Basyfart
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Posts posted by Basyfart
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I always understood that the low cost of moorings/licences on the Basingstoke was due to the fact that your boat would be trapped for most of the year.
Perhaps that isn't so any more and they've found a constant source of water to maintain levels regardless of how many boats use the canal
Keith
If you have moorings & licence on the top 2 pounds you are charged more than at the lower end of the canal. These top pounds are where you are more likely to get traped through the bodged up repairs to the Deepcut Flight or water shortages. You dont get these problems at the lower end and can usualy get onto the Wey & Thames to go cruising, so why would anybody want to pay "premium" mooring charges for second rate facilities & maintenance managed by people who just do not listen to people who know what they are talking about.
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The Basingstoke Canal managment must be the most high handed and unfriendly managment on the waterways.Unpowered craft licences have gon up from £21:70 to £50 p.a. this is to bring into line with other waterway , however the River Wey is only £30 pa. The state of the locks and passage times are horrendous and dredging is very badly needed.
Rumour has it that the hire boat operation at the canal center has been forced to pull out because of astronomical price increases from Surrey County Council , an increase of 350% just before they were due to open . Their 72ft 47 seat function boat, 2 self drive day hire boats and disabled access boats have all been withdrawn .
Quite a few long time boats on the canal have gone off with no new ones to replace them, maybe they are put off by increased navigation charges, the Surrey C.C. say they can get £3,500 per year for so called "premium" moorings at Mytchette
It would appear that the BCA and Surrey C.C. are only interested in money, still what can u expect from organizations that are run by people who know nothing about canals and care less.The way they are going on the canal will soon be back to a derelict state what a waste of all the time and effort put in by hundreds of enthusiasts over many years. -
I worked on the dredging team from 1975, Also on the team was Ian Cripps, Rodger Thomas, Peter Caiger, Brian Bains, Paul Gasgoin and his wife to be Penny, Ian Edward and John Hulbert. Foregiv me if I have missed others out but it nearly 40 years ago. We started with the steam grab at Odiham working up to King Johns Castle befor backtracking towards Fleet. The dredger arrived at Pontails Bridge Fleet in 1994. Yes the steam grab was used for harder compacted silt. At Colt Hill narrow gauge rail track and skips were used to remove the silt from th dredger for spreading. A very hard job pushing skips weighing aprox 1ton. By Swan Cutting things were easier when a locomotive arrived
It was a happy, if hard time with many laughs along the way, but now at the age of 75 I dont think that I cold do it again and would we be allowed to in these days of "Health and Safety"
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Absolutely spot on. The errors don't detract at all, in fact they add to their charm.
Another great observation. We've all seen it where multiple locations are used to morph into a fictional setting for the storyline. Probably the most recent example is in Call the Midwife where Chatham Dockyard is used for a lot of the scenes & homes, whereas the St Saviours' Nonnatus House is in Mill Hill, London & other scenes at the Chilterns Open Air Museum.
You'll also notice in dramas set in the 50's & 60's the same few cars appearing all over the place.
As previously stated "who cares about continuity" sit back & enjoy the film as I do as much as when it came out all those years ago. Yes the butty is now the horse drawn trip boat "Iona" operated by Jenny at "Godalming Packet Boat" in Surrey with regular public & charter trips
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A great pleasure to see the work and progress you are making and I watch with great interest. Look forward to coming up to your yard with Andrew Hall some time early in the year.
Regards MartinSo, apparently you can water ski at 12 knots,”Progress” + Lister jp 11 ½ ? Possibly not. A few posts back aMModels posed the good question as to whether I had a plan of action with the rebuild, my apologies for the delay in answering, the answer is yes, albeit a flexible one. The fundamental tenet is to restore the boat as accurately and true to the original as possible, after that the plan has to juggle the myriad of influencing factors, I'll try and give a bit more detail in future posts.
