re mike heywood/john wright

[bootsie]

hi again I raise my head again and hope I am doing this the right way. I am trying to get details of another boat That I am looking at. I have tried "search" button but cant seem to find out anything. (no doubt its prob me doing it wrong) and if so I apologise. I am trying to find out any good/bad experiences anyone has had with the following. boat built by mike heywood and fitted out by john wright. any imformation appreciated

[bottle]

Hi bootsie

 

No actual feedback as I do not own a boat yet but I do know Mike Heywood was the uncle of Jonathan Wilson

 

a quote

 

Jonathan Wilson began serving his apprenticeship with his late uncle Mike Heywood, spreading his wings in the mid 70`s, Jonathan took on Tim Tyler as his apprentice.

 

From this site link

 

ps, my shell will be Jonathan Wilson

[tony collins]

Hi bootsie

 

No actual feedback as I do not own a boat yet but I do know Mike Heywood was the uncle of Jonathan Wilson

 

a quote

 

 

From this site link

 

ps, my shell will be Jonathan Wilson

 

 

All true. Some additional information. Mike was building shells under his own name in the late eighties/early nineties at Hixon airfield. At the time he was living at Hoo Mill Lock, around which were several of his boats, possibly still are. His prices were cheap for the time, but he was considered a good shell builder. He could be a bit difficult if you wanted some mods to the boat. He and I fell out over specs within an hour of me giving him an enquiry.

 

That said the shells were good (if you liked the style of them).

 

Tony

Edited September 14, 2007 by tony collins

[Maverick]

All true. Some additional information. Mike was building shells under his own name in the late eighties/early nineties at Hixon airfield. At the time he was living at Hoo Mill Lock, around which were several of his boats, possibly still are. His prices were cheap for the time, but he was considered a good shell builder. He could be a bit difficult if you wanted some mods to the boat. He and I fell out over specs within an hour of me giving him an enquiry.

 

That said the shells were good (if you liked the style of them).

 

Tony

 

 

I have a 1984 built Mike Heywood boat so I'm assuming he was building alone in the early to mid 80s. Regarding the quality a friend on the marina commented when he first saw the boat that the steel work was of good quality. There are places where the steel has been rolled into shape when it would have been much simpler to weld 2 pieces together which a cheap builder might do.

Edited September 14, 2007 by Maverick

[bootsie]

I have a 1984 built Mike Heywood boat so I'm assuming he was building alone in the early to mid 80s. Regarding the quality a friend on the marina commented when he first saw the boat that the steel work was of good quality. There are places where the steel has been rolled into shape when it would have been much simpler to weld 2 pieces together which a cheap builder might do.

thanks tony & maverick very usefull info. The boat was very well maintaned up till the owner was taken ill about 18 m0nths ago, since then it has been left. I know that it needs blacking and the exterior needs a paint job. The general condition inside is very good, with no obvious damp signs. thanks again

[Dominic M]

thanks tony & maverick very usefull info. The boat was very well maintaned up till the owner was taken ill about 18 m0nths ago, since then it has been left. I know that it needs blacking and the exterior needs a paint job. The general condition inside is very good, with no obvious damp signs. thanks again

 

Mike Heywood was deservedly a well regarded shell builder - sadly now deceased - and Jonathan Wilson learned his skills from him before becoming the builder at Midland Canal Centre. Tim Tyler is also part of the family.

 

If the shell is a 10mm bottom you will probably find that it was only welded on one side, in common with many builders when they first switched from 6mm to 10mm. This means that if you check the underside of the bottom plate you may find that you can insert a knife into some of the joins as the weld may not have penetrated right through - with 6 mm one sided welding worked fine and the practice continued with 10mm. I know of a number that have been docked and the underside joins welded for peace of mind. Against that it has floated happily for however many years - you don't give its age.

[Liam]

My boat was built by Mike Heywood also, in 1982 and is basically, the same length, wide, style and shape as Maverick's, the only difference being is that I've got bow doors where as Maverick has a bow window. I agree with what he says also about the way the boat was built. All the steel seems rolled instead of welded. I have seen other boats which are very similiar aswell which have definately been built by Mike.

