Took Dennis along to Sutton Wharf to use the facilities as we had run out of water again. The water tank on Dennis is about half as big as the one on Iowner and we are still not used to it yet!
Back to Dadlington picnic area as Dennis is having a major engine service, the once a year one tomorrow morning.

There and back, stopping off at Ashby Boats for Mark to service the engine. This is the annual major service so fairly important. Included a new bilge pump and a fill of the stern gland greaser.
I noticed that it was so cold on the boat this morning that the toothpaste was harder than usual to squeeze out.

Delivery from the supermarket, should keep us going for a week or so, now I can concentrate on getting other important things delivered, like a washing machine.
It's an ill wind tht blows noone any good and Covid has improved my lifestyle in as much I don't have to go shopping anymore, the supermarkets will bring my shopping to me, wherever I am.
Placed the order for the washing machine with the suppliers.

Wow, that was quick. Washing machine arrived while my No. 2 was out for a walk. Fortunately the delivery guys were happy to get it on the boat for me, quite a bonus.
Unpacked it and removed the travel bolts. Decided to leave it till tomorrow to actually fit it in place which I know will not be easy.

Spent the day fitting the washing machine and yes it did take nearly all day (the days are quite short at the moment). There was only just enough room to get it down the aisle and into it's allotted space, but then I did measure it well! Seems to be OK.
My No. 2 did her first wash and being a cautious sole and never having had a washing machine of her own watched it's every turn, tumble and spin just to make sure it did not shake the boat to pieces.

Used the facilities at Sutton Wharf on the way to Fox Bridge so as to get rid of the washing machine packaging and the old washing machine that did not work but we had kept because the spin dryer did work, totally not needed now. Made sure we had lots of water in the tanks.
While I was sorting out my No. 2's water tank because it was full a boat arrived and the guy on board asked if we would be long. I explained that it was not my boat but that I would get my No. 2 and she should be going soon. Then he had a go at me because MY water tank was overflowing, 'A waste of water' he grumbled.
I got my No. 2 and the grumpy old man had a go at her for not supervising her own water filling and could she hurry up. After a brief altercation she set off while I sorted out my own water tank. Meanwhile the grumpy old man was reversing up to occupy the space that my No. 2 had vacated.
In so doing he was blocking my exit. He would have been much better off waiting a few extra seconds for me to leave so that he could moor up without reversing and wandering all over the canal. I could not help remarking to him that he was so impatient that he should not be on the canal. He did not respond.

Nicely ensconsed between Fox Bridge and Welsboro Bridge we were set up for a few days peace and quiet while attending to some important tasks. Rewired my No. 2's solar panel controller using red cable instead of grey, now it looks better if nothing else.
Rewired the solar panels as three pairs of 24 volt panels wired in parallel.
Did the engine service on Iowner (except for the fuel filter), tightened the fan belt, cleaned and re-loomed most of the electric cables in the engine compartment so that the pairs of cables are tied together instead of being all mixed up with each other. Checked the weed hatch, cleaned the cratch.
Wrote to UK.GOV and Rugby Borough Council about getting on the voting register while homeless.

Gravenor Fuel boat came past so we topped up with coal, nine bags between us. Rick could not supply us with diesel as his generator had gone kaput. I offered to let him use mine but he declined politely as he has a new one on order.
Got the framework for the new kitchen cupboard completed. Now I have to varnish and assemble it. Put up some hooks under the overhead cupboard to hold frequently used items that I keep losing.

Rick Cooper.

We need kindling to light the fire and I usually sit on a three legged stool while I cut it up on the chopping block. I haven't got one on Iowner so I just had to make one! What a chore!
Made the stool and chopped the kindling. While I was making the stool I turned a 'blank' for a stool seat.
Mortised the grooves for the other side panel of the new kitchen cupboard. The mortiser makes loads of dust and today I decided to use the brush and dustpan to clear it up. I usually use the vacuum cleaner but I have to empty about ten times when I make this much dust. Big mistake. Getting that close to the dust while I was stirring it up with the brush just brought on an asthma exacerbation. I was totally washed out for the rest of the evening. It's a good job I had already decided to get a big workshop vacuum for just this sort of clearing up job.

Took Dennis to Market Bosworth to turn around in preparation to going to Nuneaton for my No. 2's booster jab and to have a day out.
Now I have replaced the wall panel in the bedroom that was showing signs of rot the walls look bare and have started nagging me to 'decorate' them, so after preparing some lumber for stool tops and splitting some more logs for legs I started a jigsaw puzzle with the intention of gluing it to a board and hanging it on the bedroom wall.

