Boat called Puffin from Hull

[John Holden]

That explains the poor catches I have in the Calder, or am I just crap at angling

 

I read that as cratches!

Need new glasses I think.

[tree]

That explains the poor catches I have in the Calder, or am I just crap at angling

hmm... me thinks its best not to mention the 'angling'

[John Holden]

aye appen I got that them there photies ( been to specsavers moi

ohh eck she probably flogged it down the ' Land of Green Ginger' or ... panic hmm... how many years ago... phew!! panic over tree as I was long gone my beloved city before the Humber Bridge was completed. So it carnt have been me... mind you if it was .... I aint saying NOWT until I have spoken to my solicitor hahhaahha

 

Are you or have you ever been, a prodigious knitter?

 

No? We're safe then.

 

Solicitor! You're not a true Yorkshire lass, mind you, Hull isn't really Yorkshire is it!

[Tuscan]

hmm... me thinks its best not to mention the 'angling'

 

 

And there's John thinking you were once a good catch.......

[tree]

Are you or have you ever been, a prodigious knitter?

 

No? We're safe then.

 

Solicitor! You're not a true Yorkshire lass, mind you, Hull isn't really Yorkshire is it!

ohhhhhhhhhhhh..... you like to live dangerous do you ?? East Riding of Yorkshire and a fiercly proud Yorkshire Woman ... thats it Mr. Holden you have gone too far ....

ahem!! I challenge you to a game of marbles, hopscotch and a pigs trotters eating competition ... erm.. knitting nope no good at it.. but I am ruddy marvelous at marbles and conkers

edited sorry for going off subject but its that ruddy John Holden fault i am all innocent ... glares at JH ...hmmm.... a tree glare is not pleasant at all:) may the fleas of a thousand camels invade your armpits

dignity restored and heritage

 

And there's John thinking you were once a good catch.......

 

OI!! you cheeky trout lol are you implying that:) moi is a fish ???? there is no plaice for that here

Edited January 10, 2013 by tree

[John Holden]

ohhhhhhhhhhhh..... you like to live dangerous do you ?? East Riding of Yorkshire and a fiercly proud Yorkshire Woman ... thats it Mr. Holden you have gone too far ....

ahem!! I challenge you to a game of marbles, hopscotch and a pigs trotters eating competition ... erm.. knitting nope no good at it.. but I am ruddy marvelous at marbles and conkers

edited sorry for going off subject but its that ruddy John Holden fault i am all innocent ... glares at JH ...hmmm.... a tree glare is not pleasant at all:) may the fleas of a thousand camels invade your armpits

dignity restored and heritage

 

 

Have to be veggie pigs trotters (but not Linda McCartney's)

No room for the fleas of a thousand camels in my armpits - they're full of camels!

I'm very good at sullen stares though.

[by'eck]

erm.... no LOL... doh! John the boat me thinks is from Hull or as I say it 'Ull'

 

edited cos i forgot a bit ... ahem!! ee by gum ecky thump.. chucks a soggy yorkshire pudding at John take that ahahah

 

Oi! hands off

[tree]

Oi! hands off

ohh!!! err... hellfire and brimstones... appen I will change the 'by'eck' to erm....ruddy nora

I will now go and sit and sulk in the 'stop going off topic corner' over there >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> and try and be quiet ..nearly totally impossibly for 2 minutes

[fanshaft]

 

By the way keels came in varying lengths - Mavers keels were 57 feet by 14 feet 8inch same as the L&L short keels. Sheffield keels were 61 feet, Barnsley Keels were 70 feet. They started lengthening the locks on the Calder & Hebble to cater for the Barnsley keels and larger (Fall Ings lock is 120 feet. Apparently the boats locked down onto the Calder to get around the figure of Three, but walking around the area I can not see how they got back up - there is a old lock at Horbury bridge but this is above the weir)

 

Sorry don't want to hijack the thread - perhaps the Yorkshire waterways museum at Goole could help you on the Puffin question

 

Superb photograph! My company owned and operated the Manvers keel 'Charles William' (ex Reckitt & Coleman)in the 1970s and it was indeed 14ft 8 inches beam. We had a job up to Wakefield in (I think 1979) and I decided to see how far we could get up the C&HN knowing the locks would take 57ft 6 inches all the way. We got well and truly stuck in Mill Bank lock as that lock would only take the Yorkshire keel with a 14ft 2 in beam. As a matter of interest, however, we got all the way across the L&L (with some difficulty)late 1979. Bingley Three Rise Lock (middle) was very tight so we cut off the half round rubbing strake each side and that gave us the inch or so we needed. We also stuck in Foulridge Tunnel for five and half hours as the wheelbox bottom fixed section was slightly too high and we hadn't ballasted quite enough to avoid being too deep drafted. (Leeds & Liverpool short boats varied in width from a little under 14ft to 14ft 3 inches, though I think the last three 'Town' class were 14ft 6 inches but not absolutely sure.) I don't think anything much over 14ft 3 inches would get across now.

