The day started with a run to the top of Hilmorton locks, on the outskirts of Rugby. This flight of three locks is unusual on this canal because each lock is paired to allow more traffic and was the result of the Thomas Telford improvements. The locks are also well maintained and easy to operate.
As we continued cruising the battery alarm on the main engine control panel started to sound. Although it began as an intermittent fault, by the time we arrived at Clifton Wharf it had been sounding continuously for some while. We needed to fill with diesel so Christine enquired if there was an engineer who could check it out. "OK, but he wants to have a cup of coffee first!" she was told - so we did likewise whilst filling with water.
When he arrived, he checked the batteries first and, although there may be an issue with the cabin services batteries (perhaps we should add another now we have the inverter) he confirmed that the main engine starter battery was charging OK and holding its charge. He took a look at the back of the control panel but nothing seemed wrong until he replaced it whereupon the fault we found last night re-appeared. It soon became clear that the problem was the small circuit board which had lost one of its monting screws and was loose enough to make occasional contact with the metal bulkhead. As soon as this was fixed the problem went away! We filled with fuel, taking exactly 100l so that we could calibrate our dipstick!
A little further around the edge of Rugby and we moored close to a large Tesco supermarket, only a few minutes walk, where we topped up our supplies.
The northern canal was straigthened by Thomas Telford and a number of the old arms left behind from the meandering route can still be seen and some are used for moorings or marinas. Most are marked by the splendid cast iron bridges from Horsley Iron Works.
Stretton Stop, now home to Rose hire boats, was once the place where tolls were collected, but now is only just visible as a narrow section the size of a lock.
We had planned to moor in Coventry but out maintenance stop put paid to that and Plan B was to find a mooring at Hawkesbury Junction. However, about a mile before there we spotted a reasonable quiet mooring (the M6 is not far away) and a good bankside and made a snap decision to stop here for the night.
As we continued cruising the battery alarm on the main engine control panel started to sound. Although it began as an intermittent fault, by the time we arrived at Clifton Wharf it had been sounding continuously for some while. We needed to fill with diesel so Christine enquired if there was an engineer who could check it out. "OK, but he wants to have a cup of coffee first!" she was told - so we did likewise whilst filling with water.
When he arrived, he checked the batteries first and, although there may be an issue with the cabin services batteries (perhaps we should add another now we have the inverter) he confirmed that the main engine starter battery was charging OK and holding its charge. He took a look at the back of the control panel but nothing seemed wrong until he replaced it whereupon the fault we found last night re-appeared. It soon became clear that the problem was the small circuit board which had lost one of its monting screws and was loose enough to make occasional contact with the metal bulkhead. As soon as this was fixed the problem went away! We filled with fuel, taking exactly 100l so that we could calibrate our dipstick!
A little further around the edge of Rugby and we moored close to a large Tesco supermarket, only a few minutes walk, where we topped up our supplies.
The northern canal was straigthened by Thomas Telford and a number of the old arms left behind from the meandering route can still be seen and some are used for moorings or marinas. Most are marked by the splendid cast iron bridges from Horsley Iron Works.
Stretton Stop, now home to Rose hire boats, was once the place where tolls were collected, but now is only just visible as a narrow section the size of a lock.
We had planned to moor in Coventry but out maintenance stop put paid to that and Plan B was to find a mooring at Hawkesbury Junction. However, about a mile before there we spotted a reasonable quiet mooring (the M6 is not far away) and a good bankside and made a snap decision to stop here for the night.
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