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Hankelow Boatbuilders


onebrownarm

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As I understand it they were the remains of the workforce from Gary Gorton's building yard in Pipe Gate Staffordshire after the gaffer retired.

Indeed the boats have a very similar attractive shape and always looked well made. There are not many about hence the lack of information.

Hankelow is a township in the borough of Audlem, Cheshire where I think they were built.

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It's hard to find a boatbuilder that has not got a chequered past. If the boat is built and you're happy with it, then O.K. Just be aware of the potential to fail if you are paying for something not yet built. The best lawyer in the world would be hard put to get back your money that has 'disappeared'.

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4 hours ago, onebrownarm said:

It's hard to find anything about this lot online because they were dissolved in 2009. I just wonder why?

 

Lack of orders, almost certainly.

 

Top class welders are not noted for their sales and marketing skills. Understandably. 

 

Equally, good internet marketers are usually shyte at hull building. 

 

 

 

 

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I find the 'lineage' of boat builders interesting with an oblique reference in another current thread discussing the 'fictitious' Mike Christian builder et al.

 

Worth noting that Mike Heywood was the 'grandaddy' of a lineage that went on to spawn some great contemporary nb builders. Uncle to Jonathan Wilson (with the brother-in-law link to Tim Tyler) Mike taught his trade to Gary Gorton, Tony (the 'T' in GT Boatbuilders) and ultimately to Nick Thorpe. There may well be others that I've overlooked and I'd be glad if anyone could fill in any gaps. 

 

All the boats originating from this lineage share common design cues and detail and they all have pleasing lines. Mike must have been a great teacher, attracting talented pupils. As the owner of a GT Boatbuilders tug, built 20 years ago, I'd be fascinated to learn more detail and hear of any myths that I'm inadvertently perpetrating!

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Quite a few boat builders and fitters out went out of business around 2008 to 2010. A consequence of the banks crash and a sudden cut in demand for new boats. That a builder ceased trading around that time isn't necessarily saying they built bad boats. Some were excellent, others made skips. All sorts of reasons why. A decision to retire, a cash flow crisis, empty spaces in the order book and diversifying in to other markets.

 

Jen

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On 27/10/2019 at 09:27, Up-Side-Down said:

I find the 'lineage' of boat builders interesting with an oblique reference in another current thread discussing the 'fictitious' Mike Christian builder et al.

 

Worth noting that Mike Heywood was the 'grandaddy' of a lineage that went on to spawn some great contemporary nb builders. Uncle to Jonathan Wilson (with the brother-in-law link to Tim Tyler) Mike taught his trade to Gary Gorton, Tony (the 'T' in GT Boatbuilders) and ultimately to Nick Thorpe. There may well be others that I've overlooked and I'd be glad if anyone could fill in any gaps. 

 

All the boats originating from this lineage share common design cues and detail and they all have pleasing lines. Mike must have been a great teacher, attracting talented pupils. As the owner of a GT Boatbuilders tug, built 20 years ago, I'd be fascinated to learn more detail and hear of any myths that I'm inadvertently perpetrating!

Mines a GT shell, fitted out by nimbus narrowboat, that's the first bit of history I've heard of the company 

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3 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Mines a GT shell, fitted out by nimbus narrowboat, that's the first bit of history I've heard of the company 

The 'G' was Graham – a first class welder encouraged by Tony to turn his hand to steel boat construction. I believe they built more than 100 shells between them before deciding to call it a day. As far as I know there were no financial issues or other impediments to continuing in product but once you've beaten that amount of metal into submission you probably feel a need to move on!

  • Greenie 1
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2 hours ago, Up-Side-Down said:

The 'G' was Graham – a first class welder encouraged by Tony to turn his hand to steel boat construction. I believe they built more than 100 shells between them before deciding to call it a day. As far as I know there were no financial issues or other impediments to continuing in product but once you've beaten that amount of metal into submission you probably feel a need to move on!

Thank you for that

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15 minutes ago, tree monkey said:

Thank you for that

They operated out of a new (then) unit on an industrial estate on the the old airfield at Hixon, east of Stafford, and just round the corner from Nick Thorpe's current boatbuilding business. They were prepared to make space available for fitting out one of their hulls but didn't get in involved with fitting out craft themselves. I went there once before they commenced my hull and thereafter they supplied a selection of pics as the build progressed on (if I remember correctly) a disposable camera I left with them! It was a painless process and a tribute to their skill, experience and professionalism. They even organised transport to Devon at a very reasonable rate.

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3 hours ago, tree monkey said:

Mines a GT shell, fitted out by nimbus narrowboat, that's the first bit of history I've heard of the company 

Our share boat was a GT hull, I hope they changed the design or the weed hatch as the baffle being on a single stalk resinated, made hell of a noise and by the time we had traced it was waring the inside of the weedhatch

 

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