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Blakes International Holidays Afloat brochure 1975


John Brightley

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Hi all. 

I have quite a large collection of hire boat brochures, mainly from the 1970's and '80's, and thought you might like to see some of them.

Here is the first. The Blakes brochure of all their boats except for the Norfolk Broads - so English and Scottish canals, River Thames, River Shannon and French waterways.

I shall post it in sections - here is the front cover and the introductory pages.

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Edited by John Brightley
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Here is the next batch of pages. I think you'll like these. How many of you knew that Clubline started out at Aylestone, Leicester, before moving to Coventry soon after this ? (I think 1975 was Clubline's 2nd year of operation) And here are Seymour Roseblade and Canal Hirecraft - both of these companies stopped hiring only a few years later.

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3 minutes ago, buccaneer66 said:

Nice one I can remember hiring a comanche, have you got the early Hoseasons brochures as well?

Yes, I've got some Hoseasons brochures from the '80's. I can't remember what year the earliest is, but I'll dig it out and scan it after I've finished uploading this one.

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I recognise Goldfinch I/II from Gregory's Canal Cruisers, we hired one of them. Not sure which because the signwriting said "Goldfinch I" on one side and "Goldfinch II" on the other -- I assume the signwriter painted both boats next to each other and then turned them round to do the other side... ?

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Interesting to see the Dawncraft 22, 25 & 30' represented by Clubline. Out of interest Googled to see what the hire prices were back then. Could have had the King of Clubs, a 30 centre cockpit Dawncraft for a week for 4 starting April 24th 1976 for £55+VAT. Mind you, back then I think pocket money was 20p (there wasn't a 20p coin in the 70s), but it always looked to be more if it was in old shillings and sixpences (used as 5p and 2.5p post decimal for those too young to remember)

 

Found price in another Blakes brochure page at http://www.jonesboatyard.co.uk/boat-sales/documents/Dawncraft-Boats.pdf

Edited by BilgePump
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Thanks for people's comments, and especially to BilgePump for finding the other Blakes brochure page on the Jones Boatyard website, as it shows that Clubline moved to Coventry in '76.

Here's the next batch of pages - hotel boats (motor "King Rhodri Mawr", but what was the name of the butty, and where are they now ?) , River Thames, Caledonian Canal and River Shannon.

 

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1 hour ago, John Brightley said:

Here's the next batch of pages - hotel boats (motor "King Rhodri Mawr", but what was the name of the butty, and where are they now ?) , River Thames, Caledonian Canal and River Shannon.

 

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The butty to KING RHODRI MAWR was PRINCESS MYFANWY. This pair was built by South's, Shrewsbury and it appears that this was a short lived operation lasting only 1975 and 1976 (these boats fall outside my field of research so all of this information is from the book Precious Cargo).

 

Many people, including me, will remember this pair in the late 1970's and 1980's as the re-named ELIJAH and ELISHA, owned and operated by a North American religious group - most infamous for the incompetent manor in which they handled their boats and for several of the occupants poisoning themselves having cleaned their teeth with canal water whilst tied at Kings Norton.

 

edit = Both of these boats are still extant and in private ownership :captain:

Edited by pete harrison
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7 hours ago, pete harrison said:

The butty to KING RHODRI MAWR was PRINCESS MYFANWY. 

 Thanks Pete. I guessed you might be the one to come up with the answer ! Now you mention it, I do remember Elijah and Elisha, or at least their reputation.?

Here is the last batch of pages, of the French waterways. Of some significance, as you will see there are only a few boats offered - I think this was perhaps Blakes' third year in France, and the number of boats increased significantly in future years.

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On 15/04/2020 at 21:27, John Brightley said:

Here is the next batch of pages. I think you'll like these. How many of you knew that Clubline started out at Aylestone, Leicester, before moving to Coventry soon after this ? (I think 1975 was Clubline's 2nd year of operation) And here are Seymour Roseblade and Canal Hirecraft - both of these companies stopped hiring only a few years later.

s1088.jpg.8eb929fc1f43d08e23a6e3490114be3d.jpgs1089.jpg.2f360ee9e148c860f9d6db7104567056.jpgs1090.jpg.833be4f321e618afaf12303628b26908.jpgs1091.jpg.0b48983e5fcf3a5becf54f564bc63abc.jpgs1092.jpg.7d4a53655957b2a7944a00725357d08d.jpgs1093.jpg.295de0e30f613cec934751785296c94b.jpg

Thanks John and all the others - fascinating stuff! My early memories of canals are childhood holidays on hire boats Mum and Dad went every year from 1959 to 1977 (I was born in 1966, which lead to the Brecon and Abergavenny at Easter rather than the usual summer gig - fewer locks and mum 6 months pregnant rather than one month old babe in arms!). I've a stack of WW magazines to go through as a database on which hire companies wee in operation when.

