Braunston Historic Boat Gathering

[jake_crew]

I thoroughly enjoyed it. Its not a display in marine Choreography - its a meeting for cherished boats.

 

Starting with the finest bacon sarny in the world from the Gongoozlers Rest.

 

Lots of chat about old diesels - especially with the owner of Owl.

 

This picture says it all for me.

 

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/hstreeter/P10...0this%20one.JPG

Edited June 30, 2008 by jake_crew

[Delirium]

Lupin and Olive

[DHutch]

Was there on saturday.

- Met Sarah (sarahavfc) and David (david schweizer) although sadly didnt coninside with Hairy Neil and clearly failed to see Carl.

- Also bumped into varous use other, had a chat with Phil Martino, go to see Sickel in the flesh for the first time, which was great, other familuar faces, viv and monarch ofcause, that sort of thing.

 

Missed last year sadly, but i was a shame that the commentator was below par, and fairly quiet as well. The parade seamed to be more shambolic than usaual. No one seamed to really know who was going when, big gaps in setting off, well total chaos really, but not in the same was as ususal.

- I was expecting some boat movement in the afternoon as well which sadly didnt materialise.

- It was mooted that prehaps they should go in groups, thought out the day. Every half hour another 10-15 boats go round? Or somthing, to keep it all moving and keep the interest up.

 

 

Still, roll on shackerstone eh! Looking fwd to it more than ever, will be my first one, and we will have the boat up with us.

 

Photos to follow.

 

 

Daniel

[Hairy-Neil]

Well I guess it's as historic as Arundel, which you included in your original list....

 

I think Arundel is older than Raymond..... and it has a 50+ year old JP2 in it.....

[Hairy-Neil]

The parade seamed to be more shambolic than usaual. No one seamed to really know who was going when, big gaps in setting off, well total chaos really, but not in the same was as ususal.

 

Was much better when Ivor Bachelor was about..... Nobody dared get it wrong....

[Liam]

Was much better when Ivor Bachelor was about..... Nobody dared get it wrong....

 

He was at the Middlewich Fesitval a couple of weeks ago... with both Mountbatten and Jellicoe.

[Hairy-Neil]

Still, roll on shackerstone eh! Looking fwd to it more than ever,

 

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=15696

[jake_crew]

Are there DVDs etc available of previous years' Braunston gathering ?

[Hairy-Neil]

I think it may have outgrown the venue,

 

I can remember previous years when all the moorings from the Stop House to the elsan disposal point were taken up too...Concentrating the boats near Butchers Bridge and in the basin contributes to the conjestion and restricts many more of the boats from view to spectators on the towpath. It also adds to the general cliqueness the event tends to have....

 

Guess they are more lucrative as long term moorings.....

 

 

Any thoughts on an alternative venue?

[Liam]

Crick!

[Denis R]

The plan was to have one parade on Saturday, starting at 11:00am because last year the morning parade was just about drawing to a close as the afternoon parade started. I wasn't there on Sunday, but it was planned to run the parade at 12:00, which I presume happened. Although young Tom was scurrying back and forth with a list of runners and riders, I'm not convinced that everyone was aware of their intended position in the field. Getting the assembled throng out the basin seemed to be giving some challenges and it appeared to be closely followed by some unexpected off-script extra activity from Nutfield and Raymond, which added to the general melee before the boats in front of Butcher's Bridge could get going. As a result, those the other side of the bridge appeared to be left in even more of a shrug-shoulders mode for quite some time....

[carlt]

We ended up just nipping out in front of Oxford No1, 2 hours after the parade started, because there was a likely looking gap.

[Hairy-Neil]

off-script extra activity from Nutfield and Raymond, which added to the general melee before the boats in front of Butcher's Bridge could get going.

 

I didn't see what happened on saturday, but certainly on sunday morning, Nutfield and Raymond, first through the parade, added to the general melee by trying to get back on their mooring before all the boats had started out of the basin....

[carlt]

I didn't see what happened on saturday, but certainly on sunday morning, Nutfield and Raymond, first through the parade, added to the general melee by trying to get back on their mooring before all the boats had started out of the basin....

They decided to go round twice, the usual Trust cronies waving like royalty.

[Denis R]

Sorry?

An immaculate restoration?

 

Which bit was that then?

 

When they burnt all the timbers before they took measurements?

 

When they refused the offer of taking measurements from Lucy because, quote "We think we know a bit more about it than you".

 

When they were so scared of bending planks that they ended up with a front end too long and a back end that looks like a River Class.

 

When they made the cratch and stands too high so it wouldn't go under bridges and, rather than remaking the stands, they just sawed off the bottoms putting the scallops in completely the wrong place.

 

Using shearing so green that there are now 1/2" gaps between them, where they've shrunk.

 

Making the back cabin completely the wrong shape.

 

Preparing the wood so badly that Ron Hough's paint work fell off after 2 years.

 

Pitching the seams with the wrong grade pitch so that it drips out in hot weather, or not pitching at all so the oakum falls out.

 

I could go on (and usually do) but one thing Raymond isn't, is a restoration, immaculate or not. She is exactly the same as she was in 1958, a new boat built from old ironwork.

 

The difference is, in '58 she was rebuilt properly.

 

They decided to go round twice, the usual Trust cronies waving like royalty.

 

I didn't/couldn't get anywhere near Raymond to look her over, probably because of their off-script antics, but have the latter addressed any of the former in the intervening years?

[alan_fincher]

But then, Arundel has carried 11,000 tons in its short life....Has Raymond ever had a load on it?

 

Fair comment.

 

I think Arundel is older than Raymond..... and it has a 50+ year old JP2 in it.....

