Iceboats

[Speedwheel]

This is an early 1970s shot of the former GUCCCo "Town" class working boat, "Renton", which had been shortened and converted to an icebreaker many years earlier. (War time possibly, but may have that wrong?).

 

By then it was in use as a BW maintenance tug, but still retained the ice-breker blade at the front, and the metal frame that supported the bar that workers held on to to rock the boat.

 

Lovely little boat!

 

Was passing Gloucester last weekend on my way back from looking at a boat and called in at the museum.

 

Renton was tied there looking a bit sorry for itself.

 

[Derek R.]

Nice shots, thanks Mark. Wouldn't take too much to get her looking pretty like Severn Progress alongside (nice rivets! Odd colour blue though, must be the water.) And looks like the engine is in the proper place judging by the exhaust. Pity about the cabin, but I've seen worse. I remember RENTON very 'Bristol fashion' by Leighton lock in the eighties.

[giveitsomeoil]

Another ice boat the same breed as the aforementioned Tyco is 'Sickle' restored in recent years to her former glory by the Parrott family of Sawley. She can be seen here in Dec 2010 at Alvecote marina breaking 4 inch of virgin ice! I was lucky enough to be at the tiller! The Middle Northwich was not popular with the Boatmen as they had rounded chines, this did however make them the ideal candidates to be shortened by the Ministry of war and turned into Iceboats.

 

 

 

Alvecote Marina is also home to Iceboat Antartic. Believed to be amongst the oldest iron boats in the country Antartic's build has been dated to circa 1830 and her hull, originally horse drawn on the BCN (which was prone to suffer badley from heavy freezing) is virtually barrel shaped. Now days she is powered by a 9hp Bolinder.

[alan_fincher]

Nice shots, thanks Mark. Wouldn't take too much to get her looking pretty like Severn Progress alongside (nice rivets! Odd colour blue though, must be the water.) And looks like the engine is in the proper place judging by the exhaust. Pity about the cabin, but I've seen worse. I remember RENTON very 'Bristol fashion' by Leighton lock in the eighties.

 

Not completely sure what the points being made about Renton are.

 

To be clear it looks nigh on identical to what it did in it's latter days of BW service.

 

The cabin is it's last BW one, unaltered so far, as far as I can see.

 

The only thing that has visibly happened is that it is now in red oxide, rather than BW "yuk" green.

 

Oh, and there are no planks over the hold in Mark's shots.

[Derek R.]

When RENTON was on Waterways, it was skippered by a gent living at Leighton Lock (wish I could remember his name), and it was always spic and span - looked after. Similarly, when Ian skippered SICKLE on Waterways it was kept very clean - in fact he told me once he got a bollocking for having polished the portholes - "That's not what you get paid for - don't do it again!" Seeing it like that in Gloucester dock seems to be reminiscent of a practice that removes any pride or responsibility for keeping craft in tidy condition. That I think is the only point being made. Apart from the fact it looked much better in blue, and without the hull sides painted. The cabin's not good, but not quite as bad as SICKLE's previous 'Space-invader' box.

[alan_fincher]

When RENTON was on Waterways, it was skippered by a gent living at Leighton Lock (wish I could remember his name), and it was always spic and span - looked after. Similarly, when Ian skippered SICKLE on Waterways it was kept very clean - in fact he told me once he got a bollocking for having polished the portholes - "That's not what you get paid for - don't do it again!" Seeing it like that in Gloucester dock seems to be reminiscent of a practice that removes any pride or responsibility for keeping craft in tidy condition. That I think is the only point being made. Apart from the fact it looked much better in blue, and without the hull sides painted. The cabin's not good, but not quite as bad as SICKLE's previous 'Space-invader' box.

Fair enough......

 

I think what we are saying is that in the priod from around the 1970s onwards BW did no favours to just about all the historic boats in it's maintenance fleet, including Sickle and Renton.

 

At least in those cases they left enough that the situation could be recovered - others like Aynho and Carnaby were far less lucky.#

 

They turned Renton from this......

 

 

into this.....

 

 

and that is what its current custodians got when it was handed to them.

 

So far as I can see from Mark's pictures, all they have done to it so far, (externally at least), is to add the red oxide primer to the cabin....

 

 

All the rest, including the green paint, being how they got it.

 

If we are questioning its current condition, I think it perhaps to early to judge what its current custodians might do to it.

 

It doesn't look any sadder than it did when tied for months above that lock near Home Park, though...... (Well, in my view, at least).

[Derek R.]

True. If we were to look at it from another angle, how many working Sea going fishing boats look pristine and rust free? The unfortunate (from one point of view) cabin changes were in the main to cater for demands for improved working conditions, hot water for washing hands etc. and gas lockers had to be provided above water level, which led them to have above gunnel cabinets. The hand rails were deemed inadequate, and the bar was painted white for 'easy location after dark' (!). But I have a shot of the wide maintenance boat WIGAN that was fitted with a Classic range in the wheelhouse, though it didn't look like it had seen any black lead for a while. Some of it must come down to changing attitudes - or that should maybe down to changing staff ages and experience - that helped the 'rot'. Mixture of elements, not least money being made in one quarter, and directed elsewhere! Development deals etc.

 

Great shame, but I had a shot of TYCHO alongside SICKLE somewhere between Dudswell and Winkwell. I took it on the way South in 1999, and SICKLE was tied up with the gang working nearby. Sadly the 35mm roll got lost. Think it must have been during house move. Nice shot of RENTON Alan. "

 

"Mind the paint!"

"Why? There's more in the tin ain't there?"

 

And that's where it stayed.