First the Royal Pageant and now the Crick Boat Show, I'm making up for not taking Patience out during this dull weather.
Lots of helpful people at Crick. The first was the chap on the door, looking down at my shoes and muttering in a doom-laden voice that I should have brought wellies and I'd be up to my knees in mud when it started to rain come midday. Well I should have done, but the rain didn't come, so it wasn't as bad as Sunday must have been, amidst downpours.
Nevertheless I think the threatening skies put some people off so the crowds were thin, giving us good access to many splendid boats.
Calcutt Marine were very helpful and knowledgeable with John's questions about our engine cooling and the prospect of a new instrument panel (we feel the need for something to tell us engine speed). We bought some Miracle Wax in an optimistic gesture to encourage the beautification of Patience, and a splendid tea towel from the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust whose mission is to bridge that frustrating river gap between the two cities, linking the Great Ouse and The Grand Union.
We also tracked down someone who has LED bulbs shaped like fluorescent tubes, so you can swap them out and gain the more efficient lighting of an LED without changing your fittings.
No sign of any meters for showing water and foul waste levels (any suggestions, readers?) but apart from that a fair day out in dull weather which could have been a great deal worse ....
Let the boats speak for themselves:
Note this last one and its raised prow, shaped like a sea-going vessel. An interesting shape but while it means the double bed in the forward section is wider than usual, there's no easy access to the bow area. Tricky for mooring, we thought.
Lots of helpful people at Crick. The first was the chap on the door, looking down at my shoes and muttering in a doom-laden voice that I should have brought wellies and I'd be up to my knees in mud when it started to rain come midday. Well I should have done, but the rain didn't come, so it wasn't as bad as Sunday must have been, amidst downpours.
Nevertheless I think the threatening skies put some people off so the crowds were thin, giving us good access to many splendid boats.
Calcutt Marine were very helpful and knowledgeable with John's questions about our engine cooling and the prospect of a new instrument panel (we feel the need for something to tell us engine speed). We bought some Miracle Wax in an optimistic gesture to encourage the beautification of Patience, and a splendid tea towel from the Bedford and Milton Keynes Waterway Trust whose mission is to bridge that frustrating river gap between the two cities, linking the Great Ouse and The Grand Union.
We also tracked down someone who has LED bulbs shaped like fluorescent tubes, so you can swap them out and gain the more efficient lighting of an LED without changing your fittings.
No sign of any meters for showing water and foul waste levels (any suggestions, readers?) but apart from that a fair day out in dull weather which could have been a great deal worse ....
Let the boats speak for themselves:
Note this last one and its raised prow, shaped like a sea-going vessel. An interesting shape but while it means the double bed in the forward section is wider than usual, there's no easy access to the bow area. Tricky for mooring, we thought.
