We have learned so much from past mistakes; so we decide to make some more!
Please note:
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We are planning another trip - March to November 2014 - ending up in Montauban which we briefly visited five years ago. We have booked for winter 2014/2015 having been to see the splendid improvements that have been made there, under the new regime, and meeting the new Capitaine.
Montech is a relatively small but important town at the junction between the Canal Du Midi and the The Canal de Montech a Montauban. The river Tarn also links Montauban directly with Moissac but there are five delapidated locks on this stretch of it. Work is in hand to restore them, opening up an exciting and new ring (called "the Tarn Ring" or "Boucle du Tarn") of navigable waterway for boaters and commerce. Time and funding will decide when the work is to be completed (started?). We hope to be alive to see it! A mouse-click on the relevant links above will take you to a very impressive blog, showing the facts and all you need to know about this project.
The proposed trip going east will be different from any of our previous trips in that we plan to take our beloved van with us - not on board of course but - we will go back to fetch her each time we moor up. My bicycle is being restored after a long period of neglect for this purpose.
By keeping each day's travel to a reasonable distance, say around twenty kilometers, we can limit Body and Soul's diesel consumption to what is affordable whilst making good use of our van. France's excellent train services will be used if travel distances are too great for an old man (Me) to pedal.
The van will enable us to explore our surroundings in much more depth; a luxury that previously we have missed. Shopping will also be made easier and, in any case, the bike will keep me fit.
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It is January the 10th and my body is now over the initial shock of my 4th: annual, January "No alcohol" regime. I'm beginning to feel better in myself both physically and psychologically. I am pretty certain to be losing weight. (Lucie is doing an "occasional glass" diet!) Last year I suffered an immediate winter cold over this period but this year it has been more to do with the gut! (details upon written request only!)
Now, about battery replacements. We originally had five deep cycle lead/acid 135AH set in parallel giving us 12 volt domestic voltage. Gradually, and in a curious order of decline, we are left with two useable ones after four years of use. Whilst hooked on to the shore power, which in Castets en Dorthe is less than reliable, we can manage. However we must always remember to switch off the inverter whenever we go out, and at night. This is crucial. Should there be a shore power cut, our less than adequate battery bank would immediately be flattened beyond repair.
It turns out that, after seeking the opinions and advice of many people who know better than I, I choose 4 x Trojan 125AH 6 volt (to be wired series/parallel giving us 12volts and 450AH) from the Battery Mega Store; delivered to my fellow bargee friend's house in the UK. He is due out in April and has kindly agreed to bring them with him. Apparently, because we are a live-aboard boat and are of a certain size, VAT is to be zero rated. I'll believe it when I see it!
Date Friday 24th January:
Oh horror! After a hellish week of bad weather and multiple power cuts, one of the two remaining batteries is gassing badly and we are left with only one. We abort plans to buy in the UK and have to place an order with the same company's French division. This means we are compelled to pay for "shipping" and for the French equivalent of VAT. They arrive within 48 hours.
Since their arrival, our shiny new batteries - now all wired up and ready, albeit on the lounge table - two unforseen matters have arisen which completely alter the picture:
Firstly: Even as I write this post - it is still raining hard - thus preventing me from installing them in the engine room until it stops.
Secondly: The port electricity supply, after months of constant promises, has finally been upgraded, thus removing the urgency that made us buy in France in the first place.
But there you are, it ain't all plain sailing, is it?