dave moore

That’s funny, I recall a good few working boats with them fitted. Of course, fenders were used in those days. Working uphill in narrow locks, the boat was left in head gear, ticking over, the fender rising as the boat rose too. As the level was made, the boat opened the top gate and made it’s way out. Frowned upon. today, I expect....

The respondents stated black poly. No, I didn’t know it was available in a natural colour.

I’m sorry, but as a staunch traditionalist, and black polypropylene wouldn’t cut it. Here’s the manky tyre, turned inside out and fitted to the button. Sorry about the photo, it’s a photo of a photo in our kitchen with too many lights.

Creocote is a less environmentally hazardous substitute for real creosote, available from Tool Station.

We had manilla fenders for almost 20 years. From New I treated them with colourless wood preservative every couple of years or so, until they became discoloured with age when I switched to brown Creocote, a creosote subsitute. There are plenty of fender makers out there, depends where you are in the country. If it’s a button fender for the bow, it might be worth fitting a tyre over it to prolong the life.

I don’t, but it would certainly be an oil based product, probably a yacht varnish of some brand, perhaps Tekaloid.

Oh seven 8 three 1 243double oh 1. Give me a call and I’ll put flesh on the bones.

I knew Chris, female, though I’ve not seen her for a few years. I think she lived on s boat in the Braunston area in those days and was quite prolific.

Trevor always did 👍

The late Trevor Ward, a superb craftsman who worked at Norton Canes used to add 5 coats of varnish to the back of any lining timber, 7 coats to the visible face. The boards looked almost like glass! Those were the days!

It could be worth speaking to Sarah Edgson at Glascote, they have grit blasting facilities as well as a paint dock. PM me for contact numbers or look at Norton Canes Boatbuilders on the web.

Hi Rob That looks mightily like the hand of Ian Kemp to me, didn’t he have a hand in Leo’s restoration? Or be completely responsible for it? If so, I wouldn’t be surprised that he decorated the cabin block. Ian has largely based his work on that of Frank Nurser, I can see many parallels.

Yes, I remember the theft, though details are sketchy now. Once recovered, the boat was put in a wet dock behind the offices and effectively sealed off to allow forensic investigation. When new, I added the livery. Julian and Barrie Stanton will be able to put flesh on these meagre bones.

Registered from Tamworth, perhaps? I’m in a cleft stick with this one. At Norton Canes we used to use the build number for the registered panel, hence my old boat was 1073, the 73rd Norton Canes build. We put the index number in a centered panel above the engine room, often with a BWB prefix and the original wave logo, the only sensible one to me. Yes , all balls in the modern world, but what the hell....Tradition enticed me in the 60s, still does....

I think the photo of Vesta was the work of Phil McCormick, a local writer in the 60s/ 70s/ 80s.