Seventies boating

[Southdowner]

Have I seen that boat in a pub car park? Does it now moor at Langrick Bridge?

 

Has anyone had any experience of negative scanners, do they have one, can they recommend one? I have been looking through negatives and there are a reasonable number that definitely need transfering into a digital format for a wider audience.

 

 

 

When I was considering buying one of these the stand-out affordable choice was a Nikon LS-50, without stepping up to a pro model.

I did not buy one and settled for a cheaper flatbed scanner option later, lack of funds, so I can't speak from personal experience.

 

See the reviews for Nikon LS-50 scanner on Amazon here :

 

http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B0...howViewpoints=1

 

Current Ebay auction (not the only one) people often buy them, scan what they have and sell them on

but the negative scanner is already a product of the past and this type of scanner may be less available in future, except at high-end.

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Nikon-film-scanner-L...2#ht_500wt_1182

 

 

In view of the importance of your pictures can anyone suggest what publishers/museums use to capture pictures from negative.

[Hairy-Neil]

My copyright

Help me out again, is this Newbold? in which case I have another tale. But I have to go now, hope to find time to post a bit more tomorrow.

 

Newbold, Yes. The twin towpath and turnover bridge on the portal give it away.

[PeterScott]

Being seen together does not automatically mean they're in the same ownership....

My understanding with Aldgate & Angel is that the last owner would only sell them as a pair. I believe the 'consortium' that bought them divided their assets and disbanded immediatly the deal was done, however, their current owners do often travel about together.

 

That sounds conspiratorial, which is not the case; there was no 'immediately' involved: Angel and Aldgate were bought as a pair, with the intention of running them as a pair after their restoration, which they did for the 2008 season. However plans, being plans, didn't work out fully.

 

Aldgate was at the 2009 IWA National, with Nick Woolf. Angel is owned by Sheena Bourne and is moored at Braunston: she was in the parades at the 2009 Historic Boat Show with Fulbourne and did a trip up the Ashby with Duncan Davis's PearlBarley later in the year.

[David Schweizer]

Have I seen that boat in a pub car park? Does it now moor at Langrick Bridge?

 

Has anyone had any experience of negative scanners, do they have one, can they recommend one? I have been looking through negatives and there are a reasonable number that definitely need transfering into a digital format for a wider audience.

I am sure that your brother has got one, or at leaset the means to scan negatives and reverse them on the computer.

[alan_fincher]

I am sure that your brother has got one, or at leaset the means to scan negatives and reverse them on the computer.

I just use a now fairly elderly flatbed scanner, primarily for documents, but which can illuminate negatives, (or slides), from behind,and scan them.

 

I've no experience of a dedicated film or slide scanner, but would expect even a basic one to produce better results than the flat bed, which will produce something acceptable for the Internet, but just wouldn't be of the quality expected to publish in a quality book.

 

I have considered buying the proper article, but don't really have enough material to justify it.

 

This is typical quality that comes off the flat-bed, but don't forget that they tend to get downgraded by loading into PhotoBucket too.....

 

Sample scan on flatbed scanner from 35mm negative.....

 

Raven's Lane lock and cottage, Berkhamsted, early 1970s

 

 

Sample scan on flatbed scanner from 35mm slide

 

(Care to own up to having boated on the one in the middle, then, Mike ?)

 

Lucy in retirement behind the "Water Baby"

 

[Hairy-Neil]

That sounds conspiratorial, which is not the case; there was no 'immediately' involved: Angel and Aldgate were bought as a pair, with the intention of running them as a pair after their restoration, which they did for the 2008 season. However plans, being plans, didn't work out fully.

 

Aldgate was at the 2009 IWA National, with Nick Woolf. Angel is owned by Sheena Bourne and is moored at Braunston: she was in the parades at the 2009 Historic Boat Show with Fulbourne and did a trip up the Ashby with Duncan Davis's PearlBarley later in the year.

 

They say the worst ship you could set sail in is a partnership......

[Smudge]

Have I seen that boat in a pub car park? Does it now moor at Langrick Bridge?

