tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-81012034551402268272024-03-06T05:29:55.542+00:00Narrowboat BlackstoneThe ramblings of Narowboat Blackstone and it's crew.Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.comBlogger65125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-52748288668798216812012-05-17T10:15:00.001+01:002012-05-17T10:15:05.893+01:00Blackstone’s engine is healthy again.For some time now, we have suffered from fuel contamination. At first we did not realise why our filters kept clogging and the engine kept stopping at the most inconvenient places. Suddenly a light went on in the brain and we realised that our diesel was contaminated with diesel bug. Not surprising really as we had not cruised very much for a couple of years due to personal circumstances, so the Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-57543919486378240072012-05-05T21:06:00.001+01:002012-05-05T21:06:54.315+01:00A little bit of JennyanydotsAfter we had the new dinette fitted, we had to decide on the cushions to furnish it. While we were deciding, our friends Anne and Ray offered us some cushions from their boat Jennyanydots. They had replaced their sofa, but kept the cushions from the original sofa. We accepted their kind offer and set about converting two long cushions into four smaller cushions. We started with two of Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-52380173779669127492012-04-08T23:17:00.001+01:002012-04-08T23:22:35.061+01:00Sunken Boat on the Bridgewater CanalWe walk our dogs along the Bridgewater Canal towpath at around 6:00am every day. On Friday as we approached Oldfield Quays, we spotted a sunken boat. Judging by the mooring pins on the bank, it must have been tied up originally, but by Friday morning, it had come adrift. Of course, I never have my camera with me when I want it! On Saturday I remembered my camera. The boat had been tied up again Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-38370240157539376712012-03-28T22:52:00.001+01:002012-03-28T22:52:40.892+01:00Made me giggleI have been dipping into some old posts on the blogs that I follow and I found the following entry about the Bridgewater Canal:- “I don't know what it is about this particular canal but none of the boats with Bridgewater registrations slow down; maybe they think that because the canal is owned by Peel Holdings British waterways rules don't apply?” It made me giggle because, as stated above, theRosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-86950012646149813932012-03-20T17:36:00.001+00:002012-03-20T18:00:55.202+00:00Refitting after the stretch.I have just realised that I have not blogged since Christmas! I hadn’t looked at the blog for ages and had forgotten that the last post was my Christmas greeting. A bit out of date now, so I thought i had better add something new. Although we check the boat regularly and spend the day or weekend on board, we have not been out cruising yet this year. So no new stuff to report. Every time we Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-69860327617228828282011-12-24T19:41:00.001+00:002011-12-24T19:41:00.837+00:00MERRY CHRISTMAS The crew of Blackstone would like to wish everybody a very merry Christmas and happy cruising during 2012. Lets hope Santa brings you everything you wished for. Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-36875953213711272652011-12-23T17:24:00.001+00:002011-12-23T17:24:41.203+00:00Licence time again and praise for BW licence team.So it is time to renew our boat licences. They run out on 31 December. As we moor on the Bridgewater canal, we have to have a Bridgewater licence. As we do most of our cruising on BW waters, we have to have a BW licence as well. Luckily we get our BW licence at a concessionary price, making the cost of the two licences £60 more than the cost of a full price BW licence. If we had to buy both Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-91601123061405245842011-11-06T22:58:00.001+00:002011-11-06T22:58:52.461+00:00Back On-BoardSaturday 5th November. Hooray, we are back on board Blackstone. We have not cruised for over a year due to personal circumstances and a partial refit of the boat. Everything is now sorted out and we are able to use Blackstone again. This weekend we had a short cruise to Dunham and back. We set off from the marina at 9:40. There was plenty of cloud, but at least it was dry. The sun came out Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-26784278133968567662010-10-27T22:54:00.001+01:002010-10-28T15:17:08.506+01:00Nice shiny paintwork 26 September to 10 October
Blackstone went into the dry dock at Worsley for two weeks for painting. The painting was done by Bernard Todd from Chorley, with Carl blacking the bottom and helping out with the preparation work. After the stretch she had a big red patch, so everyone knew that she had been stretched. When she came out of dry dock, there was no sign of the stretch! She is Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-74310664230416817132010-09-26T21:01:00.012+01:002010-09-27T10:22:45.648+01:00To the dry dock for paintingSince getting Blackstone back from Swanley Carl has been trying to paint the "new" bit. Every time he went to the marina to work on it rain stopped play! In the end he was so fed up with not getting anywhere we decided to book the dry dock at Worsley and have the whole boat re painted.Carl cruised up to Altrincham to meet Liz on Friday afternoon. We have been having trouble with diesel bug this Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-28692551337349453922010-05-06T22:52:00.002+01:002010-05-06T23:01:32.905+01:00Ouch!Blackstone is still at Swanley Bridge Marina, waiting to be finished off. It's nearly done, but there is a problem with the windows that still needs sorting out. The Boat Safety Certificate needed renewing and we got a nasty shock when we got the bill. We knew that the cost of the certificate had gone up on April 1st, but we were not expecting to pay £140 - this was almost twice the cost of the Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-74595292145924554192010-04-01T15:59:00.015+01:002010-04-01T18:22:12.955+01:00The StretchThe saloon all stripped out ready for the stretch, just the floor to take up. Out of the water, into the workshop. Windows out, ready for the cut.The inside sealed up to keep the rest of the inside clean. Strengthening bars in place so that the boat doesn't warp when it is cut. First cut, through the roof............. ..............and then the sides Very neat cuts. Staggered to add strength. Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-19750579407005190792009-10-17T21:27:00.003+01:002009-10-29T20:40:38.068+00:00Blackstone is getting longer!Oops, I forgot to post this one!!Thursday 1 October 2009. Preston Brook to Bramble CuttingWell, after much discussion, research, costing and checking of savings, we have decided to take the plunge and have Blackstone stretched. I know we should really leave the savings alone for our retirement, but what the heck. Live for today. The way things are going, the government will have us all working Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-83152154722974575122009-06-29T18:20:00.006+01:002009-06-29T19:14:33.707+01:00Short EscapeLiz's brother John stayed with her dad Friday night and all day Saturday giving us the chance of a very brief escape on Blackstone. Carl went to the marina and cruised to the playing fields near our home. Liz joined him around 7:45 pm and we cruised back to Dunham for the night. We had a leisurely cruise back to the marina on Saturday. It was a lovely relaxing day after the stresses of caring forRosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-59930609504143271822009-06-22T21:43:00.009+01:002009-06-23T00:07:18.855+01:00Well, it's been a long time since the last blog. Mainly because we haven't been anywhere. We had intended to go out over Easter. Carl went to check everything was OK on the Thursday. The engine started straight away and everything seemed to be OK. Carl then noticed that oil had appeared in the drip tray. It turned out to be gearbox oil. A seal had perished. Although Carl does basic engine Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-2443918689277842702009-03-01T21:08:00.007+00:002009-03-01T21:56:27.397+00:00Back to realityThe weekend just didn't last long enough. Oh to be able to take off on a cruise without worrying about when we had to be back home. We lazed around listening to the radio this morning. Maccs found something nasty to roll in, probably fox poo! Why do dogs do that? He had to be washed before we set off. He got a bath when we got back home. He was not impressed. But then nor were we - he stank.We Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-19948451246936370632009-02-28T20:57:00.007+00:002009-03-01T21:08:17.160+00:00First time out this yearLiz's dad has been in hospital for most of this year. He went in on 28/12 and only came out for one week at the end of January. Added to the weekends that Liz has had to work and the weekends that the canal was frozen, this is the first time we have managed to take Blackstone out this year.It is Carl's birthday today and we were determined to spend it on the boat.As usual, we chose to go to Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-38125080143760778992009-02-02T22:26:00.002+00:002009-02-02T22:46:30.727+00:00SnowI'm sure there will be a lot of people who will think I've got a screw loose, but I have been looking out of the office window today watching the snow and wishing I was on the boat.The thought of sitting on the boat in front of a log fire, in the middle of nowhere, watching the snow through the windows, is so much more appealing than working.Maybe one day.Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-16996550026321693632009-01-20T21:47:00.003+00:002009-01-20T22:20:55.464+00:00The licences are dueIt's that time of year again. We have to renew our boat licences. As we moor on the Bridgewater, we have to have a Bridgewater licence, issued by the Manchester Ship Canal Company. Although BW and MSCC have reciprocal arrangements allowing licence holders to use each other's waters, our licence only allows seven consecutive days on BW waters and we can't cruise past Harecastle tunnel or BarbridgeRosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-55151642081098149712009-01-16T20:36:00.003+00:002009-01-16T20:49:28.737+00:00British Waterways are missing us!We received a letter this week from British Waterways regarding their National Boat Check. We are part of a "random sample" of licensed boats that they did not see during the period 10 - 21 November 2008 and they want to know where we were!Well, Blackstone was resting on her moorings on the Bridgewater Canal, which is probably why they did not see her!It's nice to know that she is missed when sheRosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-22207217005245348882008-11-22T15:39:00.006+00:002008-11-22T16:09:31.077+00:00Locking fuel capDuring 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 Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-55680588160802930042008-11-06T21:35:00.024+00:002008-11-08T19:33:03.540+00:00A weekend outAt 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 Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-70025945453304067552008-10-02T21:15:00.005+01:002008-10-03T12:37:17.748+01:00Canal Art by TerenceLook what arrived in the post today. Another beautiful piece of decorative canal art by Terence Edgar. Unfortunately the photo does not do it justice. I will try to get a better photo to upload. We love Terence's work and we have several of his pieces on board Blackstone.Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-2888859838421174412008-09-12T19:54:00.014+01:002008-09-29T20:54:51.312+01:00Castlefields to DunhamLast night there was a very inconsiderate boater, who ran a noisy generator from mid afternoon until about 10.15pm. When we passed the boat this morning we found that it wasn't even displaying a licence!Had a lie in this morning. Didn't get up until 7.30! We had breakfast and sat around watching life in Castlefields. There are two Bull Mastiffs living on a top floor balcony opposite our mooring. Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8101203455140226827.post-68300715246273310082008-09-11T20:09:00.013+01:002008-09-12T12:56:12.834+01:00Portland Basin to CastlefieldsWe knew that we had a lot of locks to do today and that the first flight has a reputation for trouble so we set of at 6:30, turned onto the Ashton Canal and got to Fairfield Junction at the top of the locks at 7.20. We filled up with water before going down the locks. The water was in a tricky place and Liz made a complete mess of mooring on the water and then getting from the waterpoint to the Rosie Castlehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05546272248156417990noreply@blogger.com1