Historic Boats in the 90's

[MtB]

Especially now it has been converted back again!

 

 

 

yer kiddin'!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Really????????

 

 

MtB

[matty40s]

Don't think so - I'm pretty sure it was a cabin only shot clearly showing the name, and am also sure it was an 'old' photo or film. Maybe it will come to me in the small hours. I'm sure it was a row of boats moored side by side, and Hampton just stood out.

Twas a b&W of the rear ends of 4 boats in Paddington or Brentford basins.- it was on the CRT archives thread.

[Mike Tee]

Twas a b&W of the rear ends of 4 boats in Paddington or Brentford basins.- it was on the CRT archives thread.

Thanks for that - I was beginning to think I'd imagined it! I've had a look but can't find it again - at least Koukouvagia knows where it is now.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Mike Tee

[David Mack]

Thanks for posting these. I was delighted to see Owl with its Seffle, before I had the undercloth conversion done. I don't have many pictures from 20 years ago since it was before digital photography and smart phones.

 

BTW Owl must be one of the least photographed boats during its working days and I haven't discovered a single one of our butty, Hampton.

I can't lay my hands on the book at the moment, but I think that in Bob May's 'The BCN in Pictures' there is a photo of Hampton and another boat side by side in a bridge hole and decked over while the bridge was being reconstructed. If my memory is correct the bridge is a on the Farmers Bridge flight, and the photo dates from the 1960s.

 

Not working days in the carrying sense, but still earning its keep.

Edited December 10, 2014 by David Mack

[koukouvagia]

I can't lay my hands on the book at the moment, but I think that in Bob May's 'The BCN in Pictures' there is a photo of Hampton and another boat side by side in a bridge hole and decked over while the bridge was being reconstructed. If my memory is correct the bridge is a on the Farmers Bridge flight, and the photo dates from the 1960s.

 

Not working days in the carrying sense, but still earning its keep.

Thanks for that, David. I'll see if I can track it down.

[Timleech]

I agree too.

 

The most recent and saddest loss of a 70's conversion was the THEMIS. I so wanted to buy that boat when it was for sale complete with classic 70's cabin but just couldn't raise the money.

 

I was mortified when the new owners converted it back to working boat trim.

 

MtB

 

You're not the only one. I owned it and lived on it for a while, it was a real waste IMO.

I also did consider buying it back, but couldn't afford anywhere remotely near the asking price. I bought the KENNET instead, and happy that I did, but later found that the Themis had, allegedly, gone for the sort of money that I could have offered.

 

Tim

[Laurence Hogg]

Thanks for posting these. I was delighted to see Owl with its Seffle, before I had the undercloth conversion done. I don't have many pictures from 20 years ago since it was before digital photography and smart phones.

 

BTW Owl must be one of the least photographed boats during its working days and I haven't discovered a single one of our butty, Hampton.

Think I can help here: Owl & Florence

 

[koukouvagia]

Thanks for posting that Laurence. I'd seen a copy of this in WW, but yours is a much sharper image. I think this shows steerer Bill Edwards.

According to descendants of the Edwards family all but a few of their boating photos were destroyed in a fire.

[madcat]

I don't think Themis has been reconverted as such. She's been clothed over by her current owners but I think that's all that has been done. I will ask if I see them .

[Marcus Antonius]

Anything on Highbridge Crusader grp cruisers 1985 please?I would like to get any information I can from opwners of these boats....................

[furnessvale]

I don't think Themis has been reconverted as such. She's been clothed over by her current owners but I think that's all that has been done. I will ask if I see them .

Sorry If I have mislead people. I understood it was an undercloth conversion.

 

George ex nb Alton retired

[madcat]

There was a plan but I think it's changed . I was going to do mine but decided not to .

[pete harrison]

Anything on Highbridge Crusader grp cruisers 1985 please?I would like to get any information I can from opwners of these boats....................

If your boat is B.W.B. index number 76801 it dates to at least 1982, and back then was named FALCON.

[TimYoung]

The two boats supporting the bridge being repaired were both Braithwaite and Kirks Joshers ex Bridgewater. Ilford is one and Hereford the other. If it is the photograph I think it is,of course.

We rebuilt Ilford over a number of years.

 

Tim

[carlt]

Is that the forums very own Carl T ???

 

Darren

No that was well before my time.

 

That is Andy, I believe, who was a couple of owners before me.

 

If it is him then the motor in front would probably be Umbriel.

[IanM]

I've managed to find the negatives for the 1995 photos and found a picture that I've obviously lost the print of.

 

Braunston Boat Show 1995 by Ian Mulford, on Flickr

 

We've already worked out that another boat in the set of pictures was Archimedes so what was paired with Ara at the time?

 

Callisto sticks in my mind for some reason.

Edited December 15, 2014 by IanM

[alan_fincher]

I've managed to find the negatives for the 1995 photos and found a picture that I've obviously lost the print of.

 

Braunston Boat Show 1995 by Ian Mulford, on Flickr

 

We've already worked out that another boat in the set of pictures was Archimedes so what was paired with Ara at the time?

 

Callisto sticks in my mind for some reason.

 

Does this help?

 

Linky.

[IanM]

 

Does this help?

 

Linky.

