Thursday, February 21, 2008

A sleepy canal hollow in the backwaters of La Belle France


A long-shot of the Captainerie of the marina, it really was quiet, with only one other boat owner there (my idea of heaven) :o))

The little trap in the wheelhouse deck through which the engine has to be lowered!

















The last few days have been taken up with removing and replacing/installing a reconditioned Perkins 4108 marine engine into a friends "Neptune" Yacht, that broke down on the way to the Med. The ( blue) engine on the trailor weighed it at about six or seven cwt and had to be carried over the wooden "gangway" and lowered on to the engine mounts in the bottom of the bilge, the broken engine having been taken out and returned to the UK for us to Refurb, so if anybody would like a refurbed Perkins 4108, I`m your man.

The "Gangplank" I found floating in the canal and weighed (wet) about the same as the engine itself. Anyone who has tried to get an item that big and awkward out of the water will know that it isn`t easy (an understatement) in fact It must have looked like an excerpt from a Keystone Cops movie. :o)) In the third photo down I have included a (poor quality,sorry) photo of a Peniche, as opposite to where we were installing the engine was a boat yard that built and refurbished these craft (used to transport millions of tonnes of goods along the French waterways) The shere size of them in such "width challenged" canals is quite impressive especially if you have joined them in a lock or meet them head on in a tight bend. Often they are skippered by a woman, and a child, they carry all their needs in the accomodation and generally those owned by the skipper are their homes as well. it is not unusual to see their motor car aboard too!

2 comments:

Pat said...

Apologies Rob - I've been remiss in visiting. Not just you - everyone! Life suddenly got all involved, and ontop of it all this winter we have (all 3 of us) been visited by a cold and stomach flu combination that just won't go away! Just stopping briefly right now to make my apologies - with promises to visit more in depth this weekend. I see your baby got married! Congrats! Will be by soon to catch up on all, promise!

rob said...

Great to hear from you EC hope you all get well soon! nasty thing those winter bugs, they drag on for ever, take care