nebulae

Many years ago,I had a BMC 1.5 (ex J2 van) coupled to a Morris Vedette gearbox.in a 30ft boat .Bit of a nightmare,as the gearbox could not take the power of the engine. I got very quick at taking the gearbox out and re building it. At the time,parts for this old Newage gearbox were stil about. Just checked on Google. The orrigional Morris Vedette unit used the old sidevalve engine as fitted to the Morris 8.

Did BMC ever supply 1.5 diesels direct for boat engines.They were fitted to the J2 van,the Leyland 154 tractor and the Morris Oxford hire car(This had a finned alloy sump). Thorneycroft marinised the engine(I think they may have had connection with Leyland at some point).Nuffield used to sell marinised version of their car engines,but I dont think Leyland did. I have always assumed that the basis for the 1.5 diesel was the petrol B series.

The Bridgewater had the rule of keeping left many years ago,(From memory)

It was the case that a vessel which had a MORTGAGE on it(not finance) had to be registered as British Ship. In this case,the lender had the ownership of the vessel as security.(Irelevent whether the vessel is a narrow boat or an oil tanker). This gives a purchaser a secure purchase .My first purchase of a registered British Ship involved a considerable legal process. The Small Ship Register does not give the same protection,although it does give you another piece of paper. I have not come accross a narrow boat registerd as a British Ship. Perhaps surprising considering how much a new boat costs

Penine Waterways site have an excelent photo survey of the canal as it is.

The St Helens Canal was closed, I think in 1962 As there was no amenity trafic at the time,there was little opposition to the formal abandonment order. I remember walking the section between Spike Island and Fiddlers Ferry in 1973(from memory) and the canal was blocked by works connected with the power station. There was a pipe accross Fidlers Ferry lock at this time. About this time,the lock keepers house at Fiddlers Ferry was demolished by B,W.B.(How much would that bungalow be worth now) I undertook a survey for the local Sports Council to assess what potential amenity value the canal had at this time. Warrington Development Corporation developed some of the canal,for liesure use,but I dont have any details. People who know more about the canal than me will know when the last trading boat left the canal.I think Sankey Sugar were the last users. I understand that public money was used to refurb the one lock at Spike Island and build the 2 way slipway. I spoke to the Area Engineer Mr Freeman, at the time(1973?) and he could not see any reason to keep the canal open.

I think the boats were at Pomona,waiting for the gas axe. No idea how the boats were lifted out,or why one was piled on top of the other.

Used to be a couple of boats moored next to the Powysland Museum in Welshpool. They were "business"moorings,but have not had a boat on them for some time. The Heulwen boats are moored at Buttington,but I dont think private boats can use their mooring.

I remember a photo of 2 Dukers piled one on top of the other awaiting cutting up,somewhere near Hulme lock, Cant remember where I saw the photo? Is it true that a spare engine was ordered when the boats were new,but was never needed ?

Personaly,the only two things I would be concerned about are the condition of the hull and the engine/gearbox. Things like insulation,wiring you have to relate to price. If the boat is cheap enough and you have checked secondary items(which are still quite expensive)like cooker,fridge,water heater,inverter-charger then you have to make a judgement. Our last boat was bought on a whim and suited us well for 11 years .In the end ,condition of the bottom plate(6mm) pushed us to selling up.(The new purchaser was aware of the problem) In retrospect,I wish we had spent a bit more on a newer boat with a 10mm bottom plate. On length ,going down hill on a boat the max size for any given lock,you may get very wet. There are some very leaky loch gates out there.

Some years ago,I was told of an elderly couple who bought a boat above the first lock on the Hatherton Branch. A few days after they had taken over the boat,another boater engaged them in conversation and asked when they were going to take the boat out. They said they were waiting for the Lock Keeper to work them through. Not sure if I believe the story,but from reading this post,it sounds credible.