Easter 2015 Cruise - Day 2

This morning was slightly better than yesterday as it was still grey and cold but at least the rain had gone away.  The wind was almost non - existent as we upped pins at 8:45.  We crept past the other Tattenhall boats and made our way to the Hurlston Locks and the start of our cruise on the LLangollen canal.

Two boats were working their way up when we arrived so the first two locks were against us.  As we were about to exit the second lock another boat came out of the one above so now that was in our favour.  Before I had chance to clear our lock and move to one side in the pound the other boat came out cutting off my exit.  He had to reverse back into his lock so I could get out of mine and work round him.  Eventually we passed and carried on our way.

Waiting for the bottom lock to be turned.

Hurlston Locks

Crossing over in the pound .  He was not going to wait for me to clear the
lock neither.  I'm sure he thought he could get in whilst I was still in it.

We then cruised on passed Swanley Marina and up  the two Swanley locks.  We made good time through the Baddiley locks despite them all being against us.  By now the day was warming up and the coats came off and jumpers stayed on.  It was here we saw our first clutch of ducklings this year.  Clearly mum had her wings full as the brood was quite a size.  We think they would only be a day or to old.

All the ducklings stuck to mun like glue not leaving her side.

We found the cut still very quiet with few boats on the move.  We usually stop at Wrenbury but when we got there it was wall to wall boats from the first lift bridge, and on past the Dusty Miller.  As luck was with us we had not planned to stop there this time and so as the sun was making an appearance we carried on.

Passing under Wrenbury's electric lift bridge

By now temperatures were feeling quite comfortable making the journey on to Marbury lock quite pleasant.  Mugs of welcome tea and Hot Cross buns became the order of the day but they did not last long.

On up Quoisley and Willey Moor locks.  Once again the Willey moor inn was closed.  Does it ever open we wondered?  Now the sun was out and the sky almost clear of clouds.  Seems the weather gods favoured us again and so off came the jumpers (sorry reader striptease is now over).

Next came some of my favourite locks, Grindley brook, hoved into view.  A bonus, they were in our favour and so with the aid of a dower faced lockie we were through in what seemed minutes.  Despite his looks the lockie turned out to be quite chatty though he never smiled once.

Entering Grindley bottom Lock, quite tight for AmyJo with millimeters to spare

Clearing the top lock

Time was getting on and the evening had the makings of turning out delightful.  We decided to pull in onto the visitors moorings just past the water points and found coal boat Mountbatten  moored for the night.  John and his partner have only been in business for a couple of weeks so I introduced myself and asked when we would meet them coming up stream.  Monday week was the reply so I hope to catch them for a top up of diesel then.

Coal boat Mountbatten

 As predicted the evening sun was warm and glorious and we sat out in our favourite spot on the boat, the cratch, with a drink or three at peace with the world.  The sinking sun gave rise to some superb colours on the scenery beside us, turning this tree into beautiful golden colours.

Lovely golds on the tree branches

Easter Cruise 2015 - Day 1

Been a while since our last post so its fantastic to be cruising again at last.  Thursday evening we got Amy Jo prep'd for cruising, stocking up on a few essentials like beer, food, Whiskey, logs, Baileys, Water, beer and Diesel, oh and I nearly forgot, beer.

We were keen to get underway so a little after 8:30ish we quietly slipped the lines and headed out of the Marina. The weather was not in our favour, cold damp and at times mizzly so the photos may look a little hazy I'm afraid.

Our destination this trip is Llangollen all being well.  We know its a Bank holiday so expected there to be loads of boats out and about and to queue at locks.  Strangely that was not the case.  There were a few boats about but the cut was strangely quiet for a bank holiday.  Perhaps the weather put every one off.

We got through Iron lock that was against us and at Stone lock a boat was just entering, luckily they waited for us.  Our lock mates turned out to be Paul and Chris on nb Patience who also moor at the marina.

At  Chas Harden Boats we came across working boat Sprey with butty Betelquise.  Sadly Spey's engine had blown a gasket and was currently stripped down to replace it.  They were moored immediately up stream of the lock landing making it difficult to get into the lock.  Considering their predicament we could not blame them.

We made good time through the remaining locks together, even Bunbury locks we clear and set for us to go straight in.  Despite the cold and wet conditions Paul and I were surprised to see a large gathering of gongoozlers as we entered the bottom chamber.  Another boat was coming down so the Bunbury shuffle was performed to the delight of the gongoozlers who took photos and videoed the whole maneuver. 

