Mechanical Failure

Day 6

Monday 1st July



Our fortunate location in Fumay

Automatic lock times were impinging on our days at both ends.

9:00 am was the opening time, which, by our standards, was late.

New note to self.......start the engines one hour before planned departure time.

 

PROBLEM......One engine didn't fire up. We all knew. The sound of the horn as the ignition starts up is deafening. In fact, may I mention just how loud it is in the cabin during a cruising day....you cannot escape it. Headphones and iPods help the girls to study.

 

This is serious. And of course, no one here speaks English. Out comes the " French for Cruisers" book and the best of the inboard French knowledge.

Armed and insecure, we discuss our situation with the Captainier's office just metres away.

 
Another 30 min later and a French mechanic shows up.




With the French Mechanic

Without actually witnessing the proceedings , I discovered it ended very badly..lots of abuse, smoke from some equipment, accusations and costs of €500 being bandied about and naturally a storming off finale. We were no better off.
 

Ok, having identified the hardware, we attempted to buy jump leads...it seemed the engine was not turning over due to a lack of charge....no jump leads available....decided to be proactive and order fuel. That worked!

 

At this point, G was in constant communication with Johan, our sorely missed mechanic from the Netherlands, whom,I must add, was invited to join us for the trip. His delightful sense of humour and prowess with all things mechanical had endeared us to him. And let's not forget our now seriously depleted confidence levels.....

G on the phone to Johan

 A petrol station was suggested. G' armed with absolutely no French knowledge whatsoever, cycled off and came back with the promise of a mechanic and 2 new batteries, plus hoses for water and fittings!! A genius in sign language is my husband!!



Fumay




Fumay




Fumay




Fumay

 

He was handling the crisis with rational thought. A least one of us was....

 

 

Excellent deductive thinking led G to conclude it wasn't the batteries after all....The starter motor was looking like the culprit. It could be seized..... or it could be just stuck.....

Oh please God.......I know which one I would prefer.........a complete starter engine replacement would take at least 2 days. We were already down one day already since it was now 3:45pm.

 

The oil levels were looking good so out came the sledge hammer. On Johan's advice, G struck hard as he could while I turned the ignition ....more banging...and then....what had preciously been a dammed annoyance now sounded like music to our ears....DAF Engine no.1 turned over. You would think a finals footballer had just scored the winning goal...the hysterical cries of joy and sheer relief cut the suspense so suddenly and spontaneously.
 

By 4:00 pm, we decided to test our resolve and attempt to reach Revin. Some progress, and much learnt.....



Another tunnel

Positives:

We bought 2 wiper blades

We refuelled

We learned what we didn't have on board:  jump leads, more floating key chains, spare towels for refuelling, ..etc

G added to his knowledge of the mechanics on board

I had the delightful opportunity to speak to passers by

We ended up with a spare, spanking brand new battery





Coming into Revin

On approach to Revin



Our marina at Revin

Our mooring at Revin

Revin



Revin

 





Totals:

Locks: 3



Distance: 12 km

Overall: 382 out of 956

 

Revin

Revin is known as the geographical centre of Europe. A circle of 350km radius centered over Revin covers the major cities of northern Europe: Reims, Brussels, Luxembourg, Lille, Liége. Then Paris, Nancy, Aix-la-Chapelle, Antwerp. Finally Strasbourg, Amsterdam, London and Frankfurt.