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Teddesley boat yard


Monkey 1

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When i was little my grandfather had a Norman cruiser, and then purchased another one . He brought a field near Penkridge and built the first landing stages and a shed. He was a builder by trade, He then went into partnership with my uncle and formed Teddersly Boating Company. This was about 1965/66.He had the fibreglass tops made and opened a factory near Norton Canes to make the hulls. I recall the crane arriving putting the hulls in the water and having to paint them with special paint in the school holidays. I also remember two of the hire fleet sinking !! one near Gailey when the user forgot to replace the weedhatch and one in Penkridge when a fence post jammed against the side in the lock and the water filled to the top !! My granfather died some years ago CTC , Charles Thomas Chapman and my uncle Pete and Barbara moved to Church Stretton to run a hotel. I grew up helping on these boats at weekends and have many fond memories....Steve Chapman.

  • Greenie 1
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Sometimes is great to see an old thread resurrected.

Peter and Linda taught me all I know about boats and boating - for which I'll always be indebted.

 

Teddesley Boat Company is still running, the yard can still build boats, though I suspect would now prefer to do lighter work, including painting for which they have an excellent paint bay.

 

They are selling off the remainder of their hire fleet and as others have said they are solid and well thought out. If anything needs replacing then that's what you get.

TBC is on the web - give them a bell.

 

 

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  • 2 months later...

No didn't know him, only "of him".

 

I actually wonder with hindsight how many of the boats we credit to particular builders were actually built by them at their base. So for instance were earlier boats like this one built at Teddesley, or somewhere else for them?

 

Polly_1_033_zpsb3c2179e.jpg

 

Certainly I think I remember hearing the GRP tops were made elsewhere, and shipped in?

 

here is my 1974 built teddesly

 

012.jpg

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I'd be interested to see a photo is you have one.

 

I shall try to remember to take some pictures this weekend for you, she is called Chaperchaille - Im sure there are others on this forum who will know more about her history than me. If you are near Gailey you are most welcome to pop down to have a look.

 

Its a 1978 boat and must be one of the first boats built in the early 'pleasure industry' however it really is solid, we surveyed it ourself when it was blacked (we hit it with hammers, it didnt sink). Quite remarkable really as it looks a little flimsy however it really is solid.

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I shall try to remember to take some pictures this weekend for you, she is called Chaperchaille - Im sure there are others on this forum who will know more about her history than me. If you are near Gailey you are most welcome to pop down to have a look.

 

Its a 1978 boat and must be one of the first boats built in the early 'pleasure industry' however it really is solid, we surveyed it ourself when it was blacked (we hit it with hammers, it didnt sink). Quite remarkable really as it looks a little flimsy however it really is solid.

1978 is quite a way on, in the pleasure/leisure boat building, i was involved in the building of steel hulls for leisure use at Shropsire Union Cruises, Norbury Jcn i started there in 1966, the first had wooden, then GRP, & in 1968 steel cabins.When I left to Hotel boat, Shamus Walsh was doing the steel work One of the first boats built was for Dr David Owen who wrote books & was generally into canal history etc It was named Rose of Sharon,although they had a wooden cruiser of the same name before that.

Edited by X Alan W
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Interesting spelling: "Chaperchaille" - is that a mis-spelt Capercaillie, as in Scottish Black Grouse?

 

Derek

 

Its one of the two - I believe it is named after the bird and hence why there is a decal of a grouse/pheasant like creature on the side. Must remember to get those photos!

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  • 2 years later...

Hi Folks,

 

A new poster here. This is a picture of the boat my father and I built at Teddesley around 1973. A Teddesley 40ft hull with GRP cabin and SR2 Lister engine.

 

She was kept moored at Teddesley until around 1976 when the family moved from Stafford to the North East, and the boat was moved to Bumblehole on the BCN near the end of Netherton tunnel for a short time.

 

Eventually she was moved again to the Leeds and Liverpool canal, to somewhere near Bradford, before eventually being sold.

 

I do remember she appeared on the cover of Waterways World one issue sometime after we sold her. Would love to know if she is still around.

