Midland Chandlers are Like Grey Sludge on your dipstick

The Leicester Arm of the GU

As we have got a few days off while waiting for the festival at Blisworth this weekend, here's some other stuff that has happened this week including Yogs exploits with the engine.   
Before we went to collect our freezer on the Leicester Arm we had to stop at Braunston for a couple of reasons.  First and foremost, to get a new loo.  'Bucket and Chuck It' is not for me and definitely not when you need a poo!! 
The reason for this is the dismal service we got from Midland Chandlers the day we picked up Rae. 

Bucket of Poo AKA Midland Chandlers

It was 5.10pm and we had just realised we had left our Thetford on Viking and were loo-less!! No problem I thought, Midland Chandlers is just round the corner. So I phoned them, explained the situation to them and asked if they could wait for us to get there, which would be apx 15 mins. They said that was fine and they would be there waiting so we sped down there as quick as we could. We arrived at 5.35pm 5 minutes past closing time. To be told we could only pay cash as they had already cashed up for the night. As I didn't have £95 cash on me I asked if there was a cash machine nearby. 'Yes',they said, in the pub next door. 'Cool' I said, 'I'll just nip over there and grab the cash for you then'. 'No' they said 'the manager doesn't want to wait that long'.  (Manager was standing by the door letting assistant talk to me). 'But I rang you to let you know I was on my way and didn't have a toilet!' I pleaded 'It will take me 5 minutes to get the cash'. Assistant walks to manager to see if that would be ok for me to do this, who basically just shrugged his shoulders at him, shook his head and walked towards his car leaving the poor assistant to explain that unfortunately, that was too long for the manager  to wait!! I was fuming, he had stood there and watched us moor up etc and didn't have the guts to do his own dirty work. In  fact he had no intention of offering any kind of decent service to a boater in distress at all!!!!  So, because of that I had to poo in a bucket for the first time in my life!! I am still cross about it now!!  

After Midland Chandlers let us down so badly we decided to go to Wharf House  Narrowboats at Braunston instead.  Midland Chandlers are a bunch of idiots and I will never spend another penny with them for as long as I live.  And I spend a LOT during the course of a year, the amount of boats I get through in a year lol.   

Braunston Pump House

Second reason and just as important if not more. Try and find anyone to help with the issues we have been having with the engine.  It smokes more than Yog does and it is BAD, what with Yog having emphysema as well it needs to be sorted yesterday.  While we were at the chandlers that is NOT Midland spending loads of money.  (Over £150  and saved £20 on the cost of the loo too!!),  we picked the really helpful ladies brains on who may be able to help us with the engine. She recommended a chap she called Jonno.  
He runs a hire fleet and is a Lister man and the man to ask apparently, we had heard his name mentioned to us before and he seemed the best place to start.  His website is here and he is quite a character and apparently not a very busy man which he made a point of advising Yog when he interrupted him whilst he was refurbishing an injector pump in his workshop which is a converted pump house.  Even though he obviously was up to his neck in work, he still managed to find the time to have a look at our antique lump of metal.  He was a sarcastic smart alecy man but pleasant with it and Yog warmed to him pretty much straight away lol.  He spent nearly an hour tinkering, tightening and sniffing the chimney for some unknown reason till he announced that it could be anything, from clogged injectors to full engine rebuild.  Great. 
His phone rang for the umpteenth time and he went back into his workshop to his injectors and left Yog in the engine bay prodding and pulling things with that concentrating face on that men get when they get near engines.  

Currently Known as That Poxy Engine

Then there was blue outburst of swearing and Yog appeared at the hatch with a dipstick in his hand.  'Look at this!!' he snarled showing me the dipstick.  It was what I can only describe as grey sludge covering it, Yog used the much more wonderful description of 'monkey spunk'. I don't know much, but I do know engine oil should NOT look like that!! 
We bought 3 gallons for an immediate oil change.  Yog drained out 4.5 gallons from an engine that should have held only 3!. Which immediately told us the Head Gasget has gone.  Double Great.  Lucky for us, after scouring the net with no luck, emailing countless people and getting close to giving up and throwing toys about instead Yog phoned Jonno for help and he managed to find a replacement and has agreed to do the work required!! What a releif,  Yog will soon be able to breath when he is driving the boat.  

Other stuff he has found whilst grunting in the engine room are that its got dripping injectors, a leaking water pump which he tried to fill up with grease but it still insists on leaking out of the seal.  We had an issue with diesel  being sprayed around the engine room by the fly wheel, this was found to be the fuel filter which had a tiny hole in the bottom of it.   Yog attempted a fix with chemical metal, which has improved it a lot but it does still seep a bit but isn't any where as bad as it was so diesel consumption should be greatly improved.