History of a 1960s Icebreaker & 1st British Waterways Inspection Boat, built by yarwood.

[wanderinglotus]

Hi Everyone, 1st post on this forum but want to say thank you to everyone who contributes to this site- I've already learned so much valuable info from here ! 

 

I'm wondering is there anyone with knowledge of historical canal boats on here that may be able to help me find more info on a boat I'm considering restoring? 

 

It was built as an icebreaker in 1960 by yarwood & then sold to British waterways in 1961 & converted to be the 1st of their inspection boats, with the chief inspector living aboard & crusing the north west. 

 

im really interested in the history so would be amazing if anyone could answer: 

 

how thick did they make the icebreaker hulls originally? Were they all seaworthy? 

 

What exactly did the inspection boats do? have heard that in the days of british waterways they were more on the side of boaters- working together to keep their boats & the canals safe & some ended up as unofficial community hubs for boaters, the place everyone would gather for a comforting brew after whatever crisis was over. Is this true or just a romanticisation?

 

Is there anyone here that has either a yarwood, an old inspection boat or an old icebreaker that they've restored? Thanks to this forum I can find that there are still multiple icebreakers by yarwood from the 1860s that are still around & seaworthy! But would be especially cool to find out if there are any more from a similar period to this one & how they were to restore! If you don't own one but have something to share that's also really welcome

 

& Anyone with general advice about restoring a boat this age would be very appreciated! It is a big project, but seems the reward of restoring is worth it at the moment!! 

 

any leads would be greatly appreciated, recommendations of sources would be great but would especially love to hear from anyone with personal experience! ❤️

 

[Stroudwater1]

There’s a good few around with such experience. One with a lovely BCN icebreaker who I’m sure can comment.
 

Presumably you are referring to Vigilante. I’m sure people can comment on her too.  There was some mention in the historic boats for sale section I think?

 

Edit Welcome to the forum by the way! 

Edited September 2 by Stroudwater1

[Tony Brooks]

At first sight, I find the story suspect. I doubt BW were regularly ice breaking in 1960, let alone commissioning new ones.

Edited September 2 by Tony Brooks

[merline]

This one? 

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

[wanderinglotus]

Yes that's the one. Seems to be the earliest photo I can find online. Seller does have a lot of stuff relating to the history but im waiting to see it at the moment

[merline]

I believe Rose narrowboats had something to do with it in the past, they maybe able to help you.

Have you seen this? 

 

[wanderinglotus]

2 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

At first sight, I find the story suspect. I doubt BW were regularly ice breaking in 1960, let alone commissioning new ones.

 

Yeah I thought it was unusual for them to be commissioning one in the 60s & i can only find yarwoods icebreakers from the 30s or earlier online. But there is reference to a boat called 'icebreaker 57' that was one of the 60s inspection boats on the waterways archive website & the bow is definitely shaped in a more sturdy way. 

 

I have been told that there's an original receipt from the 60s for it along with a lot of other info, im just waiting to be able to see it currently & wanting to go further down the rabbit hole

2 hours ago, Stroudwater1 said:

There’s a good few around with such experience. One with a lovely BCN icebreaker who I’m sure can comment.
 

Presumably you are referring to Vigilante. I’m sure people can comment on her too.  There was some mention in the historic boats for sale section I think?

 

Edit Welcome to the forum by the way! 

Thank u so much ! I'm very excited to learn more here

 

Yes it is vigilante! I can't seem to find the thread ur referring to- is there any chance u could link it? Would definitely welcome people's opinions- want to make sure I get it right

 

Would absolutely love to read about or hear from the person with the BCN Icebreaker! 

1 hour ago, merline said:

I believe Rose narrowboats had something to do with it in the past, they maybe able to help you.

Have you seen this? 

 

 

That's really helpful to know- thank you

 

& Yes I found that video not long after viewing, looks like it cruises & handles really nicely ! 

Edited September 2 by wanderinglotus

[zenataomm]

I thought she was an inspection boat, nothing to do with ice breaking. 

Wrong size, shape and era for clearing ice to keep traffic on through.

"unofficial community hubs for boaters, the place everyone would gather for a comforting brew"  ???!!!

[wanderinglotus]

7 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

I thought she was an inspection boat, nothing to do with ice breaking. 

Wrong size, shape and era for clearing ice to keep traffic on through.

"unofficial community hubs for boaters, the place everyone would gather for a comforting brew"  ???!!!