On parade for the gongoozlers

Just time for a quick cuppa as the lock fills.

We pressed on to Barbridge where, as the mizzle was getting heavier, we called it a day and moored opposite the Barbridge in.

Grey and murky conditions at Barbridge

Whilst tidying up when we moored our mooring neighbours Paul and Sheila arrived on nb Abbey Rose followed by David and his dog Meg on his boat.  Shortly after that Joe and Dave on nb Third and Final with Dave and Judy on their boat moored up.  With so many boats from Tattenhall present it went without saying a great night was had in the Barbridge in the evening.

One half of the group

and the other half.  Not sure what Joe's doing with his arm though

Has Spring Sprung?

As I sit typing this, outside are signs that perhaps, at last, spring may have sprung. The sun is streaming in through the port hole as it sets and the local population of ducks in the marina are becoming more and more amorous, squawking and flapping around their prospective mates. The day time temperature has been quite pleasant out of the wind and signs of spring flowers are everywhere.   Lighting the fire is getting later and later in the evening as its getting warmer generally.

Now the daylight hours are drawing out and its light when I get back from work I can see AmyJo is looking a tad jaded after her winter in the marina so now the weather seems to be improving we'll look to giving her a good clean and polish and a bit of TLC. She has weathered the winter well and our polishing last year has paid off though months of log burners on the go, from ours, and other boats have left a film of dust and soot over her that will wash off easy enough. A bit of elbow grease will have her sparkling again no doubt. Would love to know how Joe keeps nb Yarwood so shiny all the time!

Last weekend in a lull in weather we managed a short trip down the Shroppie to the now closed Shady Oak pub for one night just to clear the cobwebs and stretch our legs for a bit. It sure felt good to feel the cut flowing under the baseplates again even if it was only for a little run and it was clear AmyJo was enjoying stretching her prop too!  Traffic was non existent and we had the cut to ourselves whilst on the move.  Signs of an imminent re-opening of the pub are to be seen with evidence of a re-fit taking place inside. So hope the Shady will be open again. It used to be a great pub years ago and is so convenient for us on the cut.  The next pub is either in Barbridge or Chester.

Chris decided to helm most of the way there and clearly enjoyed it.

Beeston Castle looking resplendent the cold air.

Our mooring opposite The Shady Oak Pub.

We also had a visit the other day from Corrine and Mark from Dee O Ghee (click) with their new crew member Buster the dog. They stopped by to check on their boat and had a coffee and catch up with us.  It was great to see them again and meet Buster.  He is such a lovely dog and so well behaved for a youngster too. We missed them leave Tattenhall for the last time over the weekend as they are moving marinas so as to be closer to home. We'll miss them here but wish them well on their new moorings. Sorry we missed you both as you left. See you out and about on the cut sometime.

Introducing a very well behaved Buster of Dee O Ghee.

Like most boaters we too are starting to make our cruising plans for for this season. As Chris is tied to School holidays we're a bit limited when we can both get time off.  We're planning a two week trip up the Llangollen after Easter and hope to reach the town this time. I've also booked with C&RT for passage through Frankton locks so we can take in the Montgomery canal on our way back. We did the Llangollen a few years back by hire boat but did not have time to take in the Mont so its high on our list of places to visit for this trip.

Later in the Summer we hope to do a round robin onto the river Weaver via the Manchester Shipping Canal and the Anderton lift but have no date set yet. We were inspired to do this following Adam and Adrian of Briar Rose's (Click) trip last year.  They posted a great blog about their trip on the canal (Click) and some useful advise about it too (Click).  The guide provided by the Shipping canal company prefers boats to make passage in convoy or rafted together for stability if possible. If anyone else is thinking of making the trip we'd love to hear from you and perhaps we could go together as a group? There are several Criteria you will need to follow and there is a useful guide downloadable from their web site (Click) if anyone is tempted.  
 
As for the rest of the season, we have no further plans but an imminent change at work, as I am another year closer to retirement, will mean we should be able to cruise a little bit more this season. More on this on a later date when its finalised.  The rest of the season we'll have to be content with weekend cruising.

