Frozen water pipes!

No.... not on a narrowboat.... at our shed!

I crept out early this morning in the dark to use the bathroom.  Oh, my goodness, it was cold.  We each have a pair of "crocs" that we have always used for the garden and walking around the chicken shed.  They are now on our little platform outside the caravan door.  So far I've managed fine wearing them with bare feet to hurry across to the bathroom.  This morning was so cold I could hardly stand it with bare feet in those things! 

When I turned on the tap in the bathroom to wash my hands no water came out of the tap.  I thought we'd used all the water in the water tank. I came back complaining to Mick about the lack of water and eventually we came to the conclusion that the water pipes must be frozen.


When we got up an hour later, it felt even colder.  It was -4 degrees.  Outside it looked like a Winter wonderland.  Everything was covered in frost and ice.  The property is surrounded by an industrial chain wire fence and the entire thing was white frosted.  Mick's bucket of water holding his paintbrush had a layer of ice on top.  Even my car, under the carport roof, had icicles on the roof.

The sun came out and began to melt the ice on the roof of the shed and the condensation on the steel beams inside rained down all over the place.  This time when I went outside I put my feet (with socks - I wasn't making the same mistake) in the crocs which were full of water.  It was so cold!!  I got dressed and retreated to my Mum's in Bendigo for a shower to warm up.  It took until I got there for my feet to defrost, despite having the heater blowing on them all the way.

I don't know what will happen if the pipes freeze on a work morning.  I think I'll have to take more notice of the weather forecast - and if it's likely to be that cold I'll get up earlier to allow time for a trip to Mum's for a shower.

I went to the Rivers factory outlet and bought two pairs of short "ugg boot" type things.  Tonight we've got warm feet at least and we've put the crocs away.  Now we'll walk from the caravan to the bathroom without cold feet.

I guess it's all good practice for Winter on a narrowboat.

The temporary home

For those who have asked to see where we're living - here are some outside photos.  Once our little living room is complete I'll take a few indoor ones.

1. Taken from the back corner of the property
2. From the driveway (shed on the left)
3. From the shed door
4. Frost and sunrise
5. The valley
6. Lovely outlook

Lockgate vs. solid fuel stove

We are interested to hear opinions about lockgate stoves on narrowboats.  We often see boats for sale having one and had thought that we should replace it with a small solid fuel stove.    I like to be able to put a kettle or a pot of soup on a wood burning stove. 

What sort of heat do the Lockgates give off? 

Is it a dry heat like a wood fire? 

Is there any diesel smell?

Is a Lockgate stove a good supplement to a central heating system?

We definitely don't want the central heating to run off a Lockgate heater.  We want to have 2 sources of heating in case of a problem with one.  But, with a Lockgate stove it's likely to be both soures reliant on diesel.  What if you're iced in and not able to fill your diesel tank?  Would it not be easier to collect a bag of coal for a solid fuel stove?

Opinions greatly appreciated.

Annie

I had a lovely day yesterday - taking my niece to see Annie at the theatre.  Being school holidays the theatre was packed with little girls.  The performance was great and Min really enjoyed her day.

Starting to feel like home

I never thought I'd say it but that little caravan is starting to feel like home.  We're getting used to where our clothes are stored, we have a method for the washing, we have a system for alternating power plugs for the kettle, toaster, microwave etc.  With the shed far more tidy now, it doesn't seem so bad having to walk through it to go to the bathroom.  I'm even used to saying "good morning" to the neighbour's cows when I step out of the caravan each morning.  I got the fright of my life the first morning I was by myself when one let out a loud "mooooooo" just as I came out the door.  It was right up against the fence and was quite close.  I rather like having them there now.

When we finally get our narrowboat it will feel enormous compared to the caravan and the cooking facilities will seem luxurious!  Being able to go to the bathroom without going outside will be fantastic.


I'm at my brothers tonight in Melbourne and his wife mentioned their plans for Christmas. It's strange to think they're planning what to do for Christmas and we won't be here.  Twelve weeks from tomorrow we'll be on a plane.  I know how fast 12 weeks goes when I have a holiday booked..... and that's a bit of a scary thing. 

I'm looking forward to tomorrow.  I'm taking my niece to see "Annie" at the theatre in Melbourne.  It was the first thing I ever saw at the theatre as a little girl and it will be Min's first time at the theatre too.  A very exciting day.

First proper weekend

This is the first proper weekend we've had at our temporary residence.  It's been so hard to get things set up how we want them.  The first weekend Mick rushed off to New Zealand to see his mum (she's not doing terribly well unfortunately) and last weekend we went away to Barwon Heads.  With us being sick as well it's not been an easy start.

