Another day in Warwick

 I thought we had gone out on our boat for a few weeks of relaxation free of stress and hassle, but  that is not how to describe today.

First thing in the morning after breakfast I checked the engine as usual.  What I found was not usual.  It is usual for some water to get into the boat whilst travelling, typically about a tablespoon (25ml) a day goes into a measuring jug from the bearing that holds the propshaft. In the previous 24 hours we had collected about 150ml.  mmmmm.

We took the boat across the canal to Kate Boats for the planned service and asked the engineer Dave, to check the propshaft bearing.  He confirmed that water was coming in around the propshaft which suggested a rubber seal needed replacing.  Not something he could do.  We did consider abandoning the trip but Dave assured us that it wasnt a major issue.

A while later he reported that one of the bolts in an engine mounting had broken.  This was rather more serious as the mountings attach the engine to the hull. Getting a new bearng could take several days.Again it looked like our plan to reach Worcester was off.   However Dave did have an old mounting and he thought he could simply swap the bolts.  He did have to go off to one of Kate Boats hire fleet which had to take priority so did not have time then.

He retuned mid-afternoon and to cut an overlong story short  was able to swap over the bolts and we continued on our journey at 16:40.  So a quick cruise up two locks near the Cape of Good Hope, a well known canalside pub, where we were able to find a mooring space for the night.

So we are a day late and have the 21 lock Hatton flight ahead of us for tomorrow.