This weekend with a favourable weather forecast, we slipped the lines and headed up into Chester.  Chris and youngest had some retail therapy planned and it gave me the opportunity to get the polish out in the lovely warm sunshine whilst they bent the plastic (at least they did not break it - sighs with relief).  Eldest has a milestone birthday in a few weeks so some serious shopping was required, at least that's what I was told :-)  Dad knows best and got on with the polishing.  Its not a good idea to resist when my girls get together, believe me I tried once.  Who just said Petticoat government then? Oh and yes little fingers and twist come to mind :-)

By chance we spotted via twitter that Brain McGuigan on Alton coal boat was headed into Chester as well and was not far behind us.  We were going to replenish our dwindling coal supply when back at the marina but a 4pm whilst we were moored near Cow Lane bridge, Brain pulled alongside and we took on board 3 bags of his coal.

Alton pulled in while we stocked up with coal

Brain, Andy and Alton head off to Ellesmere Port

We had a super evening in the local Indian restaurant, The Barton Rouge.  If you ever cruise into Chester you simply must give this restaurant a try.  It has to be one of the best Indian restaurants around, with fantastic food and service.  I suggest you book ahead as its very popular and is always busy. 

This morning started very wet and so we sat out waiting for it to stop but was pleasantly surprised by a visit from Chris's school caretaker, Ray and his wife.  After they left we donned our wet gear and got under way.  Whilst in the first lock (Tarvin Lock) and nearly ready to leave Brian's crew, Andy, appeared and we agreed to wait for them it Chemistry Lock.

Whilst waiting the sun put in an appearance and then the rain stopped.  The day brightened and warmed nicely from then on.   It took some time for Alton to join us as they had been stopped for fuel and coal by boats moored below but then we were in no hurry so were quite happy to wait in the lock.  We then shared the locks up to Christleton. We bought a fender from Brian for our morning neighbour as we had spoken to her about Alton's fenders as she needed one.  We paid a lot less than one would in a certain Chandlers then, as Brian had customers at the Old trooper we parted our ways and we carried on.

Brain and I were so busy chatting we did not see the lock gates open for us,
so got a telling off from Chris, much to Brian's amusement.  

We got back to Tattenhall at around 5pm and I confess to making a complete b*lls up of turning onto the mooring but after a couple of abortive attempts we got the lines tied off thanks to help from Dave and Sheila our mooring neighbours

One Year afloat, a summary of our experience.

This post is mainly for the benefit of some of our readers we know are beginning down the road towards living the dream.  Whilst we are still relative new comers we thought we would pass on our limited experience of living aboard AmyJo so far.

AmyJo was launched on a bright but cold morning of 30th November 2013 at Crick marina. She was the result of 4 years of research, planning and life changing experiences. Chris and I have lived on her pretty much full time since July 2014 so here is a brief summary of our experience.

Once AmyJo’s base plates were laid our journey towards our dream had finally started to be reality. To say we were like school kids getting a new toy was an understatement. We revelled in every detail of the experience, loving every last second of the build. We would savour every new fitting and furniture that went into AmyJo at each visit and pinched ourselves each time to remind us that this boat was really ours and no one else’s. Fernwood Boats, our builders, provided us with a boat we are extremely proud of and one that gets many admiring glances and comments where ever we go. She is our first boat and her design, whilst may not suit many, is exactly what we wanted. We listened to boaters during our design phase and one piece of advice became our mantra. Build her for you, not anyone else as they will only be guests, you will be the ones living on her. Sound advice we have since found out.

Our plan was to enjoy her at weekends and holidays then move aboard when we retire. This took a rather unexpected turn after we actually got AmyJo on the cut. We launched at Crick Marina to be there for the boat show but we always knew we would bring AmyJo home to Cheshire that year and so in July we took a three week holiday to cruise her up to Tattenhall marina on the Shropshire union canal. This would give us a taste of what life would be like as live-a-boards. It also meant we would find out what worked and what did not, what we needed to purchase and what we had we did not need.

The weather gods favoured us and we enjoyed three weeks of perfect weather. We cruised up the Coventry canal onto the Staff and Worcester then onto the Shropshire union managing the 119 miles in just two weeks by cruising 6 hours every day. We then found time to cruise into our home town of Chester for a few days. AmyJo performed faultlessly and we fell in love with her. We soon learnt how she handled and along the way got several very useful tips from the more experience boaters who we had great pleasure in meeting. To them we are eternally grateful.