 

No, you won't have seen it anywhere other than in the water! We had it built in Chorley and spent 2 weeks bringing her back to Lincolnshire.

We moor her near to the road bridge in Chapel Hill.

[antarmike]

No, you won't have seen it anywhere other than in the water! We had it built in Chorley and spent 2 weeks bringing her back to Lincolnshire.

We moor her near to the road bridge in Chapel Hill.

I just wondered if it was the one that was once in the "Packet Boat" carpark, but obviously not.

[Pluto]

In view of the importance of your pictures can anyone suggest what publishers/museums use to capture pictures from negative.

I use an Epson 4990 which produces excellent results for publication, though I do usually have to do a bit of Photoshopping to get the best from shadow areas. If the negs or prints are not of the highest quality, there is no point in using the highest quality fully professional scanners. You need something that recognises detail in the lights and darks of an image, and a good quality semi-pro scanner would be fine for most images. Professional scanners are only really necessary for detailed colour control, such as where a business has a logo it needs to match, or for greatly enlarging an image, but then you need a really sharp image to start with. I tend to save images as tiff files with a size of around 6Mb for a black and white image, or 18Mb for colour. They would produce good images for publication up to A3 in size.

[antarmike]

Yes the Newbold story, I was working in Aylesbury in a job that required a month's notice, I had had an interview with BWB, and been offered a job, the Monday after my last day in Aylesbury.

 

I was living at Cowroast on the boat, and my brother was lock keeper. When I got home he stopped me, "David Blagrove rand trying to get you."

 

I rang David straight back, "I have a load of coal coming to Atherstone in two days time, can you meet it with Bilster?, Jaguar was supposed to be there but I have been let down."

 

I thought about and said yes. I didn't bother going back to work in Aylesbury. next morning I set off from Cowroast with a mate Kerr Lockwheeling for me driving my van, and running around a lot. He saw me to Fenny, and I carried on on my own. As I was going up Stoke, two locks from the top, the locks that had been against me were now for me, but no boat in the pound. As I got into the top lock the gates shut behind me, and someone drew the paddles, As the lock filled in the darkness, David Blagrove handed me a pint, and said if I drank that quick, there was another one for me in "the Boat"

 

I managed two before 10.30 closing (in those days)

Next day I was on Atherstone wharf before 11,30 and the Coal lorry turned up at 1.30. Loaded I headed south.

 

The next day I woke to find the canal frozen.

 

I soon found myself follwing a boat. I knew because the ice was now broken straight down the middle of the cut. Everytime I wanted deep water on the outside of a bend, the ice, which I was trying to break on one side of my bow only, kept pushing me over into the shallow water on the inside of the bend.

 

Coming out of Newbold I found the offending boat, A waterways hire boat. Moored by the pub, on an outside bend. I tried to get past but the water was too shallow, and I came past rubbing along this boat, but with my other side running on the bottom.

 

Someone stuck a head out and complained. I had had enough, having been stuck on just about every bend because of this guy, so I told him in a fairly colourful way what I thought of his boating skills, and where he should stick his boat.

 

Foolishly as a went past I held the tiller hard over, and sent a wash along the bank, breaking free his front mooring.

 

Halfway through Buckby I was met by the Section inspector, who informed me that I was in trouble, because the guy had had just sworn at was the Head of the Waterways hire fleet, on the canal recovering from a recent heart attack!

 

Anyway, I got to Stoke Bruerne, emptied and ran back to Cowroast.

 

Monday morning saw me at my new job on BWB. I was all fired up with enthusiasm, but I was told to go to the section inspectors house. There I found the bricky plastering the kitchen. He got me mixing plaster. We were to be there for a fortnight of three weeks. Later on the same job we went down the yard to where the gates were made to collect oak beams. This went up in the section inspectors kitchen. Both the bricky and I spent three week in there, we were told to book it on the time sheet as "lock repairs"

 

Anyhow about a week into the job, the Bricky shouts to me, "your in trouble, here come the Police" I thought he was joking. I looked and driving across Bulbourne yard, was the waterways police car, blue lights flashing coming my way.

