Locking fuel cap

During the summer our friends Anne and Ray on Jennyanydots unexpectedly ran out of diesel while we were out. There was no way they had cruised far enough since they last filled up to have run out when they did. The only thing we could think of was that they had had some diesel syphoned. Other people then told us of incidents that they had heard of concerning syphoning diesel.

Although the towpath telegraph often exaggerates incidents, with the increase in cost from 1 November we decided to look at ways of securing our diesel cap. Anyway, we came across the fuelock web site and ordered a locking diesel cap. It came within a couple of days and took just five minutes to fit. Problem solved. We can now be sure that our full tank stays full until we next go for a cruise.

A weekend out

At last, we have managed to get a whole weekend free! No one for tea, no taxi service for family, no house clearances, in fact no one asking us to anything at all. So forget the housework and the washing, lets take the boat out.

So on Friday 31/10/08 at 9:45 we left the marina and headed up the Bridgewater towards Dunham. We thought that we might go into Manchester, but the countryside was so beautiful that we decided we would rather stay out of the city. It was a lovely crisp autumn day. Very cold, blue sky, hardly any wind and lots of sunshine. The trees and bushes along the banks are so colourful - green, red, orange, gold, yellow and brown. Lit the fire early so that the boat would be toasty when we moored.


We stopped of at Thorne Marine to fill and empty the relevant tanks. It was the last day for buying diesel before the new tax rules took effect. We filled the tank at 75p per litre. It was going up to £1.01 per litre the next day for people declaring the 60/40 split, which is the split we will probably declare. So at least we will get our winter cruising and heating at the lower price.

When we got to Lymm, we were amazed to find that there were hardly any boats moored there. We moored up for lunch. While we were having lunch, the Mikron Theatre boat passed. Not sure where they were coming from/going to as according to their website their last night was Saturday 25 October in Huddersfield.

We moored for the day at Dunham around 3:20 and settled down by the fire with the papers. It was a beautiful evening.

Woke up on Saturday morning to a clear frosty morning. The fire stayed in all night so the boat was still warm and the kettle was almost boiling as it had sat on the stove all night. Carl took Maccs for his walk, while I tidied up an made the bed. After breakfast we headed up to Timperley, where we decided to turn round and head back to the country side. Emma phoned to see where we were, but we weren't sure exactly where we were. We were in the middle of nowhere, with no roads anywhere near. That's the fun of boating! A bit later on we moored back at Dunham as there is space for Maccs to play without bothering anyone. There were plenty of joggers and walkers about today.

Woke up on Sunday to a cold, grey, cloudy morning. We set off at 9:00 and headed for Lymm to buy bread and papers. While we were moored in Lymm, a large number of boats from the Lymm Cruising Club passed. They were on a club outing to the Star for lunch. Matthew Corbett passed on Midnight.

We carried on after lunch and had a leisurely cruise back to the marina, arriving about 4:00.

All in all a lovely peaceful weekend to help us unwind. Possibly the last cruise this year, but you never know. Perhaps we will get another one in.