Part 3 - Chapter 4

"Washing the boat, I discovered a bit of damage

sustained while we were out on the cut."

"The flowers and herbs we'd planted earlier in the year in tubs on the roof

were loving the summer, and the newer tomato plants were looking as if

they'd be giving us fruit soon, too."

The marina basking in the sun

And what sunsets!

"Off we went to Bridge 23 again, intent on completing both sides in two or three days."

A tug-style boat we see often.

"So, the port side was finished in just one afternoon, and it looked lovely.

Would the primer-and-undercoat-free approach work though? Only time would tell."

An unusual craft, which pushes its butty.

"Arriving at the second spot, the sun was now out,

but the clouds still threatened, so we carried on back to the marina."

Not a good place to moor!

"The following week, with the forecasters apparently more confused

about the weather than we were, we took our chances and set out to Bridge 27

again to finish painting the starboard side of the hull."

"We arrived in time to do all of the preparatory work before lunch,

then applied the paint in the afternoon."

" I texted Mark, and booked a day for him to replace 

our three dead batteries with four new ones."

"Also unsurprisingly, the metalwork onto which the wooden seat

is fixed was badly rusted, and this, too, had to be dealt with."

"The balloon we saw was finding it too much of a challenge to stay airborne."

"It approached the marina very slowly indeed, losing height all of the time

despite the pilot's frequent blasts of flame into it."

"It finally made an unscheduled but gentle landing in an adjacent field."

"While we were painting, I turned my attention to the gangplank,

barge-pole and boat-hook that were kept on a rack on the roof."

"We found The Canal Shop on the web, the site of a chandlery

at nearby Hillmorton Wharf, where the manager makes folding,

aluminium gangplank/rescue ladder combinations"

"We went the whole hog, and bought a telescopic aluminium boat-hook, too,

this from Wharf House Narrowboats in Braunston."

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