Busy summer for RCR.

Summer 2011 may not have been the sunniest on record but for River Canal Rescue it’s certainly been the busiest.

Over the period from March to the end of August 2011 RCR received 40% more calls than over the same period last year. This increase in demand underlined RCR’s recent recruitment drive which saw two more engineers out on the road. Despite this the company are still looking for another engineer to cover London and the K&A, and with boat traffic expected to increase in the area on the run up to the 2012 Olympics, the new member of the team could be busy .

During the 2011 summer season over 200 calls were made for cable problems, 180 battery related and 125 were fuel problems (including running out of fuel all together). It’s felt that one of the reasons for boater experiencing problems this year is the economic situation. With money being in short supply it’s thought that an increasing number of boaters are skipping their boats regular service. In addition with many people opting to take a boat holiday rather than go abroad, if the vessel has not been used regularly the essential repairs may have been overlooked with the result that more boats are experiencing breaking down. With boatyards reporting an increase in “repair rather than replace” jobs it could well be the case that boaters are cutting back.

In these harsh economic times it’s easy to see why this happens but as RCR’s MD, Stephanie Horton commented recently, “it really is false economy to cut back on servicing and repairs, and as has happened in a number of cases, can result in a serious accident or damage when something fails at a critical time” Stephanie added, “we are always looking for ways to help our member deal with some of the simpler issues and we have produced a Breakdown Advice sheet which can help owners identify and sort our many simple problems, so if anyone would like a copy please drop us a line at enquiries@rivercanalrescue.co.uk and we’ll happily send you a copy.”

With prevention always being better than a cure it’s worth dropping RCR a line to pick up a copy of the advice sheet or for more information on RCR’s range of services visit their website at www.rivercanalrescue.co.uk

A testimonial by a tested member!

In late May we received a call, or should we say 'calls' from a very unlucky member who, over the next few days, had a number of problems - all of which we were able to help out with. The following report is by Jean Jones which we hope you will find interesting.

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My name is Jean Jones and I would like to submit the following testimonial:

We joined RCR hoping we would never have to call them, but better safe than sorry!

Two days into our holiday the fan belt broke, we called [RCR] and Stephanie sent Shaun to our rescue. It turned out to be caused by a seized alternator, after 'popping off' to get the new part it was quickly and efficiently installed.

Off we go again, next day the second belt snapped, this time the water pump had seized, again Stephanie sent Shaun and again he replaced the item quickly and efficiently.

We could not believe how friendly and efficient the whole organisation could be. Have the RAC/AA ever offered to bring you supplies when on a call out or to let your family know you have broken down?

Off we go again.

Botterham staircase lock...when my husband went to the upper lock to release the water, the fender caught on something and the boat was in danger of sinking. Trying to get free a six inch hole was ripped in the fuel tank and 30 gallons of fuel disappeared down the canal.

Other boaters helped us to pull the boat out of the lock and I again called Stephanie (by this time on first name terms) She told me not to worry. She organised everything, called the British Waterway team, the Environmental Health and sent Shaun to help us. Everyone was fantastic.

We thought our holiday was over, but Shaun would not let that happen. He climbed into the canal (up to his armpits) syphoned off the remaining 20 galls of fuel into jerry cans brought by BW, sealed the hole with a bed pillow in a black bag (you could say he went the extra

fathom to help us). After this he placed the jerrycan under our floor boards and rigged up the engine so we could drive the boat.

Stephanie organized Industrial Boats in Brewood to crane the boat out and weld a patch. (Not just a quick patch but a really professional job, they even 'blacked' the area)

On the last part of the journey to the boat yard the engine started surging, we thought 'oh no, not more trouble'. The boatyard fitter could not come for 24hours. We were worried by this time that we would not get back to our moorings in time to get to work. Stephanie said

'don't worry we will take you back by car if necessary'.

RCR to the rescue again Jay came out to replace the fuel feed diverted by Shaun, cleared all the filters and we sailed home with no more problems.

We can not praise RCR, Stephanie, Shaun and Jay enough.

Thank You, Thank you.

Jean Jones