As with any extensive boat restoration the first job is to establish a datum from which other measurements can be established,with the long straight flat bottoms on narrowboats/ wideboats this is much easier to establish and maintain. The long straight flat section provides an ideal starting platform for the rebuild.Like most narrowboats originally the bottom boards where of English elm, the advantages of this species were its availability in wide boards, it's interlocking grain structure gives good wear resistance plus the fact that pre Dutch elm disease it was economical. The disadvantage is that although it lasts well either in the submerged or completely dry states it hates being damp, or, more correctly there are a some fungi that really enjoy the hospitality of damp elm.
SPA50292 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
Unfortunately Dutch elm disease wiped out almost all of the elms in Britain, very occasionally small parcels become available but generally the quality is not suitable for boat bottom boards.
Now the intention is to restore “Progress” as closely as possible to the original specification, and I really hate to deviate from that aim, but, if the choice is expensive substandard elm or an alternative (and possibly more durable) timber then humble pie is my dinner. In this case the alternative was Opepe, a.k.a Badi. Bilinga & Kussia - good wide boards, stable, and durable, if Bushell bros could have obtained it at the time of the original build I'm sure they would have been sorely tempted.(all this with the caveat that the Opepe may be a little less wear resistant than the Elm). This log was a real peach, with very little heart shake, almost no faults and only a narrow band of sapwood.
SPA50291 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
It yielded a good number of boards like this one, at 34'' wide it's a quick way of getting along the boat and will save a lot of caulking.
SPA50339 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
After trimming off the sap wood and any faults, in the absence of a super long bed power plane this jig helps get an accurate joint face, it'll get to within 6 thou of an inch quite quickly and with a minimum of fuss.
SPA50311 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
A few strokes with this gets that down to 2 or 3 thou, it used to be my grand uncles and I used to watch him use it when I was around five so to be using it now is quite emotive. When it's sharp the plane will take a shaving of just under 2thou but to keep this edge it needs sharpening every couple of boards, if you try and use it after this point the extra downward pressure tends to distort the sole ever so slightly and although it will carry on cutting you lose the accuracy.
SPA50307 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
Caulking seam, I'll admit to being a bit parsimonious with caulking seams these days but really I want the wood to be keeping the water out.
SPA50309 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
As with the fore end the boards where laid out away from the boat, a series of measurements are then taken from the boat and laid out on the boards. Laying it out like this allows plenty of diagonals to be struck ensuring that both sides stay the same. It also saves copying any little mistakes that may have crept into the original.
SPA50342 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
A few of the intact old boards are overlaid, just to check..........
SPA50341 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
The boards are then cut and ready for fitting.
SPA50343 by chriscollins1, on Flickr
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The trouble is as you say there are not many of us left, but could you cope with another 17 years now Chaz ? I know that I couldnt that would make me 92.
Hope you are still enjoying yourself on the Wey Navs, havnt seen you fore some time
i joined the crew uphill of crookham wharf,ian edwards i blame! pledge & sparkle the tugs i started with to the r. b
on the unload site on the embankment.saturday was clean the firebars,rod the tubes,clean the smokebox & light the fire
very gently,cast iron needs gentle heat & spread the fire gently over the bars.the procedure took over 2 hrs to produce
steam,a contrast to modern hydraulic machines,5 mins.and dig dig!good memories of a bygone age,tug skipper,fireman,steam crane
driver,not many of us left & need to pass the knowledge on.
dredgerman [chaz]
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Makes a change to find something useful.
Some of the worst things that we encounter on the Basingstoke are steel wire framed crayfish pots.The steel wire is hardened and you cant get bolt cutters through the weed hatch. Last one we had took 40 mins to prise off with a mooring spike unfortunatley we 47 passengers on at the time and in the middle of Mytchett Lake
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It was moved from the Basingstoke to the Shropie and then back to the K & A.
