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Perhaps 1988 was the date of its refistration with BW - it could previously have been on non-BW waters such as the Thames.

 

A possibility, but how would anyone know the date of first registration with BW in order to put it in the advert?

 

My old H&L boat CLARENCE was the last hull they ever built (AFAIK) and is still extant. It was registered on the Thames only for the first three or four years from new so falls neatly into this category too! I have just looked it up on Jimshead.com but initial registration date is not listed.

 

MtB

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A possibility, but how would anyone know the date of first registration with BW in order to put it in the advert?

 

My old H&L boat CLARENCE was the last hull they ever built (AFAIK) and is still extant. It was registered on the Thames only for the first three or four years from new so falls neatly into this category too! I have just looked it up on Jimshead.com but initial registration date is not listed.

 

MtB

If your CLARENCE was subsequently issued with B.W.B. 502280 it dates towards the end of 1997. Jim Shead only started collating and publishing boat registrations in and from 2005, anything registered prior to 2005 was never included.

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Ok so now I am really confused! My boat is supposed to be

a Hancock and Lane but also has paperwork to say she was built around 1988, so is this true????? I am not bothered either way as she is my home and I have spent a lot of time and money on her, would just like to know for sure?

She never had a plate to say who built but her but did have the slightly bull nose and curves either end of the cabin. She also handles like a dream in forward and reverse.

I was told she was built in Adelaide docks as a hire boat. Anyone else got any ideas?

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Irrespective of what "adverts" say H&L finished building boats in 1984 and placed a "Goodbye" advert in Waterways World (see page 2 of this thread). Their chandlery shut down at the same time. We supplied a lot of kit (trading as Boatmans Cabin Co) to H&L and it was a blow to lose such a good customer. As the marine side was gone their buyer David Taylor was looking for work, he came and joined Boatmans Cabin Co for a while working as our rep before going to Midland Chandlers as their buyer until recent times.

I did a few small brass souvineer jobs for Tony Lane in relation to his interest in Penny Farthing bicycles but I am fairly sure they never built anymore boats, steel framed buildings were now there main work if I remember correctly.

Whether any kits were sold post 1984 (or remained somewhere un assembled) I am not sure but that is one avenue of post 1984 H&L style boats occuring.

Edited by Laurence Hogg
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I can't help feeling that some owners quote a completion date rather than a built date when selling a boat. We all know that many new hulls spend years in the fitting out stage and it will always be financially advantageous for a seller to give the impression that a boat is newer than it really is.

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  • 1 year later...

Old thread i know, Just wondering if anybody has had sight of what i believe to be an old Hancock and Lane Norseman, I have no idea of her registration number, existance whereabouts or colors any more as its years since i saw her last but i would like to know if anybody knows if Hapton still exists, she had a cabin fitted and joined to the old cabin and a proper bow fitted by my step dad when i was a baby.

She spent most of her life in Macclesfield between Bosley locks and Lyme Green

 

10153692_10204069813764702_1513630073_n.

 

Im the 1 on the blue top and that picture was on The River Severn in Worcestershire

Edited by Adam Swindells Wright
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Old thread i know, Just wondering if anybody has had sight of what i believe to be an old Hancock and Lane Norseman, I have no idea of her registration number, existance whereabouts or colors any more as its years since i saw her last but i would like to know if anybody knows if Hapton still exists, she had a cabin fitted and joined to the old cabin and a proper bow fitted by my step dad when i was a baby.

She spent most of her life in Macclesfield between Bosley locks and Lyme Green

 

10153692_10204069813764702_1513630073_n.

 

Im the 1 on the blue top and that picture was on The River Severn in Worcestershire

I have no idea of who built it, but the Hapton that lived at Fools Nook on the Macc is now CCing between Coven and Gailey top on the Staffs and Worcs.

 

It is almost certainly an ex BW workboat given that it has the diagonal plate stiffeners on the hull where lifting eyes can be fixed. You can just make one of them out in your photo.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

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I have no idea of who built it, but the Hapton that lived at Fools Nook on the Macc is now CCing between Coven and Gailey top on the Staffs and Worcs.

 

It is almost certainly an ex BW workboat given that it has the diagonal plate stiffeners on the hull where lifting eyes can be fixed. You can just make one of them out in your photo.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

 

As Hancock and Land did build a lot of the BWB workboats, I believe, (at some phemomenal price each, IIRC), I think it highly likely that Hapton may have originally been built by H&L. (I seem to remember we have had people who worked for H&L posting on the forum, maybe they will know?).

