Inspiration

Half past three on a Friday afternoon and the mobile goes beep.

Its Keith and Jo on ‘NB Hadar’. "We’re at Thrupp, just up from the Jolly Boatman. We’ll be around for a couple of days if you want to meet."

Well, all of the household were out that night, so there was no time like the present. A few text’s later and we arranged to meet that night on the boat and then retire to the pub. It seemed like a good plan.

It ended up as a very pleasant evening in the company of Keith and Jo, plus fellow bloggers; Bones http://mortimerbones.blogspot.com/ and Maffi http://www.narrowboater.blogspot.com/.

Being as it was dark and all that, I returned the following morning to talk engines and stuff with Keith.

Keith and Jo are justifiably proud of Hadar. Built by Roger Fuller, she’s as good a replica (little) Northwich as you’ll ever see. At her heart beats a National DA 2.

The National DA is very different to the D engine, but is every bit as nice. Keith went through the normal priming procedures and, with a couple of seconds prod on the starter button, she fired up and settled down to a deep sounding rhythm. Very nice. Keith and Jo have had their own problems with their DA and these are well documented on their blog. That said, I don’t think they’d want anything else in the engine room.

The tittle of the post – ‘Inspiration’. A couple of hours with fellow Narrowboaters and vintage engine enthusiasts does help now and then. The sound of their DA makes you want to come back and get on with your own project.

Onwards and upwards!