Should we be worried ?

I am reading C&RT have basically borrowed via bonds 100 million pounds in January and will be doing the same later in the year for a further 50 million. They also agreed a rolling credit agreement with RBS in the recent past for 25 million pounds. 

The revolving credit facility allowed for up to £25m to be borrowed by C&RT for periods between one month and the date of the facility’s expiry in June 2019. The RCF has a rate of interest 1.75 per cent above London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR).

C&RT did not make immediate use of the RCF. It was not until the 2016/17 financial year, when the amount that could be drawn down was doubled to £50m, that it acted. C&RT borrowed the whole amount. £10m for repayment in June 2017 and a further £40m for repayment in April 2019.

C&RT also has a loan of £13m inherited from British Waterways. When BW became C&RT, its few debts were written off with the exception of £13m owed.

Now I am a simple soul and borrowing money to pay back borrowed money is a bad strategy. If I were in this position I'd look to see where my spending was going and curb that, or adjust my budgets, short, medium and long term to fit my income.

There is only one outcome here, massive cuts down the line when these debts are due, and the people making the loans will be long gone... it does sicken me that they think we Joe public can't see this ??

I love the canals but they are going to get less and less as the cost to maintain them cannot be met so the likes of the Caldon and northern canals will just get closed and be left as cycling walking and fishing venues and not boating !!

Another new gadget for the boat

I do have a temp gauge on Percy but it does not give much info.... I've often wondered what different parts of the engine are doing heat wise, the hot to touch technique is ok to a point but for £10.99 I can now get some comparative readings across different parts of the boat.

So this is now part of my toolkit. 

I need to balance the radiators at home also so it will be useful in getting the flow and return pipes to an acceptable difference  - demonstrating the radiator is in fact radiating heat at a decent rate. 

Changing the gas - you've never had it so good !!

We all hate changing the gas I guess. It's a difficult job, manoeuvring those small cylinders into and out of the front gas locker. Well how about swinging one of these  around.... these are the heating fuel source at the cottage we rent down south. Daft idea and expensive to heat the house for sure.

That 47kg is a bit of a disguise as thats the empty weight.... so it's an easy lift out of the pit, then I have to lug 95kg to the pit and then lower it in !! I am a 70kg sort of fella so that's a third more agin my own weight. just glad I don't have to do it over water !!

Did I say lots of miles

.... 450 miles  today New Years day -  to get the cat a long story a bit sad really but maybe something to say later. For now I hope you all had a Happy New Year and have some plans for 2018.

My yearly review will be delayed for a few days  - I know you can't wait !

Hitting 50 lots of miles and stoves

...I wish is was years of age but I need to drop a post in before the end of the year to get to 50 for the year. Obviously less than one a week which is poor but in my defence it’s been an busy year.... I will of course do a recap ( mainly for myself ) of the year as I find it engaging to remind myself what I have been up to.

Certainly this Christmas has seen over 1500 miles of A34/M40/M42/M6/A52 travel. Far from ideal but my lovely mother in law Christine is having a hard time of it in and out of hospital. Its a hard time of year for our great NHS - last week I could not pick Rachel up easily as they had closed the roads near the normal entrance as they had 7 ambulances queuing to drop off at A&E

Back to boating, as I noted in my last blog I need to fit another stove so while I have some relaxing time (at last) I have been Googling !

The back cabin really deserves a proper range type stove. I did quite like the Tomlow stove but it seems they are no longer sold?

I guess it'll be a more standard glass fronted stove but I'd like something with character not just a square undecorated box  - any suggestions of links or even pictures of what yo have ?

Boat jobs for 2018

2018.... wow that seems like a lot of years. 18 years since we celebrated the millennium (well me and the lads and my mum as Rachel was working ) Anyhow, back to the title topic.....

One thing that is a joy is I have time to get those jobs done on Percy that I can plan and undertake with time all around. So what needs doing;

1:  A back stove needs adding back in. I do have a nice guards van stove - similar to that which was in when we brought Percy back in 2012. It was there but not connected when I had the boat safety and the surveyor said if it was installed he could not fail the boat but just add an advisory. So I could add it in but it is not a sealed type and we have slept in there with the stove on so it really needs something a bit safer, plus in my workshop at the cottage there used to be a copper for washing clothes - you'd have to be over 50 to know what one of those was.

Close to what I have in my workshop - minus the coper (no doubt weighed in for scrap some years ago) I intend installing my guards stove here so I will need a replacement for the back cabin. I may tie this in to a trip up the Macclesfield to get a chimney made for when I have the stove in. I think they do this at Bollington wharf - or I could nip to Streethey just round the corner on the Coventry as part of one of the trips that way. However I may have a go myself. I have an arc welder so may practice in the workshop chimney.

2:  There is some paint touching up needed - not my favourite job but it needs attending to - a crack in the roof paint in annoying but needs attention.

3:   Two floors in the kitchen and bathroom need laying  - I have the Karndean.

4:   Might replace the cooker- one with a drop down lid will give more cold prep in the kitchen

5:   Will need to tile the kitchen  - not a lot but they will need some sourcing as they will be imperial size

6:   I need to complete the bilge inspection hatch I had to cut when Rachel tried to sink the boat from the inside !!

7:  I need to address a bilge pump issue 

8:   Replace the central heating water

9:   Replace the engine coolant

10:  Paint the poles 

11:   Re roof the log store 

12:   Landscape the mooring a little to make it easier to mow the grass

Thats about it but I'm sure there will be a lot more pottering to do  - plus I have nine cruise routes all planned varying distances/times/locks but cruising I need to do.

What were you doing this time last year...?

I've commented before the blog, this blog is a great way to remind myself what I was doing in past years. As I come to think about this year, I like to do a resume post at the end of the year, I looked at what I was doing last December.

We were due to exchange on our property in early December last year, an optimistic target set by the people wanting our house no doubt with a Christmas occupation in mind. So we rather sportingly emptied the whole place into store in late November. The result was me coming back up to the Midlands at the beginning of December on a very clear frosty morning to live aboard again leaving an empty house in Derby.

I've said before living aboard in winter is a hard task, much more darkness than light, 24 hour stove operation  - a real test of the boats systems, however simple. Also a test of the boaters resolve. It does make me think sometimes how new boaters with the 100k plus boats with all the home comforts manage. I guess like most new things they operate well, but 5 years down the line ....?

It's not all bad of course, living so close to harsh nature is a real privilege, you are so aware of the seasons, the impending weather is always on your mind as is the changes going on daily  around you. It is also a feeling of being in a unique hardy club.

We also spent Christmas aboard which was nice  - even though I was down with flu and called by work Christmas day and in work on Boxing day.

So this year is so very different, but more of that in my year round up.

For now ... this is how I came to Percy last year ....