archie57

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/35mm-SLIDES-BYGONE-BRITAIN-WEST-MIDLANDS-CANAL-NARROWBOATS-IN-CLOSE-UP-1960s/391982346408?hash=item5b43f7f0a8:g:ku8AAOSw2pNahoiE

Here's Trevor's boat again, loaded this time - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/PHOTO-1974-NORTHAMPTONSHIRE-NARROW-BOATS-AT-STOKE-BRUERNE-THIS-VILLAGE-IS-SOMET/362235191731?hash=item5456e661b3:g:dxYAAOSwiYlZ9baO

I brought my deep-draughted (3ft) boat along the N. Stratford in October last, and it was awful (as was the W and B). The level was only a couple of inches down, but the leaf fall made the going difficult, and I stopped at various places - the stop gate before Shirley drawbridge, that bridge itself, opposite Earlswood clubhouse, by the drawbridge nearest Hockley Heath - and more besides. Yes, it has been dredged Kings Norton to Yardley Wood, but the rest is no better than it was 45 years ago. By contrast, I brought another deepish boat round there after Christmas, the canal was running weir, and I had no problems, 6hours Gas St - Top Lapworth

- covered some time ago!

I think Barlow's put it in, their "Beatty" had one also (still has) - any others in Barlow's boats?

I knew Jack Tonks, knocked off boating 1955 ("Banstead" and "Uttoxeter" his last pair IIRC) died fairly recently in Hillmorton. To confuse matters, there was another Jack Tonks who worked on the maintenance, not sure if he'd been boating, lived in Atherstone when I met him.

You should do shortly!

I suspect they just got too hot - no ducting ever fitted AFAIK - when pair boating on long hot summer days. They seemed to do better "down the north". And in my limited experience of them not easy to start in the depths of winter. An acquaintance of mine reckoned he had on occasion drained the sump and heated the oil in a pan on the range to stand a chance of starting it!

BTW fitted a few Armstrongs in SE Division carrying boats eg "Ascot" and "Calstock" but generally disliked and not really up to the job - indeed I have heard tales of boaters deliberately thraping them and blowing them up!

North of Braunston it was generally only the locks, plus one or two bridges, that were widened

The date must be incorrect as Ron Green ( who appears in the picture ) knocked off boating in 1968

That picture of the "Tycho" takes me back - 35 years ago, stuck there for six weeks, by the "Navigation" at Lapworth

Didn't the "Bexhill" still have the gear change lever on the footboard when it had the PD2?

The end of camping boats and Local Authority boats is probably due to Health and Safety, all the form filling etc putting accompanying staff off the idea, it was getting ridiculous when I finished, and that was over twenty years ago!

I must apologise if you have taken offence - I was just questioning the decisions made.

I'm well aware that this was never a BW canal. I think the point is that having got all the plant there and set up they could have taken that extra bit out! I can't comment on how the money has been spent elsewhere. What's that old saying about a job worth doing....!

Back in the day when BW did their own dredging, we had long-serving staff who knew about canals, and much of what was done in my part of the world (Braunston area) was carried out by ex-boatmen who realised the value of taking out as much as possible. This has clearly paid dividends as what they did at that time remains good today. Otherwise today it seems CRT use any excuse to avoid any dredging, often showing themselves up by saying it isn't necessary when clearly it is, and when grudgingly they do any it is the bare minimum, just a groove up the middle. As regarding the slides slumping in, you wouldn't expect to dredge to any depth next to the bank unless piled, horse boat canals only had deep edges at wharves etc.

A lot of old boats draw 3 feet, and if the pound drops off 12 inches it doesn't leave much to play with - anyway, if going to the trouble of dredging, why not do it properly? Also with a deeper channel there is less of a likelihood of bank erosion from passing craft.

Where is the water supply coming from for the restored canal - and wouldn't it be better now to dredge to maximum depth to act as a reservoir? Any dredging with a floating machine at a later date will probably never happen!

http://cotswoldcanals.com/silt-removal-report/ While on the subject of the Cotswold Canals restoration, I was disappointed to read that the depth they were dredging to was only 1.5 metres. Was this the depth the canal was originally built to, or are they short-sightedly cutting corners and only doing half a job? Perhaps this depth is ok on a utopian canal, but have they not heard of low pounds, through leaking gates or whatever, and people throwing rubbish in? Dredging to something like 2m has got to be more like it!

I noted you had called it by the correct name, but others didn't seem to have taken it on board! ( seems like someone did though, literally!)

You're right about the butty ( to which a Swans Neck - a piece of ropework - was sometimes attached) - also known as a rams head. The tiller attaches to both!

Rams Head!

.....sorry to be pedantic, but please could we call the missing item by the correct name - we had this discussion a while ago! This is how history gets distorted.....

Saw this moving the other week - goes like a train, hardly moves any water, hard to believe it draws 32" !