Having helped to reassemble Perseverance and work on the dredging team for many years I can state that it was never on the Basingstoke prior to us recvering it from the K & A
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I photographed Perseverance dredging on the Shropshire Union Canal in 1963. It was a lovely surprise on our way to Chester.
I think you have got the wrong craft, to my knowledge It was bpught by the K & A Trust and used there for many years before we obtained her in 1973 I think
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I have recently found these photos on the web. There seem to be a few duplications. One of the Bantam tugs is still earning its keep on the canal, the other is in the children's play area at the Canal Centre - tugs were called Pledge and Sparkle as they were funded by local company Johnsons Wax. Perseverance, the steam dredger is still languishing at the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port - sadly they have done nothing with her since acquisition in 1993. SHCS is looking at what they can do in a partnership with the K&A Canal Trust to restore her and bring her, I understand, to Crofton.
The Bantam tug at the canal center Mytchett was removed on instructions from Surrey County Council safty "advisers" as it could be a dangerous thing for them to play on even though they loved it
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Has anyone seen or heard of Canaldrifter (should that be one or two words?) lately? I sent an email to his last known email address but not heard anything back.
Where are you Tony?
Dave
I Have known Tony for many years on canal restoration, and boating for many years, he usualy only takes down the pompus types. He sold Dreamcatcher due to lack of mobility with his age, and cost of upkeep on a pension. He has bought a motor campervan, and returned to one of his origenal loves. folk clubs and singing. He is resideing in the Yorkshire area with Sofie as a constant companion.
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Pete - I tend to agree. Whilst I keep my boat clean (and it is a bit shiny after a recent repaint) I feel a working boat should look like a working boat. Christopher James is a lovely boat but it doesn't quite 'cut the mustard' for me purely on the basis of it looks too clean and shiny and doesn't have the patina of a working boat. It's been in Deepcut Dry Dock (the poly tunnel in the background which covers a 'lock' with a brick end wall ) for quite some time I understand having extensive work undertaken especially around the counter, where, as a wooden boat, it's suffered a bit over the years.
Christopher James has always been extremely well looked after by her owner Andrew Hall. I have worked alongside Andrew on the boat for many years icluding fitting about 30 feet of new bottom boards in the Deepcut dry dock and its a been pleasure to have done so. The last major work this year was to replace aprox 20 feet of bottom side planks as well as a new stern post. in a previous comment about replacement of the stern post at Bulls Bridge, no it wasnt it was only capped. All the work on the boat is carried out in the tradional methods and wherever possible traditional materials. As to her looking too clean & tidy for a working boat, she is a retired working boat and why shoulnt she always look her best for her age?
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Poulters Bridge on the Basingstoke Canal has been repaired recently. This structure is at least 220 years old (although it's clearly been through a number of reincarnations and/or repairs over that time).
When Surrey and Hampshire Canal Society were repairing Slades Bridge at the western end of the canal the late Pete Redway spent weeks (if not months) ensuring he had the correct bricks and the correct mix of lime mortar to ensure the repair was as invisible as possible and that repairs were undertaken in conjunction with, and to the standards of, the County (Hampshire) and District (Hart) conservation officers.
The repair (as shown in the photograph taken by David Jackson) can only be described as industrial vandalism in my view - how this type of repair could either be authorised or approved is quite beyond my comprehension. I think those responsible should should hang their heads in abject shame for standing by and watching our heritage being defaced in such an appalling way. I suspect their answer will be that it was cheaper to do it this way - cheaper in the short-term may be but more expensive in the longer term and an absolute disgrace to our industrial heritage. Any thoughts or comments to Hart District Council (heritage at hart dot gov dot uk).
The bridge before repairs.
And after
Its allways the sameallways will be as long as we have people in charge who have no KNOWLEGE or LOVE of the canal.This is from some who has worked on and for the Basingstoke for over 40 years
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I have recently found these photos on the web. There seem to be a few duplications. One of the Bantam tugs is still earning its keep on the canal, the other is in the children's play area at the Canal Centre - tugs were called Pledge and Sparkle as they were funded by local company Johnsons Wax. Perseverance, the steam dredger is still languishing at the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port - sadly they have done nothing with her since acquisition in 1993. SHCS is looking at what they can do in a partnership with the K&A Canal Trust to restore her and bring her, I understand, to Crofton.
