We woke to another very frosty morning — but the canal wasn’t frozen and there were signs it was going to be a nice day, so we decided it was the day to leave the basin. Fortunately, we saw Donna before we left so we could warn her, although our departure still came as a surprise to Jam!
We prepared to set off, changing to the shorter chimney and taking the tv ariel off, and remembering how to switch on the hybrid system. Then it was a reverse out of the arm and a turn to the north, soon passing Braidbars numbers 200 and 217.
One thing that really surprised us was that we were generating from the solar panels even though they were covered in frost. Later on in the morning, when it had all melted a bit, there were occasions when we were generating more than we were using.
The first major milestone was going past the North Cheshire Cruising Club. This was where the shell was launched back in April, so north of here was new territory for the boat.
A bit further on, I jumped off at a bridge hole so I could get some photos.
We had a couple of boats behind us and we were going quite slowly, so Adrian pulled over to let them pass. But there was also a fuel boat making deliveries to moored boats, so we ended up pausing for a little while. Then when we set off again, there were two more boats coming the other way; but all obstacles were successfully negotiated.
Near Goyt Mill I spotted a kingfisher ahead of us, which perched in a bush. Remarkably, it stayed there to watch us pass, and Adrian managed to get a few photos of it.
We went past the mill towards Marple Junction.
At the narrows, it was Adrian’s turn to jump off to take photos while I turned around.
After passing all the moored boats at Marple, we switched to diesel power for a bit, partly because we need to test everything. It’s amazing how rough a brand new Beta 43 sounds! We moored up near where we’d paused earlier, and had some lunch and a warm up. We could easily have stayed there for the night, but we need to be back for a few things tomorrow, and the forecast looks very wet, so we decided to make the most of a nice afternoon.
We continued on diesel power for a bit, and were surprised how quickly the batteries went back up to 100 per cent (they’d got down to 92 per cent). As we approached all the moored boats before Higher Poynton, I changed back to electric propulsion. The fuel boat we’d seen earlier was at some of the moorings making deliveries.
We have moored on Braidbr’s mooring out on the towpath, so while we’re within spitting distance of the yard we’re not actually back in it. We’ve had a thoroughly enjoyable day, getting used to our new boat and discovering all the things it can do.
7 miles, 0 locks
Brilliant. You must both be so happy, but also worried that you will be the first to scratch her 😱😂 xx
Kath (nb Herbie)
She looks lovely – its so good to see her on the move.
Looks exciting for you both. Good to follow your journey.
Nice to be getting moving, putting the boat through her shake down cruise. A question … did they stick the solar panels to the roof or are they mechanically held down ?
Enjoy
Hi Nev, they are screwed down with a small air gap underneath, so water shouldn’t be trapped.
Once you have a few locks under your windlass it will be interesting to hear whether you have had o adapt your techniques to so much of the roof under solar.