DanH

They do, but as Josephine has only been used by them on a 30ft boat before here it is more mistaken identity or by someone other than BP using a similar name on a similar boat I don't think the boat is the Josephine (Lady class) that Black Prince ran, so whether any previous names can be seen is probably the hopeful identifier, especially with the interior having gone, and so too any possible pointers Dan

Just looking through again, are you sure that your boat is the one in the BP brochure I just ask because the window arrangement as was doesn't look to match, unless there is evidence of previous changes/weld ups? Also, is she definately 50ft, as the Lady class/Josephine I mention and you found in the brochure is 54ft. Do you know your reg number? The ex Black Prince one I showed is 67991 Your boat is definately a Fernie build, but if the above is not true then we may need to dig deeper to figure out her former/original identity! Dan

Hi Only just seen this thread... great to see she will be coming back to life It was built by Fernie Steel Fabrications (of Fernie Road, Market Harborough) and I believe was fitted by Blisworth Tunnel Boats who first ran her, new for 1975 (in orange gunwhales/roof and white sides). When Black Prince took over at Blisworth she then stayed with them for a number of years and went into the blue & yellow colours Here is the other info I have on her, from when I was running the Black Prince owners/info site Dan The pictures are: Another boat from the Blisworth Tunnel fleet in 1975 to illustrate her original colours The 1979 Black Prince (B & W) brochure entry (The first year under their command I believe) Her failing to make the turn at Norton Junction in the '80s, that I was sent

Few pictures I just came across of them in the 1990's.....

Thanks John Nice to see it as a little hive of activity with them ready to go out on their holidays From the BW number it doesn't come up as still about so I wonder what happened to her. The 29ft "Higger Tor" looks a cute little thing but cosy perhaps by todays standards. It was 1989 when I walked past and the fleet must have changed to Lancashire Narrowboats and Haigh & Allanson Hall were tied up as Altair and Sirius in their maroon & cream/white livery. This was their last season Amazing all this stuff still lives out there, glad I asked Dan

Hi Everyone I thought this might be of interest t a few people who might remember this fleet that was at Macclesfield for many years. I see they are putting up some retirement flats on the site now I recall this brochure was dated at the time, so they must have just changed the layout/fleet details and kept the rest the same for ten years or so I think! Dan

Aw wow, cheers Richard I went up in the loft & just have one photo of her, in October 1992 (last month of hire) tied up at Wharfage's yard. That bright green just made an appearance for one season I think (fortunately!) Dan

She did stay at Wigan for a while with Wayfarer, but I remember her as Windwillow from the Wharfage Boat Co in Lymm, where they made her into a sort of semi-trad, which was probably more popular/easier with an 8 berth. Here she is from the Hoseasons 1989 brochure, and I think that is also her internal picture shown Dan

Amazed at the information of the forum, and after almost 40 years Thanks everyone Dan

As John says some were bought 2nd hand from them or they often inherited ex Anglo Welsh with other purchased fleets/bases, along with ex Fernie built ones that were similar and then Black Prince built their own as well in a style copied from the Anglo Welsh/Harbrough design, but in all steel. Classes such as the Frigate, Corvette, Carrier and Clipper were all built only by Black Prince at various sites along with additional boats for classes that had a mix of AW/Fernie boats within it - such as Missile, Fighter, Tank and Bomber classes Dan

Here they are... courtesy of Hoseasons 1979 brochure. It looks to be called Byron....

From Pluto's 1990 photo here are the boats identified in the photo. It looks like 1983 was the first year as Wayfarer (so Coles Morton must have closed in 1982?) and a Blakes brochure extract from 1988 & 1990 ....

Yes, Whixall which was their head office at the time had a lot of boats certainly, and the fleet grew pretty big before it came crashing down in 1987 and the original owners - Ed & Gill Rimmer (later of Challenger fame) departed. The boats they inherited as they took over places added for quite a varied fleet and were often run a few years before being dropped Dan

Aw wow, thanks so much, the last one from 1990 is as I remember it but the fleet was white or light cream on the cabinsides, so they must have changed the side colour quite quickly, they look nicer for it and I guess it was more practical too.... a shame the Blakes page only had one exterior shot and then a lot of layout plans so they didn't have the best spread. Do you know why they closed. I think 1991 was the last season? Dan

Hi Pete Thanks for the reply. I had a look on googlemaps yesterday and it made sense why we would have walked past from one Wigan Pier mill to the other. I seem to remember there were some very old buildings in their yard that look to have been demolished and it looks to be a car park now. I wondered when Coles Morton closed and they became Wayfarer Narrowboats if it was new people, or a sort of ex management thing, they didn't run quite as many? Also, a high number of the boats went to creating Viking Afloat (I think the Coles Morton & Viking Afloat boats were mostly sponsored/owned by others) and I wondered if Viking Afloat's rather unusual burgundy and yellow colour scheme came about as a fairly straightforward change/inspiration from the Coles Morton colours as shown in your photo?! Dan

Hi Everyone I was recently remembering this fleet and remember walking past them all tied up in their new maroon and cream (white?) livery as part of a school trip to Wigan Pier around 1989. It was the most exciting bit of the day to me... I don't suppose anyone has any old photos of the place or any more information on them and the setup? Thanks Dan

Hi Everyone I have been enjoying the old brochures shared here, and have been looking through a few myself during this lockdown spell and so I thought I would share a few key pages from the Black Prince brochure from 1983 Dan