 

I'd forgotten that agencies used to list boats by order of berths rather than geographic location, although given the relatively few bases this made sense then whereas it might not now.

I've a vague recollection f the name Gregory's canal cruisers but never worked out where in Wolverhampton they went from - above or below of the 21 or, like the Grand Old Duke of your, neither up nor down. For a wharf above the 21 makes more sense as even a towpath operation would be difficult anywhere else in Wolverhampton, or was that actually code for Autherly? That said, Wolverhampton Top Lock is not an obvious choice for starting a holiday, even less so in 1975!

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On 16/04/2020 at 10:59, BilgePump said:

Mind you, back then I think pocket money was 20p (there wasn't a 20p coin in the 70s), but it always looked to be more if it was in old shillings and sixpences (used as 5p and 2.5p post decimal for those too young to remember)

I can still remember the feeling of being swindled when my pocket money went from 6d to 5p!

 

(for the "young one's" it actually doubled)

 

Although I think the local sweet shop cashed in as white chocolate mice went from four for a penny to, er, four for a penny... (When did Halfpennies and Farthings go? I think I vaguely remember them although I was only eight when we went decimal)

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2 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

Thanks John and all the others - fascinating stuff! My early memories of canals are childhood holidays on hire boats Mum and Dad went every year from 1959 to 1977 (I was born in 1966, which lead to the Brecon and Abergavenny at Easter rather than the usual summer gig - fewer locks and mum 6 months pregnant rather than one month old babe in arms!). I've a stack of WW magazines to go through as a database on which hire companies wee in operation when.

 

I'd forgotten that agencies used to list boats by order of berths rather than geographic location, although given the relatively few bases this made sense then whereas it might not now.

I've a vague recollection f the name Gregory's canal cruisers but never worked out where in Wolverhampton they went from - above or below of the 21 or, like the Grand Old Duke of your, neither up nor down. For a wharf above the 21 makes more sense as even a towpath operation would be difficult anywhere else in Wolverhampton, or was that actually code for Autherly? That said, Wolverhampton Top Lock is not an obvious choice for starting a holiday, even less so in 1975!

 

1 hour ago, 1st ade said:

I can still remember the feeling of being swindled when my pocket money went from 6d to 5p!

 

(for the "young one's" it actually doubled)

 

Although I think the local sweet shop cashed in as white chocolate mice went from four for a penny to, er, four for a penny... (When did Halfpennies and Farthings go? I think I vaguely remember them although I was only eight when we went decimal)

The brochure says the base was at Autherley.

 

As for costs I don’t remember decimalisation as I was exactly one year old, literally.

 

It would be good to see the costs of hire boat holidays in the 70s. As a family we hired Thrupp Navigator from Gordons Pleasure Cruisers three years running from October 1977 to October 1979. They used Hoseasons as the agent. It was part of a class of 40’ boats that included Cropredy Navigator and Claydon Navigator (which we later hired in 1985) and I recall one of those gave the name to the class.


40’ for a family of five. Today that’s generally not sufficient for 2.

 

JP

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5 hours ago, magpie patrick said:

I've a vague recollection f the name Gregory's canal cruisers but never worked out where in Wolverhampton they went from

3 hours ago, Captain Pegg said:

 

The brochure says the base was at Autherley.

 

The base was by Oxley Moor Road bridge, where Google tells us Wolverhampton Passenger Boats and Oxley Marine are now.

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2 hours ago, John Brightley said:

The base was by Oxley Moor Road bridge, where Google tells us Wolverhampton Passenger Boats and Oxley Marine are now.

So not where the current hire base is then. Not much further away from the junction itself though.

 

JP

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The French section was fascinating and I recognised a couple of the places in the photos. I was interested to note that then as now, there was a base at Agen (I wonder if it was in the same place, where Locaboat is now) and that one of the types of hire boat has a a "Bolinders" engine - presumably a later model than those beloved by British traditionalists.

