Ovaltine boat William

[moggyjo]

Photo I took of William back in 1993 She was out of the water in Wolvercote, Oxford, where the guy that owned her was trying to restore her but sadly it was to expensive for him and eventually she was broken up.

Edited December 17, 2007 by moggyjo

[Yoda]

Never seen an Ovaltine boat before. The Ovaltine works where I used to pass everyday, at Kings Langley is on the Grand Union, and the farm which is probably the most famous in the world was up the hill in Abbots Langley. They produced all their own eggs and milk and used local grain for their products.

[John Orentas]

Wasn't it William that was the basis for that TV programme 'The Making of William'. Must admit though I can't remember if if was a restoration or a new boat. The young bloke who pretended that he had absolutely no experience of boats or woodworking, he bought a small forest and started from there.

 

A good prog. but stretched the credibility a bit thin.

[carlt]

Wasn't it William that was the basis for that TV programme 'The Making of William'. Must admit though I can't remember if if was a restoration or a new boat. The young bloke who pretended that he had absolutely no experience of boats or woodworking, he bought a small forest and started from there.

 

A good prog. but stretched the credibility a bit thin.

I think you're mixing it up with "The importance of being Albert" about the restoration of another Wander boat.

[John Orentas]

I think you're mixing it up with "The importance of being Albert" about the restoration of another Wander boat.

 

 

That sounds about right, glad you are paying attention.

[tony collins]

Never seen an Ovaltine boat before. The Ovaltine works where I used to pass everyday, at Kings Langley is on the Grand Union, and the farm which is probably the most famous in the world was up the hill in Abbots Langley. They produced all their own eggs and milk and used local grain for their products.

 

The current issue of "Narrow Boat"(out this week) has an article on the Ovaltine fleet including a few good pictures of William (one in colour) together with the motors Mimas & Albert, and the butties, Ray, Enid, Hector and Georgette.

 

Tony

 

Edited to say there is also a lovely picture of "Mountbatten" emerging fully loaded out of Preston Brook Tunnel. Anyone any idea wher she is now? Last I heard she was up at Harecastle Tunnel whilst Ivor and Mel were doing tunnel keeping duties.

 

2nd Edit I got my Harefields mixed up with my Harecastles.

Edited December 17, 2007 by tony collins

[magnetman]

The ovaltine egg farm is now RES renewable energy systems with a big wing turbine and a solar wall. The Ovaltine factory itself is des res flats and townhouses. Albert is on the chess arm of the GU at Rickmansworth, tucked away so no-one sees her (him?).

[Paul H]

I used to own William but sold it in 1979 when I became a student in Oxford. He was always a bit tender - the bow was sheered on the outside as well as the inside and the flloor at the front was sold concrete but amazingly she didn't leak.

 

Having heaved a sigh of relief that I' no lonfer was responsible for him, William then damned well turned up in Oxford to haunt me. He then had a (mostly) cosmetic meakeover and sold for £8000. Through a few changes of ownership William amazingly survived with little in the way of major work intil she was taken out of the water for restoration in 1992/3. Quite a bit of work was done but I believe the couple who owned it split up and the guy lost heart and the boat broken up.

 

I understand that measurements were taken by Jem Bates and he has all the ironwork in his yard at Puttenham - so if you want a replica then he's your man. Yes William was a bit ropey but I've never steered a better boat and it only cost me a grand ready to go - with a 3 cylinder Petter. There was an article in one of the magazines recently which chronicled how Beachamp Lodge (the Paddington youth project people) took it round the coast to Whitstable in the early 60s.

 

Paul

[Shazza]

tucked away so no-one sees her (him?).

 

 

 

Is it always the case that boats are female, even if they're called William or some other chap's name?!

[khaffra]

The current issue of "Narrow Boat"(out this week) has an article on the Ovaltine fleet including a few good pictures of William (one in colour) together with the motors Mimas & Albert, and the butties, Ray, Enid, Hector and Georgette.

 

Tony

 

Edited to say there is also a lovely picture of "Mountbatten" emerging fully loaded out of Preston Brook Tunnel. Anyone any idea wher she is now? Last I heard she was up at Harecastle Tunnel whilst Ivor and Mel were doing tunnel keeping duties.

 

2nd Edit I got my Harefields mixed up with my Harecastles.

 

My Grandad owned bought Hector in late 1958 from Braunston before it was burnt and scrapped, then cut it in half at Crick to make 2 pleasure boats, becoming Hector and Lysander he owned Lysander till around the early seventies, Lysander was section 8'ed and broken up at Tarleton in 2002, Hector was section 8'ed and broken up at Uxbridge in 2000.

[moggyjo]

I used to own William but sold it in 1979 when I became a student in Oxford. He was always a bit tender - the bow was sheered on the outside as well as the inside and the flloor at the front was sold concrete but amazingly she didn't leak.

