Ah, now.....this was not the last post for a while after all! Did I mention we may change our plans yet again? Well, we sure did. The logistics of getting a train from Penkridge to Long Eaton, changing numerous times and it taking 1 hr 45 mins didn't seem like the best plan. Then getting a bus from Long Eaton to Sandiacre would add another 30 minutes. Another good 10 minutes walk from the bus stop and we would finally have reached the Bungalow. That's nearly half a day gone. And then what do we do with the car? Leave it at Penkridge or keep catching buses to hop from one destination to another, seemed a lot of fiffing and faffing. The other alternative was to hire a car, but the quote online of nearly £100 for the day about floored us! But unfortunately it was a no brainer really, we had to hire a car.
By 7.30 am we were on our way and by 8 am Ian was on the phone to Enterprise car rental in Cannock. They are more expensive than other hire companies. For us being collected and returned to a place of our choice is a necessity and we think Enterprise is the only company that does that. Hark back to my first paragraph and the quote of £100 a day. But, and this is where anyone wanting to hire a car from Enterprise should take heed, if you phone on the day or even the day before and except the smallest no-frills car, the price could come down to between 30 or 40 pounds. We were charged just £37 for the day and wow, how unexpected and very welcome. An arrangement was made for a pick up at The Boat, Penkridge for 10.30am.
Within 5 hours the generator, as well as a 5ltr full petrol can, had been collected and placed on the back deck of FS, and the car returned back to Cannock. Then it was pull pins, descend Penkridge lock and moor well away from any other boat. The generator was fired into life and voltage showed the batteries were finally being charged.
Not much wildlife to show today.
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| Opposite the mooring |
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| On the back of a lock gate |
12 comments:
Two comments Irene...
1-Please CLOSE the back doors when the genny is running...
2-As I live but 20 mins from 'the bungalow' you could always ring and see if I am free to do a bit of troup transporting, especially of a weekend :)
£37 that's a brilliant deal, I'm surprised you don't keep a genny on board for emergencies, glad you are sorted. Now you don't have to play Mexican train by candlelight �� Paul jtj
Is it time your man who can replaced the alternator? Or you got new batteries? Or both?
Mxx
With Enterprise I've often found a small van is much cheaper than a car. About £20 or so for a day. Then when you get to the base tell them you're not bothered whether its a van or a car and they give you a car anyway for the van price.
Mick
NB Oleanna
Hello Kevin,
Fret not Kevin, I can assure you the back doors are always closed when we run the generator, the photo was when we first arrived back at FS and plonked it down on the deck. Thank you for your offer though. I hadn't realised you were that close but we do have the car in the garage (that was not part of the letting agreement so we use it to store stuff as well)and as soon as we are back Ian will remove the travel pack with the alternator and take it to Atherstone. Xx
Hi Paul, We bought the generator when the alternator packed up the last time but personally I hate generators on boats. We very nearly sold it, nowhere to store it on FS, but I'm very glad we didn't now! Xx
Hi Marilyn, Ian is a dab hand at replacing alternators, he had to do it once before but the cost is astronomical to replace the travel pack and that particular alternator is hard to come by hence taking it to Cox's in Atherstone to see if it can be repaired. Ian said the batteries are fine and who am I to doubt him? (: Xx
Hi Mick, what a great tip. We will definitely take that one on board, thank you. Xx
Vans are definitely cheaper, I had one the other week when we moved marinas and I had to get the car, including insurance £55
I hadn't realised that you have a travel pack. If the cost of replacing it (along with its dedicated alternator) is "astronomical", wouldn't it be worth considering an Inverter and any suitable alternator? At least these items are available from many different manufacturers, and you're never going to be far from spares and service.
Hi Dave, Ah, but we already have an invertor and Ian seems to think a repair to the alternator would be cheaper. Once we get the whole kit and kaboodle to Cox's we should have a better idea of which way to go. Thanks for your imput, always appreciated.
Thanks, Brian and Diana. We may well go that route instead of a hiring a car in future. We are all for getting a good deal (:
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