May 2005
)
The components for the hull supports were assembled and then bonded together. Here
they sit awaiting some padding prior to positioning under the boat. The adjustable
feet are left over from our recent kitchen installation.
Lifting the hull with the ratchet straps the supports were slid into position and the
hull gently lowered down.
Without adjusting any of the feet I layed a spirit level
across the shere behind the dash bulk head and here's the result.
The longitudinal level is the same. The next tasks are the transom,
the shere clamps and deck beams.
Meanwhile, the boat move continues...
We cleared Blakes lock by 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon.
This is the only lock maintained by the EA not actually on the Thames
and the first lock for us on the K&A. The next stretch is a traffic light
controlled section which passes through the Oracle, Reading's town center
shopping area.
You soon leave urbanisation behind and head out into the countryside.
We've had so little rainfall recently that there were no stream issues.
The locks themselves are quite tired and being so large take a long time to fill,
but the lock mooring areas are well placed with plenty of mooring pins.
We made Froudes bridge, Aldermaston by 19:45 that evening.
There is quite a variety of lock designs in use. The std straight sided brick lock chamber,
the fluted brick chamber, the piling and concrete chamber and the famous 'Turf sided lock'.
The following day after 5 hours cruising we made Newbury. Devizes next...