Page published 17 August 2025
Sunday 4 May 2025 - Spring Cleaning Singing the Blues
Because I failed to take any photographs before I had cleaned up the mess on my Previous Visit to Singing the Blues I now realise I forgot to relate, in that report, that I had found the toilet backed up, with the additional problem of a leak from the junction between the pump and pipe to the holding tank. However, at the time, I did tell Diana that things were looking messy on board.
It wasn't just the toilet problem. As at this time last year, when we were moored under a willow tree at Coltishall, we decided we couldn't leave cleaning the boat much longer. There were too many twigs and leaves that were dropping onto the boat, not to mention bird poo!. So it was around 14:45 on the first Sunday in May that we made our way to the boat with cleaning materials in hand.
As we arrived, I noticed that the Northern Producer Escape Pod was gone from the mooring near the head of the dyke. David and Yvonne understood it was now at Wroxham. Before stepping aboard I took a couple of photographs.
You can see the remains of half rotted leaves along almost the entire length of the tow rail on the side deck of Singing the Blues.
More mess can be seen on the gas locker lid, but I had managed to clear most of the leaves from the well providing access to the aft cabin.
Cobwebs!
Once aboard it was a surprise to find the corners of the saloon covered in cobwebs. They had not been around 10 days earlier. I took a while to clear them to our satisfaction before we turned to the toilet.
I should learn the name of this form of cobweb that spread over the area between the saloon table and a cushion.
Cobweb covered the instruments.
...and the the side curtain.
The Toilet!
It took until around 15:10 to sort out the saloon. Then it was time to face the toilet. It looked much the same as it had on my last visit. It was filled with what should be in the holding tank - and there was still a leak present, leaving a stain running across the platform on which it stands.
A rather ugly full toilet bowl!
Almost exactly an hour after I took the picture above I took a number more. The first couple were intended to help check whether the meter on the mooring echoes the results got from our own meter.
The Shore Power Meter.
Our own Meter Maid.
One of the drawers.
One of the Cupboards.
The shelves over the engine cover.
The other three pictures are a sample of a set I took showing the contents of every drawer, cupboard, shelf or locker on board. They were intended to help remind us what we had on board and what might need to be bought or brought with us on our first cruise of the year which we hoped to find time to make in the next few weeks.
The photos were inspired by bits of conversations we were having while I tackled the toilet and Diana spent her time tidying up other parts of the boat. Finally, at 16:16, the last of the pictures I took while aboard was of the cleaned toilet. The part I I had to spend most time on was removing the stain from the platform on which the toilet is mounted.
The cleaned toilet, still with some brownish water in the bowl.
If you think the toilet doesn't look too clean then you are not used to boats that flush their toilets with river water, especially when that water is being drawn from the the head of a shallow dyke with no flow through it, plenty of underwater vegetation and in need of some dredging.
It was around this point in time when we finally realised this wasn't so much a problem with a leak, but simply one of needing a pump out. Maybe there is a problem with a leaky pipe connection, but normally, the pipe is pumped empty of content as it is passed to the holding tank, so there's nothing to leak. It's only when the tank is full that it flows back to fill the toilet bowl and the leak becomes evident.
As we left, a couple of minutes after taking the previous picture, I thought I ought to take a picture that recorded that the mooring had recently been mown. We have no idea who does that! It also confirms that the "orange balloon" escape pod has gone.
Next, read about our Cruise to South Walsham for a Pump Out.