Finally now we've made progress.  Our "lockup" as we call it (where our households contents are stored) is finally looking properly sorted out.  We had stuff all over the place at the beginning.  The final 2 days of packing up our house resulted in those things being thrown into boxes, crates, bags or just loose in the car.  It wasn't a terribly organised couple of days and to have those things sorted out and properly packed away is a relief.

The small office at the shed is now all sorted with our fridge and kitchen table so we have somewhere for the bread maker and the slow cooker.  The guys also use it as their lunchroom when they're working here in the workshop so they have a kettle and sandwich toaster.

The larger office has been emptied of all the built in reception furniture, ready for painting.  We'll then have a clean room to use as a living room.  We won't know ourselves then!  The dinette seats in the caravan are ok for eating meals but are not comfortable for evening sitting. For the first time in about 15 years we're watching tv in bed.

At last... if we need Panadol, or a bar of soap, sticky tape, window cleaner, an envelope... we can find it!!

Pick of the week - Parisian Star

We feel like we're getting a little better at sifting through the many boats for sale.  We've had so much useful advice from blog readers.  We appreciate it very much.  We have a long way to go so please do keep reminding us of things we haven't thought of.

Aqueduct Brokerage have my pick for this week : nb Parisian Star   This boat appears to have the dinette beyond the galley, with a door in between.  Our preference initially was to have the living, dining, cooking areas all open but with work in the back of my mind I don't think I'd mind this arrangement of the dinette being in a separate area.  There is no solid fuel stove so we would probably want to do something about that.  We like the blue exterior and the interior is nice and light.  The armchairs look comfy enough and the bed extends to 5ft which is perfect.

More importantly is something we're learning more about... electrics.  The inverter is 2kw which we've been told could possibly be a little undersized for running a washing machine.  But, there is also a 3.5kw travelpack so we figure we'd be fine with this.

No water tank size so we'd want to ask about that.  Good hull builder, fitter out who I've found nothing negative about.

So everyone... how did I do?!

So, from the advertisement :

SPECIFICATION
Year: 2006
Style: Trad
Hull Builder: G J Reeves
Fit Out: Crown Narrowboats
Length: 57f t
Cabin Headroom: 6’4”
Draught: 2ft
Berths: 4
Original Steel Thicknesses: Reported as 10/6/4
Licence: December 2012
R.C.D: Compliant
Boat Safety: 07/03/14
DESCRIPTION
Parisian Star, a well crafted high spec 4 berth boat. Built by well renowned boat builders Crown Narrowboats and G J Reeves, She would be perfect for a family as a liveaboard or for extended cruising
due to her comfortable interior and separate sleeping areas, high electrical specification and generous storage space throughout.
INTERIOR
Insulation: Spray foam
Fit Out: Lined throughout in oak veneered ply with solid oak trim
Flooring: Carpeted throughout with cushioned flooring in shower room
Seating/Sleeping: Loose recliners in saloon area provide comfortable seating for two. Pullman dinette provides seating for 4 converting to double bed. Fixed double bed pulling out to 5ft
Cooking: Stoves 500dit cooker and microwave
Fridge/Freezer 12v Shoreline fridge with separate shoreline chest freezer located under the dinette on pullout rails
Washing Machine: Indesit
Galley Worktops: Marble effect laminate worktop with generous cupboard space underneath. Overhead cupboards provide additional storage.
Toilet: Vacuflush pump out toilet with 400ltr waste tank
Shower: Tiled shower cubical with chrome thermostatic mixer
Basin: Set into vanity unit providing storage
ENGINE & MAINTENANCE
Engine: Beta Marine 43hp
Generator: 3.5kva Travel power
Gearbox: PRM 150 hydraulic gearbox
Bow Thruster: Vetus 55kg
HEATING & WATER
Fresh Water System: Stainless steel located under bow well deck with water gauge. Filtered water tap in galley next to sink
Stove: No
Central Heating: Eberspacher diesel central heating with fin radiators positioned throughout
Hot Water: From engine and central heating system
ELECTRICAL & GAS
Alternators: N/A
Batteries: 4 x 135amphr leisure batteries, 1 x start, 1 x bow thruster
Galvanic Isolator: Zinc saver II30A
Inverter/Charger: Mastervolt mass combi 2kW with Mastervolt battery monitoring system
230v: 13amp sockets positioned throughout cabin area
Lighting: 12v halogen down lights throughout with switch down lights in bedroom area
Gas: Bow gas locker holds 2 x 13kg gas bottles supplying cooker in galley. A Marine care gas alarm is fitted
Entertainment: JVC cd/radio with speakers throughout
EQUIPMENT
Complete with full cruising equipment
EXTERNAL
Paintwork: Dark blue cabin with cream coach lines and light blue roof
Side Doors: Large side doors on port side opposite dinette area with internal fly screen on runners
Lockers: Bow lockers port and starboard including bow thrusters locker
Windows: Large windows throughout cabin area with large portholes in shower room and bedroom providing extra privacy.