regards

David L

[Skye]

Superb photograph! My company owned and operated the Manvers keel 'Charles William' (ex Reckitt & Coleman)in the 1970s and it was indeed 14ft 8 inches beam. We had a job up to Wakefield in (I think 1979) and I decided to see how far we could get up the C&HN knowing the locks would take 57ft 6 inches all the way. We got well and truly stuck in Mill Bank lock as that lock would only take the Yorkshire keel with a 14ft 2 in beam. As a matter of interest, however, we got all the way across the L&L (with some difficulty)late 1979. Bingley Three Rise Lock (middle) was very tight so we cut off the half round rubbing strake each side and that gave us the inch or so we needed. We also stuck in Foulridge Tunnel for five and half hours as the wheelbox bottom fixed section was slightly too high and we hadn't ballasted quite enough to avoid being too deep drafted. (Leeds & Liverpool short boats varied in width from a little under 14ft to 14ft 3 inches, though I think the last three 'Town' class were 14ft 6 inches but not absolutely sure.) I don't think anything much over 14ft 3 inches would get across now.

regards

David L

That's an excellent first hand account David great post! do you have any photo's and please tell us more about the Manvers keel 'Charles William'

[Pluto]

Snip…(Leeds & Liverpool short boats varied in width from a little under 14ft to 14ft 3 inches, though I think the last three 'Town' class were 14ft 6 inches but not absolutely sure.) I don't think anything much over 14ft 3 inches would get across now.

regards

David L

There is quite a bit of correspondence about the last three 'Town' class steel boats in the Canal Transport Ltd papers. The dimensions were length OA (and BP) 61 feet, width moulded 14 feet, and depth moulded 4 feet 8 inches. Moulded width is taken over the outside of the frames, so the thickness of the plates and rubbing strakes would have to be added. The last three were built from thinner high tensile steel and could carry around 3 tons more than a conventional steel short boat.

[fanshaft]

That's an excellent first hand account David great post! do you have any photo's and please tell us more about the Manvers keel 'Charles William'

 

Thank you. We bought Charles William around 1977 with the intention of taking her across the L&L to work more or less exclusively for BOCM Silcock at the invitation of Hugh Porter the transport manager (an unsung hero of the waterways in my opinion). BOCM were enthusiastic users of barge transport with their own fleet based at Selby (and I bought two of those craft later) but in the north west they used firms such as Bulk Cargo Handling Services, Liverpool Grain Storage and Transport, and Heather Chaplin. However there was an opportunity to take smaller cargoes on a regular basis, mainly Liverpool to BOCM mills at Birkenhead and Manchester, (which suited the mills receiving)and so a smaller barge was sought. A keel of 100 tonnes or so capacity would be ideal but we needed one that would go across the L&L hence Charles William which we bought from Potters at Boroughbridge and refurbished to a high standard. There was then a shortage of craft in the north east and lots of cargoes on offer so Hugh Porter kindly allowed us to defer coming across and we worked CW on the Humber waterways for a while, to Nottingham, Leeds, Wakefield, York, and for a while carried coal intensively to Ferrybridge power station, loading up to 108 tonnes on occasion (water on deck!). I skippered her on occasions but most of the time Derek Fearnley was the excellent skipper and kept CW in immaculate condition.

After struggling across the L&L we were confronted by the T&GWU in Liverpool who blacked CW for a while (though they allowed us to do some small loads between Manchester and Anderton) and that despite us all being members of the union! Reason for blacking given was they said it would take work from existing operators - not true as the small (approx 100 tonne) cargoes we had been promised would have been taken off lorries. The Union agreed at a meeting that they would allow CW to operate if we could find a 'new traffic'( much laughter on their side). That fired me up and I worked hard on this with BW's excellent Ken Moody at Anderton depot and the result was the still running wheat traffic from Seaforth grain terminal, initially to Anderton and subsequently to Frodsham. This started 2nd March 1981 with ex BW / Willow Wren / Bridgewater captain Joe Walker as skipper. CW was joined initially by Duker 'Parbella' and later 'Sarah Abbot' plus we used other barges as required. CW sank in the Mersey during a gale 16th October 1982 and the contract was transferred to the present operators on 1st January 1983.I have some photos of CW working both sides of the Pennines and could send them to anyone interested but don't know how to post on here!

Regards David.

[fanshaft]

There is quite a bit of correspondence about the last three 'Town' class steel boats in the Canal Transport Ltd papers. The dimensions were length OA (and BP) 61 feet, width moulded 14 feet, and depth moulded 4 feet 8 inches. Moulded width is taken over the outside of the frames, so the thickness of the plates and rubbing strakes would have to be added. The last three were built from thinner high tensile steel and could carry around 3 tons more than a conventional steel short boat.

