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Towy


Liam

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I stopped just below Middlewich Three a couple of weeks ago... whilst the "others" went shopping. I had a nice walk up the locks in the glorious sunshine and was very pleasantly suprised to find that Towy, the Thos Clayton motor was just about to go back in to the water after a dry docking.

 

There were a lot of people around but I put this down to the good weather bringing them all out... but nope, it turns out that it was the boats 70th birthday, so they were all there to celebrate. Would you beleive that they even bought their boat a cake and sang "Happy Birthday" ?!

 

I managed to root out somebody with a bit of sanity and found out that there's a group of people who own the boat collectively, and it had just been out for a while whilst work on the bottom was carried out. The boat also got a new cabin for its birthday. It looks like loads of work had been done, not just since it was in the dock but over a few years at least. A very well turned out boat, in my opinion.

 

Here's some pictures... (Andy, please feel free to use them on your website, if you so wish).

 

towy1.jpg

 

towy2.jpg

 

towy3.jpg

 

towy4.jpg

 

towy5.jpg

 

towy6.jpg

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Hi

Towy had gone to middlewich from Malkins Bank (just up the Trent and Mersey) were she had been for several weeks while Malcolm Webster, Adrian Polglaze had worked on the hull and Adrian had rebuilt the cabin. The national engine was serviced and one head changed by Richard Gobal, of Kelvin fame, I fabricated up the 2" exhaust pipe for Richard.

Adrian wanted the boat to look "original" as possible from the outside so the exhaust had to be moved to exit from the roof in the approx position it would have when the Bolinder was fitted, which was about half between the handgrip and the air hatch over the engine room. So instead of going stright up as it appears to in the pic it had to have a near 90d easy bend then angle sternward at 40d with another 90d easy taking it through the roof also allowing head room to walk under it on that side of the engine.

The National had a car type silencer fitted when Richard started his work which was absolutley clogged with gunge, the owners asked for a stright through pipe. It is a bit noisey Nationals are not as quiet as some so we may be asked to fabricate up an expansion box.

david

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  • 7 years later...

I know its an old thread but the exhaust isnt like this now (in a few days once i get 1 part). Its got a 4 inch 90 deg bend in it going to the original bolinder coller. I simply couldnt have it the way it was its ment to have a bolly coller on! But the rest is as it was its got a nice sound not too quiet but not so loud you it scares birds away. Just perfect.

Edited by billybobbooth
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So, the National I supplied and dropped in at Sherbourne St., (pre Brummagem Boats), for John Stevenson, removing the Fergusson tractor engine, which I had previously re-built for him at Lane Head, is still in place, I put an original National silencer box and pipe on at the time, I wonder what happened to that, Stevenson (sadly no longer with us) and his mate "Beard" had bow hauled it round the BCN from Birmingham to Lane Head, with the Fergusson engine in bits.

 

I also put several 40 gal barrels of water in her for him, in an attempt to get the hog out of her, I have wondered if she was still around a few times, the National was One of Six or Seven I purchased from Bulls Bridge, One went into the Bilster, One into Hampstead, One into Elstree + the one in Towy, the rest used for spares, including a set of engine feet supplied to Narrow boat Trust, for Nuneaton which they forgot to pay for, loaded into the boot of a Moggy Minor at Pelsall I recall, all this was back in the Sixties, whilst we were still in the real world !, can't remember whether it was a few spares or an engine I sold to Andy Rothern for Buckden, anyway there you go, I will leave you in peace.

  • Greenie 1
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I know the silencer that was removed in 2009 was non existent there was no baffling left in it at all.

Nice info though now i know where the engine came from. From your info it had atleast 3 engines fitted in her time. The hog is no longer maybe a hint of going the otherway but she had tonnes of weight in the middle of the boat.

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  • 6 months later...

It is one of mine, taken c1976, with the headlamps and front wheel of my 1934 Riley 9 special on the left. The photo was taken at Peter Shrubsall's Runcorn yard.

Must have been when Stephen Kaye owned it.

2 years before the towy group bought her

Edited by billybobbooth
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  • 7 months later...
  • 1 month later...
  • 3 months later...

I came across this image yesterday whilst looking for nothing in particular, and wondered whether 'billybobbooth' had seen it before (copyright to alamy by the looks of it - the caption is added by me):

The weight placed on the deck to tip the boat can clearly be seen, and it looks like the engine is still running by the water ejecting just behind the engine room doors :captain: 

5a50cd900fd42_TOWYatMidlandTarDistillersOldburyc1960(alamy).jpg.22c10d0ae5191fbfbc9ccbcacf06018e.jpg

Edited by pete harrison
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Hi pete no i havent seen that pic, by the looks its a very early 60s as the pics ive seen of her up to 56 she had hand rails on the cabin and the tiller and swan neck were in red white and green, the later pics in 65&66 show the tiller like this but by then the cabin sides were a mess again,

This is prob the tidyest pic ive ever seen of her,

Thanks for posting.

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On 06/01/2018 at 13:27, pete harrison said:

I came across this image yesterday whilst looking for nothing in particular, and wondered whether 'billybobbooth' had seen it before (copyright to alamy by the looks of it - the caption is added by me):

The weight placed on the deck to tip the boat can clearly be seen, and it looks like the engine is still running by the water ejecting just behind the engine room doors :captain: 

5a50cd900fd42_TOWYatMidlandTarDistillersOldburyc1960(alamy).jpg.22c10d0ae5191fbfbc9ccbcacf06018e.jpg

Do you know where that was taken?

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4 minutes ago, David Mack said:

Thanks Pete. Something looked familiar, so I wondered if it was there.  Have not been there for years.  What does it look like now?

I have no idea what it looks like now as I have not been there for years either - about 35 years or thereabouts :captain:

edit - perhaps a photo opportunity for 'billybobbooth' and TOWY.  

Edited by pete harrison
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