Derek R.

If you have a copy of 'Painted Boats' there is a sequence of a spoon dredger being used near the end - 41minutes in on my counter. Basically, there were two winches. One was to pull the dredger along the cut inch by inch from a wire to the bank and worked by one man; two others on the winch that lifted the spoon which would be swung out to the side and lowered into the cut, and the fourth man handled the spoon by means of a large 'T' bar at the end of the spoon shaft. He would be the one slipping and sliding on the dredgings and once a spoonful had been lifted by the other two - pushing the loaded spoon from the cabin top and onto the boards to pivot the crane so as to tip the dredgings into the boat by tipping the spoon using the 'T' bar. It must have been back breaking work with everyone getting soaked, and the amount dredged comparatively small - but nonetheless necessary - in the course of a day. Graft, as it used to be before hydraulics and engines.

Most do. Some had single levers, but the possibility of moving them unintentionally when moving in and out the hatches may have caused a wheel to be a better choice. Instead your jacket just gets hooked up and you end up doing a Chuckle Brothers sketch. (I was going to say Mr Pastry sketch, but who remembers Richard Hearne? Or Freddie Frinton? http://tinyurl.com/cmq7g2 ) Derek

A timely reminder. Also bumped elsewhere.

Did anyone spot the brand spanking new and very shiny porthole on Ray? Or was that a photoshop special . . . PS Thanks for the pictures Leo - very evocative. Which motor is that the remains of - on the barrels?

If you click on "view full size image", you will get more info. In this case Troy cut. Looking at those images I'm reminded of Kensal Green Cemetery. Rust (Rot) In Peace. There's an almost tranquil air to them. Their lifes work done. No more the bottoms to scrape, gates to bump, at rest. Nature creeping, and reclaiming her raw materials. Violins please . . .

Sounds like you've been watching paint adverts. Do you remember the Labrador pup who ran around with a bit of paper . . . ? Seriously - Can't remember an OES, though there might have been. German Shepherds seem to be a favourite for a while. Val and Tony had a few (one particularly nasty one that didn't last long), Vic Harman had one (or maybe two), Roger and Fran, and a couple more would arrive when Comet called in. John had Domino Terrier cross, we had Bert and Elsa - Terrier X & Bull Mastiff X, and Trevor had a little black thing. There was another that used to fight everything on legs - seem to remember it was locked in mortal combat once with something, and the pair got chucked in the basin - they carried on fighting under water. Sue brought along her two Border Collies - pups then. But Peggy and Bosun were the real characters. They were very similar in some ways - stood no nonsense and spoke their minds. Peter was lovely too, quiet and exact in his work with a dry wit, a good mechaninc/engineer. There was also any number that walked theirs along the towpath toilet too - non-boaters that is. There's a story in a book I recently read (forgot which one - situation normal) it was at Sutton's I think. Kids are chucking sticks in for the dog to jump in and fetch out. Then a little girl fell in off a counter. Dog jumps in and fetches her out - just another stick, but saved her. Sorry Andy - we've drifted a bit! The issue over asbestos might well give you an advantage. I've handled it lots of times, just need to be careful especially when cutting and drilling, but effin safety throw a wobbly if it's half a mile away. Derek PS I wonder if Beryl had an OES? Poyle that is.

Ah! - The Peggy and Peter's dog was a Boxer called 'Bosun' (at least I think it was called Bosun?). Can't remember Roger and Fran's. Went buttying to Chester with the 'Gwernies'. I remember hanging off a plank at water level, cutting bits of rope off his prop at the BCM. It's strange, but I can't remember the name of their boat - spot it a mile off though. The BCN Society have a workboat on the BW style, commissioned and built for them though it's not ex-BW. Line drawing and story here: http://www.bcn-society.co.uk/workboat.php Dave Moore painted it up, and they scratch it off with mud and shopping trolleys Well, it is a work boat! Derek

