Of The Definition Of A Boat Being A Boat-Shaped Hole In The Water Into Which One Throws All Their Money 5

So here I was, moored up at the marina, having arrived in plenty of time to drive to my hospital appointment in Peterborough. While I was away Alan and Gerald took my engine out of the boat using the teleporter - that's the agricultural/industrial lifting machine, not the invention of Star Trek! I wasn't there to see it happen, but the arm of the teleporter will extend over the top of the sheds on the quayside and with a little "this a-way, that a-way, left a bit, right a bit, up/down" they lifted the engine out of the boat and set it down in the shed. 

My hospital appointment took longer than expected for two reasons. I arrived in plenty of time for my 2pm appointment, but was kept waiting for a couple of hours. During the appointment the doctor put drops into my eye to dilate the pupil. I hadn't been warned about that and had to wait for the drops to wear off before I could drive again. I didn't get away until well after 6pm and I probably should have left it even later before I started driving, even though I felt safe enough. On my way back to the boatyard I stopped off at my lockup to empty my van of the stuff I usually keep in the back to make sure I had space to load up the engine. When I arrived back at the marina I found my engine at the back of the shed ...

Engine on dry land

The following morning (Thursday) the engine was hoisted again and loaded into my van.

Engine being loaded into the van

I set off for Calcutt Boats, near Rugby, where they were expecting delivery of the  engine. It would be there in good time to take advantage of the space that had come up the following Monday, when they stripped, rebuilt and replaced all the bits that needed sorting after the breakdown. They were stress testing it all day Wednesday and Thursday and needed time to fit the upgrades I had requested (a twin-belt alternator having a more than double the output of the old one and a spin-on oil filter housing as suggested by Gerald of Fox's to make services easier) and spruce it all up ready for collection the following week.

In the meantime my boat was poled and pulled over to a spot opposite the workshop quayside that was to become my home for the next fortnight.