Replacing gearbox control cable after it broke (and suffering another breakdown)

At Brinklow CRT is getting round the landslip problem by literally getting round it. A temporary floating walkway has been constructed over the edge of the canal bypassing a not that huge pile of rock and earth on the towpath.

Everything was going swimmingly for us until Sutton Stop. As we entered the stop lock I suddenly found that I could not disengage astern gear. All I could do was kill the engine. We descended the lock and I pulled the boat out onto the lock landing on the right, where we would be out of the way. The Morse control lever felt most peculiar; it didn't take long for me to diagnose a broken cable. The photo below shows a short length of inner cable (running bottom left to centre), still connected to the gearbox lever on the left, and the outer cable (on the right) now hanging free.

Within three miles of where we were now stranded live two sets of friends. The first were on holiday in Suffolk. The second had gone to Baddesley Clinton, fortunately not by boat. Stephen drove back while we had lunch, then took me to Springwood Haven where I bought a replacement cable (having removed the old one and measured its length). Back at the boat I fitted the cable. It was two inches shorter than the original, but there was plenty of slack so that was not a problem.

I had not done this before, so I discovered that what holds the outer in position at each end is a toroidal channel in the metal part next to the black plastic sheathed flexible part. This channel at the gearbox end is held by a brass clip secured by two bolts, lock washers and nuts. The clip has a protruding ridge which engages in the channel. At the Morse control end the channel is held in position by a small brass U-shaped pin. The protruding parts of the U are of unequal lengths. This pin goes through holes in the hard plastic "socket"; the longer part of the pin is bent over to stop it falling out.

The photo below shows the back of the Morse control; the two thick black cables are the throttle (going into the red housing) and the gearbox (black). The U-pins are inserted from the left in both cases; I have already removed the gearbox cable one.

At the gearbox end the inner cable screws into a brass piece which pokes through a hole in the lever and is prevented from falling out by a split pin. The photo shows me inserting this split pin.

Here is the gearbox end of the cable all fitted. The brass clip with its détente can be seen to the left.

I am very grateful to Stephen for his advice, especially on measuring the distance the inner extends from the outer at each end on the old cable, and making sure the new cable's measurements are the same. I did this and found everything worked perfectly when I started up again.

Interestingly - and could this be the cause of the failure? - the cable shows it has partially melted where it ran against the (fibreglass bandaged) exhaust. The new cable presses against the exhaust in the same way and cannot be rerouted as it is close to the gearbox clamp. I need to insert a thin piece of something heat resistant to protect it. Ideas, anyone?

We thought that was the end of the excitement for the day but, just an hour later, the engine began losing power. Yes, we had run out of diesel! We always have a full jerry can on board so in went 20 litres to get us out of trouble. We had stopped by a long stretch of piling just south of Marston Junction. Very handy again.

Before this emergency top-up (and I know, the jerry can is now empty) I sucked out a lot of crud and water from the bottom of the tank. It separates from the diesel immediately in the jam jars I put it in; I'll provide a photo later.

Contractors dump towpath vegetation in canal

We had no internet connection last night in Braunston, hence no post yesterday. We set off from Elkington in the morning and arrived at Watford Locks at about 1215. There were boats going down so we hoped we might be able to tag along, but we were asked to wait as there were five boats to come up who had been waiting a while. So we had lunch.

At about 1345 we were able to start down the locks. There was a delay before we could exit the bottom of the staircase: a hire boat had come up - unbidden - into the tricky pound and thought it could enter the staircase when we came out. Er, no, there are a few boats coming down behind me! Eventually the crew managed to get it tied up and we could then empty the lock and proceed. One crew member said she had read the notice detailing how the locks work but hadn't seen anyone. With all this going on I was surprised none of the three volunteer lockies came down to investigate.

After all that we had a fairly uneventful run down to Braunston, sharing the Braunston locks with a very pleasant single hander on Grand Hearn (or something like that). We ate at The Old Plough, taking advantage of their steak meal for two with a bottle of wine for £25.95.

This morning we were under way before 9 o'clock. We stopped for lunch and a Tesco shop (last maskless day!), then continued to All Oaks Wood where we tied up just as it was starting to rain.

