New Year, New Livery

Throughout January and February we are mostly painting boats. Sammy and Sumo are getting a nice new livery for this year and some out of water maintenance.  On a very rainy day at the beginning of January both boats were craned out of the water at Oundle Marina and popped into the shed for some TLC after a busy year going up and down the river.

Here is Sumo on her way into the shed.  This is the last time you'll see her in this colour - when she comes back out of the shed she will look like a completely different boat and be green and red to match Sammy!

Meanwhile Arwen and Spencer Bear have been busy helping to take out curtain hooks so the curtains can be laundered. Spencer Bear looks fascinated by the whole experience!

The first job was to power wash off both boats and remove a few freshwater mussels and weed, let them dry and then sand off the hulls and cabin. Any rust spots were then treated and Sumo had an ultrasound scan to check the thickness of the steel which she passed with flying colours!

Sammy is first in the queue for painting and  here she is after several applications of undercoat - a nice shade of battleship grey!

A quick look underneath the back end of Sumo now she has been cleaned off

We're now at the stage where Sammy has gone green again and is just in the process of having her red back panel painted on.  Then it be will time for the coach lines to be reapplied and her name to be added. It would be good if it warmed up just a little bit as trying to apply paint in sub zero temperatures is no fun as it doesn't spread very well!

Sammy's got some new magnesium anodes fitted on the front and back of the hull

We're certainly getting through a few tins of Toplac and Pre-Kote and there is still another boat to go! 

In the meantime, I leave you with a sign that Spring is just around the corner and it won't be long before we're back on the water - see you soon!

Spring is Officialy Here and The Holiday Season Gets Underway

We had a great open day and met some lovely people, so thank you to all those who came along and took advantage of the Cadbury's Creme Egg giveaway!

The boats are ready to go and waiting for this year's first customers.  Our complimentary trays this year have got jams from The Pickled Village and free range eggs from the smallholding just up the road.  

While we were busy getting everything ready, I noticed the ducks were checking the underneath of a boat that was out being blacked nearby. They like to pick off the freshwater mussels that attach to the underside of the boats!

As well as the boats, we have also been busy getting our campsite ready, putting up the Yurt and the Camp Kitchen tent.  New for this year we have a Tipi which we will be taking delivery of in May. Most of the people that stay with us are enjoying canoeing holidays on the Nene.  You can book canoe and camp holiday packages on the River Nene from Canoe 2 and we provide the accommodation for you! You can also book our Yurt and Tipi via our website at Indigo Camping.

When all the work was finally finished on the campsite we thought we would have a go at a bit of outdoor cookery in the new fire pit area that we've built - the sausage and bean hotpot was very nice too!

Bob the Bucket and Countdown to the Start of the Season

Last week we both completed our RYA (Royal Yachting Association) training course.  Pete from Lincolnshire Boat Services popped down to Oundle Marina on a beautifully sunny Monday morning and after a cup of coffee we set off down river to practice the 'man over board procedure' or MOB as it is known.  Here we are fishing Bob the Bucket out of the water. We repeated this several times as he just couldn't seem to stay on board!  I'm glad Bob the Bucket volunteered to go in, as the water was rather chilly!

As it was such a nice day, we decided to head back upriver towards Lilford and show Pete what a lovely river the Nene is and he was very impressed!  

Although we could happily have gone cruising for the rest of the day, there was work to be done, so we set off back to base and waved goodbye to Pete, who will be back to do our First Aid refresher course later in April.

The boats are now starting to look like holiday boats again, the engines have all been serviced and put back together, the painting is nearly finished, all doors and hatches have been repainted.  The boat cleaning is also well underway with Helen making sure everything is cleaned within an inch of its life and I have been busy ironing all the curtains and covers.  Bruce has been getting artistic in the workshop and has been busy with a new design on Sumo's back doors.

Sumo has now arrived in her new position in the marina and Sammy will be joining her this coming Friday.