 

I have seen this boat up that way this summer, and certainly concluded it was an ex-BWB workboat, but heavily modified, as originally it would have just had the squared off bow, but now sports a not unreasonable proper bow, which must have been added after disposal by BW.

 

Whatever else it is, though, it is certainly not one of Hancok and Lane's Norseman boats!

 

The Boat Listing gives no clue to builder....

 

 

Hapton Built by Other - Length 12.19 metres ( 40 feet ) - Beam 2.08 metres ( 6 feet 10 inches ) - Draft 0.53 ( 1 feet 9 inches ). Metal hull, power of 20 BHP. Registered with British Waterways number 89610 as a Powered. Last registration recorded on Sunday 29th May 2011.

 

 

 

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Hancock and Lane built 22 motorised maintenance flats for British Waterways with delivery commencing in 1979 of 35ft and 50ft lengths. Apart from the prototypes Devon and Cornwall they were named after local villages and rivers. The name Hapton suggests that the boat was initially based near Burnley. They were fitted with punt shaped bows hence the need for Adam's step dad to later fit a "proper bow."

 

So yes built by Hancock and Lane and no not a Norseman.

 

Paul

Edited by Paul H
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I have no idea of who built it, but the Hapton that lived at Fools Nook on the Macc is now CCing between Coven and Gailey top on the Staffs and Worcs.

 

It is almost certainly an ex BW workboat given that it has the diagonal plate stiffeners on the hull where lifting eyes can be fixed. You can just make one of them out in your photo.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

A penny has just dropped - I know I am a bit slow frusty.gif

 

HAPTON is indeed a former B.W.B. workboat, but what confused me is its index number of 89610 (issued 1984 - but the 8----- index numbers were cruisers, tenders, canoe's, privately owned maintenance boats e.t.c.). B.W.B. did not start issuing index numbers to their own maintenance boats until the 1990's.

 

The dropping penny is that 89610 is the B.W.B. maintenance boat asset number (usually welded onto the hull somewhere), and this number has subsequently been used as a term of reference when the boat was registered as a privately owned pleasure boat. Moving on a step B.W.B. asset number 89610 relates to HAPTON, a Class 135 50' narrow beam maintenance boat built in 1979, fitted from new with a Lister ST2 and a total cost of £14126 !!! HAPTON was based in the North West district of B.W.B. - but clearly did not stay for long captain.gif

Edited by pete harrison
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getting back to the original discussion. We had a 1981 H&L Norseman for a number of years. The builders plate was on the bulkhead in the bows. When we had it surveyed in 2005 prior to renewing the insurance the surveyor found the hull to be between 6 and 6.5mm. We still had the paperwork from the build which stated the hull was all built from 6mm plate, so she hadn't lost any over twenty five years. Saying that we had blacked her every two years throughout that time.

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The dropping penny is that 89610 is the B.W.B. maintenance boat asset number (usually welded onto the hull somewhere), and this number has subsequently been used as a term of reference when the boat was registered as a privately owned pleasure boat.

 

I've not come across that before, and I'm sure it is unusual.

 

"Sickle" still carries her BW Asset Number, (80578), crudely added to the front end in built up weld, but her BW index number is something else entirely, (501286)..

 

Incidentally I wrongly assumed that her current BW index number (501286) was issued when she was purchased from BW for private preservation. However I have recently been donated a set of the aluminium plates with this index number on, and they are sprayed all over in the grey primer that BW coated "Sickle" in before it was dumped as a car park "ornament" at Sawley Marina, and subsequently I have found pictures of her in BW service carrying those plates, as well as her BW asset number. Was it general practice to allocate these plates for a period to all BW work boats, (or perhaps just the motorised ones) ?

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Hello all.

My boat, Keb, is said to be "built in the style of Hancock and Lane." Keb is a 30 footer and I do know that the person who built Keb wasn't connected with Hancock and Lane. But because that is the way Keb has been described and this thread mentions that Hancock and Lane supplied kits I am now wondering if my boat was originally supplied as a kit to the builder. I know that would be almost impossible to confirm but I am still interested. Leo, on here, owned Keb a while back as did Spuds's parents (I think) so if either of you can throw any light on the whether Keb is a Hancock and Lane kit boat or not that would be appreciated. The picture on Adam Swindlles Wright's post is interesting because of the circular feature on the bow of the boat in that picture. Keb has exactly the same feature and I was wondering if that was a, sort of, Hancock and Lane trademark. Keb was built 1981/82 ish so Hancock and Lane were still going at that time it would seem but of course the builder could have bought the kit long before that date.

