Thaw? What thaw?

Having been icebound for a couple of days, today it was time to head to Boothstown's Bridgewater Marina for some desperately needed diesel. With temperatures at around 7C we'd be fine, right?

Wrong!

The canal looked "wet" if you know what I mean, so it was out with the pins and off we go but we didn't get far. Amazingly, the ice was still around half an inch thick but was disguised by a thin film of surface water. After a couple of attempts to push through (Elaine said the noise levels inside the boat were unbelievable!) I called it quits and returned - eventually - to our berth.

With Lottie not having a fuel gauge I always keep a log of date, litres of diesel purchased and hours of engine running because I have learned the hard way that despite the boat spec claiming we have a 245L diesel tank we actually run dry at 170. Also, these engines aren't self priming so running dry means bleeding the fuel system, a royal pain in the derrière.

A quick calculation based on previous info tells you how many litres/hr you use and a quick glance at the total engine hours (Lottie doesn't have an odometer either) gave me cause for concern that we were getting too low (who knows what sludge and water lies at the bottom of the tank!).

I phoned the marina and identified myself (the man from Lottie D!) and they were only too happy to lend me a 20L container so we headed down there by car and Lottie has now had a slight top up which will last us until we get there on Saturday.

So there you have it - a typical problem/drama for a liveaboard boater. We might not have to worry about roof tiles blowing off or conservatories leaking but we aren't exactly stress free!