Paul H

Capricorn is my boat so I naturally take an interest in its history. Subsequent research suggests it was actually sold off by BWB in 1961/2 and reduced to 49ft at Charity Dock to form a pleasure boat. In 2015 I had it stretched to 57ft 6ins at Brinklow Boats using some of the original sides which had been stored at Bedworth and later at Long Itchington for over 50 years! Paul Edited just now by Paul H

Oops wrong thread!

The photo is by John Liley and appears in his book Journeys of the Swan Paul

I always knew it as Trakmark but they seem to only do “plank effect” deck coverings nowadays and Treadmaster seems to be similar to the covering I remember. However I think the BW hire cruiser conversions predate this product and they used either fibreglass or canvas. Somewhere I’ve seen a very detailed spec of the cabin work for these boats. I can’t remember where but feel sure the source was found in the Ellesmere Port archives. You might want to contact Cheshire-rose on this forum who has done some research into these boats and obtain a copy of Waterways Journal Vol 20 (available from Audlem Mill) which has an interesting article about them. Paul

Yes I think it is the Roama/Roamer/ Tug No 1 built by Yarwoods in timber in 1938/39 with a Russell Newberry It survived until fairly recently but Now seems to have disappeared although there are confusingly two steel replicas which often get mistaken for it. Paul The above pics show the original tug, the first not long after it was built and the second in preservation in the 80s or 90s when visiting Ellesmere Port.

( Indeed - owned by an employee of Brinklow Boat Services who is restoring it in his spare time. The “floating classroom” boat is the Tucana. Taygeta AKA Severn Dolphin was on hire from BW to a iirc a David Thompson and was used in the coal trade later returning to maintenance in the NW. Paul

Matched Pair? Only if the other boat is the “Swan” - which it isn’t. ?

It’s called Conway - looked quite smart when owned by surveyor Ed Boden a few years back. https://hnbc.org.uk/boats/conway Paul

I have them all! 9 down is a modern term, working boatman used the term for something else! Decorative rope work on front of boat is found on the cratch. Paul P.S. You shouldn’t stand on the counter to steer.

I understand that with one or two of the Idle Women it was not obvious that they were women! ?

I think that is quite likely. Three young(ish) women on the boats and their relative untidiness suggest this but I’ve also noticed that the motor’s chimney has only 2 brass rings something apparently seen on the women’s boats and which has been suggested indicated that they are trainees. Indeed a similar or perhaps the same chimney can be seen on Uttoxeter in pictures from the time. I suspect the man standing on the gunnel is from the timber yard and is chatting up “the girls.” Paul

Duplicate post

It was me who suggested Byfield as a possible identity based on this article https://braunstonmarina.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/Running-Scared.pdf but I have to say I have serious doubts now as the cabin conversion is nothing like that I remember on Byfield. Jim Marshal owned the Dunlin/Hadfeld another big Ricky but it is not that boat either. Sadly the likelihood of the boat surviving today is slim Paul

I don’t believe any of the Royalty boats were built with well deck counters - although Linda/Victoria was modified as such around 1960. The “fish class” Joshers were a revolutionary design intended by Fellows Morton and Clayton to replace some of their single horse boats in the north west with single motors. They had extra long holds partly achieved by slightly shorter cabins and shorter engine rooms with the fuel tank “dished” to make room for the flywheel of the engine and thus save a few precious inches. There were also experiments at the stern! The “starn end” cupboard was much prized by the boatmen in their butties/horse boats - it was after all the boatman’s fridge well away from the range - and of course they were familiar with the design of back end hatched. So there was an attempt to lure boatmen away from horse boats on to single motors with the adoption of “well deck” counters on some of the early fish class motors - Dory, Lamprey and Perch amongst them. All were pretty soon converted to conventional motors. Paul

... and built by Graeme Pearce of Stockton Dry Dock Co at Warwickshire Flyboats. Without I believe not a false rivet in sight!

This is quite an interesting/historic boat having been built by Ralph Kirkham for his retirement and featured in an ancient Waterways World. Mr Kirkham had a plastics company in Yorkshire which designed and made the blue tops for British Waterways river class narrow boats and also some prototype fibreglass containers which were designed to be lifted out of narrow boats on to lorries. It has to be the same boat - Saga is very much a one off - but agree that the survey must be very out of date! Paul

Ray Shill, the BCN expert who posts on this forum as Heartland, wrote a book called “The Industrial Canal: The Railway Interchange Trade” in 1996. Audlem Mill appears to have a copy https://www.canalbookshop.co.uk/Secondhand list for website 090120.pdf I also remember an article by Tom Foxton in a magazine, possibly Waterways World. Paul

British Waterways painted their “spare”boats at this time in plain grey although a memo concerning Capricorn also specified a black stripe on the cabin side. This was presumably to preserve the cabin without going to the expense of a complete repaint. The picture to me looks posed and is probably a still from a film. I’ve come across it before on the internet - possibly Getty images. I can’t remember how to do a reverse image lookup. Any one else fancy a try? Paul

The previous thread I linked to above says Sentinel was built by Brian Duvall when he was at Spurr Marine. He owned the Bantock-derived tug Emerald and built a number of boats in various exaggerated traditional styles. Paul

Sentinel previously discussed:

Sadly the quoted history is far from accurate. Kilsby was built by Braithwaite and Kirk for Fellows Morton and Clayton in 1913 as a horse boat for general cargo. In 1945 it was sold to the Manchester Ship Canal Co for use as a mud boat on the Bridgewater Canal. Sold off for conversion to a houseboat in the 1980s it was called Helsby for a while. I’m sure Pete H has much more info! Paul Mods - can this be moved to History & Heritage where it will get more attention?

But I don’t believe the roundel logo featuring the word Board ever appeared as a transfer on the boats. Paul

... ...and where did that come from?

The British Waterways Board was set up in 1963 taking over from the Docks and Inland Waterways Executive, part of the British Transport Commission. As this coincided with the decision to withdraw from narrow boat carrying apart from 2 small contracts, there was no reason to redesign the life belt roundel. Paul

Ex-butty Achilles. This is the former bow section motorised by Roger Farringdon (I believe still owned by him) and moored outside his slipway. Achilles was for many years in the fleet of Birmingham and Midland. paul