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Claymore No More??


matty40s

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Looks like the Middlewich breach and the ongoing Macclesfield locks fiasco has cost us another canal business.

After having the Dutton breach to contend with just a few years ago - where Paul went beyond what a normal business should to move boats and help boaters out, it is sad to see the boats being auctioned off.

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1 minute ago, Athy said:

Their web site is still showing boats for hire - I hope you are wrong.

Auction Now Posted

Please see below for details

NARROW BOATS, MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

Narrowboats
Gryphon – 2008 36ft Seated Day Boat constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Thorneycroft T95 Engine
Mock Turtle – 2000 36ft Day Boat constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Thorneycroft T95 Engine
Beeston Castle – 2004 56ft, 6 Berth constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Beta 43 KC 175A Engine (1,914 hours), Hydraulic Drive
Norton Priory – 2000 65ft, 8 Berth Constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Beta 43 KC 175A Engine
Consall Forge – 2005 66ft 6in, 10 Berth, Steel Hull, Thorneycroft T95 Engine

image.png

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BY ORDER OF THE DIRECTOR OF CLAYMOORE NARROWBOATS LIMITED PENDING LIQUIDATION

ONLINE AUCTION
NARROW BOATS, MAINTENANCE TOOLS AND EQUIPMENT

Narrowboats
Gryphon – 2008 36ft Seated Day Boat constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Thorneycroft T95 Engine
Mock Turtle – 2000 36ft Day Boat constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Thorneycroft T95 Engine
Beeston Castle – 2004 56ft, 6 Berth constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Beta 43 KC 175A Engine (1,914 hours), Hydraulic Drive
Norton Priory – 2000 65ft, 8 Berth Constructed by Liverpool Boats, Steel Hull, Beta 43 KC 175A Engine
Consall Forge – 2005 66ft 6in, 10 Berth, Steel Hull, Thorneycroft T95 Engine

Tools and Equipment
Karcher HDS7/10 4M Pressure Washer
Kipor KDE 6700T Diesel Generator 5kVA
Dewalt DW706E Mitre Saw, 240v
Metabo Elektra Bekum HC260 Planer Thicknesser
Metabo Elektra Bekum TKHS 315 Table Saw
Power Ring Trade Charger 55T Battery Starter
Osaki 24Ltr Compressor
Quantity of Tools, Parts, Spares & Accessories

1.1-960x600.jpg
2.4-960x600.jpg

AUCTION VENUE:

THE WHARF, PRESTON BROOK, WARRINGTON, WA4 4BA

Viewing: Tuesday 26th March 11am – 2pm (By Appointment Only)
Closes: Thursday 28th March from 10am
Collection: From Tuesday 2nd April

0345 257 2533

View Lots & Bid

PLEASE NOTE - WE NO LONGER ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS

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Hmmmm, "pending liquidation" doesn't sound too promising. Its possible that the other 9, possibly younger, boats, were not owned by Claymoore themselves, thus cannot be liquidated and will go back to their true owners (or another hire firm in a similar arrangement).

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Very sad, we just got some old waterways world magazines from the local market and I noted that Claymore were advertising hire boats in 1979 so they are a long established company.

 

Also the first two hire boats of the season went past us this morning so at least Shire Cruisers are up and running.

 

................Dave

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I don't know the area but I infer from earlier comments that the boats'cruising range has been shortened by repair work. The Middlewich breach was, from memory, last year so I suppose it has been repaired by now, but are Macclesfield Locks currently out of commission? It does occur to me, though, that we are at the very beginning of the hire-cruising season (not even at that stage yet around here) so I'm not sure how business has been affected by these closures so soon. If it was July I'd understand.

 

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7 minutes ago, Athy said:

It does occur to me, though, that we are at the very beginning of the hire-cruising season (not even at that stage yet around here) so I'm not sure how business has been affected by these closures so soon. If it was July I'd understand.

 

I think you need to study when those closures started, and all the other restrictions in the North over recent periods.

There seemed to be times when much of the Northern canals were closed as through routes.

 

The Peak Forest closure has been extended until 24th May.  We planned to go that way to get to the HNBC historic boat gathering at Hebden Bridge - now impossible, because the stoppage doesn't end until the date of the event.