 

Having heaved a sigh of relief that I' no lonfer was responsible for him, William then damned well turned up in Oxford to haunt me. He then had a (mostly) cosmetic meakeover and sold for £8000. Through a few changes of ownership William amazingly survived with little in the way of major work intil she was taken out of the water for restoration in 1992/3. Quite a bit of work was done but I believe the couple who owned it split up and the guy lost heart and the boat broken up.

 

 

 

Paul

I heard they split up as well. I'm sure he had some sort of steam machine for making the planks go into shape, think part of it is in the picture, also wasn't there another Ovaltine boat in Oxford around the same time as William?

[AMModels]

My Grandad owned bought Hector in late 1958 from Braunston before it was burnt and scrapped, then cut it in half at Crick to make 2 pleasure boats, becoming Hector and Lysander he owned Lysander till around the early seventies, Lysander was section 8'ed and broken up at Tarleton in 2002, Hector was section 8'ed and broken up at Uxbridge in 2000.

Did you send me two photos of Hector and Lysander a few years ago? I have a couple somewhere of them after conversion to pleasure boats. Found them, one shows Lysander in the water and Hector being converted on the bank.Lysander was the fore end and Hector being the stern.

I heard they split up as well. I'm sure he had some sort of steam machine for making the planks go into shape, think part of it is in the picture, also wasn't there another Ovaltine boat in Oxford around the same time as William?

Yeah Mog, looks like a heath robinson steam box just in front of Willaim probably made out of some sort of Venting. Edited December 17, 2007 by AMModels

[khaffra]

Did you send me two photos of Hector and Lysander a few years ago? I have a couple somewhere of them after conversion to pleasure boats. Found them, one shows Lysander in the water and Hector being converted on the bank.

 

Lysander was the fore end and Hector being the stern.

 

yes that would have been me that sent them or somebody I sent them to forwarded them to you as I have that photo or actually several photo's. that was at Crick where the garden centre is now near the marina. they were cut in half in the water the winched out on the side.

 

I ended up finding out what happened to both boats in the end unfortunately both are now deceased.

We do have a couple of bits of Lysander still though.

[David Schweizer]

I knew the "William" well. She (He?) was given to the Beachamp Lodge home for Boys in London by Wanders in the early 1960's and was conveted into a residential boat for holidays and eductional trips for the residents. The boat was Captained by Dennis Jewiss, known affectionately by all the boys as Bo (short for Bosun)

 

The boat travelled all over the system during the holiday periods with weekly changeovers being arranged with Mini Buses. With such a boisterous crew she had a mixed reputation, but we always got on well with them and often accompanied them to IWA rallys etc. During the winter the boat normally stayed in London and we would often travelled down from Uxbridge to Paddington and spend the weekend with the lads.

 

I well remember the time when a hole was discovered in the bottom and water started entering the hull. (probably the place where the concrete was found) Dennis Jewiss's solution was to send some lads off into a nearby field and cut turves to jam into the bottom planks to stem thw water. The turves served their purpose as the boat managed to struggle back to london in that condition, but the story went before them and when asked if it was tru thAT there was a hole in the bottom Dennis Jewiss delighted in replying "yes but there is an old sod plugging it"

Edited December 17, 2007 by David Schweizer

[greywolf]

I suppose reproducing one as suggested would cost 30 or 40 thousand in it's working rig.

[Paul H]

I suppose reproducing one as suggested would cost 30 or 40 thousand in it's working rig.

I think you would need to ask Ocean Finance for between £60K and £100K but you'd get a very nice write up in waterways World.

 

Paul

[Chris Pink]

 

Is it always the case that boats are female, even if they're called William or some other chap's name?!

 

The old boater's i've talked to (not number ones) always referred to their boats as 'it' - and i think its a noble 'it'. 'They're just work boats' said a little disingenuously, but it is true that all the Ovaltine motors were men's names and the butties women except for Mimas (motor) and Ray (butty) still afloat somewhere i believe.

 

Almighty ex-Cecil is an (albeit temporarily) Ovaltine boat; nbAlmighty.org.uk

 

And take a look at the paintwork on this one;

Edited December 18, 2007 by Chris Pink

[Paul H]

The old boater's i've talked to (not number ones) always referred to their boats as 'it' - and i think its a noble 'it'. 'They're just work boats' said a little disingenuously, but it is true that all the Ovaltine motors were men's names and the butties women except for Mimas (motor) and Ray (butty) still afloat somewhere i believe.

 

Almighty ex-Cecil is an (albeit temporarily) Ovaltine boat; nbAlmighty.org.uk

 

And take a look at the paintwork on this one;

 

Great picture Chris. Which boats are they?

 

Narrow Boat magazine (latest issue) seems to imply that Albert and Arcturus are the only two Ovaltine boats still extant. But you have Almighty/Cecil/Grus don't you? What sort of condition is (s)he in nowadays?