 

They told me I was under arrest on the suspicion of breaking a byelaw. I was driven to their office (100 yards?) where I was told that I had broken the byelaw that forbids "foul, abusive or scullerous language" dated about 1897!

 

I told them they had to be joking.

 

They said they thought it daft but they had a complaint from high up in BWB and they had to investigate.

 

I told them that if they persisted that I would expose the fraud, working in the Section Inspectors house, when I was being paid to be on a stoppage, and using wood allocated for lock gates to put up mock oak beams. The house should be repaired by estates, not come out of maintenance money.

 

They said, be on you way, we will let BWB managenment know we have fully investigate the alleged incident and there is no evidence that you havee done anything wrong!

Edited December 10, 2009 by antarmike

[NB Alnwick]

Yes the Newbold story, I was working in Aylesbury in a job that required a month's notice, I had had an interview with BWB, and been offered a job, the Monday after my last day in Aylesbury.

>snipped<

 

A really interesting story - does anyone know when the British Transport Police ceased to have responsibility for the Inland Waterways?

[David Schweizer]

A really interesting story - does anyone know when the British Transport Police ceased to have responsibility for the Inland Waterways?

From memory, I am sure that I read somewhere that the Transport Police officially ceased to have responsibility for British Waterways property on 1st Janury 1962, when the British Transport Commission was disbanded, although I seem to recall reading that they continued to have some responsibilty in London after that date.

Edited December 10, 2009 by David Schweizer

[furnessvale]

From memory, I am sure that I read somewhere that the Transport Police officially ceased to have responsibility for British Waterways property on 1st Janury 1962, although I seem to recall that they continued to have some responsibilty in London after that date.

 

BTP still have jurisdiction on BW waterways but as BW refuse to pay their share of the money, BTP refuse to police them, leaving the work to home office forces.

 

I wonder what would happen if the various rail companies took the same line?

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[antarmike]

Horse boating at the changeover bridge below Berko. It slould be possible to keep the line attached, but the new pipe and its brackets this side of the bridge always foulded the line when we tried, so it was easier to unhook, ans put the horse back on after changeing towpath sides.

Edited December 10, 2009 by antarmike

[antarmike]

Dudswell Top we knew as Clarkes lock, simply because retired lock keeper Tom Clark lived there.

 

The Vokins barge waits on the outside, as Renfrew leaves the lock. John Dakin stands in the middle of three crew by the tiller.

 

And Renfrew again, (my copyright)

 

Bilster and Angel lock down Braunston, on their way to Gopsall to load. Pete and his future wife Ann work the gates.

Although I have obvious been gate lining somewhere on the flight.

 

My lock wheelers walk in a close embrace! Oh isn't love sweet?

Edited December 10, 2009 by antarmike

[antarmike]

On the return trip. In the middle of what is now Milton Keynes, but then Milton Keynes was a village no one had heard of.

 

On this trip Pete, Ann and I took the boats up to Gopsall, but I had to go to work in the week, so Tim or Andy came and picked me up on Sunday, They took me back next friday night and I met the boats at Sutton stop, Pete and Ann having loaded and started the return trip. Pete instantly gave the bad news. He has picked up a spring matress on the prop, A coupling in the shaft had pulled out, they couldn't reconnect the shaft, because there was too much matress between the prop and the stern tube.

 

I awoke early on Saturday, and had to break the ice to reach the prop. I cut the mattress off spring by spring, and got the propshaft bach together. I remember , shirt off, laying in snow, my arm being in freezing water up to my shoulder for well over an hour. I don't know the exact time we left Sutton stop but we decided if I was going to get to work in Aylesbury on Monday we would have to boat non stop.

 

I remember we tied up in Leighton Buzzard a quarter of an hour before they called time, Sunday lunchtime.

 

I know at the time we worked it out as 27 1/4 Hours non stop boating. Non bad but we only had about 40 to 45 tons on this trip.

 

I did some carrying with rubber rawlbolt wall fixings screwed and expanded into holes in the bottom plates! I tell how a more permant repair was done later.

Brothers!! Ok whats unusual (ish) about this picture of the lock HALF WAY DOWN maffas?

