On Schedule !

The Launch

With a name like On Schedule ! it would be highly unlikely that the inaugural trip wouldn't be scheduled with all the precision of a royal visit! Consequently, you can imagine the consternation when we visited the boat to see our engine fitter and surveyor just 14 hours before the launch, we were told that the crane had broken down and that a replacement would not be available until some six hours later than planned. This would delay the start of the inaugural trip by a similar amount and make it impossible to complete the journey within the three days that we'd planned the following day.

Some quick re-scheduling was called for, as were a number of telephone calls to those people who had planned to assist us on our way or to watch the boat pass. Time will tell whether the crane appears and whether the amended schedule goes to plan. The first three pictures below show the state of the boat the day before the planned launch.

	The first shot of the interior with the foam insulation applied. There remains a fair bit of trimming and cleaning up but, apart from the floor, which has yet to be installed, what you see is what we get. The view is taken looking towards the front of the boat. The large space under the bow doors is where the water tank will be installed. The window on the left will need to be changed as this should be a sliding window over the galley sink. The windows on the right were being installed when we departed for home.
	This is a few minutes later, and taken from the front, looking towards the stern. The engine fitter is still beavering away, having been delayed for a few hours whilst the foam insulation was sprayed. Fortunately, he had another boat alongside to work on. Someone has a lot of work to do with a broom or a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the excess insulation that covers the battens onto which the plywood lining will ultimately be fitted. The paving slab ballast has also got to be laid down and then a plywood floor added. We think the next few hours could be quite hectic!
	We had to include a picture of the engine for those people who drool over such things! We sincerely hope that we will be able to keep the engine looking this clean. There is an ulterior motive for this picture. There is a rather deep drop from the stern deck onto the boat floor, well over a metre. In addition, there's liable to be a fairly warm engine throbbing away in the space in front of the rear doors. We need to make a temporary cover over at least the rear part of the engine and provide a better means of getting from the stern deck into the cabin whilst we're moving. This picture, along with the measurements that we took during our visit, should help us do this. At least we now have a little more time to pre-fabricate something.

The following pictures were taken the following day, the day when On Schedule ! finally reached the canal.

	Work on the boat continued right until the last minute. We were told that the crane had broken down and this would delay the load / launch, initially from 8am until 2pm. However, it was about 4pm before the crane and lorry eventually arrived and, as can be seen, work is continuing even as the crane is being set up.
	Eventually, the strops had been manoeuvred under the boat, ready for the lift. The only way this could be done was to lift the front end of the boat with a fork lift truck, sufficiently high enough for the strops to be slid under. The lorry driver - the chap standing with his back to the camera - is standing just to the left of the support that was placed under the boat when the fork lift truck raised it.
	The boat was suspended from the crane for a few minutes. The lorry driver has returned to his vehicle and the crane driver is about to give directions for reversing the lorry under the suspended boat.
	The boat has been gently lowered onto the lorry. The driver is about to start to secure it for the short journey to the canal.
	In what seemed like a very short time, the lorry was soon leaving. Although both lorry and crane must have been around for nearly and hour, the actual lift onto the lorry couldn't have taken more than about fifteen minutes.
	Stockton Marina is only a few miles from the boatyard and there are two routes between the two. The shorter route is no suitable for heavy vehicles. Consequently, we were able to get to the launch site a little quicker than the boat. Our initial position was opposite the marina and almost looking direct at the sun. The lorry plus boat have just arrived and the crane follows almost immediately thereafter.
	We made a reasonably quick trot from one side of the canal to the other in order to get some better pictures, away from the sun. The lorry with boat on has now backed down the slope towards the water. What isn't too clear in this picture is another boat that is moored just beyond the rear of the lorry. We.re glad that we didn't own this other boat!
	The crane has also positioned itself on the slope, alongside the lorry. The absence of an intermediate picture is due to the lorry driver asking for the mooring ropes, which were still in the car and necessitated another sprint from one side of the canal to the other and then back again, to get the ropes. The lift had already started by the time we were re-united with the camera.
	The boat is now well clear of the lorry. The 4 x 4 in the foreground had had to be moved to allow the lorry to get onto the slope. We think that we'd have moved our vehicle a little further out of the way!
	Lorry and crane driver worked well as a team, almost without a word being exchanged between them. A quick tug on the mooring rope and the boat is re-positioned directly over the water and clear of the boat moored at the foot of the slope.
	Gradually the boat is lowered into the water. Out of sight behind the boat, the lorry driver clambering all over the other boat trying to keep ours in line and away from the other boat.
	We believe that this is the very moment that On Schedule ! actually touched the water for the first time.
	On Schedule ! is now afloat. Within a few minutes of walking round to the boat, both the lorry and the crane had disappeared. On Schedule ! was then moved a few yards and filled with diesel before being moved to the other side of the canal.

It was too late to go anywhere by the time On Schedule ! was ready to be moved. The next nearest place with road access was Braunston, some 2¼ hours cruising away and it would be dark a long time before that. Consequently, we transferred everything that we'd brought with us into the boat, locked it up and left for home. The inaugural cruise would start the following day.

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