Hire Boats Gas Steet Basin in early 1960's

[alan_fincher]

Is that not a Hoseasons logo?

Doh!

 

Definitely not one of my better days.

[Hobbler]

One base they used was Nantwich and it was still doing private repair work well into the 1970's as one of my boats had quite a lot of work done there .

[alan_fincher]

Alan,

 

I have added a few more scans, http://www.mikeclarke.myzen.co.uk/images.html, which may be of interest. They are from two general BW hire boat brochures from 1960 and 1962, with one for the Water Baby class from 1962. No base is mentioned, but I suspect that you could hire from any BW office or yard that was convenient for the boat's usage.

Mike

 

Mike that's brilliant.

 

Of great interest to me, though I'll admit probably less so to somebody who never tried to live with one.

 

So when we fitted a Camping Gaz stove we were going a bit upmarket of the original spec then! Ditto with accumulator driven cabin and tunnel lights! The advert conveniently doesn't mention the sanitation arrangements. Nor that if you mount the outboard down the inside of a vertical tunnel, it can't actually be tipped up as intended to get to the propeller.

 

And all for a maximum of £13 per week. Bargain!

 

We were led to believe just under 30 were built, along with some bigger ones, sharing some family similarities.

 

Here's ours visiting the then end of the Wendover Arm, before BW filled it with derelict working boats.

 

[Hairy-Neil]

There are one or two of these boats still around with similar cabins

 

(Water) Valiant, Ex GUCCCo 'Enceladus' is a good example, often tied up above The Bratch.

[Paul H]

(Water) Valiant, Ex GUCCCo 'Enceladus' is a good example, often tied up above The Bratch.

 

These days it is in semi-derelict condition at Keith Ball's yard at Stretton aqueduct - or was 18 months ago.

 

Typical Waterways flat transom stern - would make a lovely tug though!

 

Paul H

[alan_fincher]

One of the original (?) style Nicholson's Guides I have (No 1, South East) has two different shots of BW hire boat conversions on the Southern Oxford.

 

One, name after the "Water" unreadable, is almost certainly the back end of a GUCCCo butty, running backwards, and still has a T stud pointing "left to right" across what are now the bows.

 

The other is a pretty detailed shot of Water Lupin passing under an Oxford lift bridge.

 

Both have the highly rounded cabin, and metal hand rails. Water Lupin's windows really do look like they belong on a double decker bus. It's possible these ones were metal cabined, after all, it seems.

[Lizzy J]

Lizzie,

 

This picture from Matt ("Sickle")'s site may be of interest.....

 

Alan

 

That is great and also the link on Pluto's post to the old brochure.

 

My parents will be fascinated, the more I have pressed them the more interested in what has happened to the boat they have become.

 

As soon as I see them and am able to convert the slides they have borrowed to digital I will post some.

 

Cheers

[Hairy-Neil]

The cabins looked like this on the converted 'Water' boats. A Zoo Bus, photographed in April 1963, the boat is Water Wagtail, ex GUCCCo. Corolla.

 

[Steve King]

I'm very surprised, whilst looking for something else, to find apparent evidence of BW operating hire boats right into the early 1970s.

Check out the boat on the extreme right here, on the water point at Stoke Bruerne.....

It's definitely sporting a BW logo, I think. It's hard to tell much more about the boat though.

 

EDIT: To say that Carl is right, I'm a plonker, and it's a Hoseason's not a BW hire boat.

I think you are correct after all Alan. I started working for BWB in 1978 on the waterbus service and I remember they still had hire cruisers then. One was available free of charge to staff but I was never sure if I would qualify, being only a seasonal employee!

 

Hoseasons are an agency, not an operator, and they may well have been the agency for BWB. And besides, who but BWB would paint their boats blue and white at that time? The waterbuses carried those colours too around that time. I've had a quick look back at WW for that period and a list of APCO operators in the Jan '78 issue shows BWB as having five 4-berth, fourteen 6-berth and four 8-berth craft. I think Hilmorton was still used as a base then.

 

The March '78 issue of WW carries this photo on the cover which shows the BWB were still introducing now boats to the hire fleet even in the late 1970s, albeit in a different colour scheme:

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...si&img=3028

"Cover - Just as countless numbers of working boats have done before them, two new hire cruisers descend the Braunston flight of locks breasted up. This attractive Spring-time shot was taken by Michael E. Ware who was helping to deliver the new boats from their builders, Harborough Marine, to the British Waterways Board base at Nantwich."

