14th September 2024

On the 14th September we got up early and with great excitement headed out of Wigrams Turn Marina and headed down the Oxford Canal towards the locks at the Folly.  The plan was to get through the locks today and then stop somewhere for the night.  The whole cruise would take around 2 weeks so we had plenty of time to explore before heading back to Kings Bromley Marina for the winter.  We hoped that we may have time to do the Ashby on the way back as well.

We came out of the marina with our shiny new engine sounding very smooth and headed down the canal.  We noticed quite quickly that there was a dip in the revs on the engine but nothing significant however by the time we got to Bridge 110 on the Oxford (about half an hours cruising) the temperature gauge went up and smoke started coming out of the engine.  We pulled over straight away and called Calcutt Boats.  We were both so upset and disappointed that this had happened but hoped that it was a simple fix and we would be on our way.

The mechanic from Calcutt Boats came out to the boat and informed us that the head gasket had blown on the refurbished engine and that we would need to be towed back to Calcutt Boats by one of their hire boats so they could find out what the problem was.  I can't describe the frustration at having to go back to Calcutt Boats but we waited for the hire boat to come and tow us back still hoping that the problems could be fixed quickly and we would be able to get back to cruising the Oxford canal in a few days.

A lovely couple, Tony and Carol, came to tow us back to Calcutt and after a very stressful trip being towed we arrived back at Calcutt Boats.  We were moored on the wharf with the hire boats.  Tony informed us that the bar was open for a quiz that night and so we headed over to the bar for a drink and joined in the quiz.  It was a pleasant evening but we were still a bit deflated at having problems with the engine and frustrated that we were not moored up on the Oxford canal for the night.

20th September 2024

We ended up staying at Calcutt Boats for six days whilst they tried to find the problem with the engine.  They finally identified that a pipe connecting the gearbox to the cooler had come adrift which caused us to lose all our coolant.  This was repaired, the boat was tested and then we were able to leave Calcutt Boats.

As it was already the 20th September and we were feeling pretty frustrated at the long delay in getting the boat sorted we decided not to cruise down the Oxford but head back to Kings Bromley Marina with maybe a trip down the Ashby if the weather was ok.  

So we headed out of Calcutt Boats towards Braunston.

After about 1 and half cruising, our oil pressure light came on.  We stopped straight away and rang Calcutt Boats, they informed us it was just a faulty switch and as long as the engine and oil and water then we were fine to continue our journey. They did offer to come and replace the switch but as it was not urgent we agreed that we would get it sorted when we returned in the new year to have the engine retorqued.  We were assured that as long as the light went out when we increased the revs then it was not a problem.  Once again this was frustrating but we were able to continue our journey.

We headed to Braunston and stopped just on the outskirts of the town but we were able to walk back to the Boathouse Pub in Braunston for lunch.  We had been here a few times when we had our first boat Maya so it was nice to revisit.

21st and 22nd September 2024

On the morning of the 21st September we headed out of Braunston and headed to Hillmorton Locks however on our way past Barby Marina we noticed a lot of blue smoke coming out of the engine and the oil pressure light came back on again and would not go off when we increased the revs.  We managed to get to the bridge before the top lock at Hillmorton and once again called Calcutt Boats.  They sent out three mechanics to look at the boat, they changed the oil pressure light, checked the engine over and then told us we could continue the journey as everything was ok.  We were not confident with the engine but had to rely on the experts.  We also noticed a lot of oil in the engine bay but we were assured this was ok so we stayed overnight at Hillmorton locks.  On the morning of the 22nd we headed up the canal towards Brinklow Marina.  We had stayed here on our way down to Calcutt so we decided we would have a night on the marina to try to destress and we were both stressed about the ongoing issues with the boat.  Thankfully we had no issues with the boat and arrived at Brinklow in the afternoon.

23rd and 24th September 2024

On the 23rd September we left Brinklow and headed for Hawkesbury Junction where we had planned to stay overnight.  We arrived at Hawkesbury early afternoon, again we had no issues with the boat that day other than the blue smoke coming out of the exhaust which we had been told was fine.  The oil pressure light did come on in the lock but went off when we started moving again so we moored up on the Coventry Canal side of Hawkesbury Junction and had a pleasant afternoon in the Greyhound Pub.  We were both feeling a bit more relaxed and were now keen to make progress back to Kings Bromley.  We had decided not to do the Ashby but just get back to the marina.   On the morning of the 24th September we started out from Hawkesbury Junction but we had only gone a very short distance before the engine overheated again.  John checked the engine and a moulding on the water cooler had split.  Once again we contacted Calcutt Boats who sent out two mechanics.  The weather was terrible and we had to moor in a very unsafe place on the canal.  Unfortunately the mechanics diagnosed that the head gasket had blown again and we would have to limp back to Calcutt Boats to get the engine taken out and looked at properly.  This was a three day journey which we would have to take with the cap off our water tank so that the engine did not overheat.  This was so upsetting, stressful and frustrating.  Both John and I had really had enough but as the engine was under warranty we had no choice but to go back to Calcutt and let them remove the engine to see what the issue was.  The only positive was that we would get to see Tony and Carol again.

25th to the 29th September 2024

We started our journey back to Calcutt Boats, very deflated.  We stopped off at Brinklow Marina on the way back again and the good news was that we managed to arrange for us to move from Kings Bromley Marina to Brinklow Marina for the winter.  This would mean we only had a short journey to return to a winter mooring once the boat was repaired and also we were closer to the Oxford for next years cruise.  This lifted our spirits a little but we were still feeling pretty disappointed about the ongoing issues with the boat.

We arrived back at Calcutt Boats on the 30th September and moored up in the boatyard.  We met with the mechanics to agree the best way forward, the engine would be taken out of the boat and fully tested and they would increase the skin tanks on our boat to improve the cooling system.  Unfortunately this would mean having to stay on the camper van for a week whilst the work was carried out which was not ideal.

30th September 2024

After nearly 3 weeks at Calcutt we were finally able to move the boat back to Brinklow Marina for the winter.  The journey took us 3 days.  Thankfully we had no issues with the engine on the way back.  However on turning into Brinklow Marina we were hit by another boat that was cruising behind us. He hit us very hard and managed to split our pram cover.  Once in the marina we headed to the diesel wharf fill up with diesel.  John then moved to our winter mooring.  Time to relax and hopefully put all the stress behind us. However as John was checking the engine he noticed that diesel was leaking out of the new inspection hatch that Calcutt had fitted.  Once again we had to call out Calcutt Boats to repair the problem.  It has not been a very nice couple of months but we are really happy to be at Brinklow and looking forward to a stress free winter in a beautiful marina. The marina is know as the Marina of Dreams.