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BW Work Boats


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Ian, (one of those pictured),

 

Ian .... working ....surely some mistake! :lol: There was a TV programme a few years ago where he was shown 4 or 5 times. Everytime he was shown he was either drinking tea or making tea - needless to say he got a suitable amount of stick for it.

 

Sadly not many like him left now.

Edited by Speedwheel
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There isn't a huge amount of tasks BW can actually use much of their work boat fleet for, at times when most people go boating, but the logistics of large scale work at other times are not appreciated by many canal users.

you make a very valid point. we have 2 work boats and a dredger all of which see regular use, but mostly during the week, not the weekend when we have most of our visitors, over the winter all 3 were in use for the renovation work we carried out on Baldwin's Knob lock!

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  • 1 month later...

I did a short trip today (Braunston to Hillmorten, North Oxford) and passed quite a few BW work-boats, every one of them had there old number (alloy plate) but stuck adjacent to them, with BW logo, were new 'plates' with seven numbers the first four being 4000.

 

How much has that cost and why.:(

Having just completed a round trip up to Buckby, I can confirm that many of the BW work boats we saw had no less than 3 identifying numbers......

 

1) A BW Index Number, like the rest of us have.

 

This often was supported by the usual embossed plates, and even in some cases a current and valid licence, (yes, they definitely are licencing at least some of their own boats now).

 

2) The previously described BW "asset numbers" being 5 digits, commencing with an '8', and usually embossed onto the hull in weld.

 

3) The new numbers beginning 4000, followed by a further 3 digits.

 

 

This does seem an incredible waste of time because......

 

A) Most of the boats already have a 5 digit number, (effectively a 4 digit identifier, as the first digit is always 8) o,n them in a very non removable way.

 

B) I didn't see any boat that had the final 3 digits running very high at all, so a system that seems to allow for a million work boats seems pretty over the top.

 

C) The new identifications are in Blue Peter "sticky black plastic", and have just been applied on top of the rust in many cases, so are already peeling off - badly in the case of several of the more corroded mud-hoppers.

 

I struggle to see any justification whatsoever for spending money to put a very impermanent mark on these boats, when there is already a scheme for putting a very permanent mark on, and it is already applied to most boats anyway.

 

In terms of money wasted, it is not going to be in the "three bollards" league of things, or even the "keep forward of the cill marker" league of things, but make no mistake it will have cost thousands of pounds to dream up a scheme, and sticker every boat.

 

I'd love to hear the justification as to what this numbering scheme achieves that a previous one did not. Is there really some magic achieved by prefixing every "real" number with "4000" instead of just '8' ? :wacko:

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Having just completed a round trip up to Buckby, I can confirm that many of the BW work boats we saw had no less than 3 identifying numbers......

 

1) A BW Index Number, like the rest of us have.

 

This often was supported by the usual embossed plates, and even in some cases a current and valid licence, (yes, they definitely are licencing at least some of their own boats now).

 

2) The previously described BW "asset numbers" being 5 digits, commencing with an '8', and usually embossed onto the hull in weld.

 

3) The new numbers beginning 4000, followed by a further 3 digits.

 

 

This does seem an incredible waste of time because......

 

A) Most of the boats already have a 5 digit number, (effectively a 4 digit identifier, as the first digit is always 8) o,n them in a very non removable way.

 

B) I didn't see any boat that had the final 3 digits running very high at all, so a system that seems to allow for a million work boats seems pretty over the top.

 

C) The new identifications are in Blue Peter "sticky black plastic", and have just been applied on top of the rust in many cases, so are already peeling off - badly in the case of several of the more corroded mud-hoppers.

 

I struggle to see any justification whatsoever for spending money to put a very impermanent mark on these boats, when there is already a scheme for putting a very permanent mark on, and it is already applied to most boats anyway.

 

In terms of money wasted, it is not going to be in the "three bollards" league of things, or even the "keep forward of the cill marker" league of things, but make no mistake it will have cost thousands of pounds to dream up a scheme, and sticker every boat.

 

I'd love to hear the justification as to what this numbering scheme achieves that a previous one did not. Is there really some magic achieved by prefixing every "real" number with "4000" instead of just '8' ? :wacko:

 

OK, my take on it is this;

 

1) The 8xxxx asset numbers aren't suitable, because they conflict with 8xxxx numbers that have actually been issued.

2) The previous experiment of issuing normal 5xxxxx numbers was a problem, because it made it difficult to identify boats that didn't need a licence.

3) BW are NOT issuing themselves licences. The thing that you have seen (on one of the new tugs??) that looks like a licence is actually some kind of safety certificate.

4) Some bright spark at BW decided to issue a whole new number range for boats that don't need licences, starting with "4" to run alongside the existing 1xxxxx and 5xxxxx number ranges (and alongside the legacy 1-5 digit numbers), but they cocked it up and added an extra zero, to give 4xxxxxx instead of 4xxxxx

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OK, my take on it is this;

 

1) The 8xxxx asset numbers aren't suitable, because they conflict with 8xxxx numbers that have actually been issued.

