and spent the last couple of days unbolting stuff from one boat and moving it onto Relativity. This afternoon came the moment of truth! There was a slight hiccup when it looked like a rather large pully we needed would be hard to find but Reading Marine found one at the back of a cupboard on a dusty shelf. They even delivered it to the marina with one of their staff who lives here. Fabulous.

And yes, just to make all the true boaty types out there really sick, I can now run the full sized washing machine on a hot wash whilst chugging along. Yeee ha.

More soon.
S.

VacuFlush 5000 (part 2)

At the risk of disclosing "too much information" I can let you all know that at some point in the last 3 days the loo has been properly tested and it performed perfectly.

VacuFlush 5000

Oh yes! The king of loos is now installed and what a wonder it is. Press the pedal and whoosh, all the poo vanishes. Amazing. Well at least that is the theory. Nobody has actually "tested" it yet. I'll let you know ;-)

More signwriting

The helpful people at FastSigns in Reading made us some graphics for the stern panels yesterday. This morning Zach helped me put them on. It looks fabulous. I'm really pleased. We'll do the other side this afternoon which will be a little more complex as there is a porthole in the way!

Now to save up for the rest of the stuff I have planned :-)

Running out of fuel!

Ok, I admit it. After a fabulous weekend in Oxford with much partying and silliness, Relativity and I are heading home but I've run out of diesel twice in the last few days. It is so embarrassing when I hear her engine cough and then die. I've then got to find a way of steering 23 tonnes of truculent boat to the side of the Thames and make it look like I was intending to moor at a jaunty angle on a blind bend ;-)

The running out of fuel isn't the problem. I have loads of fuel in the heating tank so it is just a case of syphoning off a few litres and moving them the length of the boat. The real problem is that once she's run out of fuel it takes half an hour with spanners in the engine hole getting covered in diesel and water and usually collecting more cuts and bruises to flush the air locks out of the fuel lines and get the engine running again.

Note to self: Don't run out of fuel again!

Home by mid afternoon.

Thanks to everyone that came at the weekend. We had a blast.

Speed queen

It turns out that Relativity is actually pretty fast when compared to other narrow boats! Today we've been chugging up the Thames with my mum and her boat Silver Lining. At the same engine speed Relativity is about 20% faster with much less froth and churn behind as well.

So she's very sweet in a straight line - shame she doesn't steer so well.

My trusty hat blew off this evening but I managed to navigate back to it and hook it out of the river before it sank too far. Relativity protested quite a lot when I slammed her into reverse to try and stop and go back for the hat. I don't think she was impressed.

Tomorrow Abingdon and then Oxford.

More messing about

Mark Laynesmith will claim that he paddled and got exercise today. This photo proves otherwise :-)

It was a fun day though. We nearly lost a 3 year old into the Thames on several occasions but he wasn't successful on any of them despite significant displays of determination on his part.

More chugging

Had several friends round today. Did some chugging up and down the Thames including a lovely one at sunset. The water looks so different in the different light. Fabulous.

Knackered now so off to bed.

Who's a clever girl then?

She did it! This morning Relativity passed her boat safety examination. We're very proud of her. She has a nice certificate to say that all her gas, diesel and electrical systems meet the very latest safety standards and that there are enough ventilation holes to make sure that Stuart is properly chilly all through the winter.

Once that was issued I whipped round to the nice people at the Environment Agency with the necessary paperwork and they issued Relativity's Thames license in under 3 hours. Not bad seeing as they say you should allow 10 days!

This really is a pretty big deal as, until the Boat Safety Scheme certificate is issued the insurance company have even more get-out clauses!

I also found that the table screwed to the wall kept coming off. I told David to stop putting his elbows on the table ;-) so I went out and found a nice free standing table that will do the job nicely and seat 6 so now I can have people round for dinner in relative comfort. Next I need to find a good home for the rather too large sofa bed in the saloon and replace it with a nicer, smaller one but that might have to wait until I have a new job!

So, with a bank holiday ahead I hope the weather is nice so that I can chug up and down the river with my friends. Have you booked your slot yet?

Boat Safety Scheme test

Relativity had her boat safety examination today. We knew she was going to fail but we decided to go ahead anyway to see what needed doing. The things we were worried about (gas pipes) were all fine and Ian managed to rectify a couple of other minor things whilst the examiner was still here which just leaves a leaking diesel hose which we hope to replace tomorrow. Dad is going to catch the bus to High Wycombe to a company that will make hoses on the spot and see if they can replace it. Once that is done she can pass her exam and get her full Thames license. Yeee ha.

A swan for dinner

There we were, eating our dinner with the side hatch open and a swan stuck his head in to see if there was anything spare.

I heard my first cuckoo this morning too.

A mammoth journey

Well folks, I've had a chance to rest and reflect on the events of the last couple of weeks. It has been an amazing one both physically, emotionally and spiritually.

We have:

• covered 146.28 miles, 137 locks and 26 moveable bridges
• re-wired the engine and 12v circuits completely
• replaced almost all of the diesel fuel feed piping
  
• heavily modified the 240v circuits and installed a new inverter and battery charging system
• brought the gas piping up to the necessary standard
• removed 2 stoves and installed a new one
• moved all the batteries into the engine bay and out of one of the bedrooms
• constructed 2 pieces of Ikea furniture
• screwed the table back on to the wall a couple of times
• bandaged innumerable bumps, cuts, bruises, and burns
• so many things that I can't remember right now.
  

but I should point out that my dad has done an awful lot of the work whilst Relativity has been under way. We have managed not to drop a single spanner or screwdriver in to a canal however we did lose a length of gas pipe at one point.

During the journey we have been looking after my mum's dog whilst she was on holiday. He has run along the tow path almost all the way. As I type he is lying asleep under my feet. A well earned rest for a very fit dog!

Life is a journey. Our family and friends join us for various bits of life's journey and some of it we must travel on our own. The last couple of weeks have been just like that. There are times where I have stood on my own in the rain whilst steering Relativity through the canal network. There have been times where friends and family have come and stood by me in both wind, rain and sunshine. we have laughed and cried together (especially when things have broken) and we have struggled with, and overcome, all sorts of challenges. I have been immensely heartened by the love, care and interest shown by the loads of you who have been following this blog and especially by those who have been able to find the time to come and visit or even just phone or email encouragement. Those who have turned up with food parcels have been particularly welcome ;-)

One of the big changes in my life is the recovery of hospitality. I love having visitors and I hope that those who have come and visited have found the atmosphere on board Relativity to be a welcoming and friendly one.

So what happens next? Well, now that I'm back in Reading I need to get on with the business of finding paid employment, working out how to live alone, and working out how to be an effective father to my children whilst not living in the same home as them most of the time. This blog will now become a record of that journey rather than the physical journey of a boat.

She is, however, a wonderful boat and I'll still be posting pictures and stories of her progress and restoration.

This really is the end of the first chapter in my new life and the new life of Relativity. I hope that you will enjoy the following chapters and, in whatever way makes sense, play your part in the story.

Home at last

We're here! Finally, but also a day ahead of schedule. Ian and I are exhausted but happy and the weather is fantastic.

Our first guest has arrived already. No hanging about there then. Do come and visit soon.

A longer entry for today will be done tonight. For the moment I'm just enjoying the rest.