by chris
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For this reason we try and get our season underway as soon as we can and this was the weekend.
Fortunately, a combination of tube heater in the engine bay and an effective desiccant electric dehumidifier in the saloon and an engine full of antifreeze kept any gremlins at bay, so no popped core plugs or plumbing leaks. It took us perhaps an hour to get everything shipshape.
I did have a couple of jobs to do. The first was to flush out the water tank from it’s pink antifreeze (non toxic) which went smoothly. The next job was to replace a toggle switch on my windscreen wipers to go from intermittent to fully on. This also went well. A further task was to swap out a starter solenoid which also didn’t pose any issues.
In the past we’ve relied on mobile signal to gain internet access which is essential if you fancy watching a movie after dark or when the weather closes in. There is no way of sugar-coating it, mobile coverage across the Broads is diabolical. The solution is to use Starlink. I’ll go into more detail on a future blog however it was a resounding success on this trip.
On the Saturday, although I wanted to give ‘Lady’ a good polish and wax, the crew were understandably impatient to get out on the river so I gave her a pressure wash and general washdown and we departed for our favourite mooring at Belaugh via Hoveton to gather food supplies.
The idea was to eat aboard on Saturday night and grab a Sunday lunch at Coltishall.
Belaugh was a joy as always and I got chatting with a wonderfully pleasant gentleman that owned the neighbouring mooring, inviting me to take a look at his exceptional classic motor cruiser.
It’s safe to say that without heating on board, this early season cruise wouldn’t be possible as temperatures did drop to freezing overnight. To this end we did carry a spare gas cylinder to power our Propex heater which is quite noisy, but bearable.
On Sunday we had hoped to try out the Kings Head at Coltishall given that on the last few occasions we visited the Rising Sun, we had been seated in near darkness inside the pub. The Kings Head (just behind the Rising Sun) was fully booked so without any alternative options the Rising Sun it was. On this occasion we were given a table with sunlight, but it was pretty much in the doorway to the outside terrace so not very relaxing. Food was tasty enough but next time we’ll try to book earlier and see if the Kings Arms has more to offer.
Following lunch, the crew was fixed on a fishing stop on the way back home as the closed fishing season is rapidly approaching. As we didn’t want to go for Pike, the entrance to Cockshoot Dyke offered promise of some nice Perch. We did catch a Perch and a couple of sizeable Roach but the slowness of bites suggested fish were either not on the feed or had started spawning.
On the last short leg from Cockshoot to home at Ranworth, the alternator charging warning light started to flicker on. Although this wouldn’t have stopped us getting home we did pull up at the St. Benedict’s Church Mooring to give the alternator charging cable a wiggle and of course check the alternator belt. This seems to have rectified the problem although the connectors to the Chinese Lucas alternator clones are horrible. I must look out for a better quality one when I get a chance.
Arrival at our home mooring was painless having backed in to make polishing easier for my next visit. There was a good chance we would have to endure another cold snap in the next couple of weeks so the dehumidifier was re-instated and antifreeze let in to a running engine via the water strainer. Popping core plugs is something I would like to avoid, particularly the one behind the flywheel !
Altogether a great start to the season.
