Page published 22 May 2024
Saturday 11 May - A Dirty Boat
If you looked closely at the the final picture of Singing the Blues after the trip we took with Our Granddaughter you'll see how winter had taken its toll on the boat. But that was a month ago and things were no better when we arrived to start a thorough spring clean.
An extract of from the photo taken as we left Singing the Blues after our trip with Isabel in April.
You can see that algae was growing around the window frames, the side decks were covered and even the side of the hull was coated with growth. How much we can blame that much muck on our move to the mooring under trees or the very wet weather or just winter in general, I'm not sure.
On arrival at the boat the two neighbouring boats upstream of us both had crews aboard doing their spring cleaning, so we weren't alone. Stepping aboard Singing the Blues we found the well by the aft door half full of water. The drain had become blocked with leaves dropping off the willow beside our boat. That was cleared easily by simply pushing the end of one of our mooring lines down the hole. The water simply disappears into the bilges. As someone only used to cockpit drains that send water overboard, I confess that it's a worry getting used to the idea of relying on a working automatic bilge pump to drain rain water off the boat while you're away from the boat.
We had come armed with sponges, cloths, brushes, a broom, battery for the vacuum cleaner we keep on board and a jet washer and various fluids and polishes. After drying off the aft well I set to work using the jet washer on the roof. It didn't do too well at removing the grime and the best approach turned out to be simply using it to wet the roof, letting it stand a short while then attacking it with broom or brush.
Next I began to tackle the window frames on the bank side followed by the side decks and hull. It was at this point I began to wish that I had bought our gardening stool, which I could use upside down to kneel on. Diana was working tidying up inside the boat and doing what she could around the aft deck. WE spent a couple if hours at it before we decided it was time for a lunch break at The Rising Sun.
Lunch at The Rising Sun
I haven't mentioned the weather but, as the photographs show, it was a splendid day of full sun. As we got closer to the pubs at the far end of Coltishall Common it became more crowded with groups of people enjoying the weather. When we got there all the tables in the pub garden were full but we only had five minutes to wait before one became free and we ordered our usual pizza.
It was warm enough for short sleeves even when relaxing with a pizza, beer and a spritzer.
On finishing our meal returned across the small footbridge and passed onto the Common.
The far end of Coltishall Common. I think I must have rubbed greasy fingers across the lens. The car is more blurred than it should be as are some of the bushes on the far bank.
The Finished Job!
Shortly after returning to Singing the Blues it was time to turn her around so I could tackle the port side without fear of falling in the water.
After turning her, I manage to remember to take a couple of photos of the boat, together with some of the cleaning tools used.
Singing the Blues is still to be secured at the bows after being turned. By this time our neighbour, Blue Tit, had left it's mooring. It's only when I looked at this photo that I realise we have the advantage of a straight mooring.
These are the only two pictures of Singing the Blues that I took on the day. Clearly I needed to be severely distracted from the actual cleaning to remember to take photos! However, with the forecast good for the next two days, we decided to take advantage of the weather – and there were lots of photos taken on that trip.
Coming Next – The tale of a Two Day Cruise that extended to a third day!