 

Thesauros.jpg?raw=1

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  • 2 years later...
On 14 January 2017 at 21:52, Alstonite said:

Hi Folks,

 

A new poster here. This is a picture of the boat my father and I built at Teddesley around 1973. A Teddesley 40ft hull with GRP cabin and SR2 Lister engine.

 

She was kept moored at Teddesley until around 1976 when the family moved from Stafford to the North East, and the boat was moved to Bumblehole on the BCN near the end of Netherton tunnel for a short time.

 

Eventually she was moved again to the Leeds and Liverpool canal, to somewhere near Bradford, before eventually being sold.

 

I do remember she appeared on the cover of Waterways World one issue sometime after we sold her. Would love to know if she is still around.

 

Thesauros.jpg?raw=1

 

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  • 10 months later...
  • 7 months later...

Dipping a dry toe into the water here.
I am trying to get some metal plate specs on late 70,s Teddesley 50 footer. A GRP cabin . I saw a post of 7:7:5:4. Don't fully understand that. 10:6:4 I do understand. Any info greatly appreciated.

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I can't be sure, but I suspect steel plate was specified in metric units by the late 70s.

 

7mm sounds an odd size to use for hull bottom and side plating, but the fabricator may have thought it better to round up from 1/4 inch (6.35mm) to 7mm rather than round down to 6mm. 1/4 inch / 6mm plating would have been usual for hull sides and bottom at that time. The fashion for 10mm and thicker bottoms came later.

 

The 5 and 4 are clearly nonsense for a GRP top, but perhaps the fabricator also offered all steel shells with 5mm cabin sides and 4mm roof plating.

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4 hours ago, David Mack said:

I can't be sure, but I suspect steel plate was specified in metric units by the late 70s.

 

7mm sounds an odd size to use for hull bottom and side plating, but the fabricator may have thought it better to round up from 1/4 inch (6.35mm) to 7mm rather than round down to 6mm. 1/4 inch / 6mm plating would have been usual for hull sides and bottom at that time. The fashion for 10mm and thicker bottoms came later.

 

The 5 and 4 are clearly nonsense for a GRP top, but perhaps the fabricator also offered all steel shells with 5mm cabin sides and 4mm roof plating.

Research on this thread way back says that the Teddersley Boat Co had GPR tops from 1978-80 ,then steel cabins. And that they used odd metal thicknesses. It might be that the commenter put the 7 twice. It would make sense then. I understand there might have been extra bracing. These were hire boats for people, not goods, like the springers. 7mm sounds a little light for a 40 year life.
Thanks all for your replies

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16 hours ago, David Mack said:

I can't be sure, but I suspect steel plate was specified in metric units by the late 70s.

 

7mm sounds an odd size to use for hull bottom and side plating, but the fabricator may have thought it better to round up from 1/4 inch (6.35mm) to 7mm rather than round down to 6mm. 1/4 inch / 6mm plating would have been usual for hull sides and bottom at that time. The fashion for 10mm and thicker bottoms came later.

 

The 5 and 4 are clearly nonsense for a GRP top, but perhaps the fabricator also offered all steel shells with 5mm cabin sides and 4mm roof plating.

 

15 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

3mm left or original, overplated in 4mm => 7mm :D 

 

11 hours ago, Tonupt said:

Research on this thread way back says that the Teddersley Boat Co had GPR tops from 1978-80 ,then steel cabins. And that they used odd metal thicknesses. It might be that the commenter put the 7 twice. It would make sense then. I understand there might have been extra bracing. These were hire boats for people, not goods, like the springers. 7mm sounds a little light for a 40 year life.
Thanks all for your replies

My all steel Teddesley was built in 1980 (date assumed to be correct!) and all the steelwork is original. I bought the boat in 1997. I have a copy of a survey done in 1993 when the surveyor estimated the original plating thicknesses to be 7.7.5.4. The surveyor used a *Millimeter 99* and the readings for all the hull sections were either 7mm or 6mm. But I wouldn't be surprised if the hull plating was all constructed in 1/4 inch steel of slightly variable thickness. 

AFAIAA, she has never been a hire boat.

 

Phil

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...

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