Rose Narrowboats

We've got a hireboat moored in the marina all weekend (in the corner by the pedestrian entrance from the car park) so feel free to come and have a look through.

Look at the shape of the stem post, look at the t-stud, look at the style and position of the stern t-studs and the shape of rams head. Folded shear strake into gunwale changing into fabricated gunwale angle with a rubbing strake round the very semi-circular counter. Granted the pics aren't great, and the modern cabin alters the appearance, but I've spent longer than I'd like looking at two of my H&L hulls this winter and I see an awful lot I recognise there. The broker will go on what they are told quite often. Nothing to do with this broker but we were asked once when a boat was booked in for blacking to "re-do the silicone" as well. "What silicone?" I asked. "You know, the stuff round the overplating" said the new owner. I didn't, until we got it out of the water and found the new steel had only been tacked above the water line and "sealed" with silicone. Proof you've never, ever seen it all! £15k later the owner was much wiser.

That depends entirely on how well it has been done. A badly overplated boat costs more to put right than buying one that needs overplating and having it done properly. Some people won't touch overplated regardless, but if it's done well and still in good condition then it's a viable way of extending the life of a boat by 20-30 years. But: if I'm correct and it's a complete refit of an exiisting hull in 2009, then assuming the steelwork was done at the same time, why not cut out and let new steel in while the hull is bare? Answer, overplating is cheaper (or pre dates the refit) and it saves a few more quid not bothering to put the extra guards back on, which would make me want a very thorough survey if I wanted to be sure I wasn't buying a budget bodge job.

Tumblehome is the inward slope of the cabin sides - important if you care about aesthetics and/or walking down the gunwale. Anyone fancy a wager that it's originally a Hancock & Lane hull with a 2009 cabin and fit out? The only way it's a 10/15mm is if it's been overplated. Many H&L hulls were 3/16" (4.8mm) hullsides, so if overplated up to the top strake (which would explain the missing guard iron on the bow) with 5mm, that would add up to 10mm hullsides, ditto for an 8mm baseplate and about 0 for accuracy in the broker's description

Glad you like it Chris. Most of the credit must go to one of my team, Wayne Bucknall (you'll have spoken to him in your past life), who has spent more hours than I'm ever going to dare admit patiently making and tweaking patterns and tooling. The assistance and encouragement of everyone at Brinklow Boats deserves a mention too - you couldn't ask for a better quality control department. Forget Buckby, they're now known round these parts as Bucknall Cans.......

Most suppliers are now stocking Golden Film 30 instead I believe. Despite its high API classification the XHD30 is fine in vintage engines - I've sold it and used it in vintage engines (mainly R-Ns and Listers) for over 20 years. "Ring Free" was a range of oils produced by Morris with additives designed to loosen and/or prevent stuck piston rings.

The can looks great Dave! If anyone would like to see one first hand we'll have a couple with us at Braunston show along with a prototype for a handbowl and hopefully one or two other bits. Regards, Anthony

There's nothing in law, but hire operators are now required as part of the BSS to have a safetry warning sign on the boat with a visual indication of the crew areas, and any area designated a crew area must have a non-slip finish. Crew areas are not deemed to be on the gunwales or the cabin top on the sticker provided by British Marine. The sticker also carries a warning to stay out of the tiller arc. I believe the concern with people on gunwales (and cabin tops) is less about them getting wet but crushed, either between the bank and the boat or between the boat and a structure. For the record, our gunwales are (and will remain) non-slip as there are times when they have to be used, but we always recommend going through the boat rather than over it to get from one end to the other.

Apply common sense (or if none available, consult the risk assessment) and most likely run water down. I snatched a fallen tree round enough to clear a channel past in Brinklow cutting on Monday morning - CRT even rang me and said thank you.

I don't usually comment on products or our customer's boats, but as this is the first I've heard of it..... I'm not sure how the "only used half the amount expected" claim arises. We were supplied with a 25ltr container by you and the owner of the other boat after you had both specifically requested that we used the product on your boats - to which I (reluctantly, I admit) agreed on the basis that if you supplied it I would put it on according to the manufacturer's instructions but at your risk. I commented at the time that it was a relatively unknown product, and new to us so I could not in any way make any promises as to its performance or suitability. Prior to application I spoke with the supplier about application and queried the quantity as on average I'd expect to use over 25ltrs of Intertuf on two 60 footers. As per their advertising I was told a little went a long way and they were very specific that we should apply thin coats otherwise it doesn't cure properly; a minimum of two and preferably three, applied by paint pad or roller. The stuff dries very quickly (a major selling point on the supplier's website as I recall) but it was explained to me that if it is put on too thickly it skins over and doesn't cure properly. Fair enough, and we were very careful to follow that advice (including making sure there was no puddling or pooling against strakes or the wear edge, and both boats boats were given ample time (I'm talking days) to dry after three coats had been applied. If I remember correctly the owner of Chyandour was a little unhappy because we were "late" finishing the job as I wouldn't put it back in the water on the day we had hoped for because the temperature had been low over one of the drying days. The first boat we painted was quite pitted (commensurate with its age) and we used just over half the supplied container of paint, so I was concerned at that point that there may not be enough left to do your boat. However, the hullsides of Grace are in excellent condition and very smooth (the Intertuf had done its job well) so it is fair to say that Grace used less than we expected but for that reason alone and it certainly has an adequate film thickness according to the instructions and advice given to us at the time. The stuff is about as runny as water but actually ridiculously easy to put on with a paint pad. I need to talk to a colleague but I think we put an extra coat around the water line on boat boats. Any hard/brittle coating such as Keelblack will quickly be ground off a rubbing strake whereas a soft material like Intertuf will just scuff. This "feature" of Keelblack also concerns me in terms of application over old hull paint (despite what the manufacturer's say) - if the outer skin is rock hard, but the paint behind it is soft (i.e. bitumen) to my mind it's bound to fail when bumped. Think eggshell on a boiled egg..... It's interesting that, presumably without knowing the condition of your hull, the supplier saw fit to suggest we were to blame by not using enough paint. Do you know if he took any thickness measurements? I'd be interested to know when he visited you as I'm unaware of any contact from them since we painted your boats. Is one side still shinier than the other? When we painted yours the weather had gone suddenly from cool to very sunny/warm and the side more in the sun (port side) had dried shiny whereas the north facing side was matt as per Chyandour. I rang the supplier again at that point and queried this and was told they had no idea why it happened, but it was a known cosmetic issue and didn't affect the performance of the product.

