Manufacturer Wedgwood Narrowboats

[dan01eb]

Hi, does anyone know anything about a boatbuilder called Wedgwood Narrowboats or if they were good quality? Thanks in advance.

 

https://www.apolloduck.co.uk/boat/wedgwood-57-traditional-for-sale/746003

[Tracy D'arth]

They are only fitter outers, not boat builders. Based at King's Lock, Middlewich.  Prop. Steve Wedgwood.

I can't remember who's shells they used.

Only average I would think.

Edited October 3, 2023 by Tracy D'arth

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Plus you have to be really careful not to crack them hitting lock walls, bridges, other boats. Also they are only available in a pale powder blue colour. 😀

[magnetman]

Doulton might be a better option. 

Why does the boat in the advert have no rudder on it ?

[dan01eb]

25 minutes ago, magnetman said:

Why does the boat in the advert have no rudder on it ?

Well spotted I hadn't noticed that. I'm not sure why it hasn't got one or where it is 😆

 

What about Mike Christian boats, are they good quality?

[jonathanA]

Why do people get obsessed with the name of boat builders instead of looking to see if the boat is well built and much much more importantly has been looked after and maintained...

 

Sorry I don't get it..... would people turn down an really good well maintained boat from a no name builder to take on a pile of junk with a 'name' ? 

Edited October 3, 2023 by jonathanA
Sp

[dan01eb]

2 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

Why do people get obsessed with the name of boat builders instead of looking to see if the boat is well built

Surely checking who built the boat is part of establishing if the boat is built well?

[adam1uk]

16 minutes ago, dan01eb said:

What about Mike Christian boats, are they good quality?

Mike Christian is the name used by Tim Tyler and Jonathan Wilson for their slightly cheaper shells.  There’s not a huge amount of difference really — they don’t have scrolls in the handrails and have one fewer guard iron on the bow.  As I understand it, the underwater shape is the same.

[Tigerr]

16 minutes ago, jonathanA said:

Why do people get obsessed with the name of boat builders instead of looking to see if the boat is well built and much much more importantly has been looked after and maintained...

 

Sorry I don't get it..... would people turn down an really good well maintained boat from a no name builder to take on a pile of junk with a 'name' ? 

For much the same reason people look at the badge on the car. It's not too hard to get, if you think about it a bit longer than maybe you did before you blurted. 

I didn't see the bit on the OP post where they said they were obsessed with names, not the bit about not bothering to look at the boats condition before buying a piece of junk. 

Do you know something useful about Wedgewood boats, as a useful start point? 

The question, how important is the name of the builder, is a good one, but a dismissal of the OP is not really needed. 

[magnetman]

Worth putting boat builder names into the canalplan boat list  to get an idea of how many shells they made. 

 

Not that this indicates quality but interesting anyway. 

 

canalplan.uk/boats/boats.php

 

 

 

 

edit to correct link

Copy and paste

 

canalplan.uk/boats/boats.php

Edited October 3, 2023 by magnetman

[BilgePump]

2 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Plus you have to be really careful not to crack them hitting lock walls, bridges, other boats. Also they are only available in a pale powder blue colour. 😀

Is that why Jasper is a popular name for them?

[Tonka]

12 hours ago, magnetman said:

Worth putting boat builder names into the canalplan boat list  to get an idea of how many shells they made. 

 

Not that this indicates quality but interesting anyway. 

 

canalplan.uk/boats/boats.php

 

 

 

 

edit to correct link

Copy and paste

 

canalplan.uk/boats/boats.php

Just gives you the fitter of the boat and may not be the actual builder. 

If a boat built by Springer was fitted by S M Hudson it is recorded as a Hudson.

 

[Rob-M]

8 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Just gives you the fitter of the boat and may not be the actual builder. 

If a boat built by Springer was fitted by S M Hudson it is recorded as a Hudson.

 

Not always the case, our boat is listed under the shell builder not the company that fitted it out.

[Jen-in-Wellies]

12 hours ago, BilgePump said:

14 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Plus you have to be really careful not to crack them hitting lock walls, bridges, other boats. Also they are only available in a pale powder blue colour. 😀

Is that why Jasper is a popular name for them?

Josiah Wedgwood was a major investor in the Trent and Mersey Canal, as he wanted a way of transporting his pottery without most of them getting broken on the rubbish roads of the 18th century. After a year or two of loading his wares in to wooden boats, he thought, "Canal boat. It's just a bigger pot really. How hard can it be to make?" Unfortunately, all the 70' internal diameter bottle kilns used to fire them at his Etruria works have long since been demolished. A Wedgwood boat would be an excellent historic one to own. Be sure the surveyor knows how to check the glaze for crazing and look out for chips and superglue repairs.

[cuthound]

3 hours ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Josiah Wedgwood was a major investor in the Trent and Mersey Canal, as he wanted a way of transporting his pottery without most of them getting broken on the rubbish roads of the 18th century. After a year or two of loading his wares in to wooden boats, he thought, "Canal boat. It's just a bigger pot really. How hard can it be to make?" Unfortunately, all the 70' internal diameter bottle kilns used to fire them at his Etruria works have long since been demolished. A Wedgwood boat would be an excellent historic one to own. Be sure the surveyor knows how to check the glaze for crazing and look out for chips and superglue repairs.

 

And don't let the surveyor use a hammer when checking for hull soundness?

 

[magnetman]

 

[BoatinglifeupNorth]

17 hours ago, adam1uk said:

Mike Christian is the name used by Tim Tyler and Jonathan Wilson for their slightly cheaper shells.  There’s not a huge amount of difference really — they don’t have scrolls in the handrails and have one fewer guard iron on the bow.  As I understand it, the underwater shape is the same.

And they are build using the exact same spec steel and process, as you say you just don’t get the extras, recessed panels fancy hatches and skylights. So just what they call a basic shell but better than most and perfectly adequate to for the majority of boaters. 

[magnetman]

Jonathan Wilson seem to do some good boats. 

 

I quite like the Celtic Queen Thames launch. 

Obviously a fair bit of filler but looks alright for a steel boat. 

Shows a bit of versatility. 

[Stroudwater1]

It’s a cracking price for a 2009 boat 😊 

 

The lack of a tiller assembly is odd, perhaps made in China? 

[Chris Lowe]

 

 

     

[blackrose]

On 04/10/2023 at 00:56, jonathanA said:

Why do people get obsessed with the name of boat builders instead of looking to see if the boat is well built and much much more importantly has been looked after and maintained...

 

Sorry I don't get it..... would people turn down an really good well maintained boat from a no name builder to take on a pile of junk with a 'name' ? 

 

You're obviously not familiar with the modern world of consumerism. It's not just kids who are obsessed with brands these days. It's such a ubiquitous consumerist free market phenomenon it extends beyond the world of supermarket brands, trainers and handbags to people who think they're above all that like canal boat enthusiasts without them even realising. 

[dan01eb]

I like the look of it because it comes with a free tea cosy! 😂