BW licence numbers

[Keeping Up]

Can anyone please remind me, what year did BW first start their numbered registrations (which were in the 60,000 series for steel narrowboats)?

 

Allan

[alan_fincher]

Can anyone please remind me, what year did BW first start their numbered registrations (which were in the 60,000 series for steel narrowboats)?

 

Allan

The Inland Boat Owners Book reckons....

 

BW introduced registration plates for boats on it's territory in 1981.

 

It also seems to say that they started at 60011 for metal boats, and only (somewhat curiously) issued the missing 11 numbers 60000 to 60010 in the period 1987 to 1990. (There must be a story there, but gawd knows what it is!).

 

Also all the following ranges show as used for metal boats in 1981 to 1982 (which would have included mopping up all boats on the system before plating was introduced)

 

60011 to 70561

77500 to 77599

77700 to 79999

 

None of the other number groups in the 60000 and 70000 series follow any strict chronological order as to which year they were used for. It all seems quire random

 

Only when they started using 45001 to 55000 (1988 to part of 1995) and numbers starting with the the six figure 500010 (mid 95), did it start to be that as the number increased, it meant it was a more newly registered boat.

 

That's the Anorak's answer, anyway ! - If you have that book, you can look at it yourself for all boat types, not just metal...

 

Question, though ? What about WOODEN boats, as the number series only cover metal and plastic, as listed there....

[Dorlan]

....Question, though ? What about WOODEN boats, as the number series only cover metal and plastic, as listed there....

I'm sure they are referring to metal and plastic registration plates rather than boats!

[carlt]

Question, though ? What about WOODEN boats, as the number series only cover metal and plastic, as listed there....

Wooden boats are exempt from registration and licensing on account of, if we are ever taken to court we just plead insanity.

 

I wish!!

[alan_fincher]

I'm sure they are referring to metal and plastic registration plates rather than boats!

Possibly - I did wonder...

 

As Allan had referred to 60000 series "for steel narrowboats", I sort of assumed it related to the material of the boat, not the plate ?

 

Why were some plates metal, ansd some plastic ? Did you get given a choice ?

[Keeping Up]

Possibly - I did wonder...

 

As Allan had referred to 60000 series "for steel narrowboats", I sort of assumed it related to the material of the boat, not the plate ?

 

Why were some plates metal, ansd some plastic ? Did you get given a choice ?

Thanks for the information Alan. I was trying to find out the info for a friend, and couldn't remember the answer. They said it would probably be quicker to ask the question on the forum than to search by Google, and they were right!

 

Yes I was referring to the material of the boat not of plates. I don't recall being offered any choice. The one thing that did amuse me, were the 4 pages of instructions on how to fix them to the boat (which my boatbuilder followed, to the letter!)

 

Allan

[Dorlan]

Possibly - I did wonder...

 

As Allan had referred to 60000 series "for steel narrowboats", I sort of assumed it related to the material of the boat, not the plate ?

 

Why were some plates metal, ansd some plastic ? Did you get given a choice ?

If I remember correctly, boats under something like 20', mainly grp or wooden cruisers, were issued with plastic stick-on plates while the rest had metal ones. I know I had plastic stick-on ones when I had a licence for a small dinghy used on the Brecon & Abergavenny Canal! I don't think you were given a choice!

 

Ian J

[DHutch]

Very insteresting.

- I often wondered what the logic behind plate numbers was, ofter than six-digits being newer. It seams there basicaly isnt any...

 

We have 52884, which was issued around 1991-2 i guess.

 

 

Daniel

[WJM]

Why do so many people put "Registered in Watford" or other places - I dont recall registering my boat any place in particular - and even if I did, I dont recall being told to display anything other than the number

[Liam]

Read the section called "Reg at Watford".

 

http://www.narrowboatworld.com/c_mike.html

[WJM]

ah ha!

 

so in a word - meaningless

[minerva]

why can't it be "Registered at Panama Canal".....

[Liam]

ah ha!

 

so in a word - meaningless

Yep. Spot on.

[Keeping Up]

ah ha!

 

so in a word - meaningless

Yes, absolutely meaningless.

 

The article says "Boats were usually registered in the towns where they were built". Keeping Up was built at Longport, Stoke-on-Trent, and at her last repaint I had the meaningless phrase "Registered at Longport, No 177" added next to the BW licence plate (177 being her serial number from Stoke-on-Trent Boatbuilding); I'm very glad I did, for it has triggered countless interesting conversations from other people who know either Longport itself or Stoke-on-Trent Boatbuilding.

 

Allan

[alan_fincher]

Very insteresting.

- I often wondered what the logic behind plate numbers was, ofter than six-digits being newer. It seams there basicaly isnt any...

 

We have 52884, which was issued around 1991-2 i guess.

Daniel

According to the book...

 

52607 to 53554 are for 1993.

 

On the subject of "Registered at", I recall one of the Blue Line carrying fleet (whilst still at work, I think) displayed "REGISTERED AT BRENTFORD NO...." on the cabin sides. Except that the "N" in BRENTFORD was reversed, so that the diagonal went from bottom left to top right. I think it was the butty Belmont, and that that was the only error in the otherwise good sign-writing.

 

My brother used the space normally used for "Registered at" in quite a different way. He had his Town Class boat painted it in a very tidy reproduction of a full British Waterways blue and yellow livery.

 

These days BW now seem quite content to let that happen, but back when he did this, they were far from happy, and said only their boats could display "British Waterways".

 

So in that small black registration panel, just above where it had "British Waterways" splashed across the cabin-side in big yellow letters, he neatly painted "M. Fincher's boat for use on the". I believe they stopped objecting once it was pointed out to them that the "british waterways" was simply the final part of a sentence!

[Jon Ody]

Pirate Princess, the former Pirate Club vessel off of Camden Town, is registered as 60010.

 

Edit: PP was built and first registered in 1982.

Edited May 17, 2015 by Jon Ody