From owner-canals@blacksheep.org Sun Jan 5 17:58:41 1997 id AA20030; Sun, 5 Jan 97 17:58:25 EST by pendragon.thorcom.com (8.8.4/8.8.4) with SMTP id UAA09403 for ; Sat, 4 Jan 1997 20:50:25 GMT id aa521261; 4 Jan 97 20:01 GMT Date: Fri, 3 Jan 1997 21:42:45 +0000 To: canals@blacksheep.org From: Guy Morgan Subject: Ice boating! (Long and cold) Hi all Somewhat belated report of sudden and entirely unscduled trip on nb Thorn on Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th December last. I dropped in at WFB on my way home from Christmas in the Lake District but that's another story which does have a marginal H2O content even if only in the malt! Actually we went on a trip on Windermere on Boxing Day. Having done some odd jobs on Thorn I fixed the frozen plumbing having omitted to drain the water system; after all it wasn't going to be cold before the Laplander towing trip was it. BTW the acorn plumbing performed as I believe it should and simply pushed off a fitting rather than splitting any pipework so it was easy to fix. However I have drained down this time. I was then at a loose end on the Saturday, having driven up to Midland Chandlers at Braunston and found them shut. The sun was out and the weather was cold but dry. The light was almost golden as it glinted off the chunks of floating ice. It seemed such a shame not to have a little run to enjoy the sun and get rid of some of the weight acquired over Christmas. Chatting to a local only encouraged me. "If it freezes it makes about 1/4 inch of ice a night" she said. OK so I'm naive; I believed her. After all I wanted to believe her! I wanted to go boating!! So here I was on a lovely sunny Saturday morning, free until Sunday evening if necessary. A quick inspection of the guide showed a winding hole at Napton. Excellent thought I, that's the direction I've not explored up to now and it looks just about possible before nightfall. I knew the cut was passable 'cos a couple of boats had come down from Stockton during the morning and a fair number were moving at Braunston. Ah the trust of the innocent. I, who had never been out in the winter before, set off. By now it was 1400. Single-handed up Stockton I went, having considered stopping to fill the water tank and deciding against due to the time. Little did I know how much I was to regret this later. No real problems though progress was a bit slower than normal due to ice behind gates and the middle pound was very low with a lot of ice high and dry at the edges. At Stockton Top Lock I stopped and took some piccies. Glorious sunset over the ice and frosty trees. Lovely shots as long as the cement works chimney could be disguised behind a tree. Once on the level and headed for Calcutt I found it slow going and it took a while to get used to the noise of the ice bumping on the hull. Gowever after initially worrying I decided that if other boats were out Thorn could take it too. I stayed pretty warm aside from my fingers which froze even in gloves. I need no convincing of the benefit of a trad stern and a cabin stove added to an air cooled engine running for the first time with the side doors closed. Plenty of warm air circulating where it was most needed and a kettle always on the hob for coffee. On then to Calcutt, where BTW Syd's canal planner has the locks on the wrong side of the marina, and it was clear that I could go no further. It was 1700, almost dark and getting slippery under foot so I decided against locking up for Napton junction and moored for the night. Soon after another boat also moored behind me. I took an early night having dined on jacket potatoes cooked in the stove oven, baked beans and buttered crumpets toasted over the fire. I can forsee a challenge for winter trips of doing all cooking on the stove and not using the gas cooker. I had no worries, it was freezing but there would only be 1/4 inch of ice at the most in the morning wouldn't there? Sunday dawned clear and cold. I crawled out of bed wrapped in the duvet, relit the cabin stove and crawled back into bed to await warmer conditions. It seemed strange to move about without feeling the boats motion. After breakfasting on toast, coffee and boiled eggs (yes cooked on the stove!) I was aware of a vibration in the hull so looked out and found the other crew breaking ice around their boat. Now I could see why Thorn didn't move. For 1/4 inch of ice read at least 1 inch. Woe woe the Lister emitted nothing but a click when told to start. Hurrah I've seen the problem before (sticky starter solenoid) and been shown how to bypass it with a mooring spike or lump hammer. Immediate burst of life and smoke from the engine is the result. The other boat was heading up the locks so I waited for hime to move rather thinking that I was going nowhere other than back to Stockton by Shanks' pony to fetch the car. However he got moving and made it into the first lock, kindly making a couple of extra runs to break a wide enough hole outside the marina for me to wind. OK says I, if he can do it so can I. Thorn does have a Lister HA3 in a 38 foot hull after all. I set off and managed to wind and get 20 yards down the cut, much to the surprise of two swans skating about on the ice which starts to crack under them. Then I stuck fast. Never mind, you learn fast when you have to. energetic ice breaking with the shaft around the bow and we're free. Back off and take a run at it. Another 50 yards made. So it went on until I had the nerve to keep enough revs going to keep Thorn driving forward over and through the ice. How I regretted not filling the water tank. The extra half ton of ballast would have been handy. Side doors definitely open this time as the Lister revved faster than I'd ever had it going before but we only progressed at half walking pace accompanied by creaking and thumping from the ice at the bow and assorted clunks from under my feet as ice bounced of the prop, counter, blade etc. I might have been tempted to give up but there wasn't much choice but to keep going (how could I get close enoughto the bank to moor, still less alongside tidily?), hoping that someone would be coming up and I'd find broken ice. No such luck. We took sundry diversions from a straight course as weaknesses in the ice took control of the steering and headed us for the bank; we got stuck a dozen times at least and had to back off and drive in again; making cups of coffee was easy as the boat certainly didn't drift when stopped! Eventually Stockton Top Lock was in sight and lo and behold there was a boat coming out. They were ever sooooo grateful that someone else had broken the ice all the way down from Calcutt!!! The boat was Sonata but not on this occasion with Martin and Sarah. I then locked down through Stockton with another boat, Nesta I think, home completed recently I was told and with cream painted gunwales and almost a plastic boat's nervousness about sharing!. Crew included one who did nothing and a boy who seemed not to think a great deal and who wandered off at vital moments so I ended up doing more walking about than if I'd gone down on my own. Back at my mooring at 1430 tired but relieved and convinced that the Laplander tow will have to wait for a thaw. I'll bet Thorn's bottom is clean, she's certainly lost some paint at the waterline. However the Lister seemed to enjoy the chance to rev and didn't miss a beat. It rarely gets above a fast tick over normally! Next time I'll fill the water tank. And the moral is: If anyone tells you that one night's freeze will produce 1/4 inch of ice take it with a pinch of salt! Cheers Guy -- Guy Morgan nb Thorn Three Men in a Boat is a novel form of overcrowding