2) The previous experiment of issuing normal 5xxxxx numbers was a problem, because it made it difficult to identify boats that didn't need a licence.

3) BW are NOT issuing themselves licences. The thing that you have seen (on one of the new tugs??) that looks like a licence is actually some kind of safety certificate.

4) Some bright spark at BW decided to issue a whole new number range for boats that don't need licences, starting with "4" to run alongside the existing 1xxxxx and 5xxxxx number ranges (and alongside the legacy 1-5 digit numbers), but they cocked it up and added an extra zero, to give 4xxxxxx instead of 4xxxxx

 

I'm aware that many work boats were sold off to contractors who now deliver services to BW. I wonder if that accounts for the multiplicity of numbers on some boats?

 

Richard

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OK, my take on it is this;

 

1) The 8xxxx asset numbers aren't suitable, because they conflict with 8xxxx numbers that have actually been issued.

2) The previous experiment of issuing normal 5xxxxx numbers was a problem, because it made it difficult to identify boats that didn't need a licence.

3) BW are NOT issuing themselves licences. The thing that you have seen (on one of the new tugs??) that looks like a licence is actually some kind of safety certificate.

4) Some bright spark at BW decided to issue a whole new number range for boats that don't need licences, starting with "4" to run alongside the existing 1xxxxx and 5xxxxx number ranges (and alongside the legacy 1-5 digit numbers), but they cocked it up and added an extra zero, to give 4xxxxxx instead of 4xxxxx

 

1) I assume you mean some of the asset numbers were the same as numbers issued as normal BW index numbers ?

 

So what ? They are clearly not the same thing, and I can't see how there can be a confusion between a number welded to a BW hopper and one that happens to be on some private owner's licence disk.

 

2) & 3) There are plenty of BW work boats that have the normal style embossed "index number" plates alongside the welded on asset number and the new stick on 4000xxx number. (That is three different numbers displayed in 3 different ways on the same boat).

 

The "disks I saw were not on modern boats - next time I see one, I'll check andsee what it says.

 

Edited to add: The modern tugs also contain yet another identification number, like "NT/015/06" on the one pictured above, giving the potential for 4 different identification numbers on the same craft...

 

4) Dunno, but if this is intended to be a BW index number, why display a plate with a different format BW index number on the same boat ?

 

I'm aware that many work boats were sold off to contractors who now deliver services to BW. I wonder if that accounts for the multiplicity of numbers on some boats?

 

Richard

No these are BW boats still, and BW have chosen to number them with three different numbers, with different degrees of permanence.

 

The 4000xxx numbers may be a cock-up, as Dave suggests, but using sticky backed plastic for the numbers should mean quite a few have dissapeared pretty quickly.

 

It is about as much use as that other money wasting exercise of labelling not just every bridge, but just about every culvert, a few years ago with signs laminated from paper and attached by drwaing pins and string.

 

BW really do do themselves no favours by wasting whatever sums of money to "tick a box" butonly until the person who dreamt it up has collected their next annual bonus.

 

Sickle still has her BW asset number very conspicuously in raised weld on the boaw (80578) - do you think I need to grind it off to avoid confusion with any boat that may have that as a BW index number ?

 

Or do I add an invented 4000xxx number sticker ? Nothing I can see in the bye-laws that means I can't ? :rolleyes:

Edited by alan_fincher
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From what I recall whilst we were away, one of the portable buildings being used by an (I think) L&L lock keeper was sporting a 4xxxxxx number and I'm fairly sure that I also saw a piece of large plant (i.e. Excavator) on a boat similarly marked.

 

I'm fairly certain that Renton was a regular at the old Bulbourne open days when, along with our (then) 45 feet long trip boat we ran short boat trips between the top (Marsworth) lock and the (Bulbourne) winding hole, dodging the dragon boat racers! She was adourned with railings that appeared to have been welded on and she stayed that way for a fair few years. She was limited to 12 passengers but we could carry our normal payload.

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I'm fairly certain that Renton was a regular at the old Bulbourne open days when, along with our (then) 45 feet long trip boat we ran short boat trips between the top (Marsworth) lock and the (Bulbourne) winding hole, dodging the dragon boat racers! She was adourned with railings that appeared to have been welded on and she stayed that way for a fair few years. She was limited to 12 passengers but we could carry our normal payload.

I definitely recall going on a trip on one of the BW tugs on a Bulbourne open day, just up to the arm end, I think. Must have been about 15 years ago I'm guessing, based on how old I think our boys must have been.

 

No pictures were taken, unfortunately, and I have struggled to remember how they made it a safe enough operation to be prepared to operate it. You are probably right about the rails - I don't recall that.

 

Renton sounds likely, because if they had used Sickle, and enough people, (probably about two!), had moved to one side, then, trust me, everybody would have slid off!

Edited by alan_fincher
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