 

Steve

[Hobbler]

windows really do look like they belong on a double decker bus.

 

If I remember rightly there was a trip boat that had a cabin made from the top deck of a double decker bus - I think it was the one based at Welshpool.

[alan_fincher]

I've no idea how I missed this fabulous footage when the links to the "Beulah" films were first published.

 

This is almost exclusively about all types of BW hire boats of that era....

 

http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=...38566&hl=un

 

I'm absolutely gobsmacked to find more detail on the Water Baby (of which my family later owned one) series than I ever have before, but there are also Water Miss boats, plus quite a lot on the bigger 4 to 6 berth boats, (both tiller steered and centre wheel steered). Also details of the bigger boats that you were cruised on by day, but then spent nights ashore in chosen hotels.

 

It's worth a look as a piece of social history, even if the boats are not of interest to you.

 

Would anybody now be prepared to take out a boat for a week's hire, that had absolutely no toilet or washing facilities, for instance ?

 

Lovely to see boating in tweed jackets, although I suspect several of the boats pictured are shooting along at a great deal than 4 mph!

 

Alan

[Steve King]

If I remember rightly there was a trip boat that had a cabin made from the top deck of a double decker bus - I think it was the one based at Welshpool.

That would have been 'Powys Princess', a Middle Northwich butty as I recall.

 

'Planet' was similarly equipped:

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...i&img=3029#

 

 

Steve

[Derek R.]

That would have been 'Powys Princess', a Middle Northwich butty as I recall.

 

'Planet' was similarly equipped:

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php...i&img=3029#

 

Steve

 

Powys Princess (Scales). Later returned to fully cloth'd up butty and electric powered by all accounts. Was featured in the opening (re-opening) of the Welshpool section in a Waterways World issue way back - Prince Charles doing the ribbon cutting and viewing the boat.

 

 

The rooves are from two Pre-War London Transport double deck RT's, known as 'roof box' RT's as they had a route number indicator box front centre. This was discontinued in the post-war production models. They also have the seats and vertical poles along with the wind up windows. Think they came from a scrappy.

 

Bet you didn't want to know all that.

[Athy]

Powys Princess (Scales). Later returned to fully cloth'd up butty and electric powered by all accounts. Was featured in the opening (re-opening) of the Welshpool section in a Waterways World issue way back - Prince Charles doing the ribbon cutting and viewing the boat.

 

 

The rooves are from two Pre-War London Transport double deck RT's, known as 'roof box' RT's as they had a route number indicator box front centre. This was discontinued in the post-war production models. They also have the seats and vertical poles along with the wind up windows. Think they came from a scrappy.

 

Bet you didn't want to know all that.

On the contrary Derek, absolutely fascinating. This was the first Waterbus, then? What's surprising is that she looks passably handsome with her second-hand roof.

Edited November 14, 2008 by Athy

[Hobbler]

So did they cut the bus top below the windows and attach it to the gunnels or drop the whole of the top deck into the hold ? I would assume the former but cant really tell from the picture . Interesting bit about the route indicator - had assumed it was some sort of natty headlight.

 

 

So did they cut the bus top below the windows and attach it to the gunnels or drop the whole of the top deck into the hold ? I would assume the former but cant really tell from the picture . Interesting bit about the route indicator - had assumed it was some sort of natty headlight.

[alan_fincher]

Powys Princess (Scales). Later returned to fully cloth'd up butty and electric powered by all accounts. Was featured in the opening (re-opening) of the Welshpool section in a Waterways World issue way back - Prince Charles doing the ribbon cutting and viewing the boat.

 

 

The rooves are from two Pre-War London Transport double deck RT's, known as 'roof box' RT's as they had a route number indicator box front centre. This was discontinued in the post-war production models. They also have the seats and vertical poles along with the wind up windows. Think they came from a scrappy.

 

Bet you didn't want to know all that.

I'm definitely not a bus 'Anorak', so certainly can't win an argument about all the variants of the London Transport "RT" bus.

 

But I'm confident huge numbers of "roof box" RTs were not constructed until after the war.

 

This source suggests 1169 built like this from 1946 onwards.....

 

http://www.countrybus.org.uk/RT/RT3.htm#top

 

Now as to the origins of what's on that boat, I wouldn't even hazard a guess.