 

And does anyone know if Ray is still around?

 

Paul

[Chris Pink]

Great picture Chris. Which boats are they?

 

Narrow Boat magazine (latest issue) seems to imply that Albert and Arcturus are the only two Ovaltine boats still extant. But you have Almighty/Cecil/Grus don't you? What sort of condition is (s)he in nowadays?

 

And does anyone know if Ray is still around?

 

Paul

This is the caption, the story comes from the 'Towpath Telegraph' http://mkiwa.users.btopenworld.com/TPT0605.pdf

 

George [Garner] (in trilby ), with John and Henry aboard “Susie” and “Charles”: a picture taken shortly before the war. Note the immaculate gloss on the paintwork !

 

Almighty, renamed from Cecil after leaving George Gilbert's dock in the 1960s is still afloat, still a going concern, not taking on too much water, but sadly, due mainly to the cost of docking, beyond my resources to restore. Jem Bates says 'about £20.000' for the immediate hull and bottom plank replacements.

 

I will endeavour to keep her afloat ('it' became 'she' after she sank - don't ask my why!) until i find someone who will restore her. Although BWs attitude to old wooden boats makes this a bit of a struggle.

 

Don't know about Ray although i have heard they are both still afloat. Neither are original (as in commissioned by Wanders) Ovaltine boats but rather, like Almighty, sold by GUCCCo to Wander's in the 40s.

[moggyjo]

I took this photo of Ray, written on the back is "Julians boat Ray opposite college cruisers, summer '88"

[AMModels]

I think I saw Ray in pretty poor condition at Rick either 98 or 99, she had the bracket for the outboard still there but the motor itself had gone.

 

It was Rogers first year on the water again after rebuild if anyone can date that better.

[khaffra]

The old boater's i've talked to (not number ones) always referred to their boats as 'it' - and i think its a noble 'it'. 'They're just work boats' said a little disingenuously, but it is true that all the Ovaltine motors were men's names and the butties women except for Mimas (motor) and Ray (butty) still afloat somewhere i believe.

 

Almighty ex-Cecil is an (albeit temporarily) Ovaltine boat; nbAlmighty.org.uk

 

And take a look at the paintwork on this one;

 

 

Hector was originally a GUCC boat hence the name Hector even though it was a butty, there were I think a few GUCC boats bought by A Wander.

[Stephen Sugg]

I think you're mixing it up with "The importance of being Albert" about the restoration of another Wander boat.

Which reminds me of something I've been meaning to do for ages........

[AMModels]

What info I have on Wanders boats

 

M MIMAS OVALTINE RICK 46 G 12442 x.Gucc

B RAY " " RICK 61 G 12481 x.HEBE GUCC. Conv fs.9/90

B HECTOR " " RICK 51 G 12470 x.Gucc

M ALBERT " " Completely restored and now a restaurant at Rickmansworth, with hold like eating area.

M WILLIAM " " RICK 26 G 12323 x.Gucc (sent by P.Hunter)- I had the converted ex-Ovaltine motor William (formerly with Beauchamp Lodge at Little Venice) for which I paid �1000 and it was ready to go! However there was a lot of rot in it and I sold it when I became a student in 1979 (now that was a long time ago) for �3000. Subsequent owners did it up cosmetically, perhaps putting the odd straight plank in, and it eventually sold for about �8000 in the late 1980s. Although I had sold it at Uxbridge it arrived in Oxford as if coming to haunt me. I last saw it out of the water just north of Oxford where the new-age owners were attempting to rebuild it. Unfortunately they split up and the boat was subsequently broken up although I believe Jem Bates on the Aylesbury arm has some of the bits in a shed so I suppose it could be "restored" a la Raymond!

B ENID " " RICK 45 G 12408 x.Gucc. URSA 5/88 CoC

M HARRY " " (A.WANDER) 1

M CECIL " " RICK 54 G 12537 x. GUCC. GRUS paired with ENID in WANDERS fleet

Cabin built by

Malcolm Braine was camper 72 - 80 80-96 in private ownership Extensive partial restoration was carried out by Martin Cox, boatbuilder, during this time which accounts largely for Almighty's (GRUS / CECIL) survival and relatively good condition.

 

As always anything anyone can add would be most appreciated

[Chris Pink]

What info I have on Wanders boats

As always anything anyone can add would be most appreciated

 

Doesn't the book "Walkers of Ricky", I don't have it any more, have a list of the Wanders boats? I heard 16 pairs. Your list seems to imply most ex-GUCC boats but my impression was that Wanders commissioned their own mostly. Albert certainly predates the 1935-6 fleet.

 

Enid was 'free to collector' on the southern Grand Union about 10 years ago. Nearly i did, but common sense kicked in.