Birdswood

Ye a steel narrowboat. Actually I think I asked the question wrongly. How much deeper than the draft does the water need to be for mooring in? Sorry boating newbie asking silly questions

Not actually bought one yet - working on it. A smaller modern one though say 30 to 40ft

What is the minimum water depth for mooring a modern narrow boat in? Ive the possibility of using an end of garden mooring which is long enough but the water is only a little over 2 ft deep in places. Will that be an issue? Thanks for your advice

Hi All, The historic narrow boat Birdswood is having a free open day this coming Saturday May 17th. If you are interested in taking a look around she will be at the Gothic Warehouse Cromford. Our friendly crew will be happy to show you round inside including a visit to the traditional boatsmans back cabin. You an have a chat about the boat, taking a trip or volunteering. Hope you can join us

Today we were horse boating in the traditional way. The historic narrowboat Birdswood and her passengers were pulled along the Cromford canal by the beautiful shire horse Chelsea. We managed two round trips from the Gothic Warehouse to Leawood Pump Station. Pictured here is Chelsea whilst winding the boat which you can just see in the background. What a great experience. Please let me know if you are interested in joining out next horseboat trip either as volunteer crew, passenger or if you simply fancy a walk along the towpath with Chelsea.

Please do visit the Erewash, I live right along side it ( that is Anne who is writing this not the Birdswood boat). The canal is very quiet and it needs more boats. Personally I brought a boat up here last autumn and although some of the locks are a little on the harder side on average they are no worse than those on other canals Ive ventured on. Let us know when you are over this way and I will wave as you pass :-)

Thank you - you have e.mail :-)

Hi Paul, Yes she is beautiful and yes has a duel fuel option. What more would you like to know ? I have access to quite a lot of her history. She was built in 1938 for the LMS and was originally named Ross. She retains a traditional boatmans cabin which we invite passengers on our cruises to visit as part of the experience. Yes Dan, Birdswood was at Langley Mill last year, those of you who attended the festival there would have seen her on show. Anne

The beautiful Birdswood under her own power and with a little help from a friend

We normally invite volunteers along to a training day so you can see what we are like and the work involved. There is one every couple of weeks (ish)

Thank you for the advice , please ask here for further information

75-YEAR-OLD SEEKS FIT, KEEN FRIENDS FOR OUTDOOR FUN Heritage 1938-built ex-LMS 70-foot boat Birdswood needs more crew volunteers so we can extend our Spring/Summer 2014 public, charter and schools cruising programme on the beautiful Cromford Canal in mid-Derbyshire. If you sign up for the Birdswood team, you'll get a heritage narrow boat experience and sometimes a horsey one, too! What's not to like about that? Our human crew members need to be 18+, averagely fit, and comfortable with giving our passengers a memorable trip experience as well as doing boat work. Minimum commitment is one day a month, plus training days as needed. Season extends through to December, mainly Wednesdays and weekends. No wages but very companionable crewmates (we're not called the FRIENDS of the Cromford Canal for nothing...) and the polo shirts and jackets look quite cool... Oh, and if you're really keen we might even talk you into training for a MCA Boat Master's licence! Just message me if you want to know more :-)