 

 

Quote

 

Lock 11 Marple, Marple Flight, Peak Forest Canal.

Notice Details
From Date:
23rd July 2018 at 17:00
To Date:
24th May 2019 at 16:00 inclusive
Type:
Navigation Closure
Reason:
Structure failure
Notice updates:
06/02/2019 @ 17:24

Unfortunately, whilst the works at Marple Lock 11 have been progressing steadily throughout the winter so far, they are a few weeks behind our original intended schedule. 

It is now planned to re-open the canal to boats by close of play on Friday 24th May 2019. Delays have been encountered in the piling phase of the works, with the augering of the ground and reinforced concrete pile installation behind the existing lock walls proving slower than expected, as well as having to address some design changes due to site constraints. However, the piling is now complete, ensuring the ground is stable so that the failed lock walls can be carefully dismantled. 

Given the progression of the works to date, at this stage we now have more certainty regarding the expected duration of the next phase; take-down of both lock walls, followed by their re-building back to the correct alignment. This is complex and time consuming, as the walls are being re-constructed like-for-like, in order to comply with heritage requirements.  Lock 11 is a Grade II Listed structure.

We apologise for this ongoing closure, and are pushing forward to complete the re-construction of the lock as soon as possible.

 

22/08/2018 @ 13:52

Due to further movement of the chamber wall at Marple Lock 11, the lock is now too narrow for boats to fit through safely. As such, the Marple Lock Flight is unfortunately closed to navigation.

We have considered repeating the jacking operation to the lock walls to try and get a couple of additional weeks of navigation. However, we have dismissed this option as this would likely take around 2 weeks to complete and would coincide with the date the Marple and Bosley flights are closed to preserve water on the Upper Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canal sections.

We appreciate this is very frustrating for our customers and we are sorry for the inconvenience this causes. Our teams are busy planning the re-building of the lock walls and the flight will remain closed until this is complete. 

The works to re-build the lock are currently anticipated to take place from November 2018 to March 2019. Given its depth and location, this is an extremely complex operation. Concrete retaining structures will be installed first on either side of the chamber, and the walls will then be carefully taken down to base level. They will then be re-built to the original alignment to reinstate suitable width to the lock, with the retaining structures behind providing the necessary ground support to prevent future movement of the reconstructed walls.

Thorough site investigation works have now been completed, including boreholes to confirm the ground conditions, trial pits to establish the location of the wall buttresses and coring of the lock walls themselves to identify their exact depth.  All of this was necessary to be able to confirm a detailed design for the repair solution, the works for which are ongoing.  Following this, the proposed repairs will have to go through a consent process with the lock being a Grade II listed structure and valued heritage asset, before the works on site will be able to commence.

We will provide more details in due course.

 

Description:

Due to further movement of the chamber wall at Marple Lock 11, the lock is now too narrow for boats to fit through safely.  As such, the Marple Lock Flight is closed to navigation.

We have considered repeating the jacking operation to the lock walls to try and get a couple of additional weeks of navigation. However we have dismissed this option as this would likely take around 2 weeks to complete and would coincide with the date we have decided to close the Marple and Bosley Flights to preserve water on the Upper Peak Forest and Macclesfield Canal sections.

We appreciate this is very frustrating for our customers and we are sorry for the inconvenience this causes. Our teams are busy planning to complete the re-building of the lock walls and the Flight will remain closed until this is complete. We will be able to provide an update on the proposed timescales as soon as they are available.

Location:
Peak Forest Canal
Starts At:
Lock 1
Ends At:
Lock 16

 

 
Edited by alan_fincher
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6 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

I think you need to study when those closures started, and all the other restrictions in the North over recent periods.
 

 

 

 

I think you're probably right - but as we never seem to go that far North on the boat, I tend not to follow them closely.

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A great shame, I introduced Mrs-M to canals with a hire boat from Claymore. We hired for a week and then asked if we could extend to 10 days and did Llangollen and back. They were always very welcoming and we hired from them a few times.

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Claymore boats could often be seen travelling the Cheshire Ring. Day One Preston Brook to Manchester etc. Day two or three was the Marple flight and it has been out of action for a long time. 

