Freezing, can't do work on the barge. I'm even heating the engine room...
As it's been so cold I decided to begin to look for work for the up and coming season on the hotel barges.
Fantastic luck, I found a vacancy on a nice looking barge.
I saw the owner last Friday and he took me on straight away. I've known him for a few years, but I've been working with his competition for the past seasons. His offer was interesting and the barge has everything to make a pilot's job worthwhile and not a constant nightmare of breakdowns.
I piloted the barge a few times before. It's only 100 ft long, good engine, hydraulic steering, some keel to keep off the wind when locking through. There is a nice remote control for steering the barrge when going through locks, which means I can look along the side as I put the boat in to the lock. Better than hitting the wall :)
The boat will be cruising in a calm and pretty part of the Burgundy canal. I'll be off to check her out in a couple of weeks. You never know what has happened during the winter season.
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1 comment:
Got your blog from 'Grannybuttons'. I am on a narrowboat on the Grand Union Canal near Uxbridge, Middlesex. Heading north soon. Just had some ice on the cut but it only went down to -4c so not so bad as in France. Good luck with your adventure. Chas
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