From suevbutler@compuserve.com Thu May 6 20:58:38 1999 Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1998 17:19:39 -0400 From: susan butler Reply-To: canals@blacksheep.org To: Messages for newsgroup Subject: Trip reports - Jemima D on the T&M [The following text is in the "ISO-8859-1" character set] [Your display is set for the "US-ASCII" character set] [Some characters may be displayed incorrectly] Hello all, I am a bit behind with trip reports - so Part 1 of a quick resume of our last few 'trips' follows: 4/5/6 July - A working weekend We went down to Great Haywood to search for Jemima D on Friday evening. We had been told she was on the Staff and Worcs along from the Junction. We arrived just as the light was fading - and struggled to find somewhere sensible to park. We eventually got onto the towpath and walked up from the Junction. It seemed an age before we spotted Jemima - and we were beginning to think..uh oo what if we can't find her?...but there she was! Just where Chris and Katy had left her. One of the joys of sharing a boat! A visit to the Clifford Arms, and a word with the landlord soon sorted our parking problem, and we relaxed into our weekend. We took a short trip up to Tixall Wide, just to have a look , and then took Jemima onto the T&M to be nearer the car and the pub! We spent the rest of Saturday working on Jemima - our priorities were the front lockers (which needed replacing) and a serious start on attacking the exterior paintwork (a job which overwhelmed me a bit, so I started with the tiller!) The Clifford Arms had much to commend it - Robinson's was their guest ale, the landlord and staff were friendly, the food was good (if unimaginative) and they made us very welcome. On Sunday afternoon we decided to give up working and go for a short chugg - almost to Rugely and back. This was a pleasant, quiet stretch, and we enjoyed the peace and quiet. It was on our way back, in Colwich Lock, that our prop shaft problems began. And by the time we got back to Great Haywood it was much later than we intended! We spotted Copperkins in the AngloWelsh yard, and wondered...is that THE Copperkins? (As indeed it was, Iain and Ann later confirmed) Many thanks for those of you who offered solutions to our prop shaft problems during the following week. 10/11/12 July - A disappointment Back we went to GH full of confidence that we could fix the prop and also the work we had started the previous weekend. Back on the Robinson's and the Red Oxide! It was lovely to find a note from Iain and Ann on Jemima when we got there - 6 hours after they had left for their trip to Trent Lock. Unfortunately it was a bit wet that weekend! Much of the time was spent running for cover as the showers descended. Not best for the jobs we had chosen. The Clifford Arms again provided convivial shelter - and we met many of the local boating community there. On Sunday we went to the Haywoods Carnival - which was a real old-fashioned village affair - and finished up the last of the Robinson's in the Clifford Arms. Our repair on the prop shaft turned out to be short lived. We lost it again after getting stuck on the mud opposite the water point on Sunday evening. This was a moment of high embarrassment as we sat there, Neil with his arms down the weedhatch, stranded on the mud for all to see. This was a major disappointment - we really hoped we had fixed this problem. Fortunately, another joy of sharing a boat is sharing your problems, and as another owner was planning to come down midweek we were able to offer him the benefit of all your further advice before he got there. He actually resorted to Plan B and took Jemima to Teddesley Boatyard at Penkridge, where they basically applied loctite and tightened up the allan keys, probably much tighter than we had managed. Suffice to say, we have had no problems since! More to follow...(if you can stand it!) Sue and Neil Happy to be on Jemima D