JOB DONE

Yes… I know, it’s be a while since my last update but things got hectic and the blog took a back seat whilst I worked into the small hours to ensure the boat went out on time. But typically with boats, nothing ever quite runs to plan… To cut a long story shortly after filling the diesel tank up ready for the first hire, and with only 5 minutes left before our first customers arrived, I discovered a leak from the fuel tank which had left a 4″ deep layer of diesel in the bilge! Unfortunately both Colecraft and our Surveyor (+ myself) had missed an unused diesel outlet pipe hidden behind the Webasto which hadn’t been fitted with an Isolation valve. Luckily the leak was temporarily plugged until Colecraft could come out first thing on Sunday morning to permanently rectify the problem. This meant our hirer’s had to stop in the marina for the first night of their holiday – however gales had already started to effect boating conditions which would have made cruising difficult in any case. But the boat finally left the marina on Sunday morning and a good holiday on the Cauldon Canal has had by all. The only other issue was discovering a faulty light on the Tecma toilet control panel which was rectified when the boat returned on the following Saturday.

Above: Double berth with plenty of wardrobe space.



Above: Single berth cabin, the bed to the right can be moved across to form a double berth if necessary. The black unit on the shelf is the additional tv with freeview, dvd/cd player and radio.

Above: Week two – our next hirer’s on board were returning customers having been on H2O, H3O and now Aqua Vita. Leaving the marina here you can see the boats already picked up a few scratches, a sign of a well used boat! Since this photo was taken we’ve now had rear aprons fitted under the stern guard rails on both Aqua Vita & H3O. These can be pulled across and attached the steel cabin sides to enclose the cruiser sterns – ideal for kids and pets. We’ve also had vinyl cushions made for the bow locker lids making for comfier seating.

Above: Two days before our deadline the inventory is loaded on board. We spent a while at the recycling centre once all the boxes had been emptied!

Above: Loading the luxury mattresses on board with the help of Jane. Photograph by Evie Hudson-Oldroyd (3 years) – truly a family business!!