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alan_fincher

By alan_fincher
in History & Heritage

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magnetman Veteran II

magnetman

Posted
Posted (edited)

1/2 inch thick plating is an interesting claim.

 

Also a Lister Pettifer. I imagine this is a diminutive version of a Lister Petter.

 

Quite a lot of detail about the boat here. The hull does seem to be rather a handsome piece of metalwork.

 

Edited by magnetman
Greenpen Engager

Greenpen

Posted
Posted

Yes Captain, I think you are right about OCC owning the boatyard and various people leasing it from them.    I am not sure but I guess the current Tooley's Boatyard is now leased from Cherwell District Council rather than the CRT who otherwise would have been the modern day inheritors of OCC after nationalisation.    There is a modern shopping centre somewhat over-shadowing the Tooley yard today.

 

The Tooley's built wooden boats at their yard and launched them sideways into the canal, there is a fine photograph of NB Savannah being launched in 1913 in the small museum there.    Benjamin Roberts may have had an experimental streak as he built Fire Fly, a 24' x 4' 9" steam launch in 1841.   This had a steam engine driving a screw and the engine itself is in the Science Museum in London, so presumably is considered important albeit not currently on display.    The engine itself was built by a Henry Warriner who went onto work with railway and marine steam engines.

 

I am wondering if Benjamin might have been a iron boat builder too, or whether there was another boat building yard in Banbury?

Chris M Jones Contributor

Chris M Jones

Posted
Posted
It would interesting to know where the information was sourced showing the boat to be built in 1850 and at Banbury. 
 
Banbury Dock was the only yard in Banbury and it's unlikely Benjamin Roberts would have built the ice breaker as iron boat building requires specialist skills, especially if it has a half inch think hull. Also I’m not aware of any boiler makers working in the town in 1850 either.
 
The Oxford Canal Company owned a number of iron boats including carrying boats with living cabins. They were built by Joshua and William Horton of Smethwick in the 1860’s. They would be the most likely candidates for building that ice boat I think.  

 

BEngo Veteran II

BEngo

Posted
Posted

Speculating: As riveting only requires a forge and a selection of hammers, ità is possible that a boat builder elsewhere formed the plates and did the drilling, assembling the boat with bolts before sending it as a CKD kit to Banbury for final assembly.  The forge  at Banbury dock would be a good place to heat the rivets and the smith will have had the skill to set them. The dock and surrounds would be well suited to the assembling.  None of the plates look too large to be manhandled.

 

Evidence needed.

 

N

 

 

David Mack Veteran II

David Mack

Posted
Posted
9 minutes ago, BEngo said:

Speculating: As riveting only requires a forge and a selection of hammers, ità is possible that a boat builder elsewhere formed the plates and did the drilling, assembling the boat with bolts before sending it as a CKD kit to Banbury for final assembly.  The forge  at Banbury dock would be a good place to heat the rivets and the smith will have had the skill to set them. The dock and surrounds would be well suited to the assembling.  None of the plates look too large to be manhandled.

 

Evidence needed.

 

N

 

 

It's how the Yavari was transported from the Thames Iron Works on Bow Creek to Lake Titicaca in Peru. Yavari and sister ship Yapura were transported as 2766 individual pieces, none heavier than 3.5 cwt, as that was the maximum weight a Peruvian mule could carry up to the lake's 3812 m elevation.

Robert B. Engager

Robert B.

Posted
Posted

As Sara's former owner I can confirm that there is some confusion in the advert. Sara is believed to have been based out of Banbury but probably built elsewhere, she also has Harts Hill Iron Co. rolled into her knees. The best guess for her construction date was based on stylistic grounds and comparison with other vessels, the consensus appeared to be C. 1855-1865.

 

Regards,

 

Robert

  • Greenie 1
Rob-M Veteran II

Rob-M

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, zenataomm said:

Sodding Chipbury

I had a colleague moving from London to Bristol spend ages looking at a map trying to find Sodding Chipbury and Compton Fratterell.

Derek R. Veteran

Derek R.

Posted
Posted
32 minutes ago, Dav and Pen said:

The advert says built by Yarwoods. Wonder why they had a V bottom.

Having steered TYCHO with a V botton (a very shallow one) and a 45' Springer with a similar V botton, they do stay on line quite well. More so the Springer in fact.

That would be quite an unusual boat. Not many left I shouldn't think, very distinctive.

Paul H Rising Star

Paul H

Posted
Posted
2 hours ago, Dav and Pen said:

The advert says built by Yarwoods. Wonder why they had a V bottom.

I believe 6 of these boats were supplied to BW in the early 70s by Isaac Pimblott of Northwich.

 

Paul

33F93EFD-FF7F-453C-86CD-5B4BAF446C7F.jpeg

John Brightley Rising Star

John Brightley

Posted
Posted (edited)
12 hours ago, Paul H said:

I believe 6 of these boats were supplied to BW in the early 70s by Isaac Pimblott of Northwich.

