Not your typical crane operator.

We had an appointment at lunchtime today to have a pram cover fitted for the rear of the boat, so I decided to go back to the services we had just passed yesterday and to empty the toilet and fill up the water tank. That’s not as easy at it sounds, as narrowboats are really hard to steer in reverse. I decided to go forwards to the next winding hole (turning spot). As I was coming into the turn, the alternator started screeching, as the washing machine had just gone into a spin cycle. Distracted I misjudged the turn. Plan B in such situations is that Paula hops off the bow of the boat with a mooring rope and pulls us round. Plan B worked fine.

Back to the services, and that turned out to be a prolonged and social event. We had filled our water tank, and on Alex’s recommendation I went to talk to Steve at the boatyard next door about our alternator problems. He does not like the idea of running a washing machine off an alternator at all, so I asked him to talk to Alex and come up with a recommendation that will work. We were washing one side of the boat when some other boaters wanted to get water, so we invited them to moor up alongside us, and use our hose. When they had left, I turned the boat around again at Gayton Junction, managing a bit better that time.

We were washing the other side of the boat when another one of the boats that Alex manages pulled up, Daydream. (Not the Daydream we had been sharing locks with a few days ago.) We were about to leave and let them use the services, but the boatyard next door was shuffling some boats around and blocked the canal, so there was more chatter while two abreast.

Back to our appointment with the canopy guy. Pictures of our new weather proofing soon. By the time he was done it was about two thirty, but I wanted to do something other than cruise up and down the start of the Northampton branch, so we headed off towards Northampton. There are seventeen locks between Gayton Junction and Northampton, with the first thirteen being really close together, so once we started there was no stopping for thirteen locks at least.

This canal is narrow beam only. The locks are only slightly wider than our boat. However, Paula and I perfected our teamwork. I would open the top gate, Paula would bring the boat into the lock, hop off, close the top gate and drop the paddles. I would walk ahead to the next lock and start it filling, while Paula opened the bottom paddle on one side. I would come back and do the other side, while Paula got back on the boat before it disappeared into the depths of the lock. When the lock is empty, I open the lower lock gates, using the boathook to push toe far one open. Paula takes the boat out of the lock, and I close the gates and drop the paddles. I then walk back to the next lock, arriving in time to open the gate for Paula in the boat.

By the thirteenth lock we were both tired, and I had been hoping to moor by the towpath, but the edges of the canal are completely overgrown with reeds.

We were forced to deal with one more lock. The banks were still overgrown, but eventually Paula spotted an bit of the bank where it was possible to see the towpath. I slithered the stern in there, jumped off the boat with a mooring line, and set up the gangplank while we moored the boat.

Not our best mooring job, but it will do for the night.