GrahamK

We'd left Jannock moored at Reading, by the entrance to the K&A for a week to see if the current flow down through County lock would be lower when we came back the following weekend. We returned last Friday night. Arriving at the boat we found her high and dry, on a mud bank, and listing to about 30 degrees to starboard. She was still pegged in OK with the bows pointing upstream but with that list there was no way we were going to be able to sleep on her. Something had to be done. With the aid of a nice guy from the boat next door we tried rocking and pushing her off but failed miserably. I then tried poling the bows round into the river flow hoping that once they swung round they would help to pull the stern off the mud. That also failed but it did remove the list. With Jannock sticking out at approx 45 degrees to the bank I decided to walk the stuff from the car and we would await a passing boat tomorrow for assistance. Whilst I was doing a trip to the car, Brenda made one attempt to refloat Jannock. A cruiser displacing a reasonable amount of water came out of the marina and past. Ropes off, engine on and catch the water it put under our hull. No joy. Watch for the bow wave and try to use the depth of that. Still no joy. Switch off engine and tie up the ropes again. Whilst I was walking back and forth to Tesco car park I decided to try using a lever. I placed the short boat pole between the cabin side, near the stern, and the bank. It wedged in quite nicely. Then, by tying three ropes together , I took a rope from the bow T stud onto the bank and pulled the front end round in towards the bank of the river. This had the effect of the boat pivoting on the pole and sliding the stern off of the silt. A quick push with the long boat pole and Jannock was free after three hours of trying. Brenda was able to move up to the Tesco mooring in the dark whilst I walked up carrying the long pole, various ropes and mooring stakes etc. that had been left on the bank. I must admit that when we moored up, a week ago, I was worried about the flow increasing and the river level rising. I was not expecting it to fall by 6 – 9 inches during our week at home. The section between Fobney lock and County lock was still closed on Saturday morning so we carried on up the Thames to Oxford instead. We may return at Whitsun to try and get on the K&A again - depends ;^) Graham http://jannock.blogspot.co.uk

benjamino recommended the amperor unit. I have two of theses units running the PC and TV on Jannock. The advantage of these 'seemingly' expensive units is that they deliver 12V regulated output when the input varies from 10V to more than 15V. This means that my TV no longer switches off when the loo is flushed or the fridge cuts in. Graham nb seamlessTVviewing www.jannock.org.uk

I fitted a 30Watt BP Solar Panel flat onto Jannock's roof several years ago. As we only weekend around the system the panel does a great job of keeping the cabin batteries (3 x 110a/h) topped up so we can arrive on a Friday night and survive without flattening the batteries during the first night. It also makes up for the couple of items on board that constantly draw current when we are not cruising. We have also found that we do not need to run the engine so often when moored up at rallies etc. even with the fridge on 24h/day. The panel was 2nd hand when I obtained it and worth every penny. Graham

Congratulations Eugene I hope Reuben soon becomes a valuable crew member. Graham www.jannock.org.uk

I too agree that was a magnificent exhibition of boat handlig. I just stood watching trying to learn a thing or two. There was a collission under ladder bridge on Saturday PM. A couple private boats made a very unhealthy noise when they met in the bridgehole.

Dan asked about the 'blues and yellows' You can see pictures of three of them at <http://website.lineone.net/~familykeens/hiring.htm> as we also used to hire from them in the 70s and 80s. The bases we used were Lower Heyford, Acton Bridge and Blisworth. Only one of those has survived as a BP base but you can still make out the logo on the canopy at Oxfordshire narrowboats. Regards Graham nb exBlackPrince www.jannock.org.uk