 

Thats what I've been told by the seller & it does seem there was an icebreaker in the inspection fleet according to the waterways archive but I agree it's unusual for its time. The bow is certainly shaped in a very distinctive & sturdy way, rising a lot higher than other boats I've been on. 

 

Again- just what someone has told me, that the inspection boats weren't just there to deal with practical issues & emergencies, but often provided emotional & other kinds of support to boaters. Not saying it is true- just asking

[Tonka]

@agg221 is the guy who has an icebreaker and done a lot of researching into it.

Really nice guy as well

[agg221]

42 minutes ago, Tonka said:

@agg221 is the guy who has an icebreaker and done a lot of researching into it.

Really nice guy as well

Thanks Tonka,

 

@wanderinglotus hello and welcome.

 

 I am tied up with an offsite corporate planning meeting for the next few days so can’t write much or access my notes until Friday/Saturday but I wanted to write a brief reply so that you know I have picked up on this.

 

The early post-nationalisation era is an interesting time. There were serious efforts made to keep canals commercially operational much later than is generally obvious, with significant investment, and that included the need to make provision to break ice. Ice breaking was officially abandoned as policy during the winter of 1962/3. I think the last official run was December 24th 1962.

 

As such, boats capable of breaking ice were still being built/purchased through the 1950s. One of the main needs was to replace horse-drawn boats since, with the end of horse drawn carrying, the horses simply weren’t available. This led to the building of multi-functional ice breaking tugs which started in the 1930s and continued through. Vigilante would fit that pattern.

 

 I will write more specific information when I am back. In the meantime, here is a picture of our boat Oates, taken on Sunday. It was built sometime in the 1840s and is still quite capable of breaking ice.

 

(the image might appear upside down in which case if a Mod could fix it that would be great).

 

Alec

[MtB]

[wanderinglotus]

7 hours ago, agg221 said:

Thanks Tonka,

 

@wanderinglotus hello and welcome.

 

 I am tied up with an offsite corporate planning meeting for the next few days so can’t write much or access my notes until Friday/Saturday but I wanted to write a brief reply so that you know I have picked up on this.

 

The early post-nationalisation era is an interesting time. There were serious efforts made to keep canals commercially operational much later than is generally obvious, with significant investment, and that included the need to make provision to break ice. Ice breaking was officially abandoned as policy during the winter of 1962/3. I think the last official run was December 24th 1962.

 

As such, boats capable of breaking ice were still being built/purchased through the 1950s. One of the main needs was to replace horse-drawn boats since, with the end of horse drawn carrying, the horses simply weren’t available. This led to the building of multi-functional ice breaking tugs which started in the 1930s and continued through. Vigilante would fit that pattern.

 

 I will write more specific information when I am back. In the meantime, here is a picture of our boat Oates, taken on Sunday. It was built sometime in the 1840s and is still quite capable of breaking ice.

 

(the image might appear upside down in which case if a Mod could fix it that would be great).

 

Alec

 

Thank you for taking the time to reply, really interesting stuff to know ! 

 

Very interesting to know that they abandoned Icebreaking as early as 62- she must have only spent a few years doing it in that case! Don't suppose you know if there were any other icebreakers in the inspection fleet? Ive found reference to one called Icebreaker 57 in the waterways archive so wondering if that could be vigilante? 

 

Does anyone happen to know any of the names of the 'multifunctional' icebreakers from the 30s-60s era so I could do more research? Would love to see how others are holding up! 

 

Would also be interested to know what other things they used the icebreakers for

 

Oates is very pretty! the hull looks better than most 20 year old boats I've seen & that bow shape is absolutely to die for! 

 

I thoroughly look forward to hearing more when you're free & learning more about your boat, thanks again

[junior]

This thread would be better off in the history and heritage section, no?

 

Also, Pete Harrison will no doubt have some detailed information. You could try and PM him.

[wanderinglotus]

17 hours ago, junior said:

This thread would be better off in the history and heritage section, no?

 

Also, Pete Harrison will no doubt have some detailed information. You could try and PM him.

Apologies- the history section didn't show up for some reason when I created the post!

 

Have just been told by someone else that Pete Harrison may be of help so I'll definitely contact him- thank u

[merline]

Have you bought it and about to restore or thinking of buying and planning ahead?

Restoration to its original configuration?

I think I'm right in saying it was centre cockpit wheel steering originally, don't ask me where I got that from!

Be interesting to see whatever you do 

[wanderinglotus]

3 minutes ago, merline said:

Have you bought it and about to restore or thinking of buying and planning ahead?