The trip over we returned home and back to our old life ashore. In short time the mundane routine of work, cook, housework and sleep drove us both mad and in just 4 days we could stand no more so we moved back aboard AmyJo and have been aboard ever since.  Our eldest daughter Amy has suddenly became a tenant in her own home whilst we are enjoying life afloat. We still work for now but living on AmyJo gives us the feeling of being permanently on holiday when onboard. Another advantage - if we choose to cruise there is no need to pack as we take our home with us.

Life aboard a narrow boat for us is most enjoyable but for someone who is thinking of following suit there are a few things that one needs to be prepared for that may put some off.

In the early days we quickly found out that you have to adapt to new routines. Chris and I both work, so in the mornings getting ready takes a little longer. With only one bathroom and no hot water we had to wait for the kettle to boil to provide wash water. AmyJo has an immersion heater fitted for use when hooked up to the mains but it originally only had an on/off switch. We had this replaced with a timer so now we have hot water every morning when in the marina. No use when cruising of course, so then we rely on either the kettle on the cooker or running the engine to heat water.

On the subject of water we found our use of it has changed due to the fact we only have a finite amount stored onboard that, when used, naturally has to be topped up. The 400litre tank provides ample water but like other boaters we choose to conserve where we can. Take having a shower. At home one would run the water constantly whilst taking our ablutions. On a boat this would run most of the water out so we run the water to get wet. Turn it off whilst soaping and then on again to rinse off. This way less water is used and this helps delay filling up again. This could also be applied at home during water shortages or hose pipe bans.

Another topic of conversation favoured by many boaters it seems is the subject of toilets. Some favour pump out macerator loos whilst others favour porta potties. On good advice of seasoned boaters we have both on AmyJo. If you are frozen in for days or weeks out on the cut you cannot always reach a pump out facility when needed but with the porta potty this is not a problem as it is portable. If you have a pump out an adage one boater told us to prolong time between pump outs is, “If it’s yellow let it mellow, if its brown flush it down”. Now some of you may turn your nose up at this but reasonable application, and if one knows it will be a while before accessing a pump out, this may actually help until the facilities can be reached. 

Another area we have learnt to adapt is cooking. Some boats are all electric with generators providing sufficient power for the appliances. AmyJo has a gas cooker and oven and unlike some we do not have a microwave, therefore cooking vegetables has to be done the conventional way in a saucepan. The same applies with washing up. Our dishwasher is very economical as it consists of us using dish cloths and tea towels.

When at the house broadband internet was everything for both the girls and us. I could work from home using the internet. Having migrated from Essex to Chester social media is key in helping us stay touch with the family. Our aging parents have now discovered FaceTime so we regularly speak face to face more now than we ever did when we lived just round the corner to them. AmyJo has a GSM wireless router and our EE 4G package copes well with the demand we put on it each month. Its costly at £30/p/m but we consider that well spent.

One question we are constantly asked is “Now its cold are you warm enough on the boat?” or “How on earth do you keep the boat warm?” Well in this day and age its easy. Narrow boats can still have all the mod cons of a house, just in a smaller space that all. Modern spray foam insulation on a boat stands in for cavity insulation on a house and if applied correctly spray foam is more effective. We do have central heating, all be it powered by an EberSpacher diesel heater, that is also providing the hot water to the radiators. In addition, again on good advice of seasoned boaters, we opted for a log burner as well. So whilst frozen in and diesel reserves are very low we can still keep warm using the log burner. Our little hobbit multi-fuel stove can keep the boat as warm as 27°C quite easily if needed. Burning coal or wood we should never be far from a supply of fuel. One can also tap into local timber merchants for offcuts, another source of cheap fuel.

To anyone considering buying a narrow boat I’ll be honest here and say living the dream is not all what programs like Waterways make it out to be. It’s not all romantic scenery, cute villages with picture book pubs and pleasant boaters giving cheery waves as they pass by (though most do) but it is very rewarding none the less. For the newcomer there is a steep learning curve so my one piece of advice is do your research and definitely, without reservation, do hire boat holidays at different times of the year to be sure. Living aboard full time is nothing like living aboard for two weeks. It will take a time to adjust and settle in. One will learn to keep only what you need to save space. You will conserve water by turning taps off in the shower to soap up then on to rinse off. Put thicker jumpers on rather than waste another log until you can resupply. For all this your reward will be the natural wonders this country has to offer and over 2000 miles of garden to enjoy along the way. I could never tire of waking up to a view like this:-

Like I said at the beginning we're still novices ourselves but boating is one lesson Chris and I are truly enjoying so to summarize would we change anything now we are boaters? Absolutely not! We love our new way of life so much retirement cannot come soon enough. We simply cannot wait to “up pins” and “do the network” full time. Who knows we may cross paths one day.

