Original post 11/06/08
Day four
Our evening with Phil alongside Hampton Court turned into a very early morning. I think we eventually retired about 5am.
By the time we woke up and set off it was 1pm. Phill decamped at Moseley lock for his return home by train from Hampton Station.
We have still been having trouble with the starter and having to resort to the magic wire which engages the solenoid prior to turning the starter. Our progress was very slow as there was still a tremendous amount of water coming down the river, Mostly just managing to make 2.5mph and in some narrow sections even down to 1.9mph for the same revs.
We got to Penton Hook Lock and duly switched off. Once ready the lock was full I returned to the engine room and turned the key and got the usual 'click'....I attached the wire and this time still got a 'click'. I engaged the switch for the domestic batts for a bit of extra power and still 'click'.... nothing would induce the starter to turn.
We hauled Lady Elgar out of the lock by rope and were passed by 'Magnetman' on his way through into the lock...... A nice old boat he has there and his Dog standing on the top Boards enjoying the view.
Once clear of the lock I hummed and arred for a while and tweeked wires and tightened connections but still no movement from the starter motor. I was about to resort to calling RCR but then for some reason I turned on the gennie. As the 240v kicked in, the Inverter/charger bumped up the power to the batts from 12.5v to 14v, I quickly connected the wire, turned the key and starter turned as it should and the Perkins kicked into life..... Gennie off and we were on our way again.
By the time we got to Bell Weir Lock the lockies had gone home so we didnt need to switch off. It was slow progress all the way and our goal of Windsor for the night wouldve taken at least another 3 hours at those speeds, so, as we approached Magna Carta Island I remembered a mooring I had used previously. It is a fiver a night but a nice spot. It was clear of boats and we tied up and shut down by 8.40pm. Laura had by now recovered from her hangover and we settled down to watch Deadliest Catch and a Fray bentos steak pie each......mmmmmmm Fray Bentos. We were fast asleep by midnight.
2 comments:
Lovely photo of the river at dusk..or is it dawn? The battle against the current must have been quite tiring though. I tend to forget that English rivers have such strong currents. It's all those hills isn't it? The Maas here can get quite strong but the flat lands reduce the effects of it towards the west and as it disperses into the delta.
It was early evening....I think we missed dawn that day...or maybe we partied through it :/
The problem with the Thames is, when its been raining very heavy to the west of the country everything seems to flow into the Thames and it seems to take an age to flow out to sea. I must admit mind that I didnt flog the engine but kept at my usual Revs...we wernt in a hurry :)
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