Cribblog 2018

   Afloat again. 21 November 2018.

I was thinking as I drove down to Aldermaston how nice it would be to arrive to find that all the outstanding jobs had been completed and cribbit would be ready to sail away into the sunset.

One good sign on arrival was that they had cleared the car park and that there was a big lorry in the process of being loaded with a narrow boat.

I walked round the back to see how things were with Cribbit but was dismayed to find that the boat next door had still not been blacked and access for the crane looked rather difficult. Cribbs looked much as usual but that canada geese had obviously liked squatting on my nice new floorboards which were now liberally besmirched with their slimy guano, then I looked up and lo and behold there was a new chimney stack! Tom had installed the bew boiler.

Overplating finished but no sign of its bottom being blacked.

I looked up and lo and behold there was a new chimney stack!

All ready for Santa and his reindeer and ... the seven dwarfs and ....

Crane manoervered into positoion.

Nice to see those brand new lifting bands in use.

Just a small lift to weigh her and to see if the overload alarm would trip ... it did.

Just clear.

Now swing her gently round.

Needs to go out a bit further ... will have to suffer the alarm.

Lean hard and she'll [just] go in.

Phew!

Now check that the new welding isn't leaking.

All's well ... float her off to be with the others for the final jobs.

Next up Amadeus last seen with Jim at Monkey Marsh Lock on our way here, over a year ago.