 

Did the trip boat suffer from people waiting all day for it, then three turning up at once ?

Edited November 14, 2008 by alan_fincher

[Derek R.]

I'm definitely not a bus 'Anorak', [Yes you are . . .]

But I'm confident huge numbers of "roof box" RTs were not constructed until after the war.

This source suggests 1169 built like this from 1946 onwards.....

 

http://www.countrybus.org.uk/RT/RT3.htm#top

 

Yeah - I mess up now and then.

[Lizzy J]

At last I have a couple of photo's. They are digital photographs of a slide at the moment so not perfect.

 

Can anyone identify the places in these two? I am trying to pin the route down now. The lock in the second picture has '18' on the balance beam

 

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Happy New Year to all

 

Liz

Edited January 2, 2009 by Lizzy J

[AMModels]

firt pic is Hatton imo not sure which lock but the paddle gear is distinctive, I would even say that is on the way back to Bham.

 

Any chance of me copying your pics to my site in the section about early hire boats please?

[alan_fincher]

The lock in the second picture has '18' on the balance beam

 

 

Could it be in the Lapworth flight on the Northern Stratford ?

 

I'm no expert, but lock 18 is the third lock you would encounter on that canal if you have come off the Birmingham main line of the GU, (where they obviously were), at Kingswood Junction, and were heading back to Brum.

 

There is a bridge below that lock, and the towpath is on the side you'd expect it to be. But I've no idea if that's a Northern Stratford lock!

 

Alan

 

p.s. Wherever it is, it's obviously a Health and Safety man's nightmare. There isn't a line of three square "bollards" beside the lock!

 

Can anyone identify the places in these two? I am trying to pin the route down now. The lock in the second picture has '18' on the balance beam

 

Bingo !

 

Lock 18 at Lapworth on the Stratford.

 

The prominent telegraph pole in both pictures make it highly likely it's the same location, I think - what do you reckon ?

 

 

Alan

Edited January 3, 2009 by alan_fincher

[Timleech]

I think the tops were GRP and there may be at least one still around . I met a chap at Gailey a couple of years ago and his boat looked like a Josher hull with rounded GRP roofed cabin - I think it was called Water Lupin .

 

 

I don't think they were originally GRP - more like painted canvas over wood but they could well have been sheathed over since. There are one or two of these boats still around with similar cabins - yes Water Lupin (the bow of my old Josher Gorse) is one of them although it has been significantly lengthened in recent years.

 

Paul H

 

Yes they were 'coachbuilt' in timber originally, the radius was done with strips of wood on ash frames. Water Lupin still has her original timber cabin, now sheathed in some sort of rubberised fabric, and twice lengthened in steel. The second time by yours truly, a bit of a nightmare as the first lengthening was only 6' and had been done at an angle to the original.

 

Incidentally her wooden bottom has been keeping us warm through this cold spell. Was it the last wooden bottom fitted by Yarwoods, I wonder?

 

Tim

[RLWP]

firt pic is Hatton imo not sure which lock but the paddle gear is distinctive, I would even say that is on the way back to Bham.

 

Any chance of me copying your pics to my site in the section about early hire boats please?

 

It's Hatton top lock with the lock keeper's cottage in the background. There's an awful lot more trees there now.

 

Richard

[Lizzy J]

[quote name

Any chance of me copying your pics to my site in the section about early hire boats please?

 

 

Yes, that is fine, glad to be able to contribute to the heritage archive at last!

 

Liz

[Lizzy J]

Could it be in the Lapworth flight on the Northern Stratford ?

 

Bingo !

 

Lock 18 at Lapworth on the Stratford.

 

The prominent telegraph pole in both pictures make it highly likely it's the same location, I think - what do you reckon ?

 

Alan

 

I think you are right, I was thinking along those lines as there are not that many lock 18's in the right area but I couldn't find a recent picture to compare.

 

Many thanks

 

Liz

 

Ps. re Health and Safety, I thought I spotted a small squarish bollard in the other picture!

 

It's Hatton top lock with the lock keeper's cottage in the background. There's an awful lot more trees there now.

 

Richard

 

 

Many thanks for confirming that, it means they got a lot further than I imagined.

 

Now I have traced the route I can take them back to over it.

 

Regards

 

Liz

[carlt]

 

That is a beautiful boat and highlights the lack of imagination in today's leisure narrowboats!