DandV

Just a couple of days ago in 2013. 11th? when we took delivery of our boat isolated by a badly broken lock from the rest of the canal system. About a week later much of the Aylesbury Basin, 22 boats were evacuated by road to Willowbridge. The rest of the Canal Society boats moved themselves up to the new Circus Field Basin about 4 months later

In shipping, any enclosed space, regardless of shape, dedicated for the storage of liquids was designated as a tank. So big oil tankers had both fore and aft, and transverse bulkheads to divide the below deck space into a number of tanks.

The remaining boats, and the photographs of them are undoubted very valuable, and hopefully durable relics, but are only one dimension. This thread has been valuable to me in adding a lot to, of another dimension, one not so durable, that of the context. Why and what? And even some about about that third dimension, the dimension that is increasingly uncomfortably for many of us, not so durable. The people involved, and their lives. The who. So thanks everbody who has contributed in making this thread so interesting to me.

And what bought this thread about In 2015 on the Lower Peak Canal we came across Spey sprawled across the canal, whilst her crew attempted a delicate salvage operation. A "very nasty branch" had snatched the steerer's very expensive spectacles off his nose and into the canal. In spite of valiant efforts by her crew, there they probably remain.

Thanks for all of the replies. It is interesting that this trade, and the boats, and that horsepower survived as late as they did. Presumably the fuel oil carried was light fuel oil, used as boiler fuel, where any residual contamination from previous coal tar carriage would be irrelevant, whereas internal combustion engines might be a little more fussy. Were there any other narrowboats built for special cargoes? Other then the two powered pontoon like boats used in Stoke on Trent for carting partly fired pottery between kilns? I saw one of them being loaded whilst on a canal side walk there in the mid 1970's and was disappointed in that it looked nothing like the picturesque working boats I had seen in all the romantic pictures that had made it around to this side of the world.

Just thinking back. UK and NZ standard above ground oil and fuel tanks, at the time would have been 6ft and 8ft standard diameters with 6ft strakes on the 6ft diameter tanks and 8ft on the 8ft diameter tanks. So nominally 1000 imp gallons per 6ft length. I think 4000 gallons,/ 24ft long was the normal max size for that diameter. But the 1 2 & 3 thousand gallon tanks were much more numerous. Steel underground tanks were the same dimensions. And even small vertical tanks. So over 4ton per 6ft tank length. These tanks would be an economical fit in a 7ft wide boat. And repurposed second hand tanks would have been numerous. A colleague of mine was persuaded to provide a similar, but later metric sized tank to convey fuel as deck cargo on an Antarctic supply ship for a private expedition. It did not go well when a big wave hit and split the tank. You can see stability, being an issue with the centre of gravity of a full tank being about 3ft 6" above the bottom of the

I was never fond of the smell of petroleum products, but this rose to an intense dislike, when, in my job, they indicated their presence in places they definitely should not have been. First you had to find the escape point, and ascertain how much had gone AWOL, Then engage with alls sorts of others, you really didn't want to deal with. The emergency services, clients, councils, and your highers ups. Start the clean up, which could be a major, And somewhere in all this fix it, and return service. And later participate in "The Investigation" We had to be aware of where the Humber Princess actually was, when we shared her territory in 2015, as she shuttled backwards and forwards delivering lube base oil from port storage in Hull up to the blending plant in Rotheham. In that time she made two return trips. Was impressed the way she delivered her, far from young, deckhand, from off the fore deck, onto the lock wing wall at Eastward Lock to set the lock where she entered, prior to the CART team arriving to take over. Certainly would not have wanted to encounter her on the bends on the river near the Conisbrough Viaduct.

Thanks for that. Lube oil in simple tanks makes sense. Specially built boats didn't seem to make sense. And now I know how great grandmother's Wright's Coal Tar Soap was really just a way of maximising the yield from a toxic by product of coal gas production! I remember it smelt vile compared to fragrant Lux. Don

As an ex oil company engineer and somebody also interested in the commercial operation of narrowboats in latter years my interest has been raised by tanker narrowboats. I have seen Spey a tar tanker a few times, which I understand was one of a fleet taking coal tar away from coal gas manufacturing plants to where? Was coal tar a bitumen substitute for roading? I know bitumen always needs to be transported hot, so presumably coat tar was more liquid at normal UK temperatures. I am also aware, probably from this site, that diesel fuel used to be transported from refineries adjacent to Port Ellismere down to the Midlands by tanker narrowboat until fairly late in commercial trade by narrowboat. Presumably by boats especially constructed for this trade. Any body know their tank configuration and capacity? Were only motors used, or were working pairs of boats used? When did this trade cease? and where in the Midlands were the discharge points for further distribution by road? Was only diesel fuel carried or also heavy fuel oil, or even motor spirit? I look forward to replies. Don