What a week. The first couple of days were a mad rush — on Monday I finished the kitchen flooring, drained & cleaned the fuel and filled up the tank, emptied the engine drip tray and fit the starter motor (I had a new solenoid put on last week).
Then on Tuesday I mounted the cannon and did a poor-man's engine wiring: enough to heat the glow plugs and start it, but that is all. I also got my VHF license!
I was up early on Wednesday to tidy the final bits, then at 0900 a peal of the local bell ringers joined and we set off down river to ring at the local churches. It was a wonderful send-off, and the day couldn't have gone better. It poured down in the morning which was fun, but the afternoon was gorgeous. We did 5 locks and about 7 or 8 miles, and I stayed in Bidford that night.
The morning was mist delightful:
On Thursday the guy I work for (my boss? That feels weird to say) joined me — he got a train from the middle of Germany the day before, and I picked him up in Warwick. But first an errand get up my second battery, which I mounted that evening, and Katona now has 10.4kWh of storage!!
We cruised for a few hours towards Evesham that afternoon, and stopped for the night at a pub with its own mooring.
The Californian
The next day we went into Evesham and holed up for a few days, then got on with various bits of boat work.
I fit the final 4 solar panels, and we cut some entries in the railings to run wires through.
Tomorrow my hot water tanks should arrive, and there's a lot more wiring to do.
Until next Sunday!
- Nick