Engine still runs.... just need to figure out what's going on. And fill the diesel, as it's really low now.
Failed Safety Cert again though, on a gas leak. Should hopefully all be sorted by Monday though, so the end is still in sight!
Friday 23 November 2007
Murphy's law
According to Wikipedia...
Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance. "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way." It is most often cited as "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" (or, alternately, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way" or, "Anything that can go wrong, will," or even, "If anything can go wrong, it will, and usually at the most inopportune moment").
Murphy's law is an adage in Western culture that broadly states that things will go wrong in any given situation, if you give them a chance. "If there's more than one possible outcome of a job or task, and one of those outcomes will result in disaster or an undesirable consequence, then somebody will do it that way." It is most often cited as "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" (or, alternately, "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way" or, "Anything that can go wrong, will," or even, "If anything can go wrong, it will, and usually at the most inopportune moment").
Girl not on the water yet :(
Hmmm maybe I should rename my blog "Girl in the boat yard"?
All the work was complete for my Boat Safety certificate yesterday, I went to run my engine so that I could dry my hair before popping out for a curry with J+H, and it overheated! Typical. I waited 4 months for all the work to be finished, and then as soon as the open water was finally in sight it was stolen from under my nose. Even worse, I couldn't dry my hair before going out. Looks like more time in the boat yard for me - hopefully not too much longer. I just want to get out onto the towpath like a "real" boater now.
I am annoyed, as I was looking forward to cruising the boat to Newbold this weekend and enjoying finally meeting up with J+H, the change of scenery, pubs within walking distance, and superior T-mobile reception for my internet connection.
On the bright side, it's only 32 days 'til Christmas :) Hopefully I will have at least made it out of Rugby by then...
All the work was complete for my Boat Safety certificate yesterday, I went to run my engine so that I could dry my hair before popping out for a curry with J+H, and it overheated! Typical. I waited 4 months for all the work to be finished, and then as soon as the open water was finally in sight it was stolen from under my nose. Even worse, I couldn't dry my hair before going out. Looks like more time in the boat yard for me - hopefully not too much longer. I just want to get out onto the towpath like a "real" boater now.
I am annoyed, as I was looking forward to cruising the boat to Newbold this weekend and enjoying finally meeting up with J+H, the change of scenery, pubs within walking distance, and superior T-mobile reception for my internet connection.
On the bright side, it's only 32 days 'til Christmas :) Hopefully I will have at least made it out of Rugby by then...
Friday 16 November 2007
The Beginning
Hmmm...the beginning...always a good place to start, right?
I decided (well, was encouraged) to write this blog to pick up the tradition started by Xav documenting his adventures onboard his narrowboat Black Bottom Girl last winter. Have never been much of a writer myself, and am going to struggle to match his male sense of humour but I'll give it a shot and see how things turn out.
I bought my boat, Muddy Waters, in July this year and have lived on board since August. Things got off to a bit of a turbulent start, as I had to move out of my previous (rented) accomodation earlier than initially planned and the boat was far from ready. I spent a couple of weeks sorting through the mountain of boxes, throwing away things I didn't even realise that I owned and dispatching the rest to my parents' garage and making the place feel like home.
Between then and now there has been a lot of work done on the boat to bring her up to BSS standard and I have gradually relieved her of the flowery curtains and other decor which wasn't to my taste so she is finally starting to feel like home. Pretty candles, cushions and girly stuff have now taken over! I will get some before and after photos posted soon.
There have been dramas along the way including a slight electrical hitch that occupied the majority of a weekend, and a rope round the propeller as a result of my stupidity, but everything is coming together nicely now and I am almost ready to set off cruising properly. Just a couple of vents to install and a bank of batteries to secure and we'll be there I think!
I've spent most of the past week without gas / electric whilst the welding work was completed in the engine bay and have really started to appreciate the simple things in life - there's something almost magical about spending an evening or three reading by candle light in front of a burning stove, boiling the kettle on the fire to make hot chocolate. Long term I don't doubt I would hate it, but for a week it was quite cosy and made me think of families living like that permanently on their boats in years gone by. They probably didn't have an mp3 player for company though!
On a boat, there's definitely a fine balance to be found between things you want and actually need in life. It's taken a while, but I am genuinely surprised how little I need in order to live comfortably. Gone are the days of electric kettles, 2000w hairdryers, big tellys and lava lamps but I'm happier than I have ever been. Fingers crossed I'll still be saying the same once we get into the depths of winter!
I decided (well, was encouraged) to write this blog to pick up the tradition started by Xav documenting his adventures onboard his narrowboat Black Bottom Girl last winter. Have never been much of a writer myself, and am going to struggle to match his male sense of humour but I'll give it a shot and see how things turn out.
I bought my boat, Muddy Waters, in July this year and have lived on board since August. Things got off to a bit of a turbulent start, as I had to move out of my previous (rented) accomodation earlier than initially planned and the boat was far from ready. I spent a couple of weeks sorting through the mountain of boxes, throwing away things I didn't even realise that I owned and dispatching the rest to my parents' garage and making the place feel like home.
Between then and now there has been a lot of work done on the boat to bring her up to BSS standard and I have gradually relieved her of the flowery curtains and other decor which wasn't to my taste so she is finally starting to feel like home. Pretty candles, cushions and girly stuff have now taken over! I will get some before and after photos posted soon.
There have been dramas along the way including a slight electrical hitch that occupied the majority of a weekend, and a rope round the propeller as a result of my stupidity, but everything is coming together nicely now and I am almost ready to set off cruising properly. Just a couple of vents to install and a bank of batteries to secure and we'll be there I think!
I've spent most of the past week without gas / electric whilst the welding work was completed in the engine bay and have really started to appreciate the simple things in life - there's something almost magical about spending an evening or three reading by candle light in front of a burning stove, boiling the kettle on the fire to make hot chocolate. Long term I don't doubt I would hate it, but for a week it was quite cosy and made me think of families living like that permanently on their boats in years gone by. They probably didn't have an mp3 player for company though!
On a boat, there's definitely a fine balance to be found between things you want and actually need in life. It's taken a while, but I am genuinely surprised how little I need in order to live comfortably. Gone are the days of electric kettles, 2000w hairdryers, big tellys and lava lamps but I'm happier than I have ever been. Fingers crossed I'll still be saying the same once we get into the depths of winter!
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