dave moore

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.

Sometimes the location refers to where the boat was built. I’ve written Norton Canes on many boats from that yard and fellow writer Andy Russell has added Lord Vernons Wharf to many Braidbar craft. One couple asked me to add Black Delph as the bottom line, the boat was built nearby. One owner was a Hitchhiker fan, the boat called Fenchurch and No 42 in the engine room panel. Often the place name refers to the mooring location or owners home town or county. It certainly is a useful feature to balance up lettering in an arc higher up the panel. “ If it looks right, it is right “ was the first piece of advice from my signwriting training many years ago.

It’s a difficult line to tread, similar to the canal programmes broadcast. They fail to satisfy the enthusiast but the producers have to try and engender wide public appeal. How this circle is squared, I don’t know. Like several responders, I bemoan the lack of footage of the interesting technical aspects of restoration, though I fear they’d be of little interest to Joe Public who may well be more interested in the emotional aspect of the storyline. Many years ago, I produced and presented a folk music programme on a local commercial radio station. It survived for 9 months before being axed, supposedly for financial reasons. I suspect my demands for minimal ad loads were closer to the truth. Yes, the Craftmaster paint applied to the sled was another example of production pressure. Of course, a single coat will suffice for the camera. I could be wrong, but I suspect Jay Blades workshop in Wolverhampton was the abbatoir I knew as a kid. Mother hailed from Wolverhampton....

Just watching The Repair Shop. The Sled I’d being painted with colleague and friend Phil Speight’s Craftmaster Red.Fame !

Here we go... The noted Pete Harrison tells me that the boat is Adelaide, used as an under cloth conversion for many years. I’ve just been speaking to Martin Brookes who runs the Prestwood yard mid way between the top of Stourton and the bottom of the 16. He confirms the boat name and also confirms that the boat was also at Kinver from time to time, where I have memories of seeing it. The owner was a hippy type young woman, at some time she gave the boat away and someone took the boat towards Tardebigge with restoration intentions in mind. Sinkings en route caused the boat to be returned to its present site above Stourton top, where it has languished since. CRT have been in touch with Martin with a view to towing it to Prestwood for craneage, an offer he’s refused with the possibility of it sinking en route. Meanwhile, an historic group has identified it as the last of its class by an unknown builder so the stalemate continues. Martin thinks that the only salvageable parts are the iron works. She was a handsome boat in her day.

I walked past it a couple of weeks ago, wondering similarly. I’ll call Martin Brookes who runs the Prestwood yard, he may well know. Back soon.... Dave

You could call Gary who runs the shop and dock. 07764 840100.

So they are...I live and learn. Again, down to individual manufacturers, I suspect. Personally, I’m tired of the picky pedants, I’m sure that they would have had short shrift long ago....

I’ve just had a look at all of the double style links I have. Without exception, all have the middle section facing the same way, I’ve never seen any with it reversed. I’m interested in how you intend to fold the middle section around the D ring and clip end, I’m sure they were pressed over in the originals. Dave

I suspect that individual differences were down to particular manufacturers. As long as they did the job, what matter? As an aside, I do find folk asking for “ rules “ where things traditional are concerned to be missing the point a little....colours, side of shading are 2 examples that spring to mind in my signwriting field. Although the general layout, for example, would be specified, the actual interpretation was often done to whoever did the job on the day, much like our clips. Back in the day when I taught painting over a weekend, I remember being asked for the “ rule” of how many petals a daisy should have...work round and fill the space was my reply, not the expected one I surmise. Cheers all!

My callipers make it 1.5mm or 0.06”.

Matty, I think he’s talking about the more complex double link where a rolled strip joins the D ring to the clip

I’ve just measured the joining band on one of my originals. The strip is 7/8” wide. Hope this helps. Dave

I was pleasantly surprised by the Midlands leg from Market Drayton to Stourport, much better than the usual celebrity based stuff. I was disappointed to see the stern line draped around the tiller pin, along with the cluttered cabin top. Sorry.

Another vote for a Gulper. We started with a box and float switch but I soon tired of cleaning slime and hair out of it. The Gulper never gave us any bother.

Hi Derek The painted faces had a few coats of primer first, followed by several undercoats in green and white. I prefer to add decoration to undercoat followed by varnish when dry....lots of coats, especially on the sides to bring out the end grain. Time wasn’t an issue here, of course. The finished block sits on the fridge in our kitchen.

Here’s the other face.... And the bottom......