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Arguably,
the banner picture is totally irrelevant to the log of a narrow boat wandering
around France - However
20th,
21st, 22nd, 23rd April 2010.
Decize to Beaulon, Beaulon to Digoin, to Genelard, to Montceau les
Mines, to Montchanin.
A truly delightful trip in perfect spring sunshine, but a perfect
winter breeze(!).
Great to be off again - pity that 4 months off season seemed to
result in some singularly bad helmsman ship. If there
was something there, we contacted it.
Country - been through this quite often, last time year before
last - beautiful spring green countryside, trees and bush still
largely bare so view through to largely unperceived country side
easy sand enjoyable.
Beaulon - pleasant night - still free, but one hears that
the development behind the lock is to be a cafe, a play area, and
a car park, so it can be assumed the mooring will no longer
be free. This mooring has a caravan/motor home facility
alongside the mooring ("facility" is a long winded way
of saying there is plenty of parking space, some nice shady trees,
and a track in for vehicles.
Indeed to emphasise the point about the development, there was a
mixed party from a large Dutch traditional boat, a caravan, and a
spare car, all apparently holidaying to-gether. They
were very nice, greeted welcomingly, helped me moor up and were
alto-gether pleasant quiet neighbours. Afraid I
avoided socialising - was stiff and tired after first day, and
wanted my supper and bed.
What can have come over us to install - some years ago when we
were a lot younger - such unbelievable uncomfortable seats for
Albert's driver.
Digoin. Overnighted - meant to sleep over just
below the lock lifting the canal to cross the Loire before Digoin,
but enormous residential barge/peniche thing moored up just where
I wanted to stop, and I did not want to be stuck behind him for
the whole of the next day (they are rightly very slow though the
water, but are also indescribably slow through locks, and a day
spent behind one is agony). Decided to go on through
Digoin (don't actually like the place very much!) but all moorings
still lined with boats snugged down for winter. Found
reasonable spot with revetts in the industrial estate beyond the
plastic boat building sheds and dump.
It was here for the first time that the state of Albert's domestic
batteries really struck home. Basically, they were
dieing gently to-wards the end of last season, and the engine
alternator could no longer charge them enough while traveling.
They were very cheap batteries, and after giving me an extra
season, they are were not lasting overnight. Hence we
have developed the habit of running from mooring to mooring where
there is electricity, and re-charging from shore mains power -
dreadful way of doing things.
The
first thing to suffer when power is short is the fridge, which
complains quite loudly with a rattling groan, and switches itself
off, then goes into a cycle of trying to switching itself on
again, failing, and making dreadful noises. There are
only 2 things to do - switch the thing off manually, or run the
engine for 45 minutes. As half of my fridged food is
well beyond the various threatening dates printed on the package I
chose the latter and blessed the fact there were neither boats nor
dwellings near Albert's mooring, as I consumed a noisy cup of tea
at 02.45.
Genelard Very nice moorings with electricity.
Charged everything up again - what a performance with only 1 night
away from shoreside mains. Pleasant trip - cold but
dry.
Montceau les Mines. To-day is Thursday,
and not due at Montchanin till Sunday. Comfortable moorings
- albeit slap in the middle of town. Pleased to find the
double moorings at the end of the pontoon vacant - normally
occupied by the smallest boat in the port. Meant Albert
could moor up properly, instead of struggling to establish a
stable mooring on 15 metres of finger pontoon. (Albert is 15
metres). Occupied time happily on personal
administration - clothes wash, (hung wet things all over the
cabin), and shopping - both SM and then bricolage (big Weldoms in
Montceau) for paint, rollers, and all the rest of it.
Delighted to find brico had "Dulux Valentine" paint -
described to me as best paint-on-metal-external available. Shelves
of it, and as what the brico in Decize had sold me as Dulux had
turned out not to be, bought some to try out, with intention of
stocking up on the way back.
Montchanin Into Jeff's yard at lunch time, and
after a sweaty afternoon and evening up onto trolley, and up the
slipway.
Monday, 26 April.
Albert naked
and unashamed high and dry on the slipway. First
thing in the morning friendly bloke - retired VNF knew all the
right people - produced a pressure washer and jetted all the weed
and muck off the hull, while Jeff and self searched for the
well-known specialist battery shop in le Creusot. Hull
beautifully clean, but could not find shop - all roads to centre
of town under repair. Buckled down to blacking - 3
coats tar rolled on, but in hindsight not enough. Might have
been better to use foam rollers, but they don't last long with the
thick tar, or just to get on and put more thin coats on.
Time, weather, and personal energy precluded that,
however. Painted gunnels with the Dulux paint - very
good result and it went on very nicely. Most satisfactory.
Jeff welded 4 new anodes on - should have been done last time
Albert slipped, but we forgot them - been lieing in thje boat ever
since.
Found big battery specialist shop on internet - Google France
searched - and they - the battery people - were willing to come
out and see me. Most satisfactory meeting, but the guy
was nervous scrabbling about in end of boat overhanging trolley
end. Quote for 5 leisure batteries horribly high, but
to find someone able to supply, deliver, and install 5 identical
batteries, with terminal set on right side and ends to suit
Albert, and then brief me on maintenance in words of max 1
syllable was worth a lot.
Delivery and installation arranged, for Monday, when boat will
have been re-launched. Think that will be next month!
Exhausting 6 days, but a lot done. Inevitable questions -
yes I did live on the boat, at the top of a ladder well tied
firmly on to fender holdfasts, but had access to sanitary
facilities in Jeff's yard! Boat feels very strange and
rigid on these occasions, and the splatter of shower water onto
concrete hard standing is "different", but life is
perfectly livable.
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Scenery on Canal du Centre
Boat tows ducks
The
Yard
Boat thieves
about?
Boat chained to Brompton
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