Monday 20th September 2004 Schmöckwitz via Teltow and Britzer back to Schmöckwitz.

Langer Dahme - Wikimedia photo by Lienhard Schultz

9.5°C Sunny spells in the morning, cloudy, cold and breezy in the afternoon. Set off at 8.05 a.m. with pins in and the washing machine going. Called in at a boatyard in Köpenick to refill the water tanks. Mike gave them 2€ for the two boats. When we set off again I finished the ironing and vacuumed the carpet. Made a cuppa and sat out on the stern to catch up two days’ log notes. Then Bill called on VHF to say his engine was overheating! Calamity! He’d stopped by Britzer Allee bridge, so we winded and went back and tied alongside. Mike went to have a look. He rigged up some clear tubing to vent the air and a bottle to catch the coolant, then watched to see how much air bubbled out. Loads. I made some lunch. Mike’s not happy, he said there should have been a header tank installed at the highest point on the cooling system when the extra tanks were fitted at Condé. Politzei launch N° 42 went past (he’d been past us heading the other way half an hour earlier) followed shortly after by a loaded Bromberger. Set off again along the remainder of the Britzer Zweigkanal and turned right on

Panorama of the Langer See - Wikimedia photo by Andreas Steinhoff

the Spree heading upstream back towards Schmöckwitz. Decided to leave the tour round the Muggelsee for another day as Rosy limped slowly back. Peter sent a text to ask if we’d left Berlin yet. Mike ‘phoned him to tell him the latest news and he came up with the suggestion that the cylinder head might be cracked - as happened on his Montego. We called into a boatyard that offered boat engine repairs to ask if they could get a cylinder head gasket. Bill arrived and moored alongside us. The boss came over to have a look. He said he’d do some ‘phoning round. Mike told him we’d call back and see him next day by car. We stooged slowly back down the Lange Dahme back to an empty quay wall. We tucked into the corner again and twenty minutes later Rosy came and moored alongside. 

Chart of Berlin waterways - Wikimedia by chumwa