Is "Engine Service" the most boring blog post title ever?

Oner of the first things I intended to do when Starcross arrived at Uplands Basin was to arrange an engine service. The extended itinerary over the summer meant she was about 100 hours overdue for one, and in any case it's a good idea to do it before the winter.
I've never felt guilty about not being able to do this myself. I know what to do: change oil and filters, check coolant, fanbelt and batteries etc but I've always felt that my mechanical skills lay in being able to earn enough money to pay someone to do it properly! In any case, by the time you've bought the consumables and factored in your own time it's worth paying to get it done. (At least that's what I tell myself).

As a River Canal Rescue member I can get a service done by them at a place of my choosing. They are not so accommodating about the date and time - it was a case of take it or leave it - but yesterday was convenient and it gave me an excuse to stay overnight on board. I think RCR use the servicing to train new staff as there always seem to be two of them: one "doing" and the other checking-up on him. They found nothing amiss with the engine and I thought the price of £115 (£15 less than I'd been quoted) was good value and a lot cheaper than last time I had it done at a boatyard.

I also had a very pleasant couple of days aboard - doing a few little jobs and chatting to towpath-walkers and the two Canal and River Trust volunteers who patrol the stretch I'm moored on. Being half-term week the canal was busier, mostly with hire boats presumably doing the Four Three Counties Ring (The fourth "county" only existed between 1974 and 1986) as the alternative Cheshire Ring is currently not available to them, or anyone else.