... or know this one?

[carlt]

These pictures were taken in 1981 near to Dunkerque, there were a lot of wooden peniches about, I cannot for the life of me remember exactly where they were. Our route was from Saint omer meandering to Dunquerqe and we were looking at canals, we saw a boat that looked like the "Rigolo" but had no film left as it was our last day on hol.

Now that is boat heaven!

 

Most of the wooden Peniches have gone the way of wooden keels and are allbut extinct.

 

I would love to find and restore one to working trim.

[Derek R.]

Boat heaven - or folly!

 

One word comes to mind - ugly. Efficient probably in carrying ability, but ugly - about as attractive as a 'bungalow bath'.

Compare to the vast array of Dutch craft; Tjalks, Hoogaars, Skutjes, Clippers, Botters, and scores more.

 

Restore one to working condition? And do what with it? And where? I can understand a Thames Sailing barge, a Smack or Bawley - but a Peniche? A train of Tom Puddings have got more attraction.

 

The little steel dinghy has some style - and more use. The wooden Peniche - history decaying. No sails, no engine, no cargo, no use. Even modern Peniches are lying along the banks of the Seine tied up with huge advertisement hoardings permanently fixed and going nowhere. There are a few Chalands on the Loire with sail, and look all the world like something from Medieval times, yet hardly draw the soul like a pair with fenders and brasses gleaming, and smoke curling from the chimney.

 

Gert oogly things!

[Pluto]

Boat heaven - or folly!

 

One word comes to mind - ugly. Efficient probably in carrying ability, but ugly - about as attractive as a 'bungalow bath'.

Compare to the vast array of Dutch craft; Tjalks, Hoogaars, Skutjes, Clippers, Botters, and scores more.

 

Restore one to working condition? And do what with it? And where? I can understand a Thames Sailing barge, a Smack or Bawley - but a Peniche? A train of Tom Puddings have got more attraction.

 

The little steel dinghy has some style - and more use. The wooden Peniche - history decaying. No sails, no engine, no cargo, no use. Even modern Peniches are lying along the banks of the Seine tied up with huge advertisement hoardings permanently fixed and going nowhere. There are a few Chalands on the Loire with sail, and look all the world like something from Medieval times, yet hardly draw the soul like a pair with fenders and brasses gleaming, and smoke curling from the chimney.

 

Gert oogly things!

That's exactly what most people said about L&LC short boats when I moved onto Pluto in the 1970s, yet the shape and skill needed in constructing short boats far exceeds that needed for narrow boats. It was/is just that people don't have the background knowledge to appreciate boats which are not well known. Little has been written in English about the peniche, but if you do some research, you would find that the reasons for their shape mirrors that of narrow boats. Both have a certain charm in the shape of the bow and stern, but the rest is just a box when compared to real boats. That said, the world would be a poorer place without either.

 

The French have ben very good at getting EU money to build replicas of many old traditional boats, and I can recommend the bi-annual festival held at Orleans on the Loire, where around thirty boats attended when I was there a few years ago. However, these boats are comparatively small - up to short boat size - and there has been no similar tale to tell regarding the restoration of larger wooden canal and river boats there.

[Laurence Hogg]

I know this is an old topic but some new information has come to light. A friend of mine (Tony Miles ex manager at Ken Keays) who lived in France and Belgium in the 1980's also remembered seeing this boat too, he also reckoned it was fairly well kept. Does anyone know of any french websites on old boats / wooden historical boats? The reason I ask is that there are none of these boats surviving with the exception of the wrecks in Harefield and recovery of a fully existing boat or being able to examine one would be a coo. My memories of this boat was in the St Omer area, my friend also agrees it was in the same area and remembers seeing it at Watten. If this boat hadnt moved far in all that time it just possibly might still be around.

Edited October 29, 2011 by Laurence Hogg

[carlt]

I'll do some Googling but have had little success in the past.

[Pluto]

I'll do some Googling but have had little success in the past.

Not looking very hard this time, Carl!

French canal boats

The site was done by Charles Berg, a French canal historian and artist. As you would expect from France, his drawings of locks which have disappeared usually feature a lock keeper's daughter.

[Guest]

Not looking very hard this time, Carl!

French canal boats

The site was done by Charles Berg, a French canal historian and artist. As you would expect from France, his drawings of locks which have disappeared usually feature a lock keeper's daughter.

Excellent quote on there, "Knowledge not shared is a safe in the desert."

[Laurence Hogg]

Not looking very hard this time, Carl!

French canal boats

The site was done by Charles Berg, a French canal historian and artist. As you would expect from France, his drawings of locks which have disappeared usually feature a lock keeper's daughter.

What a brilliant site. Absolute mine of information but no mention of a wooden wideboat, however he does mention the "Gros numero" which were WW1 built metal boats built for the conflict.