Great times remembered working on the dredging crew in those early days and on the Deepcut flight at that time. Now that I have seen photo of Tony Haynes taken then I do remember him. No resemblance to the friend I have known and boated the last few years
Great times remembered working on the dredging crew in those early days and on the Deepcut flight at that time. Now that I have seen photo of Tony Haynes taken then I do remember him. No resemblance to the friend I have known and boated the last few years
How can i be a junior member at 74 years of age?
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We started wiyh the dredger at Colt Hill in 1974 working up to the winding hole at kink Johns Castle.Among the early regulers were Ian Crips, Roger Thomas Roger ? ( a royal navy Lt Comander Ian Edwards & Peter Cager. Paul and wife Penny were also
along with john Hulbert & myself
i joined the crew uphill of crookham wharf,ian edwards i blame! pledge & sparkle the tugs i started with to the r. b
on the unload site on the embankment.saturday was clean the firebars,rod the tubes,clean the smokebox & light the fire
very gently,cast iron needs gentle heat & spread the fire gently over the bars.the procedure took over 2 hrs to produce
steam,a contrast to modern hydraulic machines,5 mins.and dig dig!good memories of a bygone age,tug skipper,fireman,steam crane
driver,not many of us left & need to pass the knowledge on.
dredgerman [chaz]
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As I am the Commodore of BBC I expect we can help!!
For those of you who like old boats here's a picture of Christopher James taken at the top of the Deepcut light this morning.
Looking realy good after replacing two bottom planks and new stern post, very hard and expensive work carried out by the owner and friends. Took nearly six months to carry out the work
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Has anyone seen or heard of Canaldrifter (should that be one or two words?) lately? I sent an email to his last known email address but not heard anything back.
Where are you Tony?
Dave
Tony is alive & well living in the Yorkshire area. He spends more time with his new campervan visiting the waterways
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Leonard Liegh tugs used any grey near to admiralty grey that was available at the time. Christopher James is us painted with Tecaloid Admiralty Grey and has been ever since Andrew Hall the owner has had her for the past 20 years.I have worked on tne boat with Andrew for the past 17 years. At the moment se is in the dry dock on the Basingstoke Canal having two bottom plankss (port & starboard) and the sternpost replaced due to rot
Regards Martin
Whats going on at the Basingstoke
in Holidays Afloat
Posted · Edited by Basyfart
Having worked on the restoration of the Basingstoke since 1972 I know of the years of hard work that we put in to restore this canal not just for boaters but for the use of the gneral public.
It is the attitude of the managment that I am complaining about because they just do not listen to the complaints or advice from people who KNOW and LOVE this waterway. Unpowered craft licences put up from £21:70 to £50 to as they say to " bring them into line" with other waterways. However the SAME licence for the River Wey is £30 and the River Thames £35. You can join Canoe England for about £39 and get a licence that covers ALL CRT waterways, the Thames, River Wey and the Basingstoke also including third party insurance and reduced prices for young persons.
John Cale, the boat hire opperator at the canal centre Mytchett has pulled out all his powered craft because of the proposed increase of licences ( from £4000 to £14500) loss of workshop/storeroom not being able to sell the the buisness as any agreememt would be non assignable,pluss many other restrictions.
The public have lost a 47 seat function boat, 2 self drive day hire boats and a specialy purchased disabled access boat that was the only boat that could take permanent wheelchair passengers within25 miles for short enjoyable public trips.
A number of private boat owners are either paying or planing to pay monthley licences so the can quit this waterway soon, forced out by the high charges being made.
This is why I say that this hard faught for canal is in jepody not from outside, but from its own management.