As promised, here is part 2 of our guide to installing and using Starlink on a narrowboat. Since publishing part 1, we have been enjoying very fast internet performance and the only downsides have been having to have two wireless networks on the boat (our existing 5G router and the Starlink router) and having a constant breeze through the galley window where we fed the antenna cable through. Our plan had always been to integrate Starlink with our existing wireless router, which is a key component in the operation and monitoring of the boat. Also we wanted to make it as easy as possible to setu ..read more

No! Not what you are thinking! It’s geese! It’s that time of year when a young goose’s thoughts turn to procreation! In fact all the water fowl are “at it”!, morning, noon and night! The ducks really suffer at this time of year, poor girls. It’s not uncommon to see a single duck being set on by 3 or 4 drakes. It must drive them absolutely quackers! It’s not unheard of for a duck to drown during such an onslaught. And it’s noisy – particularly the geese. But it’s nature and part of the reason that we love our life aboard. And we’ll have the joy of ducklings and goslings in a couple of months. T ..read more

This winter we had a few “jobs” that we wanted to do, but Electrika has taken up more or our spare time than expected, so we are only just getting round to them. You may remember a previous post “It’s not easy bein’ green” where we documented a new “Solar Eco Mode” that Rob at Ortomarine developed for us to maximise our solar yield and minimise our shore power costs. Well we have been using this mode in Ortomate (our control and display system) for the last two winters, whilst in the marina, and we are very pleased with the results. In fact, the clicking over of the Quattro between shore and s ..read more

Well almost! And I’m sure, like me, you’ll have found this to be a very long and dreary winter with way,way,way too much rain. But it surely can’t last too much longer – can it? I’m conscious that it’s been a while since our last post. We’ve pretty much drawn in our horns and hunkered down for the most part. So what have we been up to? Well – we’ve been frozen in a couple of times, which is not unusual. But during one of those cold snaps our Eberspacher (which provides heating for the boat) had a hissy fit. The ethos with such beasts seems to be if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! So we have run ..read more

End Nov to End Dec 2023 It’s been a few weeks since our last update and a lot has been going on! We had a meeting at the end of November with Rob & Caroline (Ortomarine) about a new even we are working on with them in partnership with Aquavista – the proprietor of over 30 Marinas, dotted around the country, of which Brinklow, our home marina, is one. You may recall a few years back we helped with running their “Electric Propulsion Trials” event (May 2021)? Well it’s about time for another event and this will take the form of a gathering of serial hybrid boats. The event was formally launch ..read more

November 2023 – visiting home and a rather large birthday Well, we are settling in to being back at The Marina of Dreams, which is a slightly different routine, but I’ve found a new way of keeping myself occupied. I’m directing a Mummer’s play! We are called the Marina Mummers and the cast consists of moorers and staff from the Marina – some press-ganged! For the uninitiated, a Mummers play is probably one of the oldest surviving features of the traditional English Christmas – indeed the tradition dates back 800-1000 years. It’s best described as early pantomime. The plays are based loosely on ..read more

Our first couple of weeks back at The Marina of Dreams Remember that ****ing oven? Well, one of the first things I did was arrange for the engineer to come to fit the part that had arrived too late to fit in the summer. You may recall the initial engineer had diagnosed and fitted a new temperature dial, which didn’t fix the problem. He then suggested we needed a new Mother Board and Temperature controller, which we bought and paid for – not cheap!! When he came to fit it, the new board was faulty and a replacement would take a few weeks to source. We got a notification to say that it had arriv ..read more

Our Third Summer aboard Old Nick. I’ve said summer in the above title – but actually, when we left Droitwich, it was pretty chilly and I was wearing dungarees and lots of layers and a furry snood. It was frosty but sunny Good Friday when we left. The River Severn had been a bit of a concern, just prior to leaving, but it looked as if we would be OK to go up river to Stourport. Water levels were falling but there was still quite a flow on and progress was slow as we left lovely Hawford behind. We spent our first night on the River at the Lenchford Inn, which was closed for renovations! We made ..read more

2nd – 8th October – the final leg back to base Rain was forecast for the pm on Monday, so I set off in the am. We could easily get to Brinklow in a day, from here, but we are not hurrying. i brought the boat up the junction (Hawkesbury) and did the stop lock single handed – not exactly onerous, with its 6″ drop! No clambering up a ladder involved! It was quite busy at the junction, but I managed to squeeze us into a spot on the Visitor Moorings, which is no mean feat as they are on a bend! Shortly after I moored. there were several claps of thunder and the heavens opened. Good timing on my beh ..read more

25th September to 1st October – along the Coventry with friends We were treated to a steady procession of Heritage boats on Monday, as they left the site of the boat gathering, just up the canal from us. We really admire the Heritage boat owners – maintaining one of those old beauties is a real labour of love. The sound and smell of them is unforgettable and it’s great that enthusiasts are keeping them going. Sadly I omitted to take even one photo! Luckily Paul took one of a boat moored near us. We stayed Monday night but by Tuesday it felt like it was time to move on. It was quite a pleasant ..read more