Old 1970s Negatives - Part 6

[alan_fincher]

These relate to hiring the Anglo Welsh boat "Jackie Dee", almost certainly summer 1973, although 1974 may just be possible.

 

(The boat still exists, and passed us up Braunston locks, during one of the Banters at the Admiral Nelson).

 

Most pictures were taken in colour.

 

I suspect these black and white odds and sods were taken on my former wife's Ricoh compact.

 

Here's our hiring.

 

Anybody who thinks Harborough hulls cut cleanly through the water should study the bow here.

 

(I don't think we were "legging it" particularly, the engine was so governed back by AW it was hard to make it go fast at all...)

 

 

Compare it to the pattern at the bows of this motor that we passed. (I have no idea what this was)....

 

 

Now this one puzzles me. It looks for the world like Union Canal Carrier's "Birmingham, at the time one of the best sounding boats around. But these pictures are high summer, right in the middle of camping boat season, so why would they have been carrying coal then ? But it even looks like the right steerer, (name Andy ??).

 

Does anybody recognise the lock, which seems to be in a flight.

 

There doesn't appear to be much room between us and him!

 

 

And these I was not expecting.

 

I had no idea this boat ever worked for Foxton Boat Services, but a forum member will recognise it well.

 

So is it a self-drive hire, boat, or a boat that they crewed for you, or even a full hotel boat - it's hard to guess from the pictures.

 

I wonder if they meant to be that firmly on the bottom!

 

 

 

I might add some colour ones later, but I'm quite enjoying going back to black and white.

[Richard T]

Is the unknown boat Union Canal Carriers Kimberley? It looks right and they were using it as a self drive camper around then.

[alan_fincher]

Is the unknown boat Union Canal Carriers Kimberley? It looks right and they were using it as a self drive camper around then.

No, it's definitely a Grand Union "Big Woolwich" boat.

 

I can't say for certain even that it's a Union Canal Carriers operated one, but it has the look. I know it's not Bexhill, as that was passed elsewhere, as a camper. Nor is it Bilster, I think, and Birmingham seems most likely, as it had a cratch board painted something like that, and a steerer who looked similar. Of course it may be one of the other outfits, like Foxton Boat Services, but my money is firmly on UCC.

 

For any of the companies who's main trade was camping boats, one carrying a load of coal in mid August is fairly unusual though. One would normally have expected to find Birmingham paired with Balham.

 

Alan

[koukouvagia]

I had no idea this boat ever worked for Foxton Boat Services, but a forum member will recognise it well.

 

So is it a self-drive hire, boat, or a boat that they crewed for you, or even a full hotel boat - it's hard to guess from the pictures.

 

I wonder if they meant to be that firmly on the bottom!

 

 

Great pictures.

Foxton Boat Services shared Owl with its then owner Phil Smith from 1969 – 1980. While at FBS Owl was also used as a camping boat paired with Mercury and skippered by Jack Monk. However, it’s clearly not Jack steering, because he would never have got out of the channel and into difficulties. Mary Matts at FBS would be sure to know whether the steerer was a hirer, as I suspect.

It’s interesting (well to me, at least) to see that Owl has got the tipcat made from parachute chord, which must have lasted well over 30 years. The engine at the time was probably a Lister CE.

Pictures of Owl are few and far between, so I’m very pleased to see these.

I’m still a bit hazy on some of the details of Owl’s history in the 50s and 60s. It was used as a maintenance boat in London where it caught fire and was sold for £50 in the early 1960s. It then spent some time on the K&A and was, according to David Blagrove, renamed Boxer on account of the owner’s dog. I’d be interested to have any of these details confirmed.

[Richard T]

No, it's definitely a Grand Union "Big Woolwich" boat.

 

Alan, I was referring to the boat in picture 2 which is approaching you under cloths not the loaded boat which I can't identify.

[alan_fincher]

Alan, I was referring to the boat in picture 2 which is approaching you under cloths not the loaded boat which I can't identify.

Doh !

 

Sorry, my fault.

 

Yes, that is a possible, I'd say.

 

Although I know it was also worked as part of a crewed pair sometimes, (with Puppis, I think ??).

 

I don't have any pictures of Kimberley to compare to, I think.

 

I think it had recessed panelling on the cabin, and the boat pictures looks like it may have to.

 

We would certainly have passed through UCC territory, as we came down the Leicester then across to go down the Southern Oxford.

[BuckbyLocks]

Doh !

 

Sorry, my fault.

 

Yes, that is a possible, I'd say.

 

Although I know it was also worked as part of a crewed pair sometimes, (with Puppis, I think ??).

 

I don't have any pictures of Kimberley to compare to, I think.

 

I think it had recessed panelling on the cabin, and the boat pictures looks like it may have to.

 

We would certainly have passed through UCC territory, as we came down the Leicester then across to go down the Southern Oxford.

 

Can't say anything about 73, and I didn't log any small boats but in August 74 Owl was spotted near Linslade, Birmingham and Balham were camping at Stoke Hammond 3 along with Bexhill and Brighton, Fulbourne also joined the fun there. Later in Leighton, Petrel and Moon and Crusader(Kimberley?) and Ara were winding - I think skippered by Alec Purcell. During all this toing and froing, Bicester passed through heading North, loaded with coal. The only single Josher motor logged on that trip was the Bream, near Weedon, but I cannot remember the condition at all and wouldn't have had the camera out.

I imagine everybody knows about Owl's strange appearance as a horse boat in the late version of 'the Railway Children'. I can't find the date of recording on the outside of the DVD box but it is the one with Richard Attenborough as the Old Gentleman.

 

Is it Bicester?

[alan_fincher]

Is it Bicester?

Hard to tell, but a year or so after this my brothers used to moor their boats with several others at Leighton Buzzard, including Elstree, Lyra & Bicester.

 

It doesn't look like I recall Bicester then.

 

It's hard to tell from the scan, but the one in this thread looks like it may well have the outlets associated with an air-cooled engine. Birmingham had a Petter PD2 (air cooled), whereas Bicester had the same type of Perkins P3 (water cooled) that I was familiar with in my own boat.

 

I can't remember the steerer's name on Birmingham, but am pretty certain Andy sounds right. The more I look, the more I think it's him.

 

The one thing that puts me off the UCC idea is why they would have been carrying coal in the thick of the camping boat season - it doesn't seem right, somehow.

 

I had no idea it was Owl in the remake of the Railway Children.

[Hairy-Neil]

I had no idea it was Owl in the remake of the Railway Children.

 

The NBT were asked to make Brighton available but there were insufficient crew available to get the boat to the location in the time scale required by the film crew.