Paul H

I don’t think there is any great surprise that boats stored at Stockley Dock survived. It must have been reasonably secure as the GUCCC seemed to store dozens of boats there - it was simply the overflow mooring for non-operational boats from Bulls Bridge. My boat Capricorn was amongst them but at some point they were all moved to Harefield Flash (note in what is now Harefield Marina rather than the further gravel pit where BW later scuttled the ex-rubbish boats including many Josher butties.) In the HNBC article from which I took the map, John Hemelryk says he remembers Stockley Dock to be later filled with scuttled wide boats and it’s rumoured that the Royalty butties ended their lives there. Paul

The map I posted on Facebook taken from an old GUCC map shows Stockley Dock as being to the south of the main line and must have been quite short unless it went under the railway. The GUCCC stored a lot of the star class boats there after they were effectively superseded by the town class which were more popular with the boatmen due to their bigger cabins.

The man who had Dory restored needs to buy that and sort it out! Only needs a new bow, back end and probably quite s bit of middle...

Yes Matty had the Susan as a dredger which apparently was cut down from a motor BCN day boat similar to the Ben. I understand that it has now been reunited on behalf of a well-known enthusiast with a BCN iron fore end by Stockton Drydock Co. This was Matty’s second Susan, the first was a wooden tug which became the leisure boat Clevanda. I believe both were named after Susan Roberts who was nominally the secretary but effectively ran Mattys. And I’m reminded that Stratford was there too! Paul

Sorry I was just editing Typhoon to Tycho. i think at the time they were maintaining a regular schedule of maintenance although there was less work for the boats... Paul

I’ve just posted these pics on Facebook and thought I’d post them here for you non-facebookers! What have we got here? Tycho, Oxford, Aldgate, Greyhound, Darley (Will Newton)- or at least the bow, Greenock (with blue tops), Stewart & Lloyd’s No. 1, Atlantic, Governor, Maureen (Ex-Electra) Not sure if Stratford or Pacific were there so maybe they were on contract... Paul

I think some restoration was started at one time. I remember the beginnings of the stern end with a Kelson showing above the waterline so it might have had the bottom plank and bottoms in place. There was certainly more stern than in Lawrence’s pics. Any wooden boat will rot away in 20-25 years without regular docking and maintenance. This was after all their design life. The middles of Clayton boats tend to fair better as they have been pickled with their tarry cargoes over the years. Umea had a new bow built by John Woolley but as this was over 40 years ago it is well overdue for another! Is Umea at the Stink Hole? Paul

The peaked cap and quasi-navy uniform of the water bus steerers was not of course typical of the uniform worn by lock keepers and maintenance workers. I remember when the 1981 logo of bridge and reeds came in with the boats painted green rather than blue, the uniform changed from blue to green too. As I recall it was cotton drill trousers with matching jacket in a blouson style with the logo as a sewn on badge. Many of the employees, particularly the older ones, hated the uniform and even more so when it went green so seldom wore it. I believe a friend was also issued with a Waterways donkey jacket at one time. However in the past “corporate image” was considered less important than it is today. Paul

Well they were on one of my old houses and yes extra conduit had been added in a lighter gauge to light switches etc. as needed. I suppose it was it was all about limiting the amount of work and plaster damage. Whether this work was all done at the same time is unclear. People were not used to controlling the light remotely with gas and probably didn’t expect to initially do so with electricity. It was amazing what we discovered under the floorboards - redundant gas pipes, an earlier electric system, low voltage servant bells wiring and even some early 50s pornography! Paul

It is very possible that the house was originally lit by gas and the old pipes were used as conduits when electricity was introduced. This was not uncommon. It was probably only 2 amp. Paul

Hardy in the Barlow fleet was unusual in having a bow cabin but even more unusually this was built in the bottom of the boat behind the deck beam. The model isn’t like this showing it instead in the more conventional position in front of the cratch. So not sure how familiar the model maker was with the actual boat Hardy... Paul

For the record Roger Hatchard’s Lead Us was made out of the front, but unusually shorter part, of Lepus by Ian Kemp. David Harris turned the bit left over in to a 57ft motor boat, subsequently lengthened ( by Paul Barber?) Paul

How wonderful to see a boat from an era when most had character and individuality - not a granite worktop or flat screen TV in sight! Id be surprised if the hull doesn’t still exist but the cabin will have been replaced (at least once!) There doesn't seem seem to be a boat of this length licenced under this name but it could have been renamed and a surprising number of older narrow boats are hidden away in yards and farms awaiting the injection of money and enthusiasm. Paul

No it was the old Courtauld’s carrying tug based around Coventry and later run as a hostel boat by Tim Higton of Warwickshire Fly long before he acquired the base at Stockton. And yes the Petter was stored outside there for many years after the Alice May was broken up. Paul

I believe the Petter came out of the long-gone wooden motor Alice May. Paul