Primer

We joined in with our church on-line today, and then went down into Congerstone for Sunday lunch at the Horse and Jockey. Fortified and back on Erin Mae, it was time to continue with sorting out the right front locker.

Yesterday's application of Fertan to "convert" the rusty bits seemed to have been successful, so now it was time for some primer.

The darkest bits of the base are where the Fertan has got to work, while the lighter section on the right is where the old Hammerite was still apparently doing its job. On the left is the first coat of primer going down.

The datasheet for my International Yacht Primer says to give it four coats, and I'm quite happy to put that amount down. The tin I had is from two years ago, and I'd already used about 80% of it, so there was a solid crust which took a bit of removing. Even after a good stir the remainder had lumps and bits in it, but I picked those off as we went along. This is not a cosmetic affair, especially given the roughness of the base from the corrosion. However, I'll probably open my new tin for the sides.

So far, everything is going according to plan.

Locker

We had all sorts of plans for bits of boat maintenance while on this trip. Two years ago I had painted the inside of one of the lockers in the cratch, and was pretty pleased with the result, given that I was still in the process of learning to paint Erin Mae's metalwork. Now it was the turn of the right-hand locker.

I think the previous owner had encountered some rust in this locker and had used Hammerite paint on it. You're supposed to be able to apply it over rusty bits, but my past experience is that the result can be a bit hit and miss. The entire base was showing signs of corrosion and I wasn't sure – or especially competent to determine – how deep it went. I asked engineering John in the marina, and he was very unconcerned. 1 mm of steel, he said, produces about an inch of rust – it always looks worse than it is. He recommended hitting it hard with a ball-ended hammer to break up the rust. He even lent me an angle grinder with a sort of flexible sanding disc to take off the loosened rust. 

After a first session with a hammer I went down to B&Q to get some ear protectors – my tinnitus didn't need the extra excitation. The overall results were promising, though I gave up on any attempt to get back to bare steel. The angle grinder wasn't as productive as I'd hoped. I thought we'd be continuing with this project as our cruise got under way.

It didn't quite work out as planned. First there was simply the business of getting used to cruising again. Then the heat wave struck. But today, finally, progress was made. We cruised for just a couple of hours back from the terminus of the Ashby Canal before tying up at Congerstone. The temperature is down about 10˚ from what it was, and at last I could continue the work on the locker without melting or burning. I used my Dremmel with a wire brush attachment to finish cleaning up the base of the locker, and got a coat of Fertan rust treatment down.

No pictures today – it was too late by the time I'd finished. I don't know whether my efforts will even out the roughness caused by the corrosion – I have plans for a great many coats of primer / undercoat / bilge paint!

Terminus

We did 10½ miles today, made possible by the complete change to the overcast conditions of today. The downside of less sun is that the photos are less sparkling! 

The canal tends to close in a bit north of Sutton Cheney, though at one point we did encounter the broadest and deepest stretch of all, making good speed for half a mile or so. Towards the end of our journey we had to go through Snarestone Tunnel (250 yards).

It's still a bit scary going underground, even though we're used to it by now. It's especially so when the tunnel has a slight curve or is offset from the main direction of the canal, so you can't see the other end as you approach. However, all was well and, shortly afterwards, we tied up at the 48 hour moorings at the furthest extent of the navigation.

Just around the corner is the swing bridge that leads onto the Ashby Canal Association's section, with a wharf where they have a shop and café.

Beyond that is a stretch of a few hundred yards where you can take your boat if you ask nicely.

One of the notable features of the Ashby has been the bench-seats donated by members of the society and others, dotted regularly along its length. and we've been struck by the numbers of couples making use of the towpath for a walk. Just round the next corner you come to Bridge 62.

Seeing the notice up close, you might be fooled into thinking this bridge had quite a history.

In fact, I'm reliably informed it's an old farm bridge recently renovated. Whatever, I went up to get a picture of what the ACA are hoping to turn into fully fledged canal-in-water.