Finished the puzzle, took me nearly all day even though it said on the box 3 to 5 years. Sorted out a piece of ply to fix it to.

I don't know if it is an advantage or not but on a boat the water has a pump to get it round the system. If there is the tiniest of leaks in the system every now and again the pump cycles. This is normal and caused by the hot water tank bleeding off excess water when it gets hot and the pump replacing it as it cools, amongst other reasons. However, if the pump cycles frequently it is an indication that there is a leak.
my No. 2 noticed that the pump has started cycling every 12 minutes or so. The immediate answer is to only turn on the pump when you want water, but this is a stop gap solution. This cycling of the pump has happened since I fitted the washing machine so it is likely that the washing machine has a bit of a leak.
I took it out of its cubby hole and checked the hose connection to the tap. The hose pipe was strained against the top of the cabinet so I took the top off the pipe, cut six inches off it and replaced the washing machine tap. Checked for leaks and could find no evidence of any weeps so replaced everything. We will know if that has solved the problem if the pump no longer cycles as often.
Made a bar stool today, really pleased with it. To make it a bit different I turned a babies rattle as one of the spindles.
Glued the puzzle to the piece of ply. Once I had covered the ply with glue I realised that I could not lift the puzzle onto the ply without it collapsing. Hmm. Should have done the puzzle upside down! Fortunately I had done the puzzle on a piece of clear perspex. I placed two thin slices of wood on the glued ply and placed the perspex on them carefully positioning the puzzle exactly where I wanted it to end up and then carefully slid the perspex away while holding the puzzle in place. Removed each slice of wood as the perspex reached it. Challenge subdued.
I had a torch on Iowner which has disappeared some weeks ago. A few days ago the brush attachment for the crevice tool for the hoover went missing. Today my camera has been taken by the borrowers. I had to take the pictures with my new phone, actually a bonus as now I know how to use the camera and it is much better than the camera on my old phone.
And to finish off the day I ironed two pairs of trousers and a shirt.

Turned Iowner around. My camera turned up, it was in the jacket I use for chainsaw stuff. Re-arranged a storage space in the workshop to accommodate a couple of storage boxes that are full of painting stuff. They were sitting on top of the box I keep all my electrical stuff in next to my porta pottie. Made it a bit cramped in there.
In the process the crevice tool surfaced behind the bits and pieces in the cubby hole I cleared for the storage boxes.
Caught up a bit on the web site and re-vamped the banner to be more meaningful.

Glued up the second frame for the kitchen cabinet, made a banana loaf. No sign of the torch yet.

Called in on Pippa and Shona on Freedom on the way past Market Bosworth where we filled up with water. Made a couple of handles for the workmates on the lathe.
Found a great little app specially designed for moving files from one machine to another, including phones and tablets. Now I can move pictures taken on my phone to my tablet and/or computer really easily. It's called 'snapdrop'.

Today I prepared six 'blanks' for bar stool legs, ready to put on the lathe and turn down properly and planed three 'planks' ready for future use.
Thoroughly cleaned the chain saw. This meant dismantling it as far as I could to try and get rid of the build up of sawdust mixed with oil. In the process a spring went 'pinnng' and flew across the bench. It took me over an hour to work out a way of getting it back where it belonged but once back in place the task proceeded without further episodes. Once it was properly cleaned and serviced I sharpened the chains. Now I have a nice clean, sharp tool.

The wall behind the chimney tends to get a little hot and it has been bothering me for a while now. The varnish is a little cracked and the wood looks 'parched'. I have heard stories of wood in that condition just bursting into flames when it gets too hot.
So it is time to do something about it. I now have a very nice piece of planished copper behind the chimney, spaced about ten millimeters away from the wooden surface to give an air gap for cooling.
I have also moved the workbench from inside to outside, making much more space and much less mess inside.

Now that the washing machine has been re-positioned, including re-routing the water pipes, I should be able to do a really hot wash if I so desire. The hot water is stored in the calorifier. From there it gets routed to the instantaneous gas water heater with variable temperature adjustment. With a tank full of hot water (after a journey or running the engine to charge the batteries) the water can be up to 50°C or so and with the gas water heater turned on I can get it to 80°C (at which point the heater cuts out), great for a hot wash.
With a cold tank of hot water, the gas water heater can get the water to anything between 25°C and 60°C, fully under my control now.

My goodness how the weather can change overnight. Yesterday it was comparatively mild, today it is down to 5°C in my boat and pretty cold outside as well. I expect I will find out if snow on the solar panels makes any difference to charging.