 

Paul

33F93EFD-FF7F-453C-86CD-5B4BAF446C7F.jpeg

For the record this photo is one of Laurence Hogg's from his post here: https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/93953-first-ever-steel-narrow-boat-hulls-manufactured-for-leisue-boat-use/page/4/#comment-2066523 and I'm pretty sure that he was correct in saying the build was by Pimblotts c1970.

 

Edit: I've found another thread about them here: Sea barge... - General Boating - Canal World

where Pete Harrison identified them on a Pimblotts build list

"If this is one of the six 'Pimblott' built pleasure boats it will date from 1968/9 (and I think the photograph is one of these six boats). These boats were built under the 'Pimblott' yard numbers 821, 822, 823, 824, 829 and 831 - with all except 829 being described as a "canal Cruiser" (829 has no description). 821 has no owner listed. 823, 824, 829 and 831 were built for Davison Brothers, whilst 822 was for Wyvern Shipping Company. " 

This tends to suggest that the hulls of the BW boats were built by Pimblotts, but they then went to Davison Brothers for fitting out before being delivered to the BW Hillmorton yard as shown on the photo.

 

 

Edited by John Brightley
Ray T Veteran II

Ray T

Posted
Posted (edited)
20 hours ago, Paul H said:

I believe 6 of these boats were supplied to BW in the early 70s by Isaac Pimblott of Northwich.

 

Paul

33F93EFD-FF7F-453C-86CD-5B4BAF446C7F.jpeg

Hillmorton Arm. Now known as Grantham's Bridge.

Edited by Ray T
Rose Narrowboats Community Regular

Rose Narrowboats

Posted
Posted (edited)

I'd always thought that they were built by Pimblott's in the 60s. If they were built in the 70s then they had very short lives in the hire fleet as I think the last of them at Hillmorton had gone by 1980 - replaced as I recall by a batch of Rugby Boats including Water Soldier and Water Fern.

 

Waterway Girl, Waterway Lass and Waterway Nymph I can remember, and I think Waterway Maid. Anyone know what the names of the other ones were? Another one was (is?) moored in Swan Lane Basin which still has it's original Perkins 4.108 and hydraulic drive. It says something about the practicalities of hire fleet operation that having built such sturdy and complicated boats as these, the next generation of BW hire boats were fibreglass topped and Lister SR powered!

Edited by Rose Narrowboats
Added another name.
roland elsdon Influencer

roland elsdon

Posted
Posted
23 hours ago, Derek R. said:

Having steered TYCHO with a V botton (a very shallow one) and a 45' Springer with a similar V botton, they do stay on line quite well. More so the Springer in fact.

That would be quite an unusual boat. Not many left I shouldn't think, very distinctive.

Just passed admiral benbow on cov canal think thats one too

Note not the Benbow which was i believe surprisingly an admiral class boat.

John Brightley Rising Star

John Brightley

Posted
Posted
51 minutes ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

I'd always thought that they were built by Pimblott's in the 60s. If they were built in the 70s then they had very short lives in the hire fleet as I think the last of them at Hillmorton had gone by 1980 - replaced as I recall by a batch of Rugby Boats including Water Soldier and Water Fern.

 

Waterway Girl, Waterway Lass and Waterway Nymph I can remember. Anyone know what the names of the other ones were? Another one was (is?) moored in Swan Lane Basin which still has it's original Perkins 4.108 and hydraulic drive. It says something about the practicalities of hire fleet operation that having built such sturdy and complicated boats as these, the next generation of BW hire boats were fibreglass topped and Lister SR powered!

Laurence was fairly certain that his photo of the new boats at Hillmorton was taken in 1972. If this were the case they would have taken 3 years to be fitted out which seems unlikely. It's possible that they entered the fleet in 1970. I'm fairly certain that they had gone shortly before I became interested in the local canals in 1977. So maybe they had a working life of about 6 years.

We have to remember that when these boats were ordered -say 1967- there were very few firms building new narrow boats. It was quite natural for BW to order from a boatbuilder who they had used just a few years earlier for carrying boats. The design could have been by Pimblotts themselves based on their experience of building robust carrying and estuarial craft. This may explain why they have lasted so long. 

The boatbuilding and hire industries developed very quickly in the 1970's so that by 1975 BW were able to order new boats from Rugby Boatbuilders and Harborough Marine to more conventional designs which had been proven in those builders own fleets.

archie57 Proficient

archie57

Posted
Posted
1 hour ago, roland elsdon said:

Just passed admiral benbow on cov canal think thats one too

Note not the Benbow which was i believe surprisingly an admiral class boat.

   ....nor the Benbow ( ie Bath) once owned by the Tardebigge Boat Co......

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