Foxglove

So how about Iona , the horsedrawn trip boat on the River Wey ? She's the GU small woolwich 'Bellerophon' , built and worked as a butty . Now working with one horsepower . Butty or horseboat ?

Cyprus's owner is very fond of his boats and surely would not have been so involved with HNBOC were he not passionate about historic narrowboats . He agonised for a long time over whether or not to convert Cyprus and , having decided to do it , employed some of the best people in the business to carry out the work and designed it so the conversion could be removed without damaging the original boat . Not everyone will agree with what has happened to Cyprus but the owner has certainly done it with the best possible intentions .

I think the conversion of small Northwich motor 'Cyprus' at Brinklow was completed in the last two years . Sorry , no photos . Foxglove

The National Trust Wey Navigation notes give Broadford Bridge , near Guildford , as having 6'4" clearance at normal water levels . http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/main/w-riverwey-info_boat_users.pdf

more here http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=31876

This was the damage to Unstead Lock on the Wey recently . The boat entered the lock to go downhill , hit the top beam pushing the top of right gate past the left one . Most of the cracking noises were heard when the boat reversed off and the gate sprung back a bit , accompanied by the sound of the top gates slamming behind it as the water started to rush through . The damage to the mitre post on the right gate is obvious , the less obvious damage in this photo is where the main body of the gate has cracked away from the heel post . The heel strap was broken and the quoin cracked also . Apparently the steerer's comment was " oops , I haven't done that before " . Hey ho ! Foxglove

Just to update everyone , Unstead Lock is now open for essential supervised use and has been since Wednesday afternoon I hear . Anyone who needs to use the lock should book through Dapdune Wharf office on 01483 561389 or Thames Lock on 01932 843106 . The damage to the off-side lower gate was severe , a large section of the mitre post broke off , the gate cracked away from the heel post and the quion and heel strap were damaged . It is lucky the whole lot did not end up in the bottom of the lock ! The navigation staff deserve a big pat on the back for their swift response and hard work since the incident . One member of the maintenance team had his holiday put on hold to get the job done . They actually had the lock capable of holding water by the end of Tuesday and by Wedneday were sufficiently confident in the temporary repair to allow boats through , carefully supervised . Production of replacement gates , which were due to be fitted in November , has been brought forward and they now hope to have them in around three weeks time and I believe they will be fitted straight away to allow lock use to return to normal . Foxglove

Hi guys , I've just spoken to Thames Lock . The navigation staff are working on the lock now and hope to have a temporary repair which will allow supervised locking in a couple of days . Thames lock also confirmed that the boat that caused the damage was a visiting boat . There is a boat of the same name which is kept in Pyrford Marina which was not involved whatsoever in the incident and I am sure that the owner will be very keen that there is no further confusion ! Cheers Foxglove

There is now talk of the possibility of some sort of repair to get the lock working until later in the year when I believe the gates were due for replacement anyway . I think some large steel plates and lots of bolts will be needed . No idea of timescales for the repair , sorry . All but one of the Farncombe hire boats and the day boats were out when the incident happened . I imagine the boats will be operated from the Guildford Boathouse for the duration . By the way (wey ?) , my information is that the boat that dunnit was a visitor , not a regular Wey boat , not that it matters really . Jo , did the steerer offer any explanation as to why the boat was going so fast or unable to stop ? Mechanical problem , fouled prop , pilot error ?? Cheers Foxglove

Thanks Jo , I was steering Iona yesterday so I heard about the incident but did not get to see the lock or hear exactly how it happened , sounds a bit scary , good job you untied that rope or the boat could still be hanging there with no way to re-fill the lock ! I'm surprised the ' perps ' left the scene , don't think I could just leave if I had caused that sort of damage . Duncan

Hi P J , The gates on Wey locks are indeed of much lighter construction than those on most of the system . They are made of oak and generally last thirty years if they are not abused . The Wey and Godalming navigations were built for and used by horse-drawn barges 14ft wide so the only contact likely between barge and lock gate would have been at the mitre . The gates are strong enough to hold back the head of water and to take the occasional light contact from barges . They were not built with narrowboats in mind which is also the reason there are no nosing boards . The trust keeps the Wey Navigations , as far as possible , the way they were when the Stevens family gave it to them . Replacing lock gates with heavier ones like , for instance , those on the Grand Union is not really an option from a conservation standpoint or from a practical / financial one . For a start all the gate recesses in the lock walls would have to be made deeper . The National Trust are not a perfect navigation authority ( who is ? ) but I'm sure their staff will be working very hard to get Unstead Lock open again as soon as possible . Cheers Foxglove

Some time during yesterday morning a narrowboat struck one of the bottom gates of Unstead Lock sufficiently hard to damage it beyond repair . The National Trust inspected the lock and initial estimates are that the lock will be shut for four weeks . This may well change once more thorough inspections have been undertaken to establish the extent of the damage which could possibly include the quoin and cill . Unstead lock is on the Godalming Navigation approximately half way between Guildford and Godalming . Foxglove

Another boat which I think we've missed is Jem Bates' Severn (T.Clayton). Paul H The engine in 'Severn' is a Seffle isn't it ? Duncan

