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The Bluewater boys came down today to deal with a few snagging issues (big ones and small) and things are going well; there were also some paintwork issues around the upper strikes but Julian sorted all of those. Unfortunately it was a blistering hot day so it was not much fun crawling over steel to sort it.
To date, the thrusters have not worked on full power but Joel, the Vetus engineer, came along and eventually fixed this. Unfortunately it was to do with the way the hydraulic roof had been set up. There was also a generator issue that had to be resolved with a software update.
The dog-box blinds were also problematic and would not close but this got fixed with a set of new winders.
Vetus also had to change the control panel. What I did not realise was that it reset the running hours. Probably obvious really, so it now reads 47hrs less than actual.
The engine was due for a 50 hour service. I thought that Vetus would cover this but apparently not; they are happy however for me do do it myself without impacting the warranty. I do find that a bit strange but it does appear to be correct. To that end I sourced the relevant parts with the key parts from Vetus. Whilst I do enjoy these little tasks, I also think it is very important to get as close to the workings of the boat as possible. I need to be capable of supporting as many aspects as possible.
The engine takes 14 ltrs, so my car drain tank was not large enough. Therefore I purchased a 17 ltr container and with the other parts, embarked on the maintenance tasks. Unfortunately, I fell at the first hurdle as Vetus supplied the wrong fuel filter. So I put that task to one side until the correct one could be sourced. The next problem was that it appears 14 ltrs is too much for a 17 ltr container or maybe the recent emptying of the waste tank (did I tell you about our first pump out? Well maybe later) and a half full water tank has resulted in a tilt from bow to stern with a resulting oil spillage. That was fun cleaning up but all sorted now.
So time for some sea trials, well river trials. Nicki and I went on a 5 hour trip to Bourne End – ALONE. Not super exciting but a lot of challenges for us on our own. It all went really well and I (stupidly) voiced the opinion to Nicki that I was feeling super confident, so yes you guessed it, the last lock out went far from well. Exiting the lock is normally a lot easier than getting into it, but on this occasion a kind couple told us that they would operate the lock gates for us to save us getting on and off the barge, but unfortunately they did not fully open the gates. We did get out OK but only just, with so many steering corrections that I was in trouble with the bank almost immediately on exit. Pride before a fall and all that.
