Motor conversion

[Speedwheel]

When Yarwoods converted some of the FMC horseboats to motors, did they cut the back end off completely and start again or did they use the swim from the butty and adapt it, cut the top off and then construct a counter over it?

 

Anyone know?

 

Thanks

 

Mark

Edited February 27, 2010 by Speedwheel

[Timleech]

When Yarwoods converted some of the FMC horseboats to motors, did they cut the back end off completely and start again or did they use the swim from the butty and adapt it, cut the top off and then construct a counter over it?

 

Anyone know?

 

Thanks

 

Mark

 

Can't say exactly what they did, but the end result was a conventional motor stern and a conventional length of boat so I reckon most of the stern was renewed.

 

Tim

[Kez]

As is my understanding of Yarwoods history; they did try using the butty stern, merely adapting it, but they quickly decided that that wasn't the best or most economical way forward and simply chopped it off and replaced it.

[Speedwheel]

Yes I was thinking that using the butty swim and putting a counter on it would result in a longer boat.

[Timleech]

Yes I was thinking that using the butty swim and putting a counter on it would result in a longer boat.

 

The wooden Lees & Atkins MABEL was motorised by Tooleys - IIRC only 2 years after being built - with a counter block bolted onto the back of the original, but squared off, stern post. The result was a boat which swam beautifully but was (is) very long, very tight for length in some locks.

 

 

To the best of my recollection (from about 35 years ago) the SIBERIA - one of the Yarwoods motorised butties - had the same sort of one-piece stern post/skeg forging as the late Joshers motor boats and GU motors.

 

Tim

Edited February 27, 2010 by Timleech

[Laurence Hogg]

From Evidence I have seen Yarwoods constructed the stern as new, there was no conversion of the butty stern post. Yarwoods were not a bodge it up yard, everything was drawn up and detailed, they were the yard that convinced FMC that having a caster angle on the rudder would improve the swim. This reuse of the stern post however was common with other yards notably the Anderton dock in Stoke which converted a lot of horse boats to motors.

[antarmike]

Having only owned a Large woolwich motor, this may be irrelevant, but on a woolwich the stern post casting (Steel Casting) bulges at the point the stern tube emerges. The plates on the swim are formed to sit roung the bulged boss, to give room for the Propshaft, stuffing gland etc.

 

It would surelt be quite a serious bodge if you merely cut a hole through the butty stern poat, because there is simply not enough metal at the point the shaft has to go through it.

Edited February 28, 2010 by antarmike

[XAlan W]

When Yarwoods converted some of the FMC horseboats to motors, did they cut the back end off completely and start again or did they use the swim from the butty and adapt it, cut the top off and then construct a counter over it?

 

Anyone know?

 

Thanks

 

Mark

 

I rember speaking to to an old fella at Middlewich in the late 50`s & i think that at some time he had worked at Yarwoods we talked on several occasions about boat building etc. & I recall him telling me that butty`s that were converted to motors were cut off at approx the position of the motor cabin front bulkhead & acomplete new rear end grafted on bottoms, swim, counter etc. i understood the rear end was the same as the boats orginally built as motors

[Steve King]

I recall inspecting 'Jason' (ex-FMC Portugal) in Uxbridge dry dock many years ago to try and find the join where the former butty had been made into a motor boat.

 

The conclusion was that the rear end had been de-riveted just forward of the (new) engine room front bulkhead and a complete new stern end riveted on.

 

 

Steve