No takers for whats odd, well bottom stank is built with water on both sides and no sign whatsover of pumps, work boats or anything. I imagine the pump is being brought up from Marworth yard, but I can't remember.

Edited December 11, 2009 by antarmike

[pete harrison]

A guy (help me with the name Brian Freeman??) ran a horseboat, Ruislip, as a hotel boat, horse drawn. He covered most of the network in a year, and he only came down the lower GU once a year.

 

The Large Ricky butty RUISLIP was owned by B. Freeborn, Blisworth until he sold it in May 1978. RUISLIP was later powered by a Petter AVA2.

Edited December 10, 2009 by pete harrison

[antarmike]

The Large Ricky butty RUISLIP was owned by B. Freeborn, Blisworth until he sold it in May 1978. RUISLIP was later powered by a Petter AVA2.

Crossed posts, You were putting this up, I was spontaneously changing the name, because it came to me this lunchtime, but thanks for the confirmation.

 

I once lockwheeled, steered, walked horse for Brian down the Northampton arm and onto the start of the Nene.

 

Another confession. On another trip down the Northampton arm I came to the bottom lock, and found the ground paddles padlocked, (water shortage, overnight closure)

 

I wanted to get into town and onto the River to moor in the park, so I drove a wedge down between the gate and the closing post, and started enough of a leak for the lock to fill in about an hour, I locked through, and onto the Nene, that night and spent the night in the town itself.

 

In the morning the lock keeper found me out and accused me of tampering with his padlocks, or having a spare key. I told him with perfect honesty that I hadn't touched his padlocks. He didn't seem very convinced, but it was the truth.

Edited December 10, 2009 by antarmike

[Southdowner]

I use an Epson 4990 which produces excellent results for publication, though I do usually have to do a bit of Photoshopping to get the best from shadow areas. If the negs or prints are not of the highest quality, there is no point in using the highest quality fully professional scanners. You need something that recognises detail in the lights and darks of an image, and a good quality semi-pro scanner would be fine for most images. Professional scanners are only really necessary for detailed colour control, such as where a business has a logo it needs to match, or for greatly enlarging an image, but then you need a really sharp image to start with. I tend to save images as tiff files with a size of around 6Mb for a black and white image, or 18Mb for colour. They would produce good images for publication up to A3 in size.

 

 

Great reply, am i right you get a set of multi-format print/film holders that would allow strips of 35mm negs, or even other formats,

to be scanned simultaneously. How many 35mm negs can be scanned at one go please?

 

Link to current Ebay auction for one of these Epson 4990 scanners

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Epson-Perfection-499...#ht_3506wt_1165

[Pluto]

Great reply, am i right you get a set of multi-format print/film holders that would allow strips of 35mm negs, or even other formats,

to be scanned simultaneously. How many 35mm negs can be scanned at one go please?

 

Link to current Ebay auction for one of these Epson 4990 scanners

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Epson-Perfection-499...#ht_3506wt_1165

Yes, you can scan negatives up to A4 size, the holders for 35mm negs take four strips of six, with another holder for eight slides. There are also holders for larger negatives.

[Southdowner]

Yes, you can scan negatives up to A4 size, the holders for 35mm negs take four strips of six, with another holder for eight slides. There are also holders for larger negatives.

 

 

Thanks, that's a good recommendation for the OP. Will look out for one myself next year.

 

The Ebay search shows 2 of these recently sold, each achieved about £250, current auction linked to

in earlier post stands at £112.

[RLWP]

Some of the Canon ones are cheaper than that: link

 

Richard

[Steve King]

Mike, I posted these photos in June so perhaps you have not seen them. Bilster and Angel at the Boxmoor Festival in 1977. Badsey and Barnes in the foreground.

 

 

 

Steve

[antarmike]

Mike, I posted these photos in June so perhaps you have not seen them. Bilster and Angel at the Boxmoor Festival in 1977. Badsey and Barnes in the foreground.

 

 

 

Steve

No I hadn't seen them before. That is of course me steering, Pete and Anne on Angel.

 

Brilliant

[fuzzyduck]

 

Steve

 

Wow, look, a Norman 27, Centre cockpit.