An oportunity not to miss

The morning was bright warm n sunny.  Just had to take advantage and get the chairs out and watch the boats go by.  The cloud formations were discussed and pondered over.  Look, that could be a rabbit or a duck formation.  Most were like cotton wool with silver linings.  Then a dark grey one would get in the way.  The sky view kept changing.  There was no wind and it was nice drinking tea and eating Geoff's cakes.

Nothing quite like it elsewhere in the universe.  But then the wind changed, the sky darkened and we all went back on our boats.  Just in time to watch the rain and hail disturb the canal water while the wind blew.

Meeting at Barby

While in Braunston our new engine was given its first service by Justin Green at the bottom lock.  He is well known to us in the past and we recommend him.

Once that had been done we set off to meet many friends a few miles north of Braunston at Barby.

 The gang inside Moore to Life

It had been a surprisingly long time since we saw them all last time, some where on the 'cut'.

Braunston Fish

We continued our journey north and stopped at Braunston, mooring at the first available slot.  Later we went in search of friends and got more than we bargained for! Quite a gathering of bloggers here!

Sue n Vic are at the bottom lock getting things done on their boat before its sale.  We are booked in next for our engines first service.

Got a bit hungry after solving problems putting blinds up in the galley.  So after a heavy shower we set off at 5 to the Braunston Fryer.

 On the way back it nearly snowed!

We both enjoyed getting out side the food while the rads got us warm again.

Out and about

At last we got away from the marina!  Pulled out those roots, ie the land line or umbilical chord was cut!  Up the Claydon locks as many boats were on the way down.  Almost one up and one down all the way.  And it was sunny that morning.  We stopped at the top, moored on the rings went inside and then it rained!

Central heating on as it got a bit cool outside.  Found it necessary to run the engine for an hour to 8 pm to keep our three batteries topped up.  Just getting to know our limitations where power is concerned.  As I said on previous blog boats are designed for purpose.  This one is not for living on full time, just short holidays.

Next day Ian and Alison walked by with their dogs Bosun and Kalub.  They are happy walking the tow path rather than delivering diesel for which I thanked them for their past service.

We then moved on, stopping at Fenny for chandlery items before continuing on to Stoneton.  Needed pins here.  "Oh where did we put our pins?".  We have a box of cruising things like windies and a hammer but no pins!  Good job the boat came with some well used items.

A mooring at Stoneton on the summit pound.

Summer Season

We arrived back on board last Tuesday and only now found the time to do a blog! We are chasing our dream again after several years away.

Unpacked the car and used two trollies several times to get it all on Moore to Life. Everything needed for our summer season and more equipment to install. Bed made up and clothes put away.

The batteries needed some tlc after being idle for over a month. They were OK the last visit in February. A few cells were thirsty so after topping them up they went on charge from the land line for an hour. After that I got the engine going for another hour. Pleased that the engine powered up first kick. Not been used since arriving at Cropredy marina in December!

I then got busy in the engine bay pumping out the rain water. Apparently cruiser sterns are prone to have wet bilges. But then I discovered the chlorifier pressure relief valve was dripping! Gave it a few turn clicks and kept my fingers crossed.

Ann got busy changing all the curtains with my help cleaning all the runners. Now got our summer set hung. It amaised us to find that the end pieces were glued on! Presumably to prevent the hire customers pinching curtains?

Then we set about putting more stuff away and getting a Tesco order. Definitely need more storage space! Boats are built to purpose so when you change from hire to live aboard many facilities need changing!

A walk round Cropredy village discovered that while the Red Lion remains closed a Post Office now operates in the Chapel. But only open on Mondays and Wednesdays in the morning.

Ann's Birthday

We went to Lymington for lunch.

 It was a damp day but we enjoyed a toasted sandwich and a drink each.

Lymington Quay

moore 2 life . co . uk

Just a short blog to say that I have been updating some pages.  See more pictures in the 'NATURE' section.  Hopefully now the pages will fit tablets having altered the html code.