This hole is fine for winding if your boat is 50' or less. If we brought Erin Mae up here, we'd have to reverse the whole way back.

So here we are at the current terminus. One of the interesting features at this point is an old pumping station.

In the grounds of the shop are a couple of beams from the old engine.

I assumed that this would be the pump for the canal, but the chappie in the shop (bored out of his mind on a customer-free day) informed us that it was for providing fresh water for Hinckley, and that the canal's water comes from the Coventry Canal (which we left at Marston Junction).

Over 4 hours travel today. It wasn't quite the slog that it might have been, but I don't think we'll be in a hurry to repeat the exercise! 

Sutton Cheney

When my best beloved was a little girl, she and her mum called willow herb "Maggie Anne's weed", for reasons best forgotten. We've tied up today at a CRT 2 day mooring where Maggie Anne could have gathered her fill.

It's a busy spot, Sutton Wharf, with café and ice-cream boat 100 yards back, where we countered the heat of the day with an iced latte each.

A couple of days ago I wrote about the isolation of our spot in the Warwickshire countryside. That was before the evening brought out a load of boy racers on a nearby main road, and a kennel full of dogs began to give tongue for a couple of hours. This bit of the Ashby may well be a little like that but, for the most part, it's a much more pastoral affair.

The farmers have been making use of the hot weather.

Hinckley

The ancient name of this town apparently means something like "Hinck's meadow". I've long assumed that it was the origin of my own surname, of which there are (were) many examples in the local Leicestershire telephone directory, as opposed to about three in the whole of Greater London. Some years ago I came through here on a train and, having seen the part of the town shown to passengers in transit, never felt any inclination to make a further visit.

But here we are. And Hinckley has a district museum. Since it had a flourishing hosiery business from centuries ago, that sounded promising, so we moored up and caught the bus into town. The driver dropped us outside the door.

It was in a building like this that they had installed the hosiery machine that kickstarted the factory phase of the industry and we were looking forward to seeing the exhibits. I'd checked the website before we went, but I should have checked it better. It's only open on Saturdays!

I can confirm what I had always suspected – walking round the middle of Hinckley on a hot day holds few delights. Mind you, if it's a Saturday when we come back through, we might just make the journey again.

New territory

Nuneaton is not our favourite town for boating. The last and only time we came through (in the opposite direction), we picked up all sorts of rubbish around the propeller. The canal is really shallow, and some places seem to offer themselves as moorings, only for you to find that you can't get in near enough to the towpath. However, we did manage to find a place to tie up for long enough for me to walk a couple of hundred yards to a Sainsbury's Local that we'd found on the map. And the people were very friendly. 

Then it was down to Marston Junction.

We've never been on the Ashby Canal before.

However, everyone seems to say it is very picturesque, a bit under-visited (because it's a dead-end) and well worth a visit. It has a reputation for being shallow.

So we've moored up in the first spot we could find and, because we're now facing north-west-east are enjoying a bit of shade from the towpath trees.

Summit

Coming up the remaining 5 locks of the Atherstone flight this morning was made easier by various people who assisted. At the top lock there was a CRT volunteer who wound and pushed and pulled in the most helpful way. I told him he'd get an honourable mention on the blog tonight, so here he is:

I asked him what he was called, and I think he said "Coley", which would have been the first time anyone responded to this question with their surname. But my best beloved later said it might have been "Charlie". Anyway, thank you, Coley / Charlie. You're a star!

The top lock is very nicely kept, and the cottage is a treat.

So now we have no locks for the foreseeable future. Just as well, really, given the heat. We'd had about enough after a couple of hours today, and tied up in a beautiful, lonely spot in the wilds of Warwickshire, with only the odd tractor or two for company.

Of course, the sunshine has been great for the solar panel.

18 amps into the system. Enough to compensate for the washing machine, without the engine running. And the sun dried the result as well, in just a couple of hours.

However, one of the effects of being out in the sticks is that there may be an inadequate signal for getting this post posted. We shall see…