Paul H

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

Yes thank you for clearing up a long running mystery. The blue paintwork confused me into thinking it was on BW maintenance. Now we know! Paul

I spotted this strange boat at Calcutt on the Grand Union in May 1981. Always wondered what it was and where it had come from but have left it rather a long time to ask! Paul

Quite a poor photo but Erebus at Gas Street in January 1981. Note no front cabin. Im sure Speedwheel has lots of pics but he doesnt seem to post anymore - perhaps if you PMd him he'll get a notification. Paul

Robert Wilson has also apparently recently passed on. Not particularly active or well-known on the waterways over the last 30 years he is, nevertheless, remembered for writing and publishing some of the first historic boat literature - including some by Alan Faulkner. Sadly it is unlikely that future generations will be able to replace these stalwarts as the connection with working boatmen will be lost. Harry in particular was there at the end of the working boats, the birth of pleasure boating and the establishment of the leisure/live aboard world of today. I bet he preferred the early days! Paul

To be pedantic that’s the Malvern. Only the front end is the original Australia as the stern after decades sunk in the flashes in Cheshire was too far gone to restore. Paul

I do recall you upgraded from a Josher to a GU boat! ? Paul

Mimas and Ray looked good when owned by Doug Jones at Rickmansworth in the late 70s and 80s but were probably not in the best condition under the shiny paint. Mimas has since been immaculately restored by Chris Collins up the Troy Cut while Ray lays awaiting possible attention sunk in the reeds nearby. Paul (that’s Ray the boat not Ray T the last poster!)

Graham Parker was based at Norton Canes alonside Malcolm Braine and Canal Transport Services and build mid range no nonsense boats. I think he was later associated with JD Boat Services iirc. He may have partnered with Neil Butlin at some stage.

DIWE/BTW aka British Waterways used to impose tolls for internal accounting purposes to appear to give a level playing field with other carriers. However it was, conveniently, the loss incurred “after tolls” which gave them the excuse to give up most of their narrow boat carrying in 1963. In truth it was desperately uneconomic anyway with the need to support admin offices and maintenance depots busy renovating worn-out old boats which would never be brought back into use - at least by BW. Paul

That’s a different Prince! The Josher one owned by Malcolm Webster. Paul

Not strictly pebble dashing but BW did go through a period of spraying concrete on bridges known as guniting. It is difficult to see how a Prince would be a suitable boat for this as the bow would have been too high. I am told that the various Joshers which had their bows replaced by punt-like structures such as Columba, England, Mullet etc. were known as gunniting boats. incidentally Jay Price posts on Facebook and Mark Holtham apparently lives in Worcester if you’re chasing up previous owners. Bill Blaik’s address can be found on the Companies House website. Paul

Bill’s butty was Willow Wren’s old and decrepit butty Cygnet which now has a motor stern and is called Belgium. I don’t think there’s any clear evidence that this is its original name though. Paul

Probably not important but I always believed that Woolworths Cover Plus was made by Macphersons - now part of Dulux I think. It was excellent and so painted all my boats in it including the hull of a lifeboat. A Which report reckoned that it lasted better if you went straight from primer to top coat and forgot about undercoat. Suited my lazy nature! Paul

Prince was owned in the late 70s early 80s as a carrying boar by Bill Blaik operating as Canal & Graphic Services. He was also a graphic designer (surprise!) and although I presume he’s now retired, I think he is still involved with tugs on the Thames. He operated in London and used to retail coal and deliver building materials for contractors. Paul

Having more than a passing interest in iceboats I’ve been looking for Ice Dragon for 10 years! Do you know anything of its history? It was owned by Alan Picken and operated as a trip boat for some years near Brecon towing a cut down BCN day boat which he called Dragons Tail. I presume he bought it off British Waterways as most of their old iceboats passed through his hands. Is the counter stern original or is the boat a conversion from a horse drawn iceboat? Alan Picken died some years ago but his widow June still lives locally and she may remember something. Of course you may already be in touch as you probably bought it off them! as for Alisa Craig engines there is one in the Josher tug “Gorse” which broke a crankshaft a few years back and the owner got it repaired so he must know something about them! i’ll private Message you June Picken’s email address and a possible way to contact the owner of Gorse. Paul

Yarwoods portholes had a more rounded rather than the sharp edged bezel of the Wollwiches and were much preferred by the boatmen as they were easier to polish. Have a chat to the Brinklow boys - they may have replicas in stock or be able to point you in the right direction! Paul

Post 235

And typical boatwomen. Ideal for bow hauling up the bottom road! ?

Boats at the “the end of their life” are often abandoned and then seized by CRT under their Section 8 powers. The policy is, or at least was, to destroy any boat worth under £1000 because they take the view that any new owner buying a cheap boat is likely to be as much trouble as the last one! Anything worth more than that is either auctioned online or sold via “tame” brokers. I bought my first boat from British Waterways at the age of 17 for the grand price of £16. I did it up and sold it for a good profit and about 12 boats later have a historic boat worth around £60K so I think this is a very short-sighted policy! Paul

One and the same. It was known as Maple Lodge Sewage Works and I understand that coal dust was burnt as part of the process with some of the “residue”. The boats had to be clothed up to keep the coal dry. I believe the traffic was originally gained by John Knill. One of the last traffics carried by Willow Wren was concrete sewer pipes from West Drayton to Maple Lodge which in part superseded the need for some of the processing at Maple Lodge. Not sure if I need to know the detail! Paul

Ken Keay put the cabin on the Midland and Coast butty Diamond which is exhibited at the Black country Museum. I have no idea if the cabin has been rebuilt since but here's a pic of him doing it. The moulding may have survived best inside the cabin! Paul

Coal was delivered to Maple Lodge by Willow Wren until 1969. Paul