A good workout at Stoke Bruerne

We arrived at Cosgrove just after 10am and I prepared Jannock and moved her up to the lock whilst Brenda chatted to the couple bringing their hire-boat down. Once traversed we then pulled Jannock over above the lock to load the Di Blasi and the Polycarbonate sheets for the secondary double glazing we are installing. The suppliers originally supplied 3mm Makrolon panels but they had been stored badly before cutting and were so bent that the magnetic strip designed to hold them in place over the window frames could not keep them there due to the warp in the sheets. They have since supplied a replacement batch of totally flat 4mm panels which should do fine.

We travelled on past Thrupp and Yardley wharves (and marinas) to the bottom of Stoke Bruerne flight of locks. The first set of five (16 - 20) were traversed alone with me having to close the top gates and empty every lock so that it was ready for us. As I arrived by bike at No 15 another boat was just entering and so we shared the last two with them. I'm not sure whether it was them that were ahead of us during the first five as they were moored around the corner when I checked for southbound traffic before turning No 16. All in all the flight was a good work-out and I actually feel tired tonight. On through a very wet tunnel to emerge the other end into a very wet grey landscape so Brenda, having steered her first long tunnel since she 'came over all peculiar' in Wasts Hill several years ago, went inside to keep dry. The rain stopped and the sun came out just before we decided to call it a day and moor up.

I returned to Cosgrove on the Di Blasi and collected the car. We then fitted all the Makrolon panels onto their magnetic strip fasteners and then fitted them to the window frames. We immediately noticed a big reduction in noise from outside so look forward to seeing how well they work in colder or warmer weather. Home this evening due to other things to do this weekend that do not involve getting wet on a boat ;^)

 

Graham