Restoration to its original configuration?

I think I'm right in saying it was centre cockpit wheel steering originally, don't ask me where I got that from!

Be interesting to see whatever you do 

Thinking of buying & trying to plan ahead & make sure I am actually prepared for whatever the project entails- don't want to be one of those people who takes on too much & let's a beautiful bit of history go to waste!

 

& Yes I am hoping to get it as close to the original figuration as possible- although I will be living aboard it (only way I could justify a project so big) so I guess there will have to be some compromise, but definitely want to try & keep it as original as possible. 

 

What work I do will depend on what needs to be sorted out, but it seems at the moment that alot of the roof damage is on the cabin thats been added at the back, so I'm thinking it makes most sense to remove that again (& potentially use the steel to overplate parts of the rest of the cabin that needs work) but still need to get a full idea of the work & speak to a welder

 

[alan_fincher]

Like some before me, I am doubtful of some of the history that has been attributed to VIGILANTE.

 

Yarwoods continued building boats into the 1970s, so the suggestion this is a Yarwood build may indeed be correct.

However the likelihood that any new builds were specifically for ice breaking seems unlikely to me.  British Waterways still had on its books various ice-breakers, and canal traffic had diminished so much by the early 1960s, I doubt they would have justified building more.  Our own boat SICKLE that was converted to an ice boat in 1942 had its ice boat conversion removed before the dates mentioned for VIGILANTE, bur remained on the BW maintenance fleet to 2000.  Why would they have done that if ice boats were still a requirement.

However I support the suggestion that Pete Harrison is the person most likely to be able to give chapter and verse on VIGILANTE's origins.  I think I recall that he holds transcripts of W J Yarwoods & Sons build registers. If he does, and VIGILANTE is included, these will give a build date, and maybe o description of intended use.

[fanshaft]

Ice breaking on the GU and narrow canals may have ceased in 1962 but I'm sure it continued on the larger commercial waterways. 

[zenataomm]

4 minutes ago, fanshaft said:

Ice breaking on the GU and narrow canals may have ceased in 1962 but I'm sure it continued on the larger commercial waterways. 

I think we are referring to the canals that carried long distance narrow boats, regarding this thread.

[Stroudwater1]

On 04/09/2024 at 13:58, wanderinglotus said:

Thinking of buying & trying to plan ahead & make sure I am actually prepared for whatever the project entails- don't want to be one of those people who takes on too much & let's a beautiful bit of history go to waste!

 

& Yes I am hoping to get it as close to the original figuration as possible- although I will be living aboard it (only way I could justify a project so big) so I guess there will have to be some compromise, but definitely want to try & keep it as original as possible. 

 

What work I do will depend on what needs to be sorted out, but it seems at the moment that alot of the roof damage is on the cabin thats been added at the back, so I'm thinking it makes most sense to remove that again (& potentially use the steel to overplate parts of the rest of the cabin that needs work) but still need to get a full idea of the work & speak to a welder

 

TBH I’m not sure how easy it would be as a livaboard boat? It’s high in window numbers so could be cold in Winter and hot in Summer. Doing the sort of work required and converting back to how she was when living onboard maybe difficult too. Much easier to work then close up back to a warm home/ other dwelling. I don’t think she is very long either and any reversion to a central cockpit reduces that usable space more. She is cheap for a reason I’m afraid. 

[Alan de Enfield]

35 minutes ago, fanshaft said:

Ice breaking on the GU and narrow canals may have ceased in 1962 but I'm sure it continued on the larger commercial waterways. 

 

I don't recall that much ice-breaking took place in the Winter of 62/63

 

I'm sure I've seen old films of the canal network totally frozen up and all movements stopped for several months.

 

Maybe you remember this post ?

 