At around the Armada Boats place there was suddenly a lot of foliage floating on the cut. Here are three people apparently responsible for it.

CRT's contractors had been cutting back the towpath vegetation and allowing it to fall into the water.

This wasn't just grass cuttings - this included tree saplings. I had to clear the bow of accumulated debris a few times, and shake off stuff from the prop as we went along. I was relieved when we left the cutting area. This cannot be the correct way of doing things.

On a lighter note … someone clearly has an unsinkable faith in a strong name for their boat.

Social distancing? Social gathering, more like

After breakfast and a nip into Tesco for the paper we reversed back to the waterpoint on the offside. Topping up took only a few minutes as the pressure was excellent. That's the one at Brownsover.

We continued on our journey, stopping just past the M45 bridge for lunch. Stephen and Gwyneth came past on Chyandour; we would pass their locked up boat in Braunston later.

I wanted to watch the F1 qualifying highlights so we tied up just below the Admiral Nelson pub. The outside tables were heaving, with no distancing in evidence.

Unfortunately for me, I couldn't get any TV signal, so we continued up the rest of the Braunston locks and tried again at the top. Still nothing. So we went through the tunnel … no joy here either. By this time the programme was well under way. Eventually we tied up for the night just before Norton Junction. I'm beginning to think there might be a dodgy connection in the cable somewhere, or perhaps water has got in to the external aerial causing corrosion damage. Tomorrow we only have to get to Crick (to keep to schedule) so there should be plenty of time for investigation. Grands prix are the only thing the TV is used for, that's why the reception problem has only just surfaced.

After tea we walked to the junction and back; I took one or two sunset pics.

This is the view from the boat.

How does he steer like that?

Shortly before we set off from Bedworth this morning fuel boat Callisto came past. (No, the title of this post does not refer to the steerer of Callisto.)

That brief excitement over, we had an uneventful passage to Hawkesbury Junction and onto the Oxford Canal, stopping beyond Bridge 19 for lunch having joined the mini-BCF convoy of nbs Grace and Chyandour.

I always look out for the collection of old cars by Bridge 4. This Volvo P1800 is sadly becoming overgrown. (No steerer there.)

After a socially distanced lunch on each of our individual boats we set off in convoy once more (Stephen having seemingly abandoned the helm (yes, there's the reference)) ...

… to stop again at All Oaks Wood for (socially distanced) cups of tea on the towpath. That is to say, Jan and I sat on the towpath while Stephen and Gwyneth sat in their well deck and Terry and Chris occupied their rear deck.

They were staying there for the night, whereas we wanted to get to Brownsover for a Tesco shop and so I can get a paper in the morning. There was plenty of space on the towpath side; the offside moorings were all taken. We're handy for reversing across the cut to the water point in the morning - or we could stop below Hillmorton Locks (or are the water points there the slow ones? Could just wait until Braunston …)

Visitors from the Caribbean

Today ... it rained. It rained on the Megabus coach I took from Oxford to Coventry. It rained on me cycling from Coventry to Pailton, where I'd left the car. It rained a bit on the car as I drove to Yarnton, but it didn't rain on me as I cycled from Yarnton to Oxford. I had the heating on full blast in the car to try to warm my feet which had got soaked and cold. I discovered on my bike ride that my iPhone 4S doesn't work properly when there's rainwater on the screen and my fingers are cold and wet. Do other phones suffer in the same way?

I got back to the boat at about 1620 and had two very welcome cups of tea. Thanks, Jan. I was about to eat a slice of lemon sponge cake when I became aware of three people outside the boat. I poked my head out of the door and got talking to them. They were friendly and interested in the boat; at least two of them hadn't seen a narrowboat before.

After talking for a bit I invited them aboard for a look round - they were thrilled. The middle one in the photo had just graduated from Oxford Brookes; her sister and mother had come over from Turks and Caicos in the Caribbean for the event. If I have it right the one on the right is Ocean; Mother's name is something like Rachaela. (I have to confess my ignorance here: I had never heard of Turks and Caicos, a British Overseas Territory.)

