Tuesday 13 August 2013

Things go wrong

Isn’t  it  amazing how within minutes everything can be turned upside down. Today even though it was Sunday and the canals were very busy we had a very good day it would seem that sanity had returned to the canal, we moored at Great Haywood just below the first lock after our usual conference of cake and tea we all decided that Monday we would catch the bus into Stafford and as we had made excellent time take a day off. However on returning back to Buggerlugs I wanted to run the engine and boost the batteries, after starting the engine I noticed that the travel pack green light wasn't on so I thought I would lift the cover and see if there was anything wrong with the fan belts as I lifted the covers I was amazed to see that the engine compartments had 4 inches of water in them. To cut a long story short after an hour of scratching heads and swearing I was at a loss to were the water had come from the equations were numerous and with the absence of a noticeable split hose or split tank I was I admit at a loss. The next problem would be the Travel pack, now I remember Danny saying that there was a special sequence of switching everything off and them using the sequence boost everything back up. I hate having to call for help but I had too and again Danny came to the rescue he dictated the sequence over the phone But as it was now dark I decided to wait until morning  so 7.30am I used the magical formula and like a wizard casting a spell all the light came on and everything (electrical)  was back to normal. Thank goodness for knowledgeable friends who are at the end of phone and though late at night are still calm and willing to help.
However we still had the problem of 4 inches of water to shift out of the engine and discover where it had come from. It took Noreen and I an hour to shift the water, dry everything and check for any leaks  by 9.00am we had done everything we could as we had decided the night before to all go to Stafford we showered and got ready, leaving the engine running. Before we left we checked for any leaks  turned the engine and went out.
On return I was grateful to see that we were still afloat and the engine was still dry, as I was replacing everything I looked into my spare part locker only to find that also had 4 inches of water in it again we set to with buckets and emptied it now this locker is just a sealed shelf unit way above the engine the only water in there was the central heating which has been switch off since April the nearest water to it would then be the weed hatch at Johns suggestion we inspected it and noticed that it was not seated properly and when doing a hard reverse water could have come up and flooded the engine. THAT is how it stands at the moment but tomorrow when we put the engine under pressure  we will see if we have won stay tuned.
Our journey to Stafford was another memorable Arriva trip I am now convinced that Arriva train all their drivers at Silverstone, this morning excuse for a driver was a psychopath just after departing the bus stop we were being held up by two cyclist who were refusing to ride in single file and a lady driver who in her wisdom did not want to take a chance at overtaking them for fear of killing them or killing herself. Our driver however was not that particular after blasting his horn at this poor demented lady driver trying to encourage her to overtake the offending cyclist  he attempted to overtake both lady driver and cyclist, our driver must have seen John and Is faces of utter bewilderment at his action and returned to a save distance, after this action the lady driver found a layby, pulled in and regained sanity. Now our driver had the cyclist in sight I am not sure what would have happened if the cyclists had not formed single file because even in single file I could see the fear in their eyes as we passed. The only road user who acted correctly was the lady driver who would not be forced into lunacy. Our driver as I said was a psychopath and the two cyclist by being just pure ignorant and a danger to all could have caused a terrible accident
Unfortunately for the driver when we arrived in Stafford I reported his action to the bus inspector. Now I know that it not my makeup to snitch and everyone know how I loath and detest ignorant over bearing cyclist but our driver was erratic and a danger to a bus full of people. The return journey was uneventful but extremely fast.
We are doing a full day tomorrow 14 miles 12 locks and a halfway break to check if the engine has flooded, I will give a quick note on how we survive

1 comment:

John and Kath Big Decision said...

Hi,Al and Noreen,hope you are over your water preoblems.Nice bus ride eh!Thanks for mention of Paul and Chris(patience).Safe journey home, John and Kath.