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I've not come across that before, and I'm sure it is unusual.

 

"Sickle" still carries her BW Asset Number, (80578), crudely added to the front end in built up weld, but her BW index number is something else entirely, (501286)..

 

Incidentally I wrongly assumed that her current BW index number (501286) was issued when she was purchased from BW for private preservation. However I have recently been donated a set of the aluminium plates with this index number on, and they are sprayed all over in the grey primer that BW coated "Sickle" in before it was dumped as a car park "ornament" at Sawley Marina, and subsequently I have found pictures of her in BW service carrying those plates, as well as her BW asset number. Was it general practice to allocate these plates for a period to all BW work boats, (or perhaps just the motorised ones) ?

It is unusual for any boat not to be issued with a proper / sequential B.W.B. index number, but I suppose B.W.B. staff would simply process the details provided by the boat owner. B.W.B. index number 89610 was originally issued in late 1983 to a boat named BEEZA, but had fallen out of use prior to the owner of HAPTON applying for a re-issue based on its B.W.B. asset number of 89610. I think it fair for B.W.B. staff to assume this was one of the same boat but carrying a different name.

 

SICKLE was issued with the index number 501286 in 1996.

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Hapton was sold in the great BW asset auction in 1993(might have been '91?) . she was at Wigan for the sale along with other H & L workboats, L & L short boats and later in the day a sale at Northwich where some Dutch guys paid 100k for the nearly new £2million Weaver Dredger. Other boats sold then were Dover and Jellicoe. We bought the Eiger which was a shorter version of Hapton with an ST1 engine. Hapton was converted at Fool's Nook IIRC ,at what is now Alton's base.

Bill

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I have no idea of who built it, but the Hapton that lived at Fools Nook on the Macc is now CCing between Coven and Gailey top on the Staffs and Worcs.

 

It is almost certainly an ex BW workboat given that it has the diagonal plate stiffeners on the hull where lifting eyes can be fixed. You can just make one of them out in your photo.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

Thanks for the location info smile.png They were lifting eyes as my dad had tripped over them many times going to the mooring rope that was attached to an eye on the roof for when we were pulling in at locks and such so 1 of the winters she went for her bottom to be re painted they were cut off at the gunnels

 

 

As Hancock and Land did build a lot of the BWB workboats, I believe, (at some phemomenal price each, IIRC), I think it highly likely that Hapton may have originally been built by H&L. (I seem to remember we have had people who worked for H&L posting on the forum, maybe they will know?).

 

I have seen this boat up that way this summer, and certainly concluded it was an ex-BWB workboat, but heavily modified, as originally it would have just had the squared off bow, but now sports a not unreasonable proper bow, which must have been added after disposal by BW.

 

Whatever else it is, though, it is certainly not one of Hancok and Lane's Norseman boats!

 

The Boat Listing gives no clue to builder....

 

 

 

I thought she was after i found one with the cabin on the bow as well as the stern and she had the same shaped stern, the sale said she was a Hancock & Lane

 

A penny has just dropped - I know I am a bit slow frusty.gif

 

HAPTON is indeed a former B.W.B. workboat, but what confused me is its index number of 89610 (issued 1984 - but the 8----- index numbers were cruisers, tenders, canoe's, privately owned maintenance boats e.t.c.). B.W.B. did not start issuing index numbers to their own maintenance boats until the 1990's.

 

The dropping penny is that 89610 is the B.W.B. maintenance boat asset number (usually welded onto the hull somewhere), and this number has subsequently been used as a term of reference when the boat was registered as a privately owned pleasure boat. Moving on a step B.W.B. asset number 89610 relates to HAPTON, a Class 135 50' narrow beam maintenance boat built in 1979, fitted from new with a Lister ST2 and a total cost of £14126 !!! HAPTON was based in the North West district of B.W.B. - but clearly did not stay for long captain.gif

 

Thanks for the info, How do you find this stuff out?

 

I can try and find the pictures of her without a bow and the cabin mostly done on the back of the Irlams trailer in Chelford if you guys would like?

 

Just spoken with my mother and she said

she was a 40footer. She worked the Leeds Liverpool canal till Graham bought her. Graham had the pointed bow added by Warble near Hyde

 

Graham is the G.C and my mum is the N.J on the cabin side of her

Edited by Adam Swindells Wright
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