 

I'm not entirely sure but I beleive Mike Heywood, Mike Christian, Tim Tyler, Johnathon Wilson and David Piper all are either related or worked togethether / helped each other out or something.

[bootsie]

inic m

My boat was built by Mike Heywood also, in 1982 and is basically, the same length, wide, style and shape as Maverick's, the only difference being is that I've got bow doors where as Maverick has a bow window. I agree with what he says also about the way the boat was built. All the steel seems rolled instead of welded. I have seen other boats which are very similiar aswell which have definately been built by Mike.

 

I'm not entirely sure but I beleive Mike Heywood, Mike Christian, Tim Tyler, Johnathon Wilson and David Piper all are either related or worked togethether / helped each other out or something.

again thanks for the replys bottle, liam & dominic, the boat was built in 1991

[Dominic M]

inic m

again thanks for the replys bottle, liam & dominic, the boat was built in 1991

 

Quite possibly 10mm then - but don't let that deter you. Welding up the bottom plate is not a big deal.

[JohnOnTheWey]

inic m

again thanks for the replys bottle, liam & dominic, the boat was built in 1991

 

My boat is a '92 Mike Heywood (not certain who fitted it out, but I seem to remember Bones quite liked it - it's kinda dark for my taste, but that will be changed when I can stand it no longer). Steel is 10:6:4 and still in very good nick. The standard of welding is exceptional on the bits you can see, although take note of what the surveyor says about what lies beneath. Nothing exceptionally tragic down there, just not as classy as the visible bits.

 

JOTW

 

ps. The signage still reads "Tomorrow"

"Hoo Mill"

 

which I liked and saw no reason to change.

[muel]

inic m

again thanks for the replys bottle, liam & dominic, the boat was built in 1991

Mike Heywood worked for David Piper, Jonathan wilson is Mikes nephew Tim Tyler is Jonathans brother in law and Mike Christian is a company owned by Jonathan and Tim. Mike Christian shells are value for money shells mainly for the trade, very similar shape to mikes old boats. Hope this settles the debate.

[hscott]

Was Mike Heywood not connected with Evans & Son at some point? Apologies if I'm stating the obvious...

Edited January 9, 2008 by hscott

[David Schweizer]

Was Mike Heywood not connected with Evans & Son at some point? Apologies if I'm stating the obvious...

No evidence, but a lot of Canal Gossip. I heard that he built boats within the remit of Evans & Sons name because he was not permitted to trade in his own name. I don't know whether that is true, but the boats bore a remarkabkle resemblence. I always thought they were quite an attractive shape.

Edited January 10, 2008 by David Schweizer

[GUMPY]

No evidence, but a lot of Canal Gossip. I heard that he built boats within the remit of Evans & Sons name because he was not permitted to trade in his own name. I don't know whether that is true, but the boats bore a remarkabkle resemblence. I always thought they were quite an attractive shape.

 

At the Watham Abbey National (1994?) he was certainly the public face of Evans and Sons.

Met him there and he rememerd building Idleness he said that he started it in 1986, however the broker where I bought it said 1989, and the BW licence plate was 91!

[Tommo]

No evidence, but a lot of Canal Gossip. I heard that he built boats within the remit of Evans & Sons name because he was not permitted to trade in his own name. I don't know whether that is true, but the boats bore a remarkabkle resemblence. I always thought they were quite an attractive shape.

 

 

That is correct, Evans and Son were already doing the steel folding work at Hixon for Mike Heywood, so when he was unable to trade anymore Evans took over production at Hixon with Mike Heywood more or less running the boat building side. They built my first boat there in 1993.

 

Quite right about welding the base plate only on one side, when I sold it that was picked up by the purchaser’s surveyor.

 

Ian

[stickleback]

Do Ken Martin shells fit in here somewhere??

 

Stickleback

Edited January 11, 2008 by stickleback

[Hairy-Neil]

Quite right about welding the base plate only on one side, when I sold it that was picked up by the purchaser’s surveyor.

 

Ian

 

If the plates were properly prepared, ie. V'd out and a root weld used that shouldn't be a problem.....

 

If they were welded both sides but not V'd out there could well be structural issues but the surveyor would be happy....