TIMMS CRAFT

[ANYAS]

I'm a brand new member and not sure whether I am in the right area or not!  During the 1960s and 70s my Brother had many happy holidays on a boat called Glistening Water.  He would love to find out what happened to her.  Is there anyone that might know anything about this vessel.  I think it belonged to the Tiimms hire fleet.

[Tony Brooks]

Yes, Timms of Stains but probably more accurately Laleham. As it was a wooden boat I think it would have been broken up by now.  Old wooden hire craft that have been heavily and not too carefully used are something of an ongoing liability.  You are going back 50 years or more.

[OldGoat]

6 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Yes, Timms of Staines but probably more accurately Laleham. As it was a wooden boat I think it would have been broken up by now.  Old wooden hire craft that have been heavily and not too carefully used are something of an ongoing liability.  You are going back 50 years or more.

Please Sir, please sir - where were they in Staines?

I can think of a couple of possible sites in Laleham - but further upstream - where?

[Tony Brooks]

Just now, OldGoat said:

Please Sir, please sir - where were they in Staines?

I can think of a couple of possible sites in Laleham - but further upstream - where?

Downstream from Stains on the "other" bank. Their sheds were still in use as industrial units about four years ago when I was last on the Thames and the Timms name was still visible.

[matty40s]

All Marine??

[Tony Brooks]

8 minutes ago, matty40s said:

All Marine??

If that's the lot with the slipway opposite the Leleham  public moorings I think not. Further up towards Stains.

 

Try here https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/Staines-upon-Thames/@51.4308955,-0.5176011,16.25z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x4876708064aa99bd:0x5b08f75873916fd9!8m2!3d51.43148!4d-0.515525

 

Look for the road Timsway (looks like its a single S

Edited April 18, 2020 by Tony Brooks

[Tony Brooks]

18 minutes ago, matty40s said:

All Marine??

I think that was another hire fleet but forget their name at present.

 

Might have been Allans

Edited April 18, 2020 by Tony Brooks

[David Mack]

Nothing on https://canalplan.uk/boats/boats.php for Glistening Water. As Tony says, it may well have been been broken up by now, or if it still exists, had a change of name.

[OldGoat]

32 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

Downstream from Stains on the "other" bank. Their sheds were still in use as industrial units about four years ago when I was last on the Thames and the Timms name was still visible.

Something struck a bell in my addled memory (we don't venture downstream a lot nowadays), hence the question. However Google earth to the rescue, with their intrepid bicycle camera, shows a faded sign above a collection of vintage craft - just downstream of Staines railway bridge  "J. Tims and Sons'.

"Industrial units" didn't conjure up a vision of what I might call 'boat houses' - of which there are a clutch at that location.

 

So much of out heritage has been lost, thus it's a pleasure to see some still serving a business use - long may they continue!

 

[Tonka]

Tw Allan's and sons were on Ash Island just upstream of Molesey Lock. There is Thameside brewery where Timms used to be but they may have moved in the last year

[John Brightley]

It looks from this website http://jtimsandsons.co.uk/ that they are still in business. It might be worthwhile the original poster contacting them to see if they have kept any details of their old boats. 

[magnetman]

Tims is immediately below Staines railway bridge on the south bank. 

 

Given the name of the boat I think it might have been a Powles broads cruiser. 

 

A friend of mine owned one called "Glittering Foam" many years ago and there is another one with a similar name. 

 

The local person with knowledge in this area would be Michael Dennett who has another yard below Penton Hook in the Laleham reach but on opposite side to Laleham called Dennetts (predictably).  They specialise in wooden boat re$torations. 

 

4allmarine is yet another yard which is a lease of the old Harris boatyard site opposite the Laleham public moorings. 

 

ETA the "Glittering Foam" vessel was at Kingston on Thames in the late 90s. Not sure if it survived but it was proof that wooden broads cruisers did end up on the Thames. 

 

It could easily have formerly been part of a hire fleet on the River. 

 

 

Listed on the Norfolk Broads site under "foam class" by Jack Powles. 

 

http://www.broads.org.uk/src/boatlist.php?sq=Foam&sqfld=hstyle&RegNo=&aand=&bname=&tand=&squery=&quicksearch=

 

 

No sign of "Glistening Water" there though. 

 

 

The other Powles boat I know of on the Thames, which is in excellent condition and maintained by Dennetts, is "Glitterwake". 

Edited April 18, 2020 by magnetman
Typo for Tim's

[Tony Brooks]

A lot of Thames hire cruisers were ex Broads but Andrews at Bourne End and Bates at Chertsey definately built their own. I also think most or all of the Maid Line fleet were self built.

 

I never saw another boat on the broads that looked like Glistening Water on the Broads or in the Hoseasons/Blakes brochures. I also do not recall a boat looking like the Powels boat in the Tims fleet. As far as I know all their boats were suffixed "Water". Andrews used "Sun", Maidline was obviouse, all Maid-something, Bates used "Star", Bushnells of Wargarve used Grey, We, Bushnells of Maidenhead used "Gay". A somewhat tatty outfit at Abingdon used "Red".

