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Many of the design points that make a hull worth having are very subtle. If you accept that a good standard of welding or wooden boatbuilding should be a given no matter what the price paid for a new hull then the most desirable features come down to how well the hull swims and handles. After that the above water shape and detailing start to come into play. It is a pity that many of the 'high quality' hulls that one sees on dock have underwater shapes that approximate to that of brick. Because of the desire to pack as much usable space into the available length swims are shortened and base plates made as wide as possible. These boats do not swim well and even at low speeds cause excessive wash. GUCCCo., Mersey Weaver and other yards produced boats that performed well even when loaded but of course they did not have a background in the design and construction of water tanks. What they did have was a need to ensure that form followed function in the most economical way possible. As a result many of these hulls have a simple beauty of line and ease of handling matched by very very few modern narrow boats, If many modern builders took the time to study these hulls and to educate their customers about what a pleasure it is to steer a well designed and balanced boat then we might see fewer complaints about speeding. Regards, H.C.

Do not under ANY circumstances leave a boat unattended anywhere on the Erewash except at Trent Lock or Langley Mill and Trent Lock has its moments. There are secure moorings at LM either with the E.C.P and D. A. or with the boatyard. The visitor moorings are also O.K. for short unattended periods. The Erewash has improved over the last few years but we normally try to time the trip to pass Cotmanhay and Ilkeston during school hours or very early in the morning. Long Eaton school can be a problem at the beginning and end of the school day. Regards. H.C.

The wireless generating set was an air portable unit dropped to troops in Burma. The engine used was a Stuart Turner mono-flow 'Sirius' or 'Star'. The 'Sun' version of this engine is still available from the successors to ST at stuartmodels.com This can be made to run at up to 5000rpm and will produce up to 0.25 h.p.There are a number of other low power steam engines available which can be coupled to D.C. generators. The efficiency is of course low but if a suitable boiler is used then it can be part of a combined heat and power system. If you are burning otherwise disposable rubbish a low efficiency becomes less important The output of the engine can be improved a series of articles in Model Engineer for 2000 explains how. Regards. H.C.

As those of us who have had the pleasure of steering traditional boats around will know the problem of people taking photographs is not new. We are usually not fussed by one or two shots but it becomes annoying when excessive and intrusive behaviour ensues. There have been times when I have told people that enough is enough and that the towing path is not a public place and therefore they have no right to take photographs without permission. This has led to some interesting conversations. The worst example we encountered was when bringing Avon down Aston when a very well dressed young lady was taking every opportunity to pose alongside the boat and even leaning on the back cabin. After a couple of locks we realised that her companion was a professional photographer and far from asking permission he became abusive when told to go away. Regards. H.C,

Before fitting a day tank on a new build we checked with BSS. There is no problem as long as all vents etc. meet the requirements for whichever fuel you are using.If the bottom of the tank is made to slope into a sump below the level of the fuel take-off pipe and the drain is fitted to the lowest point of the sump then there is a built in water and crud separator of a much larger capacity than the commercially available ones. Regards. HC

Pete Newman at Langley Mill has stretched many boats. Regards HC

The problem with using modern bulb-flat section is that it is, compared to feather edge which has a hollowed back, very stiff and heavy in the sizes needed. Bending this round the curves on the average steel hull is no problem. On a wooden boat the force needed can be too much. 50mm bulb flat is not too bad but we need 2.5 - 3" section which would look 'out of scale' compared with rest of the build.Regards, HC

Thanks for the replies and information. Regards, HC

Does anyone here know of a source for feather edge guard irons. Regards, HC

There is an emergency stoppage for tendays on Eastwood Lock on the Erewash canal. There is a winding hole one lock down at Shipley. regards, HC

Good quality Whit. or BSF tools are not cheap. There are no poor quality far eastern imports so go for King Dick or Britool. AR Sheldon Ltd in, I believe, Stockport list these but the price is going to surprise you. Regards, HC Good quality Whit. or BSF tools are not cheap. There are no poor quality far eastern imports so go for King Dick or Britool. AR Sheldon Ltd in, I believe, Stockport list these but the price is going to surprise you. Regards, HC

Thank you for the replies. I think that I will still follow this route and take the radiator feeds to a remote unit under the foredeck which will discreetly vent to the outside of the boat. I suspect that the Kelvin waterpump may not cope with this even with with a large bore thermo-syphon effect so I'll need to give this some thought. Regards, HC

Has anyone here had experience of engine cooling using road vehicle type radiators. This is for a wooden hull and I am reluctant, because of past experience, to use direct cooling nor do I wish to use keel cooling pipes. Regards, HC

How on earth has BW managed to declare an emergency stoppage lasting until the middle of March on the West Coast mainline bridge at Handsacre on the T&M. This work has been ongoing for months and any possible reason for a months stoppage should have been foreseen. It isn't enough for BW to say that they regret any inconveniance as I imagine this will cause numbers of boaters some serious disruption.

Hazel did have a section eight noticeand was lying submerged at Mills boatyard at the bottom of the Erewash. We bought the boat and put it on dock at Langley Mill. It needed very little work considering that it had been sunk for some time.AISTR there was one smallish leak and the boat had filled with rainwater until this level was reached. We were going to camp Hazel alongside -at that time Chiswick and Meteor-but reality kicked in and we sold it to a member of the WCC Trust. The sternpost had been hacked about to fit an SR2 but this was on the bank in pieces when we collected Hazel and there we left it.

I am looking forwards to comparing Judith Ann to our modern tug Wyrd which has perhaps a little less freeboard but with 6" or so greater water draught. What I have found over many years is that tugs perform better if they have something to tow. Certainly with Meteor on cross straps Wyrd was no slower than as a single motor and speed could be maintained in shallower water because the butty prevented the back end dragging down.

I've uploaded a photograph of the last of the outer planks being fitted after steaming on the Gallery under Boats. Regards HC

Thank you for the welcome. As good wooden boats become scarcer it becomes more cost effective to rebuild or restore good surviving examples.Judith Ann is being completely rebuilt. We have saved the posts and one plank along with parts of the kelsons. The planking used has been in long lengths and whilst retaining the shape- which has to be one of the most beautiful on the cut-the number of scarfs has been reduced and the boat is significantly stronger.I have a Ruston 4Vrom which came out of JA at some stage but she is to be re-engined with a Kelvin J3. It has been interesting to see how Keays yard tackled what to them must have been-from the solutions adopted-unusual problems.Why for instance was she built with 1.5" planking and splayed engine beds. If anyone knows the answer to these or has any other information on the boat I will be pleased to hear from them.

If you want to see what Jem's yard is capable of come and have a look at Judith Ann which he is rebuilding for us. Now that is a tug.