Are you ready for the day? We are off to.. We're off to the Crick Boat Show. Our first
boat show in all of time. We've never been to one, we kind of have that uh.. what do
you call it um.. What do you call that syndrome? Intruder's.. Imposter's syndrome! We kind
of have imposter's syndrome. Because you know we're so new to boating. Currently in true
boaters style we are filling our water because we finished it this morning with showers.
We've now got air in the pipe so we're just trying to get that out and once the water's
full we will be on our way. So stick with us hopefully we're gonna have a good old time.
If the rain holds off. Do think this is a bit much for a boat show?
We're Mel and Paul and we call this marina home. We're about a year into owning our boat
Annabelle and since damaging the prop a few weeks ago we're moving the boat as little
as possible. So in true marina dwelling style we're headed to the boat show by car. Holy
moly folks must be excited! Queueing to get into this jol. Jol being a South African word
for party. Hopefully it's a party, I don't know, we don't know. We feel like such imposters.
Right oh! We are currently actually sitting in the car we're a little bit nervous to go
in. We just feel weird! Yeah but anyway.. Let's get ready to go stand in a long queue.
Let's go, let's go do this thing. Naturally we kicked things off on home ground experiencing
the Aquavista lifestyle we already know and love. Next up we took a quick browse about
before heading to take a look at the props we had been looking at online. Before we knew
it we had been made an offer we couldn't refuse. We got the prop, prop shaft, prop shaft anode,
cutlass bearing and overall kit for the dripless stern gland. I think that's everything and
uh, with the parts ordered we are one step closer to getting back out on the water. What
did you spend you money on today? New prop. Vetus. New prop for Annabelle! Trying to find
some shelter under the tree. Rain has come and gone but it hasn't really dampened the
vibe too much it's still been a pretty snazzy day. Alright ladies and gents, let's get our
boat view on. The boat beside us her is Sculptor she was built in 1935 for the Grand Union
Canal Carrying Company. Lined up here today we have four of that fleet. They were the
carriers as apposed to a company moving that was trading or moving coal or moving steel
these carried any cargo that was wanting to be moved from anywhere. Primarily on the Grand
Union Canal so London, Birmingham, all the Oxford the branches.. We've got records in
1936 of this boat carrying grain and because it's a living accommodation for the family
the captain and his wife had to have that boat certified by the local health authority,
and we've got those records. So that's you know, a little bit of history. And it was
registered for two adults and two, sorry three children and they all lived in the back there.
One of our favourite finds of the day was this non profit organisation providing canal
boating experiences to all kinds of different groups. At 72 foot long we were amazed at
the space for the bunks and could just imagine how exciting this would be as a child to bunk
up with friends and learn all about boat life. Cool little set up hey? So weird just to feel
like a different little boat! Wow! So many bunks! This is cool. Ten bunks. I can't believe
how much space is in here. Yeah. This will take you to the website and it'll also take
you to Nigel the booking officer so if you've got groups that are interested or they think
might be interested spread the word. We have to say that the cherry on top to our day was
meeting so many new faces. Some we've met in the comments here before and some of you
shared your journey's to boat life with us, which was quite nice for a change having the
tables turned. We'd like to say a huge thank you to Aquavista for making our day possible
and a special thank you to Stu and Kellyanne and to all our Patrons. We could wax on all
day about how much we love this boat life and how much we're into the lifestyle, but
we'll leave it there because we think you know. Home sweet home.