Big Rickys and Alrewas Cruising

[Kez]

Can anyone and everyone who knows a big ricky please post the origanal name of it please?Im narrowing down the names that mine could have been.

My boat was a big ricky but we dont know who she was. all we know is that:

she was a wooden butty from the 62

she was cut in half in about '67, shipped to the lancaster canal and turned into a hire boat for Alrewas cruising (possibly called mayflower)

she was then sold and bought by a couple who called her "Th'only"

finally was bought by my parents, lengthened and called "linnet"

any info on Alrewas cruising would be helpful too. all i know is that it was probably going in about '67

[alan_fincher]

I have the 1974 "Canals Book", and surprisingly this shows no boatyards or hire bases at Alweras itself.

 

So it seems likely that the company to which you refer was not trading by then.

 

Nearest hire base were Swan Line Cruisers at Fradley Junction, but as that sometimes lists as an Alweras address, is it possible that it was a forerunner of Swan Line ?

[Kez]

I have the 1974 "Canals Book", and surprisingly this shows no boatyards or hire bases at Alweras itself.

 

So it seems likely that the company to which you refer was not trading by then.

 

Nearest hire base were Swan Line Cruisers at Fradley Junction, but as that sometimes lists as an Alweras address, is it possible that it was a forerunner of Swan Line ?

 

i doubt it was, but i could be wrong.

does your book say anything about the boats they were using?

[alan_fincher]

Sorry no - now I look again it says "Boat Sales & Service", but doesn't mention hire.

 

There's no advert in this edition foe them either, I'm afraid.

 

Sorry.

[Hairy-Neil]

Bury

Byfield

Cardiff

Chalfont

Chesham

Chipstead

Cobham

Coniston

Coughton

Denton

 

Downham

Dudley

Ealing

Elton

Ewell

Feltham

Fulwell

Glossor

Gretna

Guiseley

Hadfield

Hagley

Hale

Halton

Kew

Knebworth

Lambourne

Lichfield

Langho

Norton

 

 

Nunhead

Neston

Oulton

Padbury

Poplar

Purley

Rawdon

Roade

Romsey

Ruislip

Saltley

Seascale

Shilton

Slinfold

Southam

 

 

Starcross

Staverton

Stoulton

Streatham

Sunbury

Surbiton

Taplow

Tilbury

Tiverton

Tayport

Taunton

Tydd

Utoxeter

Wivenhoe

Yeovil

[Kez]

Bury

Byfield

Cardiff

Chalfont

Chesham

Chipstead

Cobham

Coniston

Coughton

Denton

 

Downham

Dudley

Ealing

Elton

Ewell

Feltham

Fulwell

Glossor

Gretna

Guiseley

Hadfield

Hagley

Hale

Halton

Kew

Knebworth

Lambourne

Lichfield

Langho

Norton

 

 

Nunhead

Neston

Oulton

Padbury

Poplar

Purley

Rawdon

Roade

Romsey

Ruislip

Saltley

Seascale

Shilton

Slinfold

Southam

 

 

Starcross

Staverton

Stoulton

Streatham

Sunbury

Surbiton

Taplow

Tilbury

Tiverton

Tayport

Taunton

Tydd

Utoxeter

Wivenhoe

Yeovil

 

wow! how do you know all them?!

[AMModels]

There are quite a few lists out there of the Rickies.

[Paul H]

This is all a bit confusing.

 

"shipped to the lancaster canal and turned into a hire boat for Alrewas cruising (possibly called mayflower) "

 

Alrewas is a village on the Trent and Mersey canal - a long way from the Lancaster.

 

As you have discovered there were about 60 Big Ricky butties - I can probably account for about half of them (although some of those are now broken up) so that really doesn't narrow down your list very much.

 

The man to contact is Pete Harrison who has extensive lists of the GUCCC boats and their fates. If he can't work it out - noone can. I'll PM you his email address.

 

Is your's the boat Adie is about to start work on at Malkins Bank?

 

There is also a full length small ricky nowadays called Linnet (possibly ex-Ariel) so don't let this confuse you!

 

Please let us know how you get on and what Pete says.

 

Good luck.

 

Paul H

[Kez]

This is all a bit confusing.

 

"shipped to the lancaster canal and turned into a hire boat for Alrewas cruising (possibly called mayflower) "

 

Alrewas is a village on the Trent and Mersey canal - a long way from the Lancaster.

 

As you have discovered there were about 60 Big Ricky butties - I can probably account for about half of them (although some of those are now broken up) so that really doesn't narrow down your list very much.

 

The man to contact is Pete Harrison who has extensive lists of the GUCCC boats and their fates. If he can't work it out - noone can. I'll PM you his email address.

 

Is your's the boat Adie is about to start work on at Malkins Bank?

 

There is also a full length small ricky nowadays called Linnet (possibly ex-Ariel) so don't let this confuse you!

 

Please let us know how you get on and what Pete says.

 

Good luck.

 

Paul H

sorry, its my wording that made it confusing. she was a hire boat on the trent and mersey possibly for a company called Alrewas cruising (we know she was a hire boat, but the bloke who told us alrewas cruising could be a little unreliable) she might have been called mayflower as a hire boat. when she was sold to private ownership, then she was shipped to the lancaster and called th'only.

there were 62 big rickys, so if you dont mind could you list the ones you can account for? im narrowing down the suspects!

yes, she is the current boat at Malkins bank, have you seen her?

oh and shes definatly not the small ricky ariel/linnet, although its quite a coincidence....

[Paul H]

sorry, its my wording that made it confusing. she was a hire boat on the trent and mersey possibly for a company called Alrewas cruising (we know she was a hire boat, but the bloke who told us alrewas cruising could be a little unreliable) she might have been called mayflower as a hire boat. when she was sold to private ownership, then she was shipped to the lancaster and called th'only.

there were 62 big rickys, so if you dont mind could you list the ones you can account for? im narrowing down the suspects!

yes, she is the current boat at Malkins bank, have you seen her?

oh and shes definatly not the small ricky ariel/linnet, although its quite a coincidence....

OK I'll work on the list later. I wonder if your boat might have been operated by Anker Valley Cruisers of Atherstone who were active in the area in the 1960s cutting down wooden working boats and operating some of them as hireboats. There have been pictures over the years in Waterways World of one of their boats (Venturer?) getting stuck on various epic cruises - but without the title of the articles they would be difficult to find. I know this not Alrewas but it is not far away and there were very few such operators around.

 

Paul H