Any pictures of motorised butties?

[MtB]

On 15/03/2024 at 18:52, ditchcrawler said:

When were the first horse boats/butties motorised ?

 

My guess would be it took off in the mid 70s when butties/horse boats were two a penny and no-one knew what to do with them. 

 

First was probably in the 60s.

 

 

[Derek R.]

YARMOUTH was cut down from 70' to 62' in 1962, renamed GOLDEN VALLEY and 'launched' in 1962, but I doubt it was the first, as witnessed by the detachable, externally driven items as seen above. 2.2 litre marinised London Taxi engine, a 'Commodore'.

Edited March 26 by Derek R.

[magnetman]

Kelvin did some paraffin engines. 

[Paul H]

L T C Rolt bought the famous Cressy in 1939 but it had originally been converted to steam in 1929.  It retained the horse boat stern but incongruously a motor boat rudder and tiller.  I don’t think this was the earliest “butty conversion” either.

 

Paul

[billh]

The first LNER maintainance motor boat Joel, was a conversion from a  wooden horseboat in 1927:

https://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/bw192.3.1.31.1.10

The  various pictures of Joel in the 1930s show its origins very clearly. The engine was a Kelvin E2 petrol/paraffin  engine of 9HP.

The boat was scrapped in 1948, as "worn out" and replaced by the present wooden motor taking the same name.

1 minute ago, billh said:

The first LNER maintainance motor boat Joel, was a conversion from a  wooden horseboat in 1927:

https://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/bw192.3.1.31.1.10

The  various pictures of Joel in the 1930s show its origins very clearly. The engine was a Kelvin E2 petrol/paraffin  engine of 9HP.

The boat was scrapped in 1948, as "worn out" and replaced by the present wooden motor taking the same name.

 

1 minute ago, billh said:

The first LNER maintainance motor boat Joel, was a conversion from a  wooden horseboat in 1927:

https://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/bw192.3.1.31.1.10

The  various pictures of Joel in the 1930s show its origins very clearly. The engine was a Kelvin E2 petrol/paraffin  engine of 9HP.

The boat was scrapped in 1948, as "worn out" and replaced by the present wooden motor taking the same name.

ETA: the later Joel was also a conversion from a horseboat possibly Emma no 9 in 1948.

[MtB]

3 minutes ago, billh said:

The first LNER maintainance motor boat Joel, was a conversion from a  wooden horseboat in 1927:

https://collections.canalrivertrust.org.uk/bw192.3.1.31.1.10

The  various pictures of Joel in the 1930s show its origins very clearly. The engine was a Kelvin E2 petrol/paraffin  engine of 9HP.

The boat was scrapped in 1948, as "worn out" and replaced by the present wooden motor taking the same name.

 

This is a good point. When internal combustion engines came along the most natrual thing to do would have been to experiment with ways to fit them into horse boats. Not design and build a whole new motor boat from the keelson up! 

 

So the first motorised 'butties' where probably horse boats right back when engines were first invented...

 

 

[hughc]

I remember seeing 'Cleopatra' passing Napton in 1975 and being impressed by its smooth quiet progress. Is this boat still around?

 

[Paul H]

22 hours ago, hughc said:

I remember seeing 'Cleopatra' passing Napton in 1975 and being impressed by its smooth quiet progress. Is this boat still around?

 

It’s now a houseboat hiding in Wenlock Basin in London.  Looks a bit sad but I do know they had a new elum made a few years back.

 

Paul

 

https://hnbc.org.uk/boats/cleopatra