Category: Continuous Cruising

Living on a continuous cruiser on the UK canal system under CRT rules.

Weedon Bec -> Dodford

Or thereabouts.

In the fields really.

Very nice and placid.

It’s nice being able to draw the curtains and not have gongoozlers look onto your boat all the while.

I have some nice orchids growing outside my window. It’s close enough the I can see the insects moving up and down the stems. Closer to nature, I guess they say!

A45 Weedon Bypass

Has been completed. Last November to be exact.

Flowers of conciliation are now growing across the earthworks.

Weedon Bypass A45
Flowers grow on the Weedon Bypass A45

It was definitely noisier last year when their were less plants to absorb the sound and vibrations.

Can hardly hear it now.

Flore -> Weedon Bec

Moving up past the waterpoint and sewage farm.

More into the center of the village.

Solar

Since putting the solar panels and buying a new PWM controller for the portable panels, I’ve only been having to start the engine to move the boat.

Solar PWM controller
Solar PWM controller

What I used to have to do every morning for 2 hours. I now do only every other week for about 1 hour.

What’s left is free energy.

By 6pm at night, there is a lot more left, meaning I can watch TV and do those other things I want to.

By 9am the next morning, the batteries are full again.

Who can say this isn’t good value?

Government increases tax rate on domestic solar panels to 20%

The government is trying to discourage people from using these by increasing the VAT on them to full rate, whilst a VAT reduction remains for other fossil fuels energy items such as gas, diesel and coal.

Goods or services VAT rate
Electricity for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity 5%
Gas for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity 5%
Heating oil for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity 5%
Solar panels for domestic and residential use or for non-business use by a charity 20%

Just shows how serious our government is about renewables and climate change.

Thankfully, I’ve got my panels now and I won’t be paying this charge.

The charge comes in in October, so it’s time to getting fitting your panels now.

https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change-solar-panels-vat-government-fossil-fuels-sian-berry-a8906361.html

https://www.michaeltyler.co.uk/fitting-solar-panels-narrowboat/

Blisworth -> Nether Heyford

Just moving the boat.

Last stop was Gayton, before I put it in the marina.

There’s one possible stop, near Anchor Farm, then straight through to Nether Heyford, because stopping at Bugbrooke isn’t an option.

Easter Weekend

It’s Easter Weekend, possibly the most busy time for hire boaters.

Began washing Bonnie yesterday – cleaning all the winter grime off with a scrubbing brush.

Took me 3 hours to do the roof.

Still got to do the cabin, gunwhales and decks.

Gayton Junction -> Gayton in the Fields

Due to some nefarious action on my database, I seem to have lost one of my posts.

Not to worry, it’s out there somewhere, and no doubt if I get bored enough, it will return!

Trip to Nepal

I’ve been trying to prepare the blog for my forthcoming trip abroad by putting some sort of header to make it easier to navigate as my trip progresses.

For the database, this created some problems in parsing any kind of requests, and when I went to make some alterations to the appearance of the site, all my requests timed-out.

I tried disabling plug-ins and running wordpress Vanilla, as it were, which had a slight effect, but still with severely limited functionality. Re-installed. Etc.

I contacted my hosts, Kualo, (you can find them here https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.kualo.com, ), to ask whether they could offer any guidance. Continue reading “Gayton Junction -> Gayton in the Fields”