Ahhh lockdown. A time, albeit enforced and unwelcome, to stop. Take in the air and consider options. Give careful consideration to the next round of renovations on the boat. Save some money. Or not…
Text from Dad ‘hi love, I have ordered 2 door bars, Wick’s have a storage unit 130x110x74 plastic, will fit 2 wheelie bins (not for bins)!! What do you think?’ Errrr I think you’ve clearly gone a bit batty Dad, what on earth are you on about? So, just to check if the old chap has actually fallen off his rocker, I come over all old fashioned and actually ring him, the better to avoid anymore confusing text messages.
Turns out, all this time on his hands is just going to cost me money. He’s been thinking about the boat. And the mooring. And security for the boat. And security for the new storage that we will need on the mooring. And the lack of a perching rail on my stern. It also transpires that he has an unhealthy obsesson with lino. Mildly worrying.
We are leaving the marina. Not because there are any particular issues with the marina or the staff (they are all absolutely lovely) but it’s just not for us. I’ve written a blog about it but am undecided about sharing it yet. We have found an overgrown spot at the end of private online (as in on the canal, not virtual) moorings in Eggington owned by a nice chilled couple who also look after other peoples dogs. It means that I will get a nice bit of ‘garden’ next to my boat, and the owner is happy for me to do what I want with all the brambles, hurrah 😄. The new mooring doesn’t have electric hookup or water next to the boat. Luckily, Dad is in charge of the shopping list and has decreed the following:
1. Storage thingie. From Wicks. Will need attaching to something to stop it being squirrelled away in the small hours. Will probably be unlikely to fit in with the new woodland/dappled shade themed garden I’m going to create but a bit of screening and jasmine will soon sort that out.
2. Stuff to go in the storage thingie. Outdoor chairs and a cute table for sitting and watching the world go by. With wine of course. Will need to double as a potting table, as does every other item of furniture I own with a flat surface. Peat free compost, plant food, pots, bird food.
3. Boat stuff in the storage thingie. I have a sneaky suspicion that this is what Dad actually meant to store in the shiny new storage 😂. Wait for it, I’m sure I am not responsible enough to own one of these but…a generator! A bloody generator. Runs on petrol. That can’t be safe surely. Anyway, after a brief look at generators in an online shop named after a jungle, I decide that there is too much choice and I’ve got no idea how much power I need. So I made a grown up decision and delegated the search to Dad. Which means I am now the owner of a shiny (camouflage, no less) new generator. Which will give us lots of lovely power instead of us having to run the engine with no load (that’s very bad for the engine! No, I don’t know why). We will install solar power when we’ve saved up some pennies, that’ll be a job for Neil from Heart of England narrowboats and the lovely Stuart!
4. Steel bars across the front and back doors. Yes, I know that as long as we have windows there are lots of points of entry for a determined burglar, however the buggers won’t be getting in or out of the doors.
5. Camera to watch the boat and our mooring when we are not there. Our little bit is at the end of linear moorings and cannot be seen from the owners house so I think it’s important to be able to check on her when we are not there. This has proven slightly problematic. I fully expect to be able to have an app on my phone which will send me a live feed from the camera 24 hours a day. A slight hitch may be that there is no power source for the camera nor is there wifi. Any suggestions welcome because I don’t have any inclination to do lots of research. Both Keith and Dad are looking, I’m just waiting. Note: I have just suggested a wildlife camera to him indoors, apparently that’s a good idea 💡
6. Seating on the stern. There is currently no seating on the stern and so I spend long hours standing. I generally don’t mind but I’m getting on a bit and the ambulance service managed to make sure my back is pretty unhappy so I do struggle after a while. Uncle Brian and Dad are very concerned that I have no rails etc to stop people falling off the back of the boat and that I have nowhere to sit. I’ve managed to talk them out of seats for use with cruising within the tiller arch (this just means within the arm of the tiller, dangerous because if something should hit the propeller whilst moving it could force the tiller to swing and push you in – if you fall off the back of the boat while the propeller is engaged you may find you have a short but intensly interesting painful experience), but I am beginning to think that some simple structure would be quite nice to sit on and to be able to watch the world go by when moored in sunny spots.
7. Lino flooring. Errrrr no. Just no. Not ever. I know there are new and funky designs. I know we have piles of dogs. I know narrowboats and mud can be synonymous. Still no. Absolutely not. At all. No.
Jean, tell him to step away from the lino, this obsession isn’t good for him, he needs to start thinking reclaimed parquet floors…
In conclusion, lockdown is looking quite expensive. If only I could have kept Dad in one place renovating the bedrooms, removing the tiny second bathroom and thinking about how he is going to get me a full size shower and rejig the remaining bathroom, I’d’ve saved loads!!