B.O.A.T. (and the rest)

We are on board again, at last. Various family events have forced us to change our original plans; we now find ourselves at Crick Marina for a while.

We went to pick up the boat from the boatyard after having the work done, and then decided to get them to do another little job, that of fixing a tiny leak from the area of the fresh water tank. I was rather taken aback when I got the bill - apparently it had taken 13 hours to sort out the problem! Yes, it included a plate being welded to the well deck for the water filler neck to be reattached, but at £40 an hour, plus VAT, this was almost the same cost as the earlier work. That was the removal and refitting of two windows and a mushroom vent, replacement of a gearbox oil seal and the engine coolant, and a small weld repair to a pigeon box flap.

Also, annoyingly, as we'd had to leave the boat at the yard for so long, the paintwork on one side has been splattered with old bitumen from a boat being pressure washed. I made a start on polishing it off - ordinary washing wouldn't touch it - but it is extremely laborious. I've had to resort to T-cut. And the roof in the area of the pigeon box welding is covered in tiny rust specks. Grr.

On the plus side it's making me polish the boat. And, making use of our third prize of a month's free mooring won at last year's Crick boat show, we're in the splendid Crick Marina. With facilities! We are not used to such luxury, having moored at Thrupp Wharf Marina for the last three winters. Here there is an Elsan point! An office! Loos, laundry facilities and a shower! Book swap! Somewhere to get post forwarded to! Diesel, coal and gas! Village with shops and post office within walking distance! And the cost of a mooring here is the same as what we were paying at Thrupp Wharf. We like it here.