'Willy No Name' - that was it!! Some characters down the arm. I remember Peter and Peggy fondly. And Bill Snowdon and Fred are still around, steer Pacific a lot now. Thanks for the reminder. Derek

Some-one else was asking similar questions not so long ago. It may seem strange to view them as future historic craft, but then it's only a matter of time. Other than that, there is something to be said in favour of hull shapes that are sympathetic to hydrodynamics as older built craft were, when such things mattered, there was a pride in craftsmanship, and labour was comparatively cheap. A great hunk of ramp ended steel box is a bit challenging aesthetically. I hear they sink quite well. Suggest you try the individual BW section offices for more detail. There was a chap Aylesbury way back in the eighties that used a ramp ended punt to load his little Citroen on. Used to tow it around when boating. It ended up as the ACS work punt, though it may not have been ex-BW. Derek

Yep - likewise. Derek

Spider - what a little cracker. What engine has it got Mark? We had a chap stop by Cassio for a while many years back, with a little wooden motor sailer (clinker or carvel I can't remember) called 'The Lady Tilly'. Less than 25' in length, all white, with a small transom stern, and a Stuart Turner under a box. Going into the cabin was bliss, all the feel of a wooden boat - warm, soft comforting sounds, and a lovely smell - bit of Stockholm tar probably. Reminds me of pleasurable reading in Maurice Griffiths books in which he introduces the reader to the quiet creeks and mud banks of the East Coast - 'The Magic of the Swatchways'. Still captivates, though I'm no salt. Derek

Wooden boat builders and repairers are somewhat similar to undertakers - there'll always be work for them. The big difference is that with boats, it's often not a lack of will-power, it's a lack of money, and as we well know a wooden boat is an ongoing restoration job - far more so than a metal one. Stop fixing something for a year - and it's all downhill from there and often rapidly. When Tycho (all steel) was built its expectation of life was 25 years. It's still here and afloat (last time I looked) 72 years later and mostly original. What was the expectation of life of a wooden narrowboat spending its life working? Five - ten years? Wooden boats have an affinity to water that other materials do not have, they swim differently, sound different, feel different, and they represent an historic skill. But The only wooden boat I have is sitting on the sideboard. It'll last quite a while on there. This isn't to say they should all be broken up and burnt, but a simple point that if you want a wooden narrowboat to last - you will have to have very deep pockets with plenty in them, and reach in regularly. ----------- Now I'm not taking the Michael - Here's one of a sympathetic material to wood - cardboard. How long would it last in water? Can I move to make a 'Corrugated' award for the best cardboard boat?

The shot in the cutting is reproduced in the magazine 'Narrow Boat' Winter 2007/8, in the article by Tom Foxon entitled 'Breaking the ice', and is credited to the Colin Such collection. The picture is stated to be on the Oxford Canal near Rugby. Six lines and at least fifteen horses involved there, sometimes they used as many as twenty, but if the ice was thick enough and too much horse power applied, the boat would be dragged along the surface only. Hard, and hot work, but also good fun. That's me in the white breechs. (only kidding) Derek

Clearly this subject will not be 'going away', and although there is little more to add at this stage, there is an HNBOC member on the BSS advisory committee who is keen to keep an eye on proceedings and present the 'historic' view, attempting to making any recommendations NOT retrospective. So far it appears the 'trade' are not considering the proposals appropriate. The BSS secretariat (we're all comrades here?) is suggesting that the BSI code will only look forward. I would hesitate to believe that will exempt historic boats. The head can swivel both ways, and it is claimed the BSS will be the ones who decide whether such recommendations will be retrospective or not. We are in 'committee' land - several of them, and there is only thing committees are good at on this level. "Argiment won't get us there any quicker" said Dad. "Nor can the perishin 'orse" said Ma. Derek

Your welcome, there are some nice shots of Walkers Whaleboats in their book 'Walkers of Ricky' by A.J. Walker. P108 has an artists sketch (Edward Paget-Tomlinson?) showing side elevation and plan in colour. P137 has a photo of a Whaleboat on dock with sails up P237 a photo of staff and Walker family all seated on and standing in what could be one of their Whaleboats, though the event is an outing to Southend and dated June 1952, it could be in their yard before departure. Derek

'Kitchen' rudder on Wikipedia is this it? 'Whaleboat' also Wikipedia Nice model, good two foot six long - might be a cheaper project. (ducks!)

