Derek R.

Fire suction hoses?

As regards to width, I cannot imagine an FMC motor in original condition being 6' 10" overall. The place to check would be the forward engine room bulkhead and the external overall dimension at that point.

With Gilbeys' warehouse in the background - Hampstead Rd. locks. Port Isaac is a possibility. I've seen that image somewhere before, maybe in a visit to a Cornish Harbour. Port Isaac has narrow streets; Fore St and Middle Street. But Lynmouth is also a possibility: https://www.itv.com/news/westcountry/2021-10-15/impossible-lynmouth-lifeboat-rescue-brought-to-life-on-stage https://alchetron.com/Lynmouth-Lifeboat-Station

Diamond plate.

Both the GEORGE and the MARY were built by the Steel Barrel Co. of Uxbridge as prototypes of the Royalty Class in 1929. The remaining Royalty motors were built by Yarwoods and James Pollock and Sons of Faversham. I suspect barrels would not have been used for fuel tanks, as they would take up too much space. More likely (a look in GEORGE's engin'ole would confirm) they would have optimised the available space, and therefore resembled that which subsequent boats from Woolwich, Northwich and probably Rickmansworth etc. would have followed. Just a calculated guess though.

Which number Meccano set are we up to now?

We had a PAZ1 on the foredeck of the Dutchman driving a 24V alternator. It was a swine to start (hand crank) and with its pepper pot 'silencer' kicked up one hell of a racket, until I fitted a straight through absorption silencer salvaged from a Mini and lined the metal casing with carpet underlay. After that treatment, it purred like a kitten. Was still a swine to start though.

Nice swim work on HYDRUS, but that awful ersatz 'dog kennel' as a cabin extension defies belief. The whole boat look almost artificial. Might as well be a 'new build'.

Length improves directional stability. Shortened boat are 'lively'.

Looks more like an early Blackstone from images on't web.

A warm welcome to Caroline Coles, and I hope Caroline is not disuaded from a certain 'inacccurate' comment as above. Thanks to Ray T for the above posts and images.

That's what I would have thought. The inspector disagreed. Don't recall who it was, over 30yrs have passed since then.

Ooh Steve, that corkscrewing drone shot had me wanting to heave! Couldn't watch much of that!!

YARMOUTH had extensive new steel in 1986, including an 18' swim, all new footings, steel bulkheads to keep the side straight, a 10mm steel bottom replacing the previous worn Elm, and a fully fitted back cabin by the Late Chris Lloyd. The internal bottoms and 3" angle iron bottom frames were treated with waxoyl, laid upon which was roofing felt, onto which was placed heaven knows how many paving slabs for ballast. The entire sides and roof were spray foamed. The new (back then) Classic stove was treated to having its oven door chromium plated, suggested by Chris, as a bit of 'boatman's bling'. She was our cosy home for ten years. Seeing her again I am tempted, but we are too well established on the land with 'animals', to restart another period of boating. And things are never the same when you go back to something you once knew so well. 1984: With plywood sides on inch square tubular framing, a steel 'coach' like top with rooftop water tank, and two inch wide gunnels. Powered by a BMC 2.2 diesel. In that trim, we took on the Thames, Wey, right up and across the Pennines, up the Trent from Keadby. Got well stuck in one of the bottom locks going down Napton due to spread, got helped out by Esme, the lengthsman, who flushed us out big time. Braunston '86. Hammering it, on the Stainforth & Keadby '88 - Petter Power. 1991

Distance, Dispute, or Disinformation. Take your pick. Could - and has been all three.

I've watched the first five episodes, and found it painful. Yes, It's a drama not a documentary, and yes it was fun in a child-like way. So I skipped to episode 13, the last. Still painful. Nice to see some real life characters interspersed into the series, so some upticks there. And I'm probably missing the fact that it was a series for younger people. And who was that character in Betton Woods claiming to watch Badgers? The boat? VULTURE, built 1904? I guess the real attraction is seeing England (and London) as it was in my teenage to early twenties. And as Dick the steerer said to Ann: "That's the thing about the canals really: you're not in England, not the England of today... this is the England of the past." That rings so true. I miss it.

We looked at ALCOR with a view to purchase back in 1979. At £11,000 was over our budget. Loved the bus windows.

That is interesting, in that one top arm is longer than the other. This would indicate that that particular ladder would be for the starboard side hatch. Why so? Because when fitted to that side, the ladder would be offset an at angle so as clear the triangular tower of the fuel tank on that side. Likewise any ladder for the port side would need to be its direct opposite in terms of the top arm length to clear the tank on the port side. Either way, I suspect they got cast aside in preference to the step hung on the horizontal tank strap which took up far less space.

Lump of angle iron with ply step. Slide one way or the other, or lift it out. Makes entering and exiting easy. There were a pair of holes in the bottom edge of the side doors to hook a steel runged ladder on, one of which can be seen top left.

And another one . . . It would have failed the conformity thing with 'FUEL OIL'. Had to be 'DIESEL', which is what the silly sticker says in the middle, though quite unreadable. Unlike FUEL OIL. I chisel'd it in.

It looks like I linked to the wrong post. Should have been Plutos' with EPTs' Land Rover.

Taken April 2023 according to Google Maps. https://tinyurl.com/5xmyrc2t

Lovely image Pluto has put up from EPT. Clearly a business establishment with yard and upstairs store, and having seen better days. Possibly a Midlands scene, but even that's a very broad guess. No idea. Likely there is a canal basin just out of sight.

A little more history here: https://hnbc.org.uk/boats/yarmouth

I don't know about that one, but the ancient Egyptians were using them 4,000 years ago . . .