[bargemast]

What a brilliant site. Absolute mine of information but no mention of a wooden wideboat, however he does mention the "Gros numero" which were WW1 built metal boats built for the conflict.

 

 

Hello Laurence,

 

the "Gros Nummero" barges were not built for the WW 1, but were built by the Germans to replace the barges in France and Belgium that they destroyed during the war. They started building these in the early '20, and they built about 620, all of them as unmotorised barges.

 

Cheers,

 

Peter.

[Tam & Di]

What a brilliant site. Absolute mine of information but no mention of a wooden wideboat, however he does mention the "Gros numero" which were WW1 built metal boats built for the conflict.

 

 

No, I didn't find anything on the wooden wideboat either. The "site" material is available from Charles as a DVD for those with expensive/unreliable internet connection.

[Laurence Hogg]

No, I didn't find anything on the wooden wideboat either. The "site" material is available from Charles as a DVD for those with expensive/unreliable internet connection.

 

Do you by any chance have any idea where my pictures of the wooden peniches were took (they are posted earlier in the thread) as I cannot remember the exact location. We travelled to Dunkirk that day from St Omer passing through Bethune to look at the SNCF roundhouse (now a supermarket!)I was more into trains then and by chance followed some canals on the way, despite still having my map I am unsure of our route as we always went off the beaten track.

[Laurence Hogg]

Mark and myself have been working on this image of "Rigolo". After using various filters and image processing we have a clue to the identity. Study the image below.

Under the stenciled "Rigolo" is the original bow paintwork, two circles on the expected two colour background edged with white. More imprtant a "F" is visible far left just to the right under the towing/ mooring stump. further along just where the lady's shoulder is "SL" is visible and possibly a "E", and over the mid way painted circle could be another letter. Without a higher res scan I wouldnt like to say this is "Isleworth" but certainly it could be the remnants of some WD painting. Was it "FMC ISLEWORTH"?

 

If a higher resolution scan is available we would like to examine it further, switching the below image to negative also shows the same results.

 

[RLWP]

I think you are chasing shadows and finding what you want to find Laurence. I can't make out any letters or circles in that image

 

Richard

[Laurence Hogg]

I think you are chasing shadows and finding what you want to find Laurence. I can't make out any letters or circles in that image

 

Richard

Apologies Richard I omitted the keyed photo. By changing energy levels in the picture you can pull out detail which isnt obvious, particularly when you work in negative. The evidence there suits the standard FMC paintwork layout and may have additional lettering than normal.

Also its fair to say you dont have the advantage of viewing at the size we have through the forum, comparisons with other photos bear out the overpainted scheme.

 

Also the heavy iron guard fixed to the gunwale is probably the original which ran all the way down these boats, which in this view is not present on the wooden mounting strip.

 

 

Edited October 31, 2011 by Laurence Hogg

[Tam & Di]

Apologies Richard I omitted the keyed photo. By changing energy levels in the picture you can pull out detail which isnt obvious, particularly when you work in negative. The evidence there suits the standard FMC paintwork layout and may have additional lettering than normal.

Also its fair to say you dont have the advantage of viewing at the size we have through the forum, comparisons with other photos bear out the overpainted scheme.

 

Also the heavy iron guard fixed to the gunwale is probably the original which ran all the way down these boats, which in this view is not present on the wooden mounting strip.

 

 

 

Would it have actually had the letters FMC in front of the name? I don't think I've ever seen the company initials there before.

 

Re your query about location of the wooden boats you photographed, I've not boated around Dunkerque myself, but I'll ask around various marinier friends and see if I turn anything up.

[Timleech]

Would it have actually had the letters FMC in front of the name? I don't think I've ever seen the company initials there before.

 

Re your query about location of the wooden boats you photographed, I've not boated around Dunkerque myself, but I'll ask around various marinier friends and see if I turn anything up.

 

When we first went that way with the Beecliffe, 1975, there were quite a few laid up near the docks, and one which looked freshly docked still working, I seem to remember it was a short haul traffic of peanuts out of the docks to a nearby factory.

 

Tim

[Laurence Hogg]

Would it have actually had the letters FMC in front of the name? I don't think I've ever seen the company initials there before.

 

Re your query about location of the wooden boats you photographed, I've not boated around Dunkerque myself, but I'll ask around various marinier friends and see if I turn anything up.

Thanks Tam, I have never seemn a early FMC boat with either initials or a name on the fore end, nor on the latter livery. Its only a guess but as the craft were requisitioned they may have carried some sort of ID as to the owner. There certainly looks to be something there.

[Laurence Hogg]

Just resurrecting this topic. With the current interest in WW1 has anyone any idea if the boat which is the subject of this article may still exist? If so it is a very rare survivor and should at least be properly recorded,

 

So is "Rigolo" still around?