Abingdon

Early last September, Joanna and I brought Pelangi up the Thames to where we are headed today: Oxford. That trip was part of a plan we'd had for years - to explore the upper reaches of the Thames, west of Oxford, as far as Lechlade in Gloucestershire, which is about as far upstream as you can navigate this river in a boat of our length and beam (50 feet by 7 feet).

We did complete this lovely journey, but not without mechanical difficulties of our own...
Several times during that trip we found that our 12-volt leisure batteries (four in all) weren't charging at all from the engine's alternator. We soon uncovered the problem though: beneath the removable engine covers, the alternator belt had snapped, and though we replaced the broken belt with spares from local auto-shops and the River & Canal Rescue service that we are members of, the fault repeated itself over and over - we got through four belts in less than ten days! This inevitably meant that voltages dropped considerably in our batteries, and though we lived with our refrigerator switched off for a while, and holidayed without recharging our phones etc, the batteries were probably having their life expectancy shortened...

So now, even following professional repair of our alternator and a brand new belt fitted to it, on our current voyage to a new home base, we've discovered that one particular 'home improvement' on Pelangi isn't fully working - the spin-dryer of our washing machine can't get the power it needs when off grid!

We've arrived at Osney Lock, on the edge of the great city of Oxford, just as the lock-keeper and boss return from their lunch break. After locking-up here, we find just the gap in the moorings, a few yards after the lock and just a short walk to the Botley Road - main thoroughfare from the city to Witney, Woodstock and all places west. Our online searching assures us that we'll find a local launderette not half a mile from the Osney Stream road bridge.
After that chore and a quick supermarket shop for some organic food essentials, we enjoy a home-cooked meal - we have bottled gas for that - and settle in front of our warm stove and relax. The overnight forecast is 4°c here tonight; Autumn is really kicking in now.Read more