Aah! Didn't know the brother. That's how I remember them, very smart. Derek

Welcome to the chatterbox Pete, or should that be 'thunderbox'! Nice to hear from you. Derek

Bob? Bloke On Board? Who Bob? Why snubber - Bob getting steering practice?

Looks like Jill and Dave Humphries on Badsey leaving the Riser, and more than likely Barnes about to be pulled out steered by ??

'Scuse me for nosing in, but the alternator should have a fan built in (if it's like any automotive alternator), it draws air through whilst running. Surely all you need do is supply an aperture to feed air to the alternator? Derek

Here's a look on the inside. Not such a common shot as all is mostly covered in woodwork. As you can see, most of the curved sections are beneath floor level (just above prop-shaft), so the reduction in space only affects down there. But then - the more space you have - the more tat that gets collected! This is Yarwoods Josher Adder being worked on in '85/'86: The swim at the chine will start half way along the engine room, whereas at uxter plate level it will start farther back. Have a look at Matts Sickle website in the restoration section to see more Yarwoods work on swims.

Well, I think some people make up their own ideas about what a "true" Josher is, some of which might be a bit pedantic. As it is generally accepted that the name is an aberration of the name Joshua Fellows, and as the company known as FMC demanded boats with fine lines, any boat yard that fulfilled these requirements and built boats for FMC became known as Joshers. If some say a 'true' Josher was only built BY FMC at Uxbridge, Saltley, or Toll End - what does that make all the other boats built for FMC at Sephtons, Braithwaite and Kirk, Harris, Costin's, Nurser's, Lees & Atkins, A.J. Ashm or the five wide boats built by Rudkins - all built FOR FMC? (Though Ash was a Director, and built at Uxbridge dock). Surely you can have a boat built FOR Fellows specific use and requirements and have it be a Josher, without the specific need for it to have been built BY Fellows at one of their own docks, or for that matter at ONE specific dock. Honda make cars in Japan, they are also built in England. They are all Hondas. Having said that, a compromise might be to say: "that's a Yarwood's Josher" or a "Braithwaite Josher", and perhaps some do - I certainly did - and when tied up at Banbury with Yarmouth in '83, we were spoken to by an elderly couple on the towpath who had no hesitation about recognising a 'Josher'! "Used to work them we did". As a loose generalisation, any boat built for Fellows might well be called a 'Josher'. What we can say without any argument (though some might due to it being post 1948!) is that there were no more Joshers built after Gorse in '51. So perhaps the last XX Josher was built up to the companies dissolution in '48. After which came look-a-likes, replicas, and stylising. Good 'ere innit. Edit: And bu**er boatperson and all that politically correct cr*p - boatmen and boatwomen is (are) correct! Derek

Beg to differ. Alan Faulkner's 'FMC' lists 62 Motors built by Yarwoods for FMC, 44 of them being fitted out at Saltley or Uxbridge. Python was built at Yarwoods and fitted out at Uxbridge - a Josher. Derek

Thanks Paul, glad to see it has survived. Looks like the engine has been put in the back cabin. Still beautiful lines though. What future now with BW chopping their own legs off? Waterways heritage lease - sounds iffy. The 'historic' side of industrial waterways has rapidly been demolished for theme park attractiveness - but for who? Those who come to admire spend little enough on the 'improved' attraction, and probably would be the same people who would have chucked their old washing machine and garden waste in if it had been left as before. The new 'loft livers' in their chic 'warehouse like' apartment may like the pretty coloured boats, but not the pretty coloured chimney smoke. You are not alone in your thoughts. Derek