I had the opportunity to attend the Crick Boat Show (again thank you for the ride Jamie), the largest canal boat show in England. I hoped to learn lots about the narrowboat world but wasn’t really prepared for the whole experience! These people know how to party…meet new best friends. Chris, Julie, and Poppy, you <made> the weekend for me. Best.Time.Ever.

I decided to camp in order to really get into it. Little did I or anyone else anticipate the storm that was to hit on Sunday night. I’ve never in my life experienced such continuous thunder and lightening, and for so long. I managed to stay dry although the dance ‘floor’ wasn’t so lucky…

The show itself was a showcase for canal boats and all the ‘stuff’ that goes with them. New boats were everywhere, which I completely ignored. I didn’t go into a single boat, new or used. I am happy with my choice, I don’t want to see something that I wish I had or had bought instead. I did, however, buy a ton of stuff! It was a great place to pick up canal or boat-specific items like a windlass, tunnel light, mooring chains, LED bulbs, the list is endless. Good thing Jamie has a large boot (come on, you know what that is…).

Although some thought it was a smaller show than previous years, there were still a huge number of boats there. This is a short section of the adjoining Grand Union Canal looking toward the pub (that’s just how I orient myself now).

So I had an amazing day. Jamie, the broker that sold me my boat, asked if I’d be interested in helping him deliver a ‘classic’ boat down the River Wey to the Windsor Racecourse on the River Thames for a client. Needless to say…

We went through four locks altogether, three we did ourselves and one with a lockkeeper. So it was actually a great introduction for me.

We cruised past some amazing scenery and sights. This is a truly beautiful and peaceful area next to one of the busiest cities in the world.

Note the date on the Thames lock sign! The horse barn (where the working horses were rested) is of similar age. Some of the homes along the way (or the Wey) were amazing, and I’m assured they come with amazing price tags. This area is close enough to London for many wealthy people to be able to live here and work in the city. Many sports stars, politicians, and other famous people have homes along this stretch.

Seems that other than cleaning and buying stuff, the big news is the wildlife around here. The swans’ eggs have all hatched, I think there’s nine! They’re mostly huddled togethers and so fuzzy it’s hard to tell. Three have been in swimming, once they’re all in the water I’ll get a better look.

The coots are still sitting, they should be hatching soon too I assume. I’ve never seen a baby coot (cootlet?), something to look forward too.

Bad news for the Canada Geese though. Yesterday there were four goslings, but just two this morning. Someone told me yesterday that the pike get them. Quite sad actually, they are really cute.

Several other species around; mallards, mergansers, kites, stupid singing shitheads that start at 4:00 AM, kitty cats, and dogs galore.

Went for my first ‘cruise’ today. Moved over to the pumpout, with a little help from Dave and Bob. I guess they didn’t trust me to not bash my way there and back on my own! It went well, no damage and I got back into my slip without incident. I feel ready to go now! The next big hurdle is doing my first lock… I’ll be going to a big boat show on the upcoming ‘Bank Holiday” (long weekend) where I’ve signed up for a boat-handling course. I’ll be a true expert after that, I’m sure!

Driving one of these things is remarkably like pushing a pencil.

It’s surprising how much ‘stuff’ we need to run a household. I’ve loaded the boat down with odds and ends, and I’m still adding to the list of things to get. Nothing like starting from absolute scratch.

On a personal note, I’ve been keeping this blog as much for a diary as for letting my friends know what I’m up to. I didn’t honestly think anyone would read it, but it’s amazing me that so many of you are actually paying attention! Please let me know if there’s anything I can add to make it more interesting. I can’t always add many pictures due to limited internet, even here in the marina it’s fairly sketchy. I’ve now got a real camera working (couldn’t get the pictures off the SD card) so here’s the first…

Got a few hours in washing the hull, but was almost a waste of time. I can’t believe the amount of lime in the water here! Looks worse after washing (dishes are the same). I still feel better, got the poop off at least. Too hot though, the steel just evaporates the wash water before I can get it rinsed. So I had to settle for a drink in the shade instead. I figure 3-4 hours of work a day is more than enough.

Oh, there’s some action on the nest too, first glimpse I’ve had. At least two have hatched today;

There is also a coot nest nearby (they keep moving it for some reason). With the Canada Goose family swimming about it’s quite a hive of activity. And I saw an absolutely enormous, fat fish (perch?) swim under the boat. Had to be 2′ long and 1′ across. Apparently there’s tons of food (goslings?).

And damn there’s a lot of willow (?) seeds floating around!! I need to leave the windows and doors open since it’s so bloody hot, but that means there’s as much fluff floating around inside as out! Not many bugs though, so there’s that.

Gotta say, Amazon is the way to buy stuff when you don’t have a car. They have a big bin at the marina, it’s where the delivery people put packages. I can’t have post sent here (it’s not legally a residential marina) but they will courier stuff. And it’s usually free delivery so there’s no downside. Can’t wait for the new toilet seat to get here. “Blonde Pine Effect”.

Sometime it’s the little things…

The big day has finally come. I have signed all the papers and taken possession at long last. Wendy helped me load everything aboard, and then also helped with the somewhat Herculean task of cleaning! Not to put too fine a point on it, it needed a good scrubbing. It seems like it’s been sitting for a while so needed a good airing and wash down. Well along on that now, she’s liveable and snug. I’ve been testing the systems, everything works well (as the survey said). I have heat and power, the stove works great, water is good (still flushing to make it fresher). All in all I’m a happy guy! A little celebratory bacon and Prosecco was in order!