There's nothing that should be done about the bank there - it's stone revetment and an original feature of the "new" cuts of the Oxford Canal. I don't think they had much choice about the water point - the supply was a casualty of the redevelopment of the retail park behind. Matty - that's far too likely to happen to be funny!

I wonder if they have had something tipped into it which shouldn't have been? Locking and charging for it is one way to keep some control over who uses it. Our disposal costs are around £1500 per month peak season - the bulk of that is from the pump out machine though and I've never charged for people emptying cassettes as it's trivial. People turning up out of hours with a hundred or so litres in drums are a different matter and if anyone ever tips oil into it then I will have no choice but to lock ours up.

I think there's much more useful result of working efficiently than speed - ease. If you've walked twice the distance working down a flight of locks than you needed to, no matter what your age is you'll be more tired. My grandparents kept boating well into their 80s - he was sat in the engine room halfway through changing the fuel filter when he died. Granted they were both physically fairly fit, but she was 5' nothing and looked like she'd blow away in a stiff breeze, he'd had upwards of 10 strokes and the boat, being a converted ex-working boat, is heavy. I talk to lots of people 10-15 years younger than that who are thinking of giving up because "it's too difficult now we're older", when I suspect if they knew how to let the boat and the structures do a lot of the work for them they'd get a lot more enjoyment from boating and carry on. Locks, swing and lift bridges - even mooring up - are clearly stressful experiences for quite a few private boaters.

Good to hear I'm not the only one who thinks that. We'll have a blacksmith based on site soon so windlasses aside, all sorts of interesting things such as boat hooks and kebs become possible, though not necessarily economically viable! Thanks for the offer Dave - I've got a few different examples of forged and cast windlasses to use including a GU parallel one, but of course you may have something better to work from. I'll email you about cans - we've got the first few handles back from the galvanisers so will have two ready for you next week. Regards, Anthony

I will not have them on our boats, nor will I sell them and I've made my views on them quite clear to the guy who makes them - who is in every other respect the nicest fellow you could ever wish to meet. The spindles at Hillmorton (for example) are clearly worn, due seemingly to the inability of 99% of the boating public to realise the small eye on a windlass has a purpose, and the open frame type windlasses will only be making it worse. They also have a safety implication in my view - less contact area with the spindle so they are more likely to work loose. As no-one seems to make decent steel windlasses anymore they're on my roundtoit list once I've finished playing with cans. I was taught that you drop the paddles while the boat is leaving/entering the lock as that's the quickest way to get on. Gates that won't swing are down to poor balancing and fitting.

Dipstick is on the port side on a 150, starboard on a 260. Post a picture if you are still unsure - plenty of people here will be able identify which one it is. hth, Anthony

The boat in your picture is a maintenance boat rather than a working boat, and to be precise it is a Class RY-131 motor boat. Various similar designs were built from about 1970 up to the mid 1980s by British Waterways Boards own yards at Goole, Bulls Bridge, Newark, Northwich(?), Wigan (?) and Stanley Ferry(?) and as Bee says a batch were also built in Daventry by Hancock and Lane in the late 1970s. BW can be blamed (sometimes even justly) for many things, but not bankrupting anyone building those. In fact I suspect BW built or modified some boats in the 70's it didn't really need to keep their own yards working.

The fore end of Jackal is indeed rebuilt as a decked tug with a JP2, has been moored since 2006 at Stretton Stop on the Oxford.

I'm sure she would. I'll give you a ring. Good news about the Refleks - did you fit it as well then?

Thank you David, but sadly not Ron. It's the can shown in grey primer earlier in this thread now Christine (my much better half) has had at it. Ron gave her a lot of encouragement and advice, as he did to many people. Anthony

Hopefully not all modern ones: Whether they are economically viable or not is another matter though. As for small cans, we've got one not much bigger than billy can that has some considerable age - quite easily 100 years in the opinion of those qualified to comment. As for it's original purpose though, I have no idea. Anthony

Apologies for that - the left hand and the right hand got a little to far apart....for now they are £190. Thanks David - that's what we were aiming for. It is a shame Ron isn't here to see (and paint them) - it was the lack of suitable items for him to paint for our chandlery that first started me thinking about making them.

Hi Alan, £190 including VAT for the two gallon. Regards, Anthony

I hope nobody minds me posting this here, but we will have 2 gallon cans with bucket style handles available very soon:

To clarify, there is quite a bit of tooling involved (almost all of which we have made) but it is all hand powered. The first batch will be made from pre-galvanised steel, but I'm planning to send the prototypes off to a galvanisers once we're done with them - we'll see what extra cost will be and what state they come back in! The cans such as the one Mr Harrison has are pre-WW2, and need less tooling, but are more time consuming to make than the later ones. We may well build a few for fun though!