Wonderful film . I lived on my modern steel nb above lock 2 for three years , having bought and sold one of the old boats ( the one that's now at Boxmoor ) to get the mooring . There are a few of the original boats still there but the hulls have long since been either wrapped in plastic sheeting or been placed in a simple steel hull . Coincidentally , just this weekend I towed a new steel nb shell up to the mooring next door to my old one for my former neighbour . This , when fitted out , will replace one of the few remaining original conversions . Anyone want to buy a piece of history ? This one is ex-BCN and the owner knows the BCN number . PM me if you wish to be put in touch . The text on the Pathe page casts doubt on the filming location . I can confirm that it was filmed at Scotland Bridge , West Byfleet , just below lock 2 Duncan

Hi Alan , How strange . What are the chances of there being more than one Ricky butty renamed 'Jester' with a conversion just like that ?? . Virginia Currer sold 'Jester' and the lease of her Basingstoke Canal mooring to me in 1995 . I can't say how long she'd been there but she was definitely there a couple of weeks prior to me moving on to her mooring . I saw her shortly afterwards just below Thames Lock at Weybridge waiting for a tow . The highest part of the conversion had been removed to get her under the bridges . Virginia Currer told me that the new owner was taking her up the GU near Watford to live on her . The only difference I can see in the photo to the 'Jester' that I briefly owned is the colour the conversion is painted . Are you sure that the boat you have known from 1982 was always named 'Jester' , or could the boat I sold have replaced another ? Duncan

Hello Steve , I think you are right . Walking upstream ( south ) from Worsfold Gates you pass the first loop and rather shallow winding hole , a little further on the towpath has white painted railings either side which can be seen in the google map image . Lambourne lies opposite the start of the railings , which confirms your theory . Duncan

Several years ago I asked Vince Locatelli , then navigation foreman , about the decaying wooden narrowboat at Send . I'm pretty sure he said it was Lambourne , I'm equally sure he said she was built on the K&A at Honey Street . He also confirmed that she'd been residential at New Haw . She's still there in the old loop which is about 200 yards above Worsfold Gates , non-towpath side . Virtually invisible at this time of year but you can see her from the boat during winter if you know where to look . I hadn't noticed the timber heads before , will look more closely next time I'm passing . Duncan

" Something in the back of my brain tells me that the one on the Wey was lengthened to about 40ft. " I also seem to recall that it was lengthened .

Looks similar to a boat with the same name , painted red and blue , that moors or used to moor at Farncombe Boathouse , River Wey . You might want to enquire there . Duncan

"well, My 2L2 is providing my battery top ups when the sun don't shine (or the solar panel is covered with cm/inches of snow). It sounds wonderful, starts better when I have the Epping blasting out in the BMC for a few hours before sparking up, and I can live with it for now.......heaven helps me if I get a lady interested !!!" Hi Matty , I was the first owner of your boat and installed tha 2L2 , which replaced a Lister FR3 which was a good engine but just didn't sound right to me . I lived on the boat , then named Marquess , for several years during which time I met and married my wife who was perfectly happy to live on the boat and who became quite fond of the 2L2 . It was the lack of wardrobe space and a few other issues that finally led to us selling Marquess and having a new boat built but my wife was as keen as me to have another Gardner , this time a 2LW . I am sure you have the right engine , just be very careful which ladies you get involved with . Glad you are looking after and enjoying 58058 Duncan

Oops ! finger slipped as I was about to add descriptions to the pics . Top - gratuitous puppy pic - Skipper the border collie at around 12 weeks Middle - Skipper about 9 months Bottom - Millie ( long coated ) and Josher (short coated ) both collies .

"That means that I'm not going colour blind but my ears are letting me down " "I'll have to get them re-calibrated" I had a good look at James Loader's engine a coupe of years ago . Definitely a 2LW , if I remember it's a proper marine one with raised hand start and a big Gardner 2UC gearbox . Don't remember much about the exhaust except that on the top he uses a chimney that looks more like one for a stove than an engine which gives it a rather different sound to most 2LWs , so maybe your ears aren't too bad after all . Duncan

I've seen Romford many times over the last few years on an island at Thames Ditton , full length cabin and rather poor-looking counter conversion . Appears to be residential . Most recent sighting two months ago . Duncan

"I was single handed last summer and went down from Oxford to Brentford. The rules say two ropes, bow and stern. One lock keeper said to use two, centre and one other, but implied that the second could be just for show. This I did for most of the way, until one "jobsworth" lock keeper insisted on bow and stern ropes and he refused to empty the lock until I did - he even showed me the rule in the rule book. " I wouldn't mind betting that was at Bell Weir Lock ! Several years ago I single-handed my 70' boat from Shepperton to Lechlade and most of the way back using bow and centre line . The lockies were happy for me to tie the bow line to a bollard well ahead of the boat and hold on to the centre line , that was until I got to Bell Weir Lock coming back downstream . The lockie said he wanted a stern line , I said " pardon ? " , he said " that's the one at the back " ! Bloody miserable sarcastic git . I've seen him several times since , he always tries to avoid eye contact or conversation so I make sure he gets both with a big obvious smile and a hello . This bloke ,( big guy , big ginger beard , I think his name is John ) is very much the exception on the Thames in my experience . The majority of the lock keepers are really friendly and helpful . Duncan

Yes , that's the area at the end of the Troy cut . I took a walk up there nearly two years ago , the only boat I could positively identify at the time was Progress but the general scene was much the same . There was a workshop / dock at the end where at least one wooden narrowboat was being worked on , plenty of new planks and other freshly sawn timber about but I couldn't get near enough to identify them and my knowledge of wooden boats is insufficient to go by counting planks or studying forend shape , sorry ! . Ovaltine boat Albert was being kept there too . Duncan