Apparently there's a sunken car in the Slough arm, just at the end of where we are now moored. I can't imagine how it got there unless it crashed through the parapet of the road bridge, which I doubt. I may well get the full story tomorrow from the guys at CRT because I'm off down to Adelaide dock tomorrow to skipper Jena for a volunteers' floating day out, probably tootling up to Cowley and back. We'd all better wrap up warm because Jena is only heated when attached to a land line.
Co-incidentally I was down the Slough Arm only yesterday to check up on Herbie. There is a thin layer of ice on the canal, but not around Herbie because we are moored inside another residential boat which keeps us warm. You see, there is some benefit in an on -line breasted up mooring. Now that winter seems finally to have arrived, I installed our temporary secondary double glazing and removed the shower mixer to prevent it freezing up, both very quick and simple jobs. The domestic batteries are now at 100% thanks to the solar panel and the fact that I have switched off the loo fan. The Airhead loo remains odourless thank goodness. All in all Herbie seems fine. It's nice to be able to get to her in only half an hour from home I must say.
Constant rain and seasonal coughs and colds have kept us from cruising since November, but we're hoping to resume boating soon.
HERBIE! Journeys on our narrowboat and the trials and tribulations of maintaining her.
3 comments:
The Airhead's fan would be hard pushed to deplete your batteries surely.
Well Les, it does take a very small current, but consider it running for 24hrs a day, seven days a week for ten weeks while the boat is laid up and even that little bit starts to add up. The solar panel should cope easily in good weather but in the short dark days before Christmas, the batteries were just starting to drop so I switched off the fan. I think the fan takes 0.07 amps and over the ten weeks it adds up to an astonishing 117 amp hours, which is a whole battery full, or in reality all my three batteries run down to below 70% (without the help of the solar panel). Surprising isn't it when you "do the math" as they say.
Neil
Now I'm intrigued, Neil. What is your temporary double glazing? What do you use and how to do keep it in place without any air getting in? Your solar panels really do a fantastic job, don't they? In spite of all the rain!
Shame about the car...I hope there was no one in it at the time!
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