The next job is to pick up some ‘essentials’, like a TV and WiFi router. I’ll have to use a SIM router and get a big data plan but that’s pretty cheap over here (compared to home). Paint and varnish, cordless sander, sanding disks, the list is nearly endless! It’s a bit of a problem with transport, the marina is about an hour’s walk from town. I’ll be researching bus options today. Uber is good too, about £10, if I’ve got lots of stuff. In addition, Jamie my broker has offered to drive me in whenever I need a lift. He’s been awesome, very helpful. Most of the bigger stuff I’ll order online and have delivered here to the marina.

My neighbours are a pair of swans with about 4 eggs, she’s been sitting since I got here (unless ‘he’ takes a turn, I can’t tell). I suspect the eggs must be getting close to hatching, seems pretty late. That’s me on the left, NOT the red one. If you look closely, it actually has shrubbery growing on the fenders.

Other neighbours (actual humans) are a very friendly lot, it’s a great little community here. I suspect that I’ll be sorry to leave, but I’m getting pretty anxious to start cruising. Once my deliveries have arrived I’ll be free to go!

I’m on my way! I still can’t completely believe I’m going through with this. I’ve had so much support and encouragement that I could hardly have backed out if I wanted to. It was hard leaving my son for the summer, we spend so little time together these days. But he’s got his own life now and I’m very proud of him and what he’s doing with his life (as long as he takes good care of my truck). Time to move out and look after myself. So first things first, I have to have a ‘last’ Caesar at the airport (in case I can’t get Clamato over there):

And it’s on to Calgary. I was unable to get a British Airways flight from Vancouver when I booked, so had to get to Calgary first. Not a big deal, pretty cheap. Except I found out today that the luggage charge for 3 checked bags (2 suitcases and a backpack) is more than the whole flight! Jeez…

The other perk of BA is the lounges. Even in Calgary I can use the SwissPort lounge, self-serve everything:

Oh, my poor liver. I hope I can remember some of the summer (I’ll take notes).

More flying…

Great flight from Calgary to London, British Airways ‘Club World’ (business class) is awesome. Full reclining so I could actually get some sleep. Then a lounge in Heathrow with showers and (more) booze.

Off to Manchester to meet Wendy, she’s putting me up at her place (thank you!!!) for a few days while the boat gets finalized.

Oh, about the boat; the survey went well, almost everything checked out fine. Just the cutlass bearing needs replacing, so they knocked some off the price. I’ll get that, the engine servicing and hull ‘blacking’ (painting with bitumen) done while it’s out of the water. Then a checkout run and sign all the final papers. I’m hoping this will all happen by Friday but the mechanical might take longer. We’re not sure if it’ll have to go back in the water in the meantime (lack of space). That adds cost since each time it’s pulled is expensive. Rather avoid that. Luckily they’re offering me a deal if they can leave it out of the water (free). Here’s hoping.

The surveyor was amazed at the condition of the hull, he said it had a very small amount of minor pitting but was full thickness everywhere he checked (‘hundreds of locations’). As replating is a huge deal, I’m VERY relieved about this. Painting the upper side is cheap and easy in comparison. There’s a bit of surface rust there which I’ll tackle over the summer and maybe have a new professional paint job done over the winter.

I accidentally bought another boat. So much for spending the summer travelling England looking at every boat on the market, finding the perfect layout, the ideal combination of size and features, and the right feel. To hell with that, just look at some pictures and send lots of money. But there’s no getting out of it now, unless it fails the survey. Now I have to adjust all my plans but at least I now know where I’ll be starting from.

Soon-to-be “Cool Change” is lying in Reading at the moment, not far from London. I’ll be staying there for much of May, getting some modifications done. If I’m going to be mostly ‘off-grid’, I’ll need solar panels and extra batteries, which is a professional job. I’ll be doing some painting too, sprucing her up; she’s not brand new after all. Once ready, I think I’ll head out along the Kennet & Avon canal towards Bath and Bristol. It’ll be a two-way trip unless I get really brave and attempt the transit up to Gloucester via the River Severn. The problem with that is that it’s tidal and basically open ocean. It requires a pilot and a good weather window, these aren’t the most seaworthy of vessels! Going back through London has appeal too, we’ll have to see. I have the rest of my life to make these decisions!

So the actual blogs will be starting soon, I’ll have something to show and to talk about other than ‘plans’. It’s actually happening. There have been times when I wasn’t sure this was a good idea, or even possible. It’s a bit out of my comfort zone (not the boating, the buying) but I’m certainly stuck into it now. I will add some more pictures of her.

Thanks to all those that have been so supportive and encouraging. At least I think I should say thank you? Maybe if someone had given me a good shake and asked me “what the hell do you think you’re doing??” I might still have a bank account.

NOTE: I apologize about the Facebook link. Someone reported to Facebook that “Canuck OntheCut” isn’t my real name, so they’ve asked me to show ID to prove it (I can’t seem to find any). I’ve had to create <another> account, this time as a Blogger account associated with my regular one. There is a reason I’m not using my regular account. I am sorry for the hassles if you get asked to “Friend” me again, but the other account is dead already.

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The big day has come and gone. I’m no longer a contributing member of society, I’m now scrounging off the system, expecting things to be handed to me, and learning to drive without seeing over the wheel. And I’m going to start doing my grocery shopping at 5 o’clock.

On the narrowboat front, things might be happening. I’ve found a boat that I really like, had it checked out by a broker that I’ve been working with, and just might make an offer. As I will need to add stuff like solar panels and extra batteries, I’ll need to get it at a great price but it’ll be worth it, even if sight-unseen. A bit of a gamble but the survey will protect me from most big issues. I just hope I don’t get claustrophobia from the tight confines. I’ve never been on, or in, a narrowboat.

Here’s what she looks like:

Inside is beautiful, it’s what sold me:

If the sale goes through, more pictures will follow. I’m not convinced this is a good idea but there’re so few boats right now, and they sell so quickly, that I’m ready to go ahead with this (if the Price is Right). Holding my breath….