 

I think the last time I went to Preston Brook Midland Chandlers was January and I did notice the boatyard was looking unusually tidy. I hope it's not terminal.

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I've / we've been boating on the canals since 1975 (cheesh) and have seen  the gradual decline of small hire boat companies.

Started with Planet Craft or was it  - fleet, almost under the M5 in 1975 when there was no water. Since ten we've seen the smaller operators - who invariably gave great service   and whose boats were different (i.e. not bulk purchased), so each was different.

As folks demand "services" and increasingly have little knowledge of simple mechanics - and care less than the boat, it has become increasingly obvious that the only way to survive is to have a large fleet with enough staff to service the customers 'needs'.

As CMers increasingly congest any free moorable mooring spaces, I can see first timers not returning and the whole industry declining except for a very few honeypot locations.

CaRT's apparent incompetence will only  hasten the demise.

We used to love an occasional trip down to London - but no more and even the Thames is becoming less fun as the CMers make even above Oxford less pleasant.

 

Bums - anyone want to buy a 60 footer with a big engine....

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51 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

I've / we've been boating on the canals since 1975 (cheesh) and have seen  the gradual decline of small hire boat companies.

Started with Planet Craft or was it  - fleet, almost under the M5 in 1975 when there was no water. Since ten we've seen the smaller operators - who invariably gave great service   and whose boats were different (i.e. not bulk purchased), so each was different.

As folks demand "services" and increasingly have little knowledge of simple mechanics - and care less than the boat, it has become increasingly obvious that the only way to survive is to have a large fleet with enough staff to service the customers 'needs'.

As CMers increasingly congest any free moorable mooring spaces, I can see first timers not returning and the whole industry declining except for a very few honeypot locations.

CaRT's apparent incompetence will only  hasten the demise.

We used to love an occasional trip down to London - but no more and even the Thames is becoming less fun as the CMers make even above Oxford less pleasant.

 

Bums - anyone want to buy a 60 footer with a big engine....

Only 1975, newbie put the tea on

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1 hour ago, AndrewIC said:

The Cheshire Cat, which was the first boat we ever hired, went to Thorn Marine last year. Claymoore were also operating Dutton Dry Dock but I gather that has also ceased.

Cheshire Cat is owned by Connie. a Dutch lady. Her and her husband, Cor (who sadly died a few years ago) had an "arrangement" with Claymore   which I think was along the lines of them maintaining the boat and hiring it out when Cor and Connie didn't want to use it and they got some of the hire fees.  When we were on the Bridgewater last autumn we saw Cheshire Cat at Thorn and as someone was working on it, we asked if it was still owned by Connie (we had sort of lost touch with one another) and he said that yes it was and they were now looking after it for her.  After Cor died, Connie carried on boating on her own. They were members of many canal societies and when they joined they usually took out a life membership to save the problem of paying an annual sub when they lived in Holland. A lovely couple who we first met when we cruised the Manchester Ship Canal on Copperkins. 

 

haggis

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19 hours ago, Athy said:

I don't know the area but I infer from earlier comments that the boats'cruising range has been shortened by repair work. The Middlewich breach was, from memory, last year so I suppose it has been repaired by now, but are Macclesfield Locks currently out of commission? It does occur to me, though, that we are at the very beginning of the hire-cruising season (not even at that stage yet around here) so I'm not sure how business has been affected by these closures so soon. If it was July I'd understand.

 

Hired from Claymore (just north of Preston Brook tunnel) several times before getting a boat. The two most popular routes from there where Llangollen and the Cheshire ring. No wonder the poor souls are struggling. CRT should be ashamed over their failures at Marple and Middlewich.

Edited by Midnight
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23 minutes ago, Midnight said:

Hired from Claymore (just north of Preston Brook tunnel) several times before getting a boat. The two most popular routes from there where Llangollen and the Cheshire ring. No wonder the poor souls are struggling. CRT should be ashamed over their failures at Marple and Middlewich.

 CRT should be ashamed over their failures at Marple and Middlewich.

 

  I've tried to shame them but of course they are good at ignoring criticism,

 

And don't think that the Middlewich debacle is over, there is still a waterfall onto the main road under the aqueduct.

Reporting it to CRT is a waste of time. They have been "monitoring" it since 21st December 2018.

 

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