Densie has a service

Narrowboat (not Densie) being lifted out of water.....

and deposited on quayside for hull inspection

We were in Alvechurch for our 250 hour engine service though to tell the truth it's now nearer 275 hours. We had planned to get the service done at Wootton Wawen but the boatyard cancelled the day before we were due to arrive.

As we are out on the boat for long periods servicing needs some planning. We normally try to tie in passing an Isuzu dealer at the time the service is needed. It didnt work out this time but fortunately Alvechurch has a large hireboat centre that also services boat engines, so problem resolved.

Servicing is little more than an oil change, but it is something I prefer to let the professionals do - the extra cost isn't much in the overall scheme of things.

Also we needed to get a proper alternator. Those who read the blog last year may remember we had major electrical failures which resulted in a broken alternator being replaced with one that wasnt really suitable for our engine but it was the only one the boatyard had available. This has been bugging me for the past year as I am convinced that it is taking much longer to recharge our batteries. The Alvechurch boatyard were able to replace the alternator with a proper Isuzu-approved one.

Once all the work had been done we filled up with 150 litres of diesel, enough to keep us going for a month or two.

We have moored 3 miles, 2 small tunnels, and a deep lock further down the canal to rest in preparation for tomorrow's major task. Which is the subject of tomorrow's blog.

PS the new alternator appears to be working wonderfully!