 

A new niece

We have a new baby in the family.  Yesterday my youngest brother and his wife had their second baby - a little sister for Declan.  Her name is Edith Johanna (Johanna after our late father who was Johannes).  I don't have a photo because I can't go and see her - I'm still sick.  Hopefully by Sunday I'll be back on track and can go down to Melbourne to meet the new addition. Meanwhile I'll wait for someone to email me a photo.

Congratulations Jeff and Kate!

Sick !

It has been a huge few weeks and now we've stopped rushing around but we're both sick.... still.  I think we've both allowed ourselves to get run down.  There is a couple of bugs making the rounds at the moment and we were prime targets.  Mick seems to have the tail end of a virus hanging around and I've been to the doctor today because I've now developed a chest infection on top of the virus.  A round of antibiotics and a day of rest tomorrow should make some progress I hope.  I'm hoping we can get back into some sort of routine with our temporary life. 

On a happier note, Mick's mum went home from hospital yesterday.  She's not out of the woods and there's a high risk of a further heart attack but at least she's in her own environment and sleeping better in her own bed.  A carer will come in four times a day to assist her with meals and bedtime as she's also been battling eye cancer and has very limited vision.  She's a feisty little lady and Mick said she sounded almost back to her old self on the phone.   It would just be nice for her to live her life out, however much longer that is, in her own home and in relative comfort.

Weekend at Barwon Heads

We're tucked up in our caravan again tonight after a lovely weekend at Barwon Heads.  We both have a cold - brought back from New Zealand by Mick.  I was glad we were away with our sore throats and runny noses because if we'd been here Mick would have felt like he had to keep doing chores no matter how awful he felt.

We go to Barwon Heads for our birthdays nearly every year and stay in a lovely little converted boat house that overlooks the pier and the water.  We took our time getting down there on Friday, making a stop along the way at The Mill antique market in Geelong.  It was the most enjoyable hour or so wandering around looking at all the stuff.

The owner is a keen collector of vintage enamel signs, something that Mick also enjoys collecting but on a much smaller scale.  The signs on display at The Mill are not for sale but we love looking at them all - thousands, or more likely hundreds of thousands, of dollars worth of collection.  We've had a policy lately of not buying anything that we don't actually need right now (it'll only go into storage!) but we broke our rule and bought one small embossed tin sign advertising "Electrine Candles".  There were many other items we would have carted home with us under different circumstances but not now.  We haven't been antiquing for a very well over a year and it reminded me of how much we love trawling through old things like that.  It gives us something to look forward to when we return from England because we'll have a different house to decorate.

The weather was pretty awful on Friday so it was nice to reach the boat house and crank the heating up.  We had a delicious dinner at a little deli after a walk along the beachfront (rugged up with coats and scarves of course).

On Saturday after breakfast at the restaurant on the pier, we went for a drive along the Great Ocean Rd to Apollo Bay.  I wanted to make a stop at Wye River, where I'd spent many childhood holidays camping on the foreshore.  It's changed of course.  Waterfront property is absurdly priced in Victoria now and modern waterside houses have cropped up all over the place.  The general store has had a trendy facelift and the caravan park on the inland side of the ocean road has also changed beyond recognition.  It's very pretty!

We then did something else from my childhood - something that has also changed beyond recognition.  Just a few kilometres past Wye Rive is Kennett River.  On our annual camping holidays we would go for a drive in the evening up the road behind the caravan park there to look for kangaroos and koalas.  It's easy to see kangaroos in the wild in Australia (they jump out in front of your car if you drive in rural areas!) but koalas are another matter altogether.  They are particular about the type of gum they eat so you don't find them just anywhere.  Mick had never seen a koala outside a sanctuary so I thought it would be a good thing to do.

We turned off behind the caravan park and there were a heap of tour buses parked there!  The road was crowded with Japanese tourists!!  They were all busy pointing up a tree and taking photos so obviously they'd spied a koala.  We nudged our way through the crowd in the car and drove further up the road and away from them.  There was a long section of road where the trees were absolutely stripped bare.  I had read about this some time ago that koala numbers were more than the local area could handle, despite their endangered status.  We continued on and the condition of the gums improved.  Before long we started spotting them - a good 6 or 7 in the short stretch we drove.  It was a shame I didn't have my camera with me because my phone doesn't take the best photos.  A couple of them facing away from the road were busy chewing on their gum leaves and the one that we got the best look at was doing what they do best - sleeping.

We had another peaceful night and a relaxed start to the day today.  It will be back to work tomorrow after a lovely couple of days away.  Just what the doctor ordered.

Photos :
The Mill at Geelong
Barwon Heads bridge
View from the boat house
View from the boat house
Koala at Kennett River