Page updated 25 November 2024
Wednesday 13 November 2024 - Cleaning Day
It had been Back in July when we last visited Singing the Blues and we really needed to check on her. Finally, we found time to take brooms, buckets, sponges, a dustpan, the battery for the vacuum cleaner and the rest of the materials we needed and went to see what was to be done.
It was shortly before 10:00 when we arrived at the boat. Diana started work by sweeping up all the leaves that were found on the decks and two wells.
A Slow Start
The plan had been to clean the hull before setting off for Barton Broad, where we would have lunch aboard. However, after 15 minutes we decided the broom we had brought wasn't really suitable for scrubbing the hull, and the faff of having to turn the boat around to scrub the other side was not going to be worth it.
That meant it was time to start the engine. Our experience is that it always take time to fire after having been left for a few weeks. This time it had been a few months, so it was no surprise that the engine churned and churned, fired once, enough to disengage the starter motor, then died. It did that several times, sometimes firing quite quickly and others after as much as ten seconds.
I never been fully instructed on the best approach to starting old Perkins diesel engines from cold. I was told I should turn the key anti-clockwise to fire up the pre-heater and wait until you see smoke coming from under the little dome mounted on the engine. But I never learned if you should repeat that process indefinitely until the engine runs or whether there you risk flooding the engine if repeated too often. After several attempts I could see that there was smoke emerging from the exhaust as the stern. Whether that is a good or bad sign, I have no idea. As always I, and more so Diana, begin to worry about whether we'll flatten the battery before the engine starts and, as always, eventually it runs.
With the engine running and the throttle adjusted so the rev counter showed around 1,000rpm I went ashore to cast off and took the photo with the last line loosened but still to be released. It was 10:24.
On to Barton Broad
The route from Wayford to Barton Broad.
The trip to Barton is quite straight forward. You just turn left out of Long Dyke and proceed down river. We'd done it before when Our Granddaughter was last with us, but that time we started our journey by going upstream to Dilham.
Neither then, nor today, did I take any photos as we went down river. I felt I'd got enough pictures of Hunsett Mill, the main land mark on that part of the river. We did pass one large hire boat, from Herbert Wood's yard, moored on the right bank soon after leaving the dyke and passed two more coming upstream before we reached the main channel coming down from Stalham just short of twenty minutes after setting off. Perhaps I should have been ready with my camera but I didn't expect either at this time of year – and I'd been distracted by something potentially more serious!
I'm not sure at what point I'd spotted it but well before we reached Barton Broad I noticed the engine temperature was showing around 80°. So, rather than think about photographs of passing boats I was was keeping a close eye on the gauge as, normally, I reckon that we run 1,000-2,000r.p.m. higher than today and even at that speed I'd expect the gauge not to show more than 72-74°.
However, as it didn't climb any higher, just short of half an hour into the trip, as we were passing the dyke that takes you to the staithe at Barton Turf, I suggested to Diana that, just for fun, we make the turn and go round the other two sides of the island. She rejected the idea so we carried on down the main channel and, after checking that the wind was blowing in the same direction that it had been when our granddaughter had been aboard, I made a sweeping turn to the left, cut power and we came to a halt just short of the reeds. I then dropped the mud weight over the bows.
No Hot Water - No Gas!
It is the engine that heats the water, so there had been no point in Diana trying to do any cleaning inside until we got to Barton. However, once moored, there was a cry from Diana, "There's no hot water"!. Given that we'd been running with a high engine temperature, my first thought had been to check the inlet filter, but I'd done that and it was completely clean. Next I checked the pipe work around the calorifier, which is found in the cupboard under the basin in the shower. I have absolutely no idea how it is meant to function. I did find a red plastic tap on one of the pipes and tried to turn it, only to discover it wasn't a tap, but seemed to be some kind of release valve that didn't turn conventionally but, when touched, did release water into the bilges. I discovered that as I heard running water and found the pipe it was attached to was open at the other end. We concluded that it was something we'd need to ask Moonfleet Marine about when we got home. For the moment all we could do was heat water in the kettle.
It took only a few moments before Diana announced that she couldn't light the stove. I had a go and failed. Then Diana said she had found the gas tap above the cooker in the open position, which meant it must have been left that way back in July. That was a worry! But as neither of us had smelt the slightest sign of gas and both of us had been using the spark igniter repeatedly over the previous five minutes it seemed to me the risk of explosion was low.
The next thing to check was the gas bottle. I had learned, last year, that the bottle currently connected had been near empty when I cleared out the Gas Locker. Opening the hatch on the aft deck I lifted the now used bottle with ease. There was no sloshing sound of liquid inside. Clearly the bottle was empty. I struggled for a few minutes trying to disconnect the regulator. Eventually, after beginning to doubt what I should be looking for and checking on the internet, I managed to find and press the catch to release it. With the regulator changed to the second bottle. and the taps opened, the stove fired up as expected. After a well deserved tea break I decided I would start with the easiest part to clean, the cabin roof, leaving Diana to continue with cabin cleaning duties.
Finally, Cleaning Starts!
My midday I'd completed cleaning the saloon hatch when I realised I hadn't taken a "before" shot.
A minute later I had sponged the next area and scrubbed it to loosen the dirt and took another picture.
By 12:24 more of the roof was clean.
At 12:43 I was called inside for lunch.
The End Result!
We listened to the news while lunch was eaten. Then we sat for a while watching the boat swing on its mooring before I went outside again to finish cleaning the last bit of the roof. After that the sides of the cabin were cleaned and, finally, the windows were tackled inside and out.
It was around 13:53 when we decided we might as well start the return journey I stepped outside to take photographs of the finished job.
It was difficult getting a good view of the cabin sides after cleaning, but some good reflections could be seen in the front windows.
The Return
It was 13:59, when, after pulling up the mudweight we swung into the main channel and headed north out of the Broad.
The sun hadn't been at a good angle for the shot of Hermes when we entered the Broad. The boat alongside had now gone, so had the washing hanging from the trees. My memory is that I used to see this boat regularly when visiting Barton aboard Just 17 but I've scanned trough all my old photos and can't find any that show the boat with its distinctive yellow roof and "conseratory" bow.
Further upstream I began to think about taking a picture I could upload to BBC Weather Watchers. This one became a candidate, but I felt the light was wrong.
It was certainly the right time of day to try and take yet another picture of Hunsett Mill. I deliberately "hid" the cottage, but then realised as the forecaster always stands to the left of the picture I needed a shot with the mill to the right.
I took a second shot, but managed to miss the top of both sails and the matching pair of cormorants, so I never did upload any of my candidates.
As we approached Long Dyke I took a shot a little earlier than I had on my return from the Safari Boat Club Meet. It seemed appropriate to try a different angle now he leaves are off the trees.
It was 14:54 by the time we'd packed the car and I was ready to take a final picture of Singing the Blues back on her mooring.
Perhaps the strangest thing about the return journey was discovering, part way home, that the hot water tap was producing hot water. I guess I have a little job to do. I need to find out how the hot water system is meant to work. I'm guessing that what I did with the strange red valve was release an air lock in the system which allowed hot water from the engine to flow and heat the tank. At least, that will be the first thing I'll try if we ever lose hot water again.
Coming soon — We're not sure yet!.