The 'Big Freeze' of 1962/3 has often been blamed or quoted as the reason for the 'end of canal carrying' - rather a sweeping statement when you think of the millions of tonnes carried afterwards on the system as a whole on canals and canalised rivers but many people only think in terms of narrow boats when talking about canal carrying. (As in 'the end of the Jam 'Ole traffic marked the end of canal carrying'). In conversation with some of those involved with narrow boats at the time no-one can think of a traffic of any consequence that was lost solely because of the freeze. Some traffics did finish just afterwards but there always seems to be another reason (Whitebirk Power station is one, I know it's not narrow boats, but even here I am told the main reason was the switch away from using coal from Bank Hall pit). It is true that British Waterways decided to give up most (though not all) of its Grand Union narrow boat activities in 1963, but this was mainly because of mounting losses, no doubt exacerbated by the freeze, and I am sure this had already been planned. But as far as I am aware those (narrow boat)traffics not retained by BW were handed to Willow Wren, and they then gradually ceased for one reason or another, with customers closing down, or switching to oil, closure of Regents Canal Dock (apart from the scrap trade), switch of imported grain to Tilbury, containerisation, and maybe some competition from the opening of the M1 - not sure how much that was to blame though. On the other hand British Waterways carried on with the north west division southern (narrow boat) fleet for another year. I was told by a transport professional that while the canals did suffer, it was exceptionally difficult for the railways as well during this period, and on the roads too, so maybe we shouldn't read too much into this connection no matter how rational it might appear. Any comments?

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5 by Alan de Enfield

[wanderinglotus]

1 hour ago, alan_fincher said:

Like some before me, I am doubtful of some of the history that has been attributed to VIGILANTE.

 

Yarwoods continued building boats into the 1970s, so the suggestion this is a Yarwood build may indeed be correct.

However the likelihood that any new builds were specifically for ice breaking seems unlikely to me.  British Waterways still had on its books various ice-breakers, and canal traffic had diminished so much by the early 1960s, I doubt they would have justified building more.  Our own boat SICKLE that was converted to an ice boat in 1942 had its ice boat conversion removed before the dates mentioned for VIGILANTE, bur remained on the BW maintenance fleet to 2000.  Why would they have done that if ice boats were still a requirement.

However I support the suggestion that Pete Harrison is the person most likely to be able to give chapter and verse on VIGILANTE's origins.  I think I recall that he holds transcripts of W J Yarwoods & Sons build registers. If he does, and VIGILANTE is included, these will give a build date, and maybe o description of intended use.

 

Thank you for your response- certainly doesn't seem logical for sickle to have it's iceboat conversion removed before vigilante was made! 

 

I believe British Water at that time did have some issues with mismanagement- wonder if this could be explained by that? 

 

I've spoken to the broker & they've said that I'm welcome to come down for another viewing this weekend, including looking through all the historical info they have for it, so hopefully that sheds some light on the issue! will update anything I learn here & message Pete Harrison in the mean time thanks again! 

1 hour ago, Stroudwater1 said:

TBH I’m not sure how easy it would be as a livaboard boat? It’s high in window numbers so could be cold in Winter and hot in Summer. Doing the sort of work required and converting back to how she was when living onboard maybe difficult too. Much easier to work then close up back to a warm home/ other dwelling. I don’t think she is very long either and any reversion to a central cockpit reduces that usable space more. She is cheap for a reason I’m afraid. 

 

Thank you for raising these points- all valid things to consider & I can see why she wouldn't be ideal for some! But I've spent the last few years doing various work aways with varying standards of accommodation- including a few months in winter in a bender with nothing but wood & moss for a roof & a fire pit for warmth & was okay- so think I'll be fine with all the windows!  i actually suffer from seasonal depression & have thought that most other boats were too dark so if anything it's a plus! 

 

Space wise again she's pretty much perfect. I've been sharing a transit with my partner for most of this year- so 50ft feels like loads of space, honestly don't know what I'd do with more! & I think if I had much bigger I may start running into problems controlling the boat myself when that's needed :) 

 

Im aware how tricky it can be living in it whilst converting- thankfully I have my partner's van to stay in for the tricky points

 

The cabin that would need to be removed to restore to a centre cockpit is currently just housing the engine room, so I wouldn't really loose out on additional living space- but I'm not sure if this will happen now as it seems the work needed in that area isn't as extensive as I'd thought & I'm not sure I could justify the expense otherwise- but I'll get a clearer idea once I've had another viewing with the broker this weekend

Just seen that Pete Harrison hasn't been online in 4 years & I can't message him yet as I don't have enough posts. Would anyone know if he's contactable some other way or have someone else who may be knowledgeable to recommend? 

[davidg]

35 minutes ago, wanderinglotus said:

Just seen that Pete Harrison hasn't been online in 4 years & I can't message him yet as I don't have enough posts. Would anyone know if he's contactable some other way or have someone else who may be knowledgeable to recommend? 

 Was with Pete two hours ago but won't see him again until Monday. I could ask then.

[wanderinglotus]

1 minute ago, davidg said:

 Was with Pete two hours ago but won't see him again until Monday. I could ask then.

That would be absolutely amazing & very appreciated if you don't mind!