 

Glistening Water was very elegant boat with a very heavily glazed rear cabin.

[magnetman]

Thanks for that info I'm a bit of a Thames nut so I always like your input on this sort of topic. 

 

 

[jeannette smith harrison]

10 hours ago, OldGoat said:

Please Sir, please sir - where were they in Staines?

I can think of a couple of possible sites in Laleham - but further upstream - where?

Going up stream a  few miles from Laleham  just before staines bridge is staines railway bridge Timms is more or less part under  the railway bridge to access by road it is on the Egham side on the road to Thorpe Park

[ANYAS]

Hello All,

 

Thank you so much to everyone that replied to my post.  I have since spoken to my brother and he seems to think that perhaps 'Glistening Water' was brought from the Broads and may originally have been owned by David Nixon the Magician.  He hired several of the Timms fleet over the years but thought that Glistening Water was by far the superior vessel with a very good engine.  I think that perhaps there has been a name change or changes over the years and this might make tracing difficult if it still exists at all.  My brother may contact J. Tims and Sons.

 

To Tony Brooks - you seem to be familiar with Glistening Water? 

 

Thanks again to everyone, this has all been so interesting.

[Tony Brooks]

Working on another hire fleet you got to know the boats in other fleets and that one was a very nice boat. I only knew it from the outside, never been aboard.

[Tacet]

Which boatyard had boats with names pre-fixed by "Water" as  in "Water Gypsy" or "Water Fairy"?  We hired both, which were Mk 1 Freeman 22s with Watermota engines in the late 1960's, which was my first introduction to boating of this type.  It was somewhere between Teddington and Windsor.

 

Bates, Allen and Timms all sound familiar which isn't helping!

[jake_crew]

12 minutes ago, Tacet said:

Which boatyard had boats with names pre-fixed by "Water" as  in "Water Gypsy" or "Water Fairy"? 

I believe the British Waterways hire fleet had names beginning with water.

[magnetman]

There was a yard called "Watercraft" who built boats including lifeboats and police launches. Just above Molesey. Not sure if they had a hire fleet though. 

 

 

[Tonka]

15 minutes ago, magnetman said:

There was a yard called "Watercraft" who built boats including lifeboats and police launches. Just above Molesey. Not sure if they had a hire fleet though. 

 

 

Watercraft used to only build lifeboats. There factory was in West Molesey. The building above Molesey Lock used to be where they tested the boats in the Thames. I remember seeing them test the lifeboats for the QE2 there.

[OldGoat]

3 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Watercraft used to only build lifeboats. There factory was in West Molesey. The building above Molesey Lock used to be where they tested the boats in the Thames. I remember seeing them test the lifeboats for the QE2 there.

As my Management would say - what building, where? 

Do you mean  - a bit further upstream on Platt's Eyot (there are dseveral large sheds there including at least one with a slipway?

[Tonka]

1 minute ago, OldGoat said:

As my Management would say - what building, where? 

Do you mean  - a bit further upstream on Platt's Eyot (there are dseveral large sheds there including at least one with a slipway?

No the sheds on Platts Eyot is where Thorneycroft works used to be. Moored there for many years so know it well. Watercraft used to have a building on the Surrey bank between the lock and Molesey Rowing Club. There are houses there now but used to also have the Upper Deck Swimming Pool.

[magnetman]

1 hour ago, Tonka said:

Watercraft used to only build lifeboats. There factory was in West Molesey. The building above Molesey Lock used to be where they tested the boats in the Thames. I remember seeing them test the lifeboats for the QE2 there.

That's interesting. 

 

I was told they also built Thames police launches. Slightly smaller than the ones built by Toughs of Teddington. 

An example being Douro Bar ex police boat based at Henley. 

 

 

Porthampton the Thorneycroft island is interesting. I am wondering if Michael Shanly will eventually get permission to develop it for housing. 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by magnetman

[magnetman]

Also this, if correctly attributed, would suggest that Watercraft did have a Riverside boat building shed. Unless they contracted it out to another builder perhaps Thorneycroft? 

 

1941 wooden fast launch. Apparently built by Watercraft of Molesey 

 

https://www.nationalhistoricships.org.uk/register/1982/asco

 

-----

DIMENSIONS

Breadth: Beam

14.00 feet (4.27 m)

Depth

3.00 feet (0.92 m)

Length: Overall

60.00 feet (18.30 m)

Tonnage: Gross

0.00

Air Draft

To be confirmed

HISTORY

This vessel was ordered by the Admiralty from Watercraft Ltd in March 1941 and was known as number 4195. 

 

 

I find all this vanished history fascinating. 

 

 

 

Edited April 19, 2020 by magnetman