When we said goodbye to them we set off up the Oxford Canal. There were three lift bridges to operate before we got to Yarnton, all in one half-mile stretch (bridges 234, 233 and 231). Each is supposed to be operated by turning your BW/CRT key in the lock and raising the handle which is connected directly to the bridge deck. To lower the bridge again there is a chain dangling from the handle.

At Lift Bridge 233 the lock is missing so anyone can operate the bridge.

Now there is a CRT notice asking boaters to work the bridge by crossing and pulling a chain. Only there is no chain the other side. The only easy way to operate it is by lifting the handle, as described above. Perhaps this notice was meant for another bridge.

Approaching Duke's Lock it seemed that someone was emptying the lock. But when we got nearer it became apparent that it was just a leaky bottom gate. The lock was almost full, though, as the top gate was probably even leakier.

CRT at work on the Claydon flight

We encountered CRT in two separate locations on the Claydon lock flight today. A team from Leeds was measuring Lock 20 so they could make replacement bottom gates the right size. The method was crude, to say the least. To measure the width of the lock at the bottom of the gates a tape measure was fixed to poles with masking tape and then lowered against the sides of the lock. It seemed that trial and error was used until the tape was the right length. I didn't get a photo of this, but witnessed the measurement of the angle of lean of the quoin. This involved leaning over the side, holding a spirit level vertical and measuring the distance out of true.

A little further on, at Claydon Bottom Lock, there was an altogether more intricate operation going on.

A new balance beam was being cut, chiselled and routed into the exact shape needed.

With the beam missing from the gate locking through was very slow. Only one bottom paddle was in operation, and the gate without beam was having to be hauled open by a beefy CRT man pulling on a rope.

They told me they'd been working on this lock for a week.

We had been in a queue of three; by the time we got through the lock an hour later the queue from the other direction was six deep.

We tied up at Cropredy at about 4pm. Banbury tomorrow.

Hire boat converted for steering from a wheelchair

Is it too much to hope that the busiest locks in the country might be the best maintained? The two Hillmorton Top Locks have at least three paddles out of use between them.

Lock 7, up which we came, has only one paddle in use at each end; the parallel Lock 6 has only one bottom paddle working. Perhaps it is a water control measure(!)

When we got to Braunston we decided to go up a couple of locks. In the bottom lock we waited for another boat to join us. This boat, the James something or the something James, had been bought only yesterday. The crew were complete novices, so I did my best to teach them about locking. After we tied up above Lock 2 I lockwheeled the rest of the flight for them and continued their education - I hope!

At the top there was a hire boat waiting to come down, so I stayed to help. It was very quickly apparent that I could be very useful, as the crew consisted of a man in a wheelchair, steering, and his wife working the locks. I stayed with them all the way down the flight, setting the locks in advance.

The photo shows Mark, Caroline and Bella, their dog, on nb Beatrice.

Caroline said that Willow Wren had told them theirs was the only "normal" hire boat converted for wheelchair steering in the area - so that's not counting trip boats etc. From the steering position the wheelchair user has a steering wheel; there is a ramp for access to and from the bank. There is also a tiller, so it looks as if steering can be conventional too.

They were loving their holiday - top marks to Willow Wren.

How high is your aerial?

Another day of unbroken sunshine and suddenly it seems that everyone is out boating. We met lots of moving boats as we travelled from Sutton Stop to Brownsover, many more than yesterday on the Coventry Canal.

The sun's rippling reflection lit the underside of Bridge 53, echoing the balusters (I looked it up) of the cast iron bridge.

We tied up, as I indicated, at Brownsover in front of a boat with a very high aerial.

What's unusual about Atherstone Lock 5?

After breakfast we moved up four more locks to tie up below Lock 5, the most convenient mooring for Atherstone town centre. Jan had her hair cut at Scissor Sisters while I had coffee on board, then we did a bit of top-up shopping in Aldi. Back at the boat we had lunch and saw Chris and Di of Ultreya who had tied up behind us. Then we set off up the remaining five locks of the flight.

The entry to Lock 5 is under Watling Street.

