What a difference half an inch can make! That's the amount I moved the prop yesterday, and it's entirely restored Sanity Again's performance. The water flow must just not have been reaching the centre of the prop before, whereas it is now, so the whole thing feels more relaxed and less strained, and she's doing her usual 1.9 - 2.2 mph at tickover again.
I did a check of the coupling this afternoon, and it's still nice and tight, so my efforts hanging upside down in the engine hole have paid off.
We made an early start just before seven this morning (no thugs bawling abuse at us this time, I'm pleased to say), and breakfasted on the move. If it wasn't for all the offside moorings, the run from Norbury to Market Drayton would be one of the best. It's still pretty good, but there are now continuous lines of moored boats from the end of Grub Street cutting to the start of Shebdon embankment, necessitating a lot of slow boating. I know canals are supposed to be relaxed, but the difference between 2 mph and 3 mph is that it takes three hours to do six miles, not two, and that adds up over a long run like today's.
It also rained quite a lot for the first half, which I could have done without, but we made it through, and the weather since has been much more pleasant.
We got to Drayton at half eleven, had lunch and then shopped for bits and pieces. One thing missing here is a butchers; hopefully we'll get some decent meat from the farm shop stall at the top of Adderley flight tomorrow.
3 comments:
If your half an inch made that difference to prop water flow with your very fine pointed swim end, then just imagine what the water flow is like on some of the cheaper hulls with a chunky piece of RSJ welded vertically forming the tail end of the swim. I'm glad that it has improved the prop bite that much, as I always doubted that it could be the prop itself that was in some way deficient.
Roger
Just to say that there is a butcher in Market Drayton but you might feel that he is too far away to justify the walk. He's called Shepley and his shop is on Shrewsbury Road. This is the extension of Shropshire Street which starts in the centre of town by the Tudor House and the Clive and Coffyne and, unsurprisingly, goes in the direction of Shrewsbury. No doubt Google maps will give you an idea of whether or not you think it is too far. On market days, Wednesdays (street market and indoor market) and Saturdays (indoor market only), you can buy excellent chicken from David in the indoor market. He also sells duck and guinea fowl fairly regularly, as available. The fish on the indoor market is good too.
Hi folks
Roger: Yes, I never had much doubt about the prop, but it's gratifying to get it sorted. All I've got to do now is design some sort of removable padding to put over the edge of the engine box, so that when I'm doing jobs that involve hanging upside down into the box, I don't end up with a lateral bruise across my chest…
Sheila: Thanks for that, I seem to remember we spotted that butcher on an earlier visit, but decided that it was too long a trek. We really must time our visits better so as to get to the market.
All the best
Bruce
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