 

But is that JP2 a genuine canal boat engine, or a reused impostor from elsewhere, I wonder ?

 

Come to think of it, I wonder how many of the motors that attended are actually powered by something that started life in a working boat ?

 

Quite a small proportion, I'm guessing.....

[carlt]

I didn't/couldn't get anywhere near Raymond to look her over, probably because of their off-script antics, but have the latter addressed any of the former in the intervening years?

Sadly not.

 

She has had another paint job (sadly in Blue line colours, this time) which, hopefully, they did a bit better prepping for.

 

Most of the rest is a bit beyond rectification, short of rebuilding her again.

 

That's not to say she isn't a reasonable rebuild.

 

As Aubrey Berriman said, when he looked her over, after the rebuild was finished "They've built a boat, but it isn't the boat I built"

 

Laura Carter, on the other hand said, simply, "That's not Raymond." when it rounded the turn, returning to Braunston, for the first time.

 

One of the things that irks me most about the Raymond Trust is that they are a group of people who have rebuilt a boat as their own personal party platform and ego massager.

Fair enough. That's a good reason for owning a boat. It's certainly one of my excuses and probably one of the reasons we all own boats.

The problem is, their boat is financed by charity. They get a discounted "museum" licence, too, but I can't see what they do to earn this, above and beyond what any other historic boat owner does.

 

The same people sit on her, sipping vino and waving to the crowds, year after year. I see no educational or charitable work performed by the trust and there isn't any great encouragement to examine or use her.

 

My name went down on the list of people interested in steering Nutfield, the day she was surveyed for purchase but no invitation has been forthcoming.

 

Nutfield and Raymond are, essentially, timeshare boats, used by a select few, funded by charity.

 

Rant over.

[grunders]

Various videos now available at http://www.youtube.com/profile_videos?user=firedemonbjg

[Hairy-Neil]

Nutfield and Raymond are, essentially, timeshare boats, used by a select few, funded by charity.

 

Rant over.

 

 

It's so unlike me to be agreeing with Carlt...

 

I tried to sound out Nutfield/Raymond with a view to crewing and drew the same conclusion

 

Also ditto Atlas & Leo.

 

Excluding the ex boaters involved, I was one of few experienced with pairs steerers that joined the 'Friends' in the early days of the lottery funded working boats project. Then BW moved the goal posts so that we all needed an accessment, and went on to cancel mine no less than three times, before telling me "we now have enough steerers, we'll call you".

 

I'm still waiting for that call.

[Hairy-Neil]

But is that JP2 a genuine canal boat engine, or a reused impostor from elsewhere, I wonder ?

 

Come to think of it, I wonder how many of the motors that attended are actually powered by something that started life in a working boat ?

 

Quite a small proportion, I'm guessing.....

 

I'm no rivet counter, but......

 

Aldgate, Cassiopiea, Hadley still have Petter/Mclaren PD2's, as fitted by BW late 1950's. Tycho a PD3 of same era. Fulbourne has a National DM2, as it would have had when new, though it did spend 30 years with an SR3....

 

As for Nuneaton, it has a modern Lister industrial with a mickey mouse conversion and cardan shaft drive..... The biggest proponent ("the engine is unreliable, underpowered and obsolete...") of this travesty to an historic boat with an historic engine of a type fitted during its latterdays of carrying, and completely contrary to the aims of The Narrow Boat Trust ("to conserve and restore historic boats....") left soon after it was accepted by AGM and commissioned a boat of his own before the deed had even been done.....

 

His new boat..... the 'Arundel'

Edited July 1, 2008 by Hairy-Neil

[carlt]

I'm no rivet counter, but......

I do hope the invisible tongue-in-cheek smiley was deployed there, Neil

[Working Boats]

Hi,

 

I have uploaded some photos and movies of the rally onto my website

 

link

 

Excellent weekend!

 

Matt

[Hairy-Neil]

I do hope the invisible tongue-in-cheek smiley was deployed there, Neil

 

 

What I mean to say is it is all from memory..... I don't have a photo/database with details of every boat/engine combo...

 

 

I have uploaded some photos and movies of the rally onto my website

 

Thanks for those.

 

Looking forward to seeing these as a matching pair...

 

clicky

 

I've thought for many years that one day I was going to find that an unsympathetic new owner had restored 'Tycho' to as built condition. Its excellent news to hear that Sickle is in good hands an that you are saving your pennies to have the ram refitted.

[alan_fincher]

Hi,

 

I have uploaded some photos and movies of the rally onto my website

 

link

 

Excellent weekend!

 

Matt

 

Excellent pictures and videos Matt. Thanks for sharing with those of us who didn't get there.

 

Sickle and Tycho look awesome together - absolutely smashing.

 

The sound of those PD2s takes me back a few years, as well.

 

Regards,

 

Alan

[BlueStringPudding]

Kev and I (with newly acquired tans from our holiday oop the Ashby ) spent the Sunday at Braunston. It was marvellous. Saw the horsey demo, watched the boats, Kev viewed a little Springer that was for sale ("Bullfrog") because he thought it was cute (no we didn't buy it!) and we drank lots of beer and went on a mini pub crawl. Perfect Sunday. Here's some happy snaps of our day at Braunston, for anyone who wasn't there:

 

 

Musicans aboard:

 

 

 

Nice red one :

 

 

 

Quality beardage had by all:

 

 

 

More ye olde boats:

 

 

 

Queenie gets her tackle out (as it were):

 

 

 

More musicians on boats:

 

 

 

Kev and the Cheese Boat:

 

 

 

Kev aboard the Springer "Bullfrog":

 

 

 

Sunset over the bridge: