Bingley to Keithley

After waiting for a boat To come down the 3 rise we started the Bingley flight at around 9.00AM and arrived at the top of the flight at 10.20 just in time for breakfast at the cafe by the top lock, conveniently located so we could top up with water at the same time..









after breakfast we set out towards Skipton on the long level pound, no more locks until tomorrow. Unfortunately to compensate the 12 miles to skip ton has some 15 worked swing bridges so we will be jumping on and off the boat at regular intervals. Still its a wonderful In some wonderful scenery.









The diesel drought continues with no diesel for sale at Bingley, diesel for the hire fleet only at Silsden so it's on to Skipton.
We did manage to obtain a 20L jerry can at Puffer parts Stockbridge so if the worst happens we can always find a local garage.

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Location:Keithley

Rodley to Bingley

Leaving Rodley at around 9.00 passing the closed boat yard, we passed through Apperley bridge also with it's closed on Monday boat yard to reach the first of a number of staircase locks at Apperley (Dobsons Locks)




Then continued climbing along the Aire valley side through Shipley with its boat yard that does not sell diesel (its a local boat yard for local people) until we pass the famous Saltaire mills where philanthropist Sir Titus Salt established his model town in response to the appalling conditions in the mills of Bradford in the 1840's






After leaving Saltaire it's a short couple of miles and one more staircase lock to the bottom of the Bingley flight where we moored for the night.




Ready to ascend the 3 and 5 rise staircase locks in the morning. Let's hope the boatyard at the top of the flight has diesel is open and is willing to sell it to us. It's now 8 months since we last found a yard open with diesel to sell and that was near Manchester. If we don't find somewhere soon we will be walking to a garage !

Location:Bingley, United Kingdom

Jaipur Restaurant - Armley

Another wonderful evening entertained by Raj and Bharti in the Jaipur Restaurant as always superb food and excellent service.
I cannot recommend this gem of a restaurant too highly, if you get a chance GO!


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Attack of the Diesel Bug

After a peaceful night on the bank and an easy fix to the horn problem (dirty spades on the horn button) we set off mid morning to start the climb to Skipton.
With the diesel engine going we headed for St Ann's lock but after about 10 minutes the diesel stopped without warning. Switching to electric we continued to the lock. On leaving we start the diesel again but once more after about 10 minutes it cuts out again.
As we have a crew member to meet at Armley we carry on using the electric motor until mooring up at Armley mills.

A quick inspection is all that's needed to identify the problem, attempting to drain the water from the water separator out comes a slimy black sludge, the dreaded diesel bug.

Although I regularly use a diesel bug treatment last winter the boat was left with a 3/4 empty fuel tank as on the last trip we passed no open boat yards selling diesel for the best part of a week from Manchester all the way back to Leeds.

Fortunately I had a spare filter for the first filter in the water separator, so that was removed, cleaned and a new filter fitted, unfortunately I did not have a filter for the engine filter so I had to leave this one. After bleeding the engine we set off from Armley Mills on diesel, but after around 30 minutes once again the engine starts to cough and cuts out.

Thank goodness for a hybrid engine as we were able to carry on using the electric motor and reach our destination at Rodley without problem.

On arrival at Rodley we find the boatyard shut so a call to River Canal Rescue with the details of the problem and their system swings into action.

Once have dried out and warmed up it will be time to see if I can remove any of the contaminated water from the tank then dose it with diesel bug treatment and hopefully a change of filters will allow us to get on our way in the morning.

Well I had just got to the engine room to start extracting some of the contaminated water from the fuel tank and a head pops round the hatch. It's the man from Rodley boat services. He has had a call from RCR and come to see if he can help. So for a very reasonable £26.40 he supplies 2 beta fuel filters and an additional primary filter and on a Sunday in the rain.

After the usual struggle to remove the old filter, which had been installed when the engine was built and Painted in place! A replacement filter fitted. 6L of contaminated water sucked out of the bottom of the tank, and a fresh dose of diesel bug treatment later and the engine bursts into life first attempt and runs without a hiccup for an hour. Problem solved.



You can see the black slime oozing out of the filter above.

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Location:Canal Rd,Leeds,United Kingdom

Underway at Last

Underway at last even if we have only got as far as Office Lock, a grand total of 1 miles and 2 locks.









A night on the bank tonight then 3 staircase locks tommorrow before a visit to Jaipur Restaurant Tomorrow evening.

Just one problem with the boat so far, the horn does not work. To be investigated when we stop for the night.

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Eng Hr:334 SOC:89%
Miles: 1 Locks: 2
Engine:1h15m Electric:0h20m

Location:Leeds,United Kingdom

Replacement sofa bed for Chelonian

Some years ago I purchased a "click clack" futon bed for the front cabin to serve as both a sofa and a bed. The purchase was made online and was relatively cheap, but I think a case of getting what you pay for !
The futon mattress was replaced in the first season for one that had slightly more than 2" of padding which helped. The wooden base has over the years suffered a series of breakages of slats and parts of the frame, it clearly was not up to even the occasional use it gets on board. A failure in the hinge at the end of last year finally persuaded me it was time to replace.

After looking around at various options I decided that the Beddinge sofa bed from Ikea seemed to be the best fit. The range has a number of different mattresses including a sprung pocket one and several foam versions of differing quality as well as a range of interchangeable covers in different fabrics and colours.







So last weekend after a trip to Ikea in a friends car and after trying the mattresses we decided on the foam Havet mattress with a green Edksen cover. The bed comes flat packed so several boxes and packages were transported back to the boat. The old futon matress was removed to go on eBay, and the futon base dismantled and stored on the roof for a bonfire in the near future.
The new Beddinge consist of a metal base with the clever hinge mechanism that allows the two cushions to be arranged as a seat with near vertical or reclined back, or to lie flat as a bed. Under the frame is an optional storage box which not only stores the bedding, but eliminates that dead space dust trap under the sofa. The whole thing was assembled within an hour and does exactly what it says on the tin. After trying the sofa out for several evenings I can confirm it comfortably seats 3, or 4 at a push, and sleeps 2 (and a dog) in luxury.

It will be interesting to see how it stands up to a season cruising.


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