Mick Poyser

If you’ve a steel top drill and tap it to the Thead on the Terret. Then screw it in with a drop of thread lock on the thread and some PU sealant under the rim. Done this on Millbury and several friends boats with great success.

The green particularly is beginning to disappear, but I'm hoping for 20 years before a re-paint and that's on a wooden cabin.

Cheshire-rose's statement for example 2, that it looks very "worn in" is very true. It is now 17years old and a testament to using good profession paints and sign writers.

The cold start engine that was in the Tay was a Bolinder type 1051-11157-51310, serial number 1655-1167, with a BHP of 11.5. How do I know that? Because I've just read the label on the block. It is true that crank and head went of for a rebuild and the company went bust, in the process scrapping them, but the rest of the engine and the gearbox I purchased. They presently reside in my workshop.

They are supposed to be looking after our national heritage and want to have the same status are the National Trust. Can you imagine NT putting the same s--t up in a stately home and caving some poetry in the oak beams for good measure.

Yep treating their customers like children (boaters or not).That particular one makes my BLOOD BOIL.

That's why their dad (Bill) became captain of two motor boats and two Buttys at the same time, Jim being the oldest son was charge of the second pair (Cassiopeia and Toucan) up to 1960.

That would be Mick Humphris's cousin, Joe Chatten. Mick's sister (Jenny) was also there and went round on Cassiopeia, on the Saturday afternoon parade. Mick on the saturday handing back Cassiopeia's shovel which he had of the Hambridges.

There are two real boaters in the photo. I'll give you a clue, they are related.

That's it folks! I don't think it will will get posted for a couple of weeks as they've closed the site down to go boating.

This was a problem at Swarkestone in the 80's, it did't happen very often, but it was always on a Saturday night and funnily enough always when there was a fishing match Sunday morning in the pound below the lock. Some 30 years on It very unlikely to be the same people/person, but you never know.

The spirit level method needs two spirit levels, one tape measure, two people with a very steady hand and a boat with no cabin on it as you will be measuring over the gunnel. Even when you have all your measurements you still don't know if they are all in a straight line.

I measured her on Mills dock (Long Eaton) outside. Absolutely no wind that day. Positioned the edge of a brick which on the dock floor on the plumb bob hanging from the stem post, then positioned the lazer to the plumb line hanging down from the counter lower band. The bostocks at Mills are lengths of railway line on concrete blocks, so was able to point the lazer under them towards the brick. Checked it three timers and got the same result each time. Also checked her width at each knee across the top band whilst she was still in the water using two 1m spirit levels and a tape measure, but that's another story.

Cassiopeia is gauged at 71' 9" and several people said the gauge is wrong as GU boats are 71' 6", so whilst on dock last year I measured her using a laser and plumb lines. She is actually 71' 9 & 1/2". She passes through all the shorter BCN locks with no problem except Titford were she has to come down backwards.

Alan is correct when he says bow and stern shape will make difference. I've taken Millbury up and down the C & H several time over the 35yrs I've owned her. She is exactly 60' not including the rudder (measured with plumb line and laser). She has very fine bows and elliptical counter, which is an advantage, but her bows are deep in the water, which is a disadvantage as they will not go over the cill at low water level (the reason why some boat have to come down some locks backwards). Took Millbury up the C & H this year with James Woolcock (Marquis 54') and shared all but two locks, once Millbury was behind one gate Marquis came in beside her, it wasn't tight after the gates were closed and the locks were filled at a normal pace. The two locks that we decided it would be prudent to single out at was the top one and one about 6 down from the top, the latter has a wide walkway mounted on the bottom gates which is over the lock chamber when the gates are closed. The top one is definitely the shortest, we got Millbury lying on one side with the gate closed, but the counter was touching the bottom gate and with modern gate building practice of having bolts sticking out of all the fitting on the inside, we thought it best to move her bow to the centre of curved cill giving more room at the counter end.

Fair enough Ray. The chaps on the boat once in the tunnel would probable go below and cook some breaky on an solid fuel stove, which today is a no no, however, I do find it astounding that steering through the tunnel sat on a suicide seat is deemed as acceptable.

As far as I can see the boat is in a train about to be pulled through the tunnel by electric tug, the engine is not running therefore the prop is not turning and trying to steer would have no purpose.

Never lost. I first discovered it 38 years ago, The first time I went through the adjoining lock. The coping stones were still clear to see 2 years ago, the last time I went through.

The word butty is an old Irish word that means "friend, pal, to help along", with an American accent it became the international known word "buddy". If two boats are helping each other through locks etc, they are buttying each other, therefore, horseboats used to butty each other and when steamer/motorboats came along they buttied other boats that were only horseboats if they were being pulled by a horse. After the Diesel engine became the main means of propulsion many horseboats were converted into motorboats, by the 20's/30's boats were being built in pairs and in the 50's BTW converted some motorboats into butties.

That's a good picture of Cassiopeia's bulkhead for this topic PJ. The plate itself is a replacement, however, you're photo shows the corrosion from where the original was fitted offset. It also shows the riveted panel where most GU boats have bolted ones. Mick P

I was fishing with a magnet at a lock in the 70's, cannot remember where. I was was confronted by one of the most irate (but definitely not the most irate) lock keepers I have ever met, "what was I doing, didn't I know that it was against the bi-laws, everything found in the canal was the property of the board was his quote". I apologised and left. Of cause I was pinching his pin money. Many years late and after actually reading the by-laws I realised there is no such by-law. What a pity the by-law dosn't exist. What fun we could have delivering all the crap off our props too CRT head office and sayings I think this belong to you.

Easy when you know how. thank you Richard. The hole in the bulkhead on Cassiopeia is gas torched through between the frames with a plate riveted over it, not nice and neat like Tyco. I've often thought you would have to remove a lot of parts off the engine to get it though that hole. I don't really know, but at some point did the GUCCC realise there was going to be a problem and make sure future boats had the access panel. Sorry, should have said that I don't think they were fitted to the steel boats.

Can somebody tell me how you do the cutting and pasting bit when you want to highlight what somebody else has said so you can comment on it? I don't think the photos of Hyperion and Themis are showing engine removal panels, I think what you see is the two rows of rivets fixing the bulkhead to the internal framing. The engine removal panel only extends a few inches above the gunnel. Cassiopeia's panel is riveted in not bolted, therefore, I think it's a GU fitter's thing not original design. Stage one how the f--- do we get the engine out. Stage two why are we riveting these panel back when we could bolt them. The roof off job came later when BTW had their engine replacement program. Going back to the builders plates they may have beed suppled loose with other bits such as engine spares & spanners etc (in them days new engines came with spares & spanners) and it may have been up to the GU fitter doing final adjustments etc, of where and how or if they where fitted on to the craft. I can also see the H&W stores-man when requesting a re-order of the plates being told they're to expensive, no more. I do believe they were only fitted to Iron craft.

As this topic is supposed to be about Yarwood plates I'm going to go off topic by talking about H & W plates on my very first post. Cassiopeia has her original back end bulkhead and just below the rail is an oval area of very deep corrosion which is the exact size of the Fuller replacement plate. The corrosion is not central (of set by about 2") so the original plate was very crudely fitted. In fact I could not fit the Fuller Plate in the same place (it just looked wrong) so some corrosion is still visible. Both Jim and Eddy Hambridge tell me they cannot remember a plate, so it had probable fell of before the early 1950s. In fact looking at the depth of pits in the bulkhead it probable went with a large bang.