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3 hours ago, Athy said:

The French section was fascinating 

Thank you Athy. I was unsure whether anyone would be interested in the French section so nice to hear that. Thanks to everyone else for your kind and interesting comments as well. As a couple of you have mentioned Hoseasons, that will be the next brochure to come. Watch this space !

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LUV this stuff - even seeing the brochure format brings back memories - thanks for posting - first hires with M&D were Waveney Mallard? from Hippersons on the Broads in 1964 'ish  - Thames shots are great Ormelite Cruisers were a real favourite of mine back then - and there are still some about even now - our first family boats were a Teal 22 "convertible" bought at Blue Line Braunston (£695) and a Brooklands Aviation Dolphin 24 (£2k'ish?) also bought from Braunston! 

Thanks again its nice to reflect...............☺️

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2 minutes ago, Halsey said:

LUV this stuff - even seeing the brochure format brings back memories - thanks for posting - first hires with M&D were Waveney Mallard? from Hippersons on the Broads in 1964 'ish  - Thames shots are great Ormelite Cruisers were a real favourite of mine back then - and there are still some about even now - our first family boats were a Teal 22 "convertible" bought at Blue Line Braunston (£695) and a Brooklands Aviation Dolphin 24 (£2k'ish?) also bought from Braunston! 

Thanks again its nice to reflect...............☺️

Those Ormelites still have style and character. After this thread came up I asked my dad how much  he paid for their first cabin boat (1976). It was £350 for a bare glassfibre moulding for a 16' cabin cruiser, like a tiny Shetland, and he fitted it out, windows, canopy etc. We hankered after a Norman, they were built nearby and the factory was amazing as a kid, but a bit too far out of price range. He had a series of boats after that but sold his NB two years ago. To get back on the canal, I started back over last year with a 1970s Shetland project that cost less than the boat in '76, but it makes me remember the fun that can be had with little boats. Another thing that I used to enjoy with rose tinted glasses was the sheer variety of boats on the canal we were on. All kinds of GRP cruisers, old converted boats, narrowboats, lovely wooden craft. A family at New Mills had a 15' old lake boat that had an Amazing Spaces style cabin he'd built on the top. Half a dozen of them would go off in it for a holiday. We had something similar after the 16' er. It was a 20' GRP hull with a plywood top on it narrowboat style, the Dawncraft 25 was next and seemed like sheer luxury. Four of us in there for three week summer holidays. We only ever actually hired once in the mid 80s, from Viking Afloat, 56' Sigurd, as we had my grandad that year aswell, and that was like how the other half lived. Now I think most Joe Public would turn their nose up at the idea of a holiday in a Dawncraft or Ormelite, in the same way that most people want a boutique hotel or festival glamping but wouldn't be seen dead in a ridge tent on a farmer's field. 

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It's nice to see the many different kinds of boats that used to be used. I worked for a small hire company in the late 60's, early 70's and every boat was different until one was so nice (built by Taylor's of Chester, mahogany on oak) that it was duplicated. Three different kinds of engine, too. My own boat was perfect for me at the time - a 16ft Microplus, although I really came to dislike the 2-stroke outboard (Crescent 14). I'm sure the standard steel boat is great, but I miss the diversity of the Old Days.

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6 hours ago, GilesMorris said:

It's nice to see the many different kinds of boats that used to be used. I worked for a small hire company in the late 60's, early 70's and every boat was different until one was so nice (built by Taylor's of Chester, mahogany on oak) that it was duplicated. Three different kinds of engine, too. My own boat was perfect for me at the time - a 16ft Microplus, although I really came to dislike the 2-stroke outboard (Crescent 14). I'm sure the standard steel boat is great, but I miss the diversity of the Old Days.

 

Maidboats at Brinklow? were always my favourite hire fleet craft and they lasted well - saw one about 10yrs ago but not since..........

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7 minutes ago, Derek R. said:

From experiencing the simplest of pleasures comes the greatest satisfaction.

From toothbrushes to Ocean going liners we have flooded ourselves with technology that goes beyond necessity. It's time for a reset.

 

I was saying to SWMBO over a glass two yesterday - just think how different our world would be were it not for 4 young Americans (there's a song title in there somewhere) Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerberg!

 

So much part of life now but lockdown makes you wonder do we really need any of it ..............we value our local greengrocer and local butcher far more ..............

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