Snow at Easter and boat maintenance

We woke up this morning to ice on the canal, covered in a light dusting of snow.

We had planned to go for a walk in the Lake District, but following an avalanche warning on the news, we decided not to risk it and stayed on the boat to do some spring cleaning. This has involved, not only wiping down the whole boat inside to clean off sooty deposits from the fire which have built up all winter, but also taking out the windows and double glazing to wash the gap between the windows. No sooner had we taken out our first window, (and been met by an icy blast of cold air!) than it started to snow! Only light billows which wouldn't settle, but still amazing that it is so cold at this time of year!

On venturing outside, I bumped into one of the weekend boaters down at the end of the jetty. It is quiet down there because nobody lives aboard. There is also a small patch of land next to the end boat and he mentioned that he had seen a mink scratting around a few minutes ago. We crept around the end boat and managed to see it, but it spotted us and took off along the ice on the canal at a rate of knots!

The spring cleaning is just one of the regular maintenance jobs we need to do on the boat. There are other more vital things which must be done for the boat to run smoothly, for example the yearly water filter change and the bi-annual chemical clean of the toilet cassettes. Water purification tablets need to be dropped into the water tank also on a regular basis and at this time of year the chimney has to be swept at least every few weeks.

There are less frequent but more important things that we also need to do such as actually getting into the water tank and cleaning it out by hand every two or three years. We will do this next year when we lift the boat out of the water to clean and black the bottom. Our boat safety certificate is due next year and we will not be allowed to use the boat, let alone live on it without this vital document, so all these maintenance chores must be done.

Well, there is a bit of useful information for anyone who is thinking of buying a boat!

I'm on holiday for two weeks now, so hope to post again soon.

Al :)