Nicky's chicks have started to hatch out, this little one could be laying the on board free range eggs later in the year!

Don't forget it's our Open Day this Saturday 5th April, so if you are around the area pop in and say hello and don't forget to pick up your Cadbury's Creme Egg!

Spring Updates

Finally Spring seems to have arrived after what has been a very wet winter for a lot of people.  We're busy getting ready for the start of the season on 7th April. 

Oundle Marina

It's an especially exciting year for us as this will be our first year based down the road at Oundle Marina. Preparations are getting well underway and our banner is up! 

We will be having an open day on Saturday 5th April and you are welcome to come and have a look around the boats.  Check our Facebook, Twitter and website  pages for updates. We've also added an online booking system, so you can now book via the website and we've produced an app and mobile website which contains a handy guide to the River Nene.  The app is currently available to download on Google Play and will be available for Kindle and Apple devices shortly.

Mobile Site and App

This year we will be adding a few yummy extras for our customers, including Nicky & Elaine's fresh free range eggs from the smallholding just up the road and jars of jam from the The Pickled Village, nearby in Bulwick. 

Some of Nicky & Elaine's Chickens

We are busy getting our small campsite ready as well, with a number of improvements and a Tipi being made for us for this season, to add to the Bell Tents and Yurt.  The Tipi will be available to hire as part of canoe short break packages on the River Nene with our friends up river at Canoe 2.  Updates coming soon!  Meanwhile, lambing will be getting underway in the next few weeks and some of the sheep are looking like little barrels at the moment!

We will doing our RYA training this Monday on Sumo, so if you see us going past don't forget to give us a wave! 





Escaped Boats, Engines and Green Shoots

Getting the hireboats ready last March, note that Dan is wearing a t-shirt and there seems to be something called sun shining.

March 2012

Getting the hireboats ready this March.  A slight difference of about 20 degrees and a foot of snow!

March 2013

Last week one of the boats moored at the boatyard decided to slip its ropes and take itself off for a cruise down towards the lock and had to be rescued.  This proved quite difficult as there was still a considerable flow on the river and it was rather windy.  The boat was eventually pulled back to safety and a visit to the weir was averted.  On a more serious note it is important to check boat ropes, particularly during times of strong stream and fluctuating river levels.

 

 

Boat Rescue

 We are continuing to renovate our 70ft motor and unfortunately last year the freezing temperatures cracked the engine block. After much consideration, deliberation, unbolting, building of contraptions, pulling, pushing, lifting up, setting down again and general inventiveness, the Lister engine had been disturbed from its mountings, pulled apart and manhandled all the way up to the front deck with much huffing and puffing ready to be craned out and repaired.  The motor now had to be towed down to the dock at Oundle Marina ready for the engine to be taken out.  In the midst of snow, wind and freezing temperatures Bob moved the boat across the marina for us on Saturday morning.

 

Towing the motor across the Marina to the dock

 Waiting patiently at the dock side are all the boats that have been overwintering in the Marina waiting to be put back into the water ready for the boating season and Easter this week.  Admittedly it isn't really boating weather at the moment but I am confident that will change very soon.  I know the marina shop have just received their first delivery of ice cream, so we must be set for a heatwave!

 

Cruisers waiting to be craned back into the Marina

After a bit of manouevering and adjustment of the straps the engine was eventually on its way out of the boat!

 

And here it is all 3 tonnes of it suspended in mid air, merrily swinging above the marina.  This is when you hope to goodness that the straps are attached properly!

 

 

The engine safely reached the shore and has been packaged up ready for collection this week.

 

 

All that remained now was to tow the boat out of the dock and back across the marina. It was windy and very cold and after several attempts and being blown all over the marina the motor was finally towed out of the marina entrance.  Thanks to Bob & Richard for their help with this!

 

 

And finally ........

 

Just to remind you that Spring is just around the corner, I did spot a few green shoots this week.