Instant Mash

I haven't been able to bring myself to speak about the trip these past 5 days because our journey stopped while various mechanics cursed and fought with the problem of laura's engine. The gearbox has been replaced and yet still she drifts along like a leaf 🍃  Maybe it's the drive plate, maybe  it's the injectors, and maybe the mechanics are simply guessing. We arrived in Maidenhead on Sunday and have just this minute left. Maidenhead is a nice place to hang out and the mooring a top spot for paddleboarding, so we had a fun time, in amongst feeling a bit stranded. Having mentioned the apparent breakdown, Shrimppot seems to be keeping up with Bluto all of a sudden.  Maybe I'm imagining things....I'll report back. We're heading downstream, probably bound for Windsor and Eton today. What ho' Jeeves, bally fun, etc.

We're in Laleham and Laura's engine needs a new gearbox. That would explain why it's taken us so long to get this far! Gearbox should be fitted in 1-2 days time. I'll update on where we are as we inch our way up the Thames. It was a nice and leisurely cruise today and we had beer and gin and tonics.  Last night's mooring outside a pub.  Bit of a leisurely cruise today.  New ship's clock. Our mooring now. Just enough day left for a trip to the local pub where I think the conversation will be about gearboxes.

Wednesday morning and we've woken up in Teddington, because that's where we moored last night. Yesterday was a day of battery shopping and diagnostic battery scenes on laura's boat. Her starter battery hadn't previously been connected and now it seems her alternator isn't wiring either, so we're not out of the woods yet. The evening crossing from Brentford to Teddington was beautiful. The sunset was milky - I'd forgotten what a lovely looking river this is. More pics and updates soon, but now I need to go into laura's engine room with a voltmeter..... Meantime, here's a postcard given to me by the friendly lockkeeper at Teddington. An e-postcard.

Laura's batteries are flat as pancakes, so we haven't made the morning tide. The current plan is to somehow diagnose and rectify battery problem and then catch the 6.45pm tide this evening from Brentford to Teddington. Watch this space...

I opened the back doors this morning to find I had company, and that he'd brought his brother with him. We made it to Brentford by about 4pm today and I spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to learn how to tie a bow line (a knot). I managed it twice but then couldn't remember how I'd done it. Tomorrow morning will be an early start, leaving from Brentford lock at 7am. Ouch. I'm really great in the mornings, so I should be on good form. Swans are right now nibbling at the weed which grows on the hull of my boat. It sounds like fingers drumming on a table, and as it's otherwise silent in here it's very noticeable. Keep it down swans,

As always seems to happen when taking my boat out, something failed as I said out loud, "I'm ready to go now". "I'm not",  my boat seemed to say.  Subsequently there was some faffing about with spanners before we finally left at 3pm. We're now moored up by a rugby pitch near Greenford. Tomorrow we'll reach Brentford (I hope) and we plan to join the 7am tide on Tuesday on its way to Teddington. To highlight the difference between boats on the canal and boats on the Thames, here are my top three crap boats from yesterday. #1 - Average fibreglass heap #2 - No engine and a strong smell of fibreglass resin #3 - UFO