Hinckley

This morning started off as a repeat of yesterday. See yesterday's blog for details!

We are running short of provisions - our meal list finishes today when we will eat the 19Gales beef pie we bought in Atherstone. One thing that wasnt yesterday all over again was Denise's first view of a Kingfisher for this year - it flew down the canal past the saloon window whilst she was making breakfast.

As there are no shops along most of the length of the Ashby we had to plan a menu for the next 4-5 days and put together a shopping list. The final opportunity for serious shopping is Hinckley, so that's where we stopped after 2 miles travelling northwards with some delay whilst we filled up again with water.

Although Hinckley is a necessary stop for most boats visiting the Ashby, mooring is rather limited. All the visitors moorings were taken when we arrived, but Trinity Marina helpfully allowed us to use one of theirs. Unfortunately the canal is some way from the town centre so we had a 1.5 miles walk to Tesco where we were able to buy everything we needed. A 1.5 mile walk back with a heavy load of groceries did not appeal so we phoned for a taxi.

Moored at Stoke Golding - note the white sacking

Soon after getting back to the boat we were on the move again. The weather had much improved with some sunshine, although the temerature was cold and the wind speed was rising. An hour and a half's gentle chugging took us to Stoke Golding when it became apparent that something was amiss with the boat.

The symptoms were those familiar to all boaters, vibration in the tiller, sluggish performance, odd looking wake - something was wrapped round the propeller. I slowly steered the boat into the nearest mooring spot which was where we were planning to stop anyway. Once tied into the bank and the engine turned off, open up the weed hatch which gives access to the propeller and plunge a hand into the cold water. Yes - a length of plastic sacking wrapped round one of the propeller blades. It was easy to unwind and remove - the evidence is in the picture. Debris round the prop was a common occurence when we started boating perhaps 30 years ago, but as the canals have become much cleaner the need to examine the prop is now fairly rare.