 

Ah it looks as though the last three Town class were also 14ft 3 in overall then. We operated a re-bottomed 'Everton' as a tanker on the Leeds & Liverpool in 1979 between Esholt and Leeds (and sometimes Goole). She succeeded 'Irwell' which had started the traffic in 1978 with a tank in the hold and could carry 45 tonnes on 4 ft draft. 'Everton' was a much better carrier without the weight of the tank and we loaded up to 58 tonnes - which was too much so settled on a regular 56 tonnes on 4 feet draft, even better than Mike says, though I don't know why! (65 tonnes Knostrop to Goole, water on deck). I thought 'Everton' looked very smart with wheelbox. Captain of both craft was generally Derek Bent, another excellent boatman and probably the last to carry general cargo regularly on the L&L, though others (included myself) gave him a break from time to time. This job finished when the effluent from Esholt no longer needed taking out to sea. I could write a book about our adventures!

regards David.

[Skye]

Thank you. We bought Charles William around 1977 with the intention of taking her across the L&L to work more or less exclusively for BOCM Silcock at the invitation of Hugh Porter the transport manager (an unsung hero of the waterways in my opinion). BOCM were enthusiastic users of barge transport with their own fleet based at Selby (and I bought two of those craft later) but in the north west they used firms such as Bulk Cargo Handling Services, Liverpool Grain Storage and Transport, and Heather Chaplin. However there was an opportunity to take smaller cargoes on a regular basis, mainly Liverpool to BOCM mills at Birkenhead and Manchester, (which suited the mills receiving)and so a smaller barge was sought. A keel of 100 tonnes or so capacity would be ideal but we needed one that would go across the L&L hence Charles William which we bought from Potters at Boroughbridge and refurbished to a high standard. There was then a shortage of craft in the north east and lots of cargoes on offer so Hugh Porter kindly allowed us to defer coming across and we worked CW on the Humber waterways for a while, to Nottingham, Leeds, Wakefield, York, and for a while carried coal intensively to Ferrybridge power station, loading up to 108 tonnes on occasion (water on deck!). I skippered her on occasions but most of the time Derek Fearnley was the excellent skipper and kept CW in immaculate condition.

After struggling across the L&L we were confronted by the T&GWU in Liverpool who blacked CW for a while (though they allowed us to do some small loads between Manchester and Anderton) and that despite us all being members of the union! Reason for blacking given was they said it would take work from existing operators - not true as the small (approx 100 tonne) cargoes we had been promised would have been taken off lorries. The Union agreed at a meeting that they would allow CW to operate if we could find a 'new traffic'( much laughter on their side). That fired me up and I worked hard on this with BW's excellent Ken Moody at Anderton depot and the result was the still running wheat traffic from Seaforth grain terminal, initially to Anderton and subsequently to Frodsham. This started 2nd March 1981 with ex BW / Willow Wren / Bridgewater captain Joe Walker as skipper. CW was joined initially by Duker 'Parbella' and later 'Sarah Abbot' plus we used other barges as required. CW sank in the Mersey during a gale 16th October 1982 and the contract was transferred to the present operators on 1st January 1983.I have some photos of CW working both sides of the Pennines and could send them to anyone interested but don't know how to post on here!

Regards David.

Please send the photo's and do write the book about your adventures, things like that need capturing for posterity.

[PuffinHull]

Thank you - thank you all. It is so lovely to see so much love for the old boats and the boating lifestyle.

[PuffinHull]

Thanx for the info.

[larkshall]

erm.... no LOL... doh! John the boat me thinks is from Hull or as I say it 'Ull'

 

edited cos i forgot a bit ... ahem!! ee by gum ecky thump.. chucks a soggy yorkshire pudding at John take that ahahah

 

Tree, I'm glad to see you pronounce Hull correctly !

[tree]

Tree, I'm glad to see you pronounce Hull correctly !

sits beaming to herself,all proper like of course ... ahem!! dear larkshall ... tis all because moi ( curtseys and smiles ) is a proud Ull Lass make no mistake. Bestest things come out of ULL ..... OI!! NOW!! Now !! you lot .. hmm... who just said 'and they dont half talk a lot' ???? hmmm.. sits pondering... must be one of the Loughborough Chrimbo past banterees or banterers... Oh fiddle de de dash now ime all puddled.

[PuffinHull]

It is a very fine picture. There's a few stories in there.

 

Thank you Chris - some sad stories too, my great-grandmother's two little sisters drowned in a canal, probably that one (this is oral history, I'd love to find out more). My Nana used to walk along the tow path in winter and break the ice with a pole. I wonder if Elizabeth Anne (named after the princesses no doubt) went straight onto the boats when she got married. i know she went into domestic service when she was sixteen.