Barge Date:  06-22-2022

Moving Along

We are in Sens waiting for the rain to stop.  The French need the water so I am not too upset about this.

We have come through several small towns since the last blog posting from Villeneuve-sur-Yonne. Since Sunday we have been in Sens. Always work to do.  Was able to get paint on the starboard side of the cabin roof and this resulted in running out of white paint. It seemed that all Bricos (Lowe’s) are on the other side of town so I got on the bike to make the trip. It was a good size store with a long aisle of paint going up to the ceiling. Not seeing what I want I inquired.  The young man said I would need to clear the aisle as he would need to go up to get more.  I wanted 2 cans.

His search resulted in one can that was nearly bent in half. Yes, just one sorry can. How can it be that the one thing I needed from this large store was out of stock? And after the long bike ride? So I put in the directions for a second store that looked questionable and it was.  An apartment complex. I will wait for the next opportunity.

I have been in the engine room looking at the generator. I needed to remove the "sound suppression box” to get to it. I did the same 3-4 years ago but this refreshed my memory.  The single  cylinder engine looks very new.  The electrical unit less so. With the new battery for this beast I will attempt a start in a couple of days. Yes, I have to think about this. I am contemplating removing this unit and replacing it with something more modern. I am re-reading the books about our barge written by Hart Massey. He had terrible problems making electricity and perhaps I can improve on his work. Here is a picture of that motor. It, like the generator, was made in Italy. Somehow I am not impressed with a company called Acme. What a terrible name.

Here are some pictures of Sens. One notable bit of history: the cathedral in town is the first gothic structure to be built in Europe and the British isles. Begun in the 11th century. It took a good many years to complete and it is very nice.  This is also the city Thomas Becket was exiled to. He should have stayed here.

Here are some pictures of the town.

The city hall

This small church sits right on the river and looks so nice.

It was June 21 yesterday and across France cities and towns were putting on music programs. This is an annual event in France. So last night we were able to walk to town and listen to a variety of music genre. Here are a few samples.

This was the Irish band that played while we had dinner.

Finally, I had high hopes for this Honda generator that was in the forepeak of the boat since day one. I took the generator to a nearby repair shop for cars and they promised to try to look at it. Well they finally did, and they are saying there is no compression. This thing weighs a ton but I carried it back to the boat and perhaps I will get a second opinion. Otherwise, it might make for a good anchor in an emergency. And more space available now in the forepeak.