Now, look at this photo. Nothing about the lock is obviously strange ... or is it? We are so used to perspective - where things closer to us seem bigger than things further away - that it doesn't seem odd that the nearer balance beam seems longer than the other one.

But it really is much longer than the further one. If I had taken a photo from the other side (why didn't I?) it might have looked very strange. The short balance beam is the length it is so as to accommodate the skew road bridge. Next time I'll try to remember to photograph it from the other side.

Here's a "towpath alpaca" at Harvey's.

We tied up for the night at Sutton Stop, having ascended the stop lock onto the Oxford Canal.

Braunston Boathouse pub has changed

We tied up in Braunston opposite the Boathouse pub at about 1100 this morning having watered and winded.

The Boathouse has changed! No more "Two for One" deals. It's still a Marstons outfit, but the menu is much reduced. We shall be eating there tomorrow evening, so I shall be able to report on the quality of the food. It's standard pub grub now, with no specials board. The prices are perhaps a little higher than usual for this sort of thing - but I might be out of touch.

We walked up to the church for a recce for tomorrow, then called in at the butcher's for a gammon joint and walked to the canal by the bottom lock. We were on our way to accept the offer of afternoon tea on Faithful; on the way we passed Melaleuca. If you're still there on Sunday we'll call in and say hello.

Dutch Courage tied up in front of us this afternoon; in the evening Richard and Elizabeth came for drinks and a chat.

Tomorrow is the BCF Spring Conference in the church, so we'll be busy.

Whether you lichen it or not ...

As we progressed along the Oxford Canal this morning Bridge 42 looked as though chewing gum had been stuck all over it.

It's actually hundreds of patches of lichen.

We stopped at Brownsover for lunch; no sooner had we tied up than Maffi turned up on Milly M. We invited him to join us for lunch but all he would accept was a cup of tea.

While we were chatting Tim and Tracey also turned up on Sola Gratia, with Tracey's new guide dog, Teddy.

It was good to see you all.

A little further on we came to where the new bridge is being built over the canal. Cast into the concrete deck (not visible on my photo), in huge letters, is what looks like "Houlton Bridge". Which would make sense, as the new development it connects to is called Houlton.

Hillmorton Locks were a breeze; flowers by the old paddle gear linking the parallel locks added colour.

At Barby we passed a boat with one of the most unusual cratch covers I have seen.

Tamsin had a sign in the window proclaiming "The Stage Boat". Which would explain it. A bit.

As is often the way, I have noticed something unusual when reviewing the photo. Interesting rear fender arrangement on Tamsin.

We stopped for the evening outside Dunchurch Pools Marina; John and Gill joined us for tea.

Perhaps I should have removed the wine glasses. Ah well.

Spider in the shadows

I can't resist taking photos of backlit bulrushes. These were about an hour after we set off from Atherstone Top.

Arachnophobe alert! (next photo)

We stopped at Nuneaton for Lidl. We spent rather more than we had intended, but came away with a pair of safety shoes for me and a pair of headphones for Jan. The shoes are comfortable and seem reasonably heavy duty; the headphones are very light and sound good.

We enjoyed almost continuous sunshine today, the first day of spring according to some. As we continued past Bedworth I noticed the shadow of a large spider on the cabin slide.

Then I realised it was actually cast by the knot in the string holding the can to the aerial.

Sutton Stop was quiet as we entered the Oxford Canal.

The Volvo P1800 is still by Bridge 4 ...

... and is still gently rusting away. Such a sad waste of a lovely car.

A plan was hatched during the day for a meal at the Lime Kilns pub in Hinckley (where the A5 crosses the Ashby Canal. We could have gone by boat but wanted to be in Braunston in good time for the BCF spring conference this weekend, so we were picked up from Ansty by Stephen and Gwyneth.

A guinea fowl was patrolling the car park, but seemed more interested in the car than us.

There were nine of us for the meal: Andy, Sue, Jan, Christine, Terry, Gwyneth, Stephen, Morgan (Andy and Sue's niece) and myself behind the lens.

Tomorrow we carry on up the Oxford Canal towards Braunston.