X Alan W

One of the funniest evenings(Ha Ha wise) was in the Pub with Ron (Hough ) RIP describing his part (not seen) in the Bargee tutoring Ronnie Barker& Harry Corrbett & his description of Eric Sykes"s antics not all waste of space /no knowledge left me laughing so much my sideb hurt for all the next day &later I towed his Ex butty "Bellarophne from Hillmorton /Norbury to replace horse tripboat "Iona"

Good video; change in thinking from then/present day a aprrox 4.30 BW hire boat Water Vailent top gates mitre stemming om possibly Hatton flight Ham baker gear locks

Different places require different solutions ,footpaths & areas in full view pick it up & dispose of it properly not hang it on or fling it over the hedge if its not directly in viewing treading range if it"s possible to move it into the hedge bottom or other out of the way place as said plastic preserves it

As said in post 12 the use of a bow fender has to be deployed with care, back in the day though you would get a lengths man/lock keeper give you a"rollacking"if you were caught up hilling with an out of position bow fender it was a case of "Wev'e fitted slam boards & sliders we don't want you smashing through them with yo're stem irons "considering the slam boards were 3" elm as composite boat bottoms they took a bit of stick but lasted much longer with contact with fender rather than stem Iron

That"s brilliant a sinking waiting to happen Is that Stenson lock as is now ? the designer & fixer of those plates wants their P45 straight away + the timber bauks /Walkways? could stop the gate closing properly with crap stuck on the mitre that butts to the lock wall coping stone "First class C&RT keep up the good work"

I t's a shame that the the "tricks"for the most efficient lock working along with other "dodges" used for years by working boatmen have been more or less now declared a NO NO ,mind time & additions modifications, have been carried out on canal furniture small amount improvements mostly detriment to easier more efficient boating + the odd occasion that venturing back on the cut & using the old ways invokes a tirade from some one that"s been boating for a month that what you are doing is all wrong & not allowed anyway

That will be the change then the cill used to have slam boards that a bow fender would ride up no problem March of progress improvements &all that

There must have been changes at Stenson Lock although from the photo's the only top end change is deflectors over the gate paddles? In past times it was never a problem I presume we are referring to uphill working full length boat up to cill forward gear /motor at tick over ground paddle drawn on side opposite to boat if singe in lock this used to keep it laying on side it was on lock entry water half way up cill draw other ground paddle when flow from gate paddles won't flood boat open gate paddles IIRC Swarkstone Lock was a rougher ride if not done correctly

As I had some time spare I took a trawl through Bert Dunkleys slides in the box #10 Su canal there is a photo of Bellerophon ib BW colours captioned Bellerophon tied alongsde a motor boat at Norbury 1967 the back end of the motor is the boat I owned at that time "Lily"I had just returned from a trip Norbury /Hillmorton picked up & towed back Bellerophon to Norbury for coversion to horse drawn trip boat to re place wooden "Iona "

Tidy looking motor pity about the "weepie" head gasket

That trick is not new my Grandad used to cut & bundle kindling to make extra money I'm on my way to being 83years old & can remember him using that trick for kindling cutting around my school starting time later he got a sort of over centre cam device that fixed to the chopping block & clamped the kindling block to cut

Probably the boat he had work done on at Charity around the time I was having work done on "Lily"wouldn't have remembered the name though

Is that the Ex Seddons boat that had a resi mooring at Harry Machins at MK Drayton in the 's?