Not a boaty post but a milestone in any case

Our lack of posts is down to the fact that sitting in a marina all the time does not give interesting reading.  Topped up the water again,  Lit the fire again.  Went to the pub again.  Move to the pump out and topped up with diesel and so on.....all the mundane chores of life in a marina,  Spring and summer can't come soon enough.

Excitement of the week.....We took AmyJo off the mooring yesterday and moved all of 65ft.  Yes that is AmyJo's length and all we did was to turn her the other way round and put her back on the mooring.  Reckon that must count as the shortest cruise we have had ever. Oh the temptation to head for the marina entrance and keep going, but we overcame.    

All this just to sweep the log burner flue hat was on the offside of the mooring.  I wanted it nearest to the jetty so I would not go swimming at the same time.  As AmyJo's flue is dead straight it was a simple matter of extracting the baffle plates from the fire and brushing them out side, and then inserting the flue brush a few times pulling it up and down the flue.

All went according to plan and the fire was soon put back together.  With blackened wrists and hands I was quite pleased with myself on a job well done, until that is, I turned round to be met by a stony faced Chris brandishing a cloth with obvious deposits of soot on it.  She had wiped down the galley worktop and was surprised to see the soot on the cloth and was not amused.  It would seem the sweeping of the flue had somehow let the soot back into the cabin despite ensuring the doors on the fire were closed.  I guess emptying the ash tray afterwards had allowed the soot to permeate through the boat as far as the bathroom leaving a very fine film on surfaces.  As punishment I spent the rest of the day washing everything down to remove it.  Note to self.  Next time take more precautions to cover up! Mind you at least AmyJo got an early spring clean so there has to be an upside is there not?

Chris's mood lifted, however, when the post arrived and in it was a letter from  our mortgage company.  I hate letters from them as the statements always leave me depressed knowing all our hard earned cash is going to them.  Not this time though.  Attached to the letter was also a nice fat cheque.  Our main endowment had matured with sufficient money to pay of our mortgage.  An added bonus it also left us with a nice lump sum of money left over.  This will be used to have the house drive re-laid as the current one is in very poor state.    Sure does feels good to be mortgage free at last!  Think we're going to have a good year this year.

2014 in summary.

What a year 2014 has been for Chris and myself.  AmyJo is now a year old and has brought us many happy memories in that time. 

She still gives us much joy and now we seem to have moved onboard permanently she heralds a new phase in our lives that we are both enjoying immensely.  We simply cannot imagine life without AmyJo now as she has become an integral part of our lives.



So what did we get up too last year?

Our first longish Cruise in 2014 took us to Braunston and back in January with the weather cold but bright.  Freezing weather and thin ice gave us a taster of winter life aboard.  The stunning morning frost made us enjoy the life even more and cemented our desire to become liveaboards.  On the return Chris took charge and helmed AmyJo through Watford Locks for the first time with great success.




Morning frost at Braunston Marina

Chris dwarfed in her first lock at the helm of AmyJo

Our next big cruise took us further a field at Easter and in 6 days we cruised to the Saltisford arm where we met up with convalescing Keith and his good wife Jo on Hadar.  2014 has not been a good year for Keith as his health was not at its best.  When we met them he was making a slow but steady recovery.

We spent a day with them catching up as we had met them at Elesmere Port and Chester the previous year.  They have become valued friends and we often keep in touch via the blogs now days.  Keith is still not 100% but he  has improved as time goes on with the odd set back.  We can't wait to meet them again for a chin wag.



By a chance (scuse the pun) read of nb Chance's blog I found Doug and James had managed to get their blog pages in print.  We could not resist and so we now have a complete year of AmyJo's build from our blog posts immortalized in hard back.

As time when on we started to settle into the routine of commuting to Crick marina at weekends and settled into life getting used to all the vagaries of life aboard.  Chris reveled in trying out her new travel iron/hair dryer which proved a great success.





