Two false starts on the shakedown cruise

‘Roll on the time when the Cleddau crew are back on board, cosy and warm beside the solid fuel stove… ‘ Those were the final words in the last Boatwif blog: https://www.boatwif.co.uk/boat-update/where-is-the-sea-where-are-the-boats

It’s the ambition, come mid to late March, to jump aboard Cleddau and have a gentle shake-down cruise… In 2025, despite best efforts and regular boat checks, ‘events’ seemed to be getting in the way.  

The Captain has never been a fan of dealing with problems by sticking his head in a low cupboard - various plumbing issues at home (two wash basin leaks) have absorbed a lot of time, effort and silicon sealant… The painting of a long picket fence at the front of the property requires a succession of dry days before the hedge’s spring growth overwhelms it.

And the (painful) inconvenience of a meniscus injury (Boatwif’s right knee) delayed even boat inspection visits.

Then, fence painted, leaks mainly cured and Boatwif’s knee on the mend, there were two road trips to inspect Cleddau. She seemed to have survived winter well, there were no signs of rain leaks around the window frames, the engine started and ticked over smoothly, even the Webasto (which creates central heating and hot water) cooperated well.

Since October 2024 Colin, the Marine Magician, had serviced the engine, replaced two rust-spotted radiators with new ones, replaced the underbed split calorifier (hot water cylinder) with a new one and replaced the broken wash basin plug with a new one…  When you empty a room for works or redecoration, displaced furniture impacts other spaces; when you prepare spaces on a boat to give room for maintenance workers the rest of the boat fills with strange objects.

Eventually just one plumbing job remained, to improve the shower outflow and refit the shower pump.

Then news came through, the final job was done.

Soon a date was identified for driving up to the boat, to put in some hard hours at reconfiguring Cleddau, to convert her back into habitable mode.  Back onto the roof went the gangplank, pole supports and barge poles. The bathroom cupboards were repacked with sundry but essential items. Winter covers were removed from the bed. Coal, kindling, ash bin and fire tools were retrieved from the under-deck locker ready for lighting the solid fuel stove.

With a gap in the calendar just a little shakedown cruise was planned, a Crick to Welford-on-Avon and back trip of 24 miles and 2 locks. (Last year’s shakedown cruise to Welford had proved a very expensive business, remember, with the loss of a tankful of fuel and an aborted pub meal.  https://www.boatwif.co.uk/boat-update/double-trouble-2  Could the first cruise of 2025 be more successful…? )

On  a dry March day the car was loaded with survival rations for five days and clothing fit for sunshine, showers and sharp winds. It takes just under an hour to drive from home to the boat. The realisation that a vital bag of prescription medicines had not made it from house to car meant the Captain drove the distance not once but three times.  What a (false) start to the shakedown cruise…

While the Captain was putting miles on the car (Northants – Bucks - Beds – Bucks – Northants) Boatwif set about unpacking the food stocks, stowing away clothes and making up the bed with fresh bedding (two duvets and a fleece blanket for the first night aboard).

At 5pm the Captain returned, jubilant, with two doorstep Amazon packages and the vital medication. Why spend a night aboard sandwiched between pontoon neighbours? “Let’s get out on the cut, right now,” he declared.

By 5.15 Cleddau was exiting the marina, passing Trafalgar,

to moor just half a mile further north along the canal, below Crack’s Hill.

The solid fuel fire was doing a good job of warming the interior;

why, though, wouldn’t the Webasto (running smoothly two days previously) do a good job of warming the water? It huffed and puffed, huffed and puffed, refusing to ignite.

Texts between the Captain and the marine engineer agreed a plan: return to the marina the following morning.

Next morning the boat was turned round, Trafalgar was passed again and Cleddau slid back into her mooring space. Within a couple of hours the marine magicians

(aka marine cavalry) had arrived to repair the Webasto and replace two parts…

Mid-afternoon, after a second false start to this springtime shakedown cruise, Cleddau was untied again, to turn right, pass Trafalgar again, pass the previous night’s mooring place below Crack’s Hill and manage a couple of miles more before tying up for the night at a favourite spot. The faint bleating of newborn lambs and the ewes provided a comforting late afternoon lullaby.  

 How joyous is a canal trip on a sunny morning in springtime. White hawthorn blossom, tractor tracks up the field slopes,

buds on willow trees, Canada geese pairings, birdsong chatter…

It’s a familiar route (Leicester mile signs,

Living Milestones,

the Welford Junction sign post)

but  “new” things stand out: there’s a reinforced culvert,

a tree trunk stool fashioned on the towpath

and an intriguing sign.

By 1 pm Welford Lock loomed ahead. Human systems were to be checked out here: disembarking on lumpy ground, opening and closing lock gates, paddle winding, keeping the boat in place so as to pick up lock crew – all were successfully completed.

The boat slid into the slot beside Welford Wharf. “Wil it fit?” asked an inquisitive bystander, followed by, “Is it electric? Very quiet…” Yes, the boating year had started…

Fingers crossed and keen to erase memories of last year’s Welford Wharf debacle, Boatwif hastened the 20 yards or so to the Wharf Inn. At 1.30pm the place was packed, customers at every table, three men in local conversation at the bar, a queue for the barmaid’s attention. 

Success, a good pub meal was had that evening!

Welford deserved a brief inspection: there’s a new sign in the Pocket Park about the ecological benefits of dead hedges;

the bus shelter up near the church still hosts a book exchange

and finally the start of the Abbey Walk route up on to Naseby Moor has been identified.

On Friday there was a chill in the air and a sprinkle of rain as Cleddau was reversed away from the Wharf and winded (turned around). A pair of new hire boaters watched proceedings closely, confessing that their own turnaround had not been a pretty sight…

Back past the two Welford marinas and the lovely owl and a pussy cat on the Pea Green boat.

At the lock the Captain wound the paddles, crossed the bridge and pushed the gates. Conclusion: human systems seem to be in working order for boating purposes…

Along the Welford Arm, the juvenile River Avon threads down the valley to the west; after the Welford Junction on an aqueduct you cross over the river, its course towards Warwickshire marked in the distance by a line of yellowing reeds.

There was a pause at the intriguing sign, was a medieval village visible from the viewing area? Hardly, as the hedge was high and the land almost feature-less… Was the lump of earth in the distance an archaeological dig covered again now in earth?

Sharp winds drove the crew inside, to resume the final leg back to Crick the next day. Under the A14 (far fewer lorries on the move on a Saturday), then eyes were caught by the swathes of white hawthorn.

Maybe it’s not warm enough yet for the adult glamping customers,

but mild enough for a group of canoe paddlers.

With the trees not yet covered in leaves the beautiful branch structures can be seen and admired. 

Back along the canal Cleddau cruised, back in the stiff wind to play dodgems in the marina, two boats on the service wharf, another trying to tie up there.

Remarkably Cleddau slid back into her slot without drawing too much attention to the performance!

Relief – the 2025 Cleddau shakedown cruise had been successfully completed.

Outstanding jobs:  Bedroom radiator to be checked; towpath folding table to be retrieved from the garage

Distance: 24 miles; 2 locks

Number of times ‘What does Cleddau mean?’ was asked: 1