dave moore

I loathe cluttered cabin tops. Other than water cans and mop at the stern then moveable plank and long shaft holder, it was entirely clear.

I’ve a vague memory of seeing bowling balls in this king of bag. Maybe it was Saturday and he was off for a game…..

Hi Brian ive just spoken with Martin. Not too much to add, the boat started life and worked in Holland carrying a variety of cargoes. It’s having all of the steelwork replaced below the waterline. That’s it!

It’s there for hull repairs, some of the knees and curved plates have rotted. Martin Brookes, who runs the yard, has had it there for some time now, he’s had new plates rolled for replacement. There is no rush for the job to be completed, he tells me, so it’s being done piecemeal in between other jobs.

Tony Bate who built at Norton Canes used to use a roll of masking tape to position the D section before starting to weld. I think he started at one end with tacks but I can’t be sure.

In the main, I’ve been underwhelmed with the quality of the tinware offered by this company. One water can had a 3mm gap along the rear seam from the centre band upwards, making it impossible for it to carry water. I suspect that the stuff is outsourced elsewhere, the manufacturers unaware of the nuances and detail that go in to a decent can. Having said that, I was approached last winter to paint a handbowl as a gift for the 90th birthday of an historic boat. I didn’t have one and asked the customer to cast around. He got back to me, bringing an unpainted one in galvanised metal, from Black Country Metalworks and I was pleasantly surprised at the weight and quality of it. Perhaps they have done some research and changed suppliers, I don’t know.

I’m surprised that this has only just appeared on here, the breach occurred towards the end of last week following heavy rainfall.

Not all traditional chimneys are flimsy crap. The one made for us by Dave Parrot is still with the boat more than 20 years later. Stainless steel, copper rivets, solid brass and aluminium D section around the top. A proper job. Tall pipes are useful where there is plenty of room under bridge holes, otherwise I prefer the titch pipe. Either way, make sure that the splitter on top faces along the cabin top to deflect the exhaust blast sideways.

The ET may well refer to Earnest Thomas, a notable canal carrier in the midlands in working days.?

Boatbuilder Dave Harris was based there for some years as well. The site is now occupied by a crane hire company.

Absolutely sound advice., I’d take it….

They are water cans, not “ Buckbys . Only cans bought from Long Buckby should be so called, otherwise a Preston Brook can or a Wolverhampton can and so on.

Norton Canes at Glascote May be able to help.

It may well sag…tipcat(s) and button a much better option.

As staunch traditionalist, I far prefer to keep the cabin top free of everything but essential bits of kit. Bags of fuel, planters etc are a no no for me. As far as the coal bags are concerned, unless they have air space beneath , are a prime culprit for causing paint failure. I’ve seen it more than once. Just saying….

Mike’s solution is known as the Top Hat, used by many top end builders. Norton Canes used such a traditional system, incorporating a spiral milled groove into the rudder stock with a grease nipple on top . Never had a problem in 20plus years. I’ve never understood the need for a bearing.!

I knew this boat in the 60s, then owned by the wife of a friend. I completely agree with Sarah about getting the “ right “ owner, hopefully someone has already reserved her.

I’ve just paid a visit to Bratch, ahead of the rally there this weekend. I was told that the Stourbridge 16 are now closed to deal with the growth of Azzolla weed. Awful stuff, like a green carpet around the Merry Hill moorings above Delph.

The prop shaft on our J3 used to move 3/4” when going from forward to reverse. We had to experiment with sprockets to achieve an easy change, about 4 turns from ahead to astern.

Our traditional chimney was made by Dave Parrot in stainless steel, double skinned, in 2000. It is still with the boat today.

From what I understand, scumbling was developed, in Victorian times or possibly before, as a way of transforming cheaper timbers I to more expensive ones, in the days when lower orders sought to emulate their “ superiors”. Thus, pine could be painted to look like oak, mahogany or other expensive hardwoods. Most of the cabins from working days were softwood, painted to look rather more expensive, often oak, sometimes with added mahogany details, though the boat yard men who did this were not highly skilled grainers who produced top class work. One, Kershaw if memory serves, exhibited grained panels at the Great Exhibition at Crystal Palace. He had to demonstrate his skills, the public not believing that it wasn’t the real thing. I’ve never aspired to such heights, although there are still those today with similar skills. Google wood grainers to see more.

Over the years I’ve grained many cabins, until some years ago using Ratcliffes light oak or maple scumble. This fell foul of the VOC regs and was discontinued. An alternative is to use Polyvine oil based scumble glaze, tinted with one of their stains. As far as the knotting rubber is concerned I can only counsel a plea to use one sparingly….I’ve seen many pieces of work where there are more knots than at a Boy Scout jamboree to imitate timber that no self respecting woodworker would use. The late Chris Lloyd, boatfitter,once described the effect in Waterways World as “ rifle targets holding hands”……

Hi Glenn Send me a message and I’ll give you my number. I first met David in the early 80s and did signwriting and decorative work there for several years.Lots of tales to tell!

Indeed. A real character of the cut. He gave sanctuary to a good friend of mine, fender maker Alf Langford after he fell on hard times in the 80s. Have you seen his adverts in old issues of WW? Classic!