As we were staying in Crick Marina it would have been remiss of us not to attend the show in May to give Fernwood's our support.  We showed many prospective customers around AmyJo and we know they got at least two orders with our help.  Of course we had the usual show weather with a sudden heavy burst of hailstones literally thrown in.



In June we had a royal visit from a very special lady, Mary, Chris's mum came for the day with friend Derek and Vicky.  Disabled with one leg Mary was helped aboard and shown around AmyJo followed by a cruise and lunch in the Moorings.  A lovely sunny day brought more happy memories.

Mary helped onboard using the Ikea Chair lifting method

Best friend Derek relishes his first ever trip on a narrow boat during
Mary's visit.

Later in the month after sorting out a coolant leak that set off alarms we took ourselves off for another cruise this time to Whilton Marina.  Whilst moored there we had the good fortune to meet Mortimer Bones who we consider a celebrity in boating circles.  Bones, as she likes to be known, writes a column for the canal boat magazine and cruises in her free time.  On this trip Chris managed to get in some more helm time too

Mortimer Bone's boat of the same name

Chris enjoying her time at the helm

July was the month of our big adventure of the year, our trip home to Tattenhall Marina.  With mixed feelings we left our berth in Crick.  Sad to leave new found friends Barbara and Andy of nb Outlaw's dream behind, apprehensive of what lie ahead and excited to finally being able to spend more time on AmyJo.

Our trip could not have been better timed and we enjoyed three weeks of the best weather of the year.  Gloriously warm sunny days lay ahead

Waters new but which way, Coventry of course Chris.

Our fav mooring of the trip in All Oaks wood

Water Explorer allowed us to plot progress on the cruise

 At Hawksbury junction we ran into (but not literally) more boating celebrities in the form of John and Fiona Slee in their boat Epiphany.  Canal boat magazine readers will be familiar with Fiona's coumn of their travels around the country.  John and Fiona have cruised pretty much all of the network now.  Unfortunately no free moorings meant we could not stop for a chat with them.

John and Fiona round the junction at we enter it.

During the cruise we got to know AmyJo and how she handles.  We found that her design was working well for us, so much so within the first week we felt completely at home in her.  She swims really well and once you get to know her ways is a doddle to handle in tight situations.  In fact it was asked if AmyJo was remote controlled once by a boater who had witnessed one of my better manouvers.

Fradley Junction and the iconic Swan Pub bathed in sun

Along the way we stopped in some lovely places like this one at Gnosall

and navigated some narrow stretches like this one called the Grub Street cutting

The weather was fantastic giving us the opportunity to explorer Market Drayton on market day.  Here we lunched in a converted cinema and then soaked up more sun wandering around the market stalls.

Next was our marathon locking day through a very busy Audlum due to an historic boat rally.  We locked down 20 locks in total in 30C temperatures and were grateful many locks were sheltered by the trees.

We made better time than we thought we would so with another week in hand we cruised up into our home town of Chester and braved the deep Northgate locks to spend a great night in the basin being visited by many friends.

Northgate top lock

Finally after 3 weeks of constant cruising AmyJo brought us home to Tattenhall marina where we have been ever since.

AmyJo's current mooring in the marina.

 We stayed at home in the house for just 4 days and hated it.  We missed life aboard AmyJo so much we left the house in the good hands of our eldest daughter Amy to look after it and moved back onto AmyJo.  We now only go home for the post and occasional visits, spending as much time as we can on AmyJo.  She is now considered our home.

Over the months we have made many new friends at the marina starting whilst attending a massive hog roast laid on by the marina.  Below are pictures of us with some of our pontoon neighbours.
 

Recently we had our last cruise of the year up the Llangollen canal for a week.  Sadly we only had time to get as far as Whitchurch but vowed to return this year to cruise the full length probably in April so watch out for our posts on that cruise.

Wrenbury Mill and lift bridge

Now winter has arrived we are finding new experiences living aboard and have made a few refinements to help keep us warm like my home made secondary glazing that keeps condensation at bay and helps keep AmyJo warm and snug.  An added bonus we found is it also help to eliminate external noise as well not that there is much where we are.



One of our home made glazing units that also acts as a porthole bung

So that was 2014, here is hoping 2015 is equally as good if not better.  We've lived on AmyJo for six months now so I thought I'd let you all know how that has been for us in another post sometime.   

Until then we hope you have a great year and all your dreams come to fruition.  Have good health and peace.  Do comment from time to time if you feel the urge as we really do love to hear from you.