Stresses and strains of getting certified

We were glad that we weren’t in Birmingham this past week. Can’t imagine our old boat dog would have been too impressed to find a sniffer spaniel checking out our danger level to the Tory party conference. We know of other boaters who did travel through, encountered posses of politicians, had a sniffer dog check out their boat for weapons and experienced armed escorts around the conference centre which adjoins Gas Street Basin.

For us, it’s been a week to escape the madness and irritation of British politics. A week in part exploring the beauty of the British countryside in all its autumn glory (and autumn weather) some of it away from the boat, and a week when we need to be thinking and planning a clear way forward.

We have some big items on the agenda and big outlays too – firstly our BSS is due in a few weeks. This is our certification under the Boat Safety Scheme, a public safety initiative by the Canal & River Trust and the Environment Agency. It aims to minimise the risk of boat fires, explosions, or pollution to inland waterways, and users of them. It’s not if you like so much about keeping us safe (although it does that too) but it’s about making sure our boat isn’t a danger to others on the towpaths and environment around. It’s the boating equivalent of an MOT and needs to be completed every four years. The requirements are different for private boats and hire boats liveaboards or day boats.

So, our BSS and Gas Safety Certificate is due in November. Without a pass we can’t continue to cruise because we can’t get a boat licence without it. So we need to know what the requirements are so we can check that Preaux meets them – basically it’s about safety of gas, carbon monoxide, fires etc. There are requirements and advice items so there is a high level of interpretation – by us, by the examiner and by the certifying bodies it appears. We also have to find an examiner – you don’t just rock up at 4mph to an examining centre – they come to you. In our case we’re headed to Middlewich and the examiner will meet us there. We think we’ve done everything and got everything ready but like an MOT we are able to get someone else to check the boat over against the list of requirements before the examiner comes on board. We’ve allowed enough time to get work done if needed before the examination. The aim is to have a single examination and pass it first time (but there always seems to be a bit of fingers crossed…).

In the meantime Steve’s rewiring the water pump which demands taking cabling from the junction box right at the back of the boat to almost the front of the boat. This means channelling through the bedroom, behind the shower, through the bathroom, through every kitchen cupboard, behind the sofa bed and geneally disrupting everything. The aim is to remove the ancient wiring which looks pretty unsavoury and whilst probably safe replace it with some which is definitely safe. That will be completed by the time the BSS comes round, and at the same time as the BSS work we’re also going to sort the water tank.

Loyal readers who’ve been with us from the start of this journey may remember leaks when full. It still leaks when full and will continue to do so until we remove the entire tank lid which is rusted on. The lid needs to be drilled off and then we think it needs turning the right way as it appears to be on upside down (no idea how a huge steel lid can have been put on upside down but hey ho… anyone with an old house or old boat knows you discover fixes that often always remain a mystery as to how they could possibly have come about).

In lockdown 2 (yup way back then) we thought we had sprung a leak in the bow but discovered it was caused by the leaking water tank. We’ve worked out how to mop out and manage the situation but now we’re aiming on resolving the issue and at the same time emptying, cleaning and checking the tank, as well as installing a gauge of some sort so we actually know how much water we have. We reckon on roughly 3 weeks between fills but we are now running a washing machine and that means we are using more water than we did, even if it’s using than a laundrette machine would.

So with all this uncertainty and activity currently sloshing about in our lives (it’ll all be over by mid November) it’s been great just to soak up the beauty of Autumn for a few days before we get our heads down to the grindstone of getting lists ticked off and keeping fingers crossed until the examiner says we have passed for another four years.

We’ve also depleted the savings and resolved a looming winter fuel cost too with a bulk buy – thanks for the use of a garage to store a tonne of coal Mum!