 

Reckon that's it then

[pete harrison]

I've managed to find the negatives for the 1995 photos and found a picture that I've obviously lost the print of.

 

Braunston Boat Show 1995 by Ian Mulford, on Flickr

 

We've already worked out that another boat in the set of pictures was Archimedes so what was paired with Ara at the time?

 

Callisto sticks in my mind for some reason.

CALLISTO and ARA were paired together from about 1975 to August 2000, but under two different owners. At the time the above photograph was taken CALLISTO and ARA were contracted to Union Canal Carriers Ltd. as steered camping boats.

[IanM]

Thanks Pete.

 

All I've got as reference is the boat listing out of the back of "The George and the Mary" which obviously isn't much help with pairings after the mid-1930's if at all!

[pete harrison]

Thanks Pete.

 

All I've got as reference is the boat listing out of the back of "The George and the Mary" which obviously isn't much help with pairings after the mid-1930's if at all!

Pleased to be of service

 

The pairings detailed in The George and The Mary are intended pairings of which many never happened due to differing builders and delivery dates, especially with the Large (4'9'' deep hulls) boats. The pairings that did take place have become somewhat out of date with the passing of the past eighty years or so, but fortunately I do have a few notes of 'what happened next'

Edited December 17, 2014 by pete harrison

[Admiral]

I agree too.

 

The most recent and saddest loss of a 70's conversion was the THEMIS. I so wanted to buy that boat when it was for sale complete with classic 70's cabin but just couldn't raise the money.

 

I was mortified when the new owners converted it back to working boat trim.

 

MtB

 

I have read this a few times now. As it was me that deconverted Themis I think that its time to tell the other side of the story.

Firstly I am not against converted boats, in fact I am converting one right now.

 

I bought Themis without seeing it and only saw some photos of the re-bottoming work. The roof had been fiberglassed over the top of rotten wood and with lots of filler looked fine. However when it rained every room in the boat leaked. With use and stepping on the roof over time the fiberglass had cracked and coupled with some areas which needed to be avoided when walking on the roof, tough when there were no gun-whales on the boat. The front deck leaked (the inside of the front deck was exposed to the rest of the boat with only a curtain to separate it) and there was huge leaks running down between the engine room bulkhead and behind the cabin which has rusted the bottom of the bulkhead away. All of the windows/portholes leaked except one. This and the fact that the boat was 6'3" wide and I had to run chains across the inside of the boat when boating in narrow locks to get through (still got stuck and had BW pull the boat out on more than one occasion) even with some triangular plates that had been welded in. The wood around the windows was rotten. When the boat was not chained in the cabin leaned slightly at the front end to one side, hence the repairs that had been made to the boat after clipping bridge holes even with the fact that the cabin dropped down at the front end.

 

There were many more issues that were of a minor problem (only centre doors to get in and out, the stairs that had been used as coal bunkers were unlined and the coal had rotted the hull away at that point, mold behind all the cabinets, both solid fuel stoves were broken) and that could have been made good.

 

So what to do? At that time I did not need a converted boat so I moved into the back cabin for nearly a year with the front cabin still on but did not use it due to the issues mentioned. So hence the deconversion. I lived on Themis for another 2 years in the back cabin, loaded it, boated it and had a lot of fun with her.

 

Was it a unique cabin? YES

Was it in a fit state? NO

Was it a lovely boat? YES

Is it still a lovely boat? YES

If I had put a conversion back on would it have been the same? NO

Can someone else put a conversion on it? YES

 

So what is the answer?

Putting a steel cabin on identical to the old one and pulling the boat in?

Stripping the cabin and remaking in wood?

 

Whatever, boats are a very personal thing and a number of boats are only around because they were converted but it comes down to the right thing to do for the boat in my opinion. I know there are a number of people that think that it should have been kept and thats great that they think that.

 

Just saying.

[David Mack]

This and the fact that the boat was 6'3" wide and I had to run chains across the inside of the boat when boating in narrow locks to get through (still got stuck and had BW pull the boat out on more than one occasion)

Blimey! Hurleston must have come in more than I thought!

[Timleech]

I took the Themis up Hurleston, but it was a tight fit, must have been more than 6' 3" wide at that time

 

Tim

 

Edit to add that when I had the boat, it had a raised seating area at the front, with a glass-covered gaming/dining table, as per Nick Walker's original conversion, the deck bulkhead was intact. We had IIRC 13 or so people to Christmas dinner 'somewhere on the Welsh cut', goose coked in the mini-AGA which was fitted at that time, can't remember exactly where. We were with several other boats, one lifted a coping stone in Frankton locks so we decided that discretion was in order & didn't try to get further.

Edited December 17, 2014 by Timleech

[Timleech]

Just to add that, when I bought the Themis, late mid - 1980s, it was a bit run down because the owner was living in Scotland and keeping a coal-fired Clyde Puffer going had taken over his life.

I did quite a lot of work on the cabin, re-skinning large areas, replacing some areas of dodgy inner planking, replacing the impractical central sliding hatches with more conventional doors, etc. The cabin didn't leak at that time. Incidentally we never found the 'central doors only' to be a limitation. There was a big vertically sliding window opening onto the foredeck which was more than adequate as an emergency exit should it ever be needed.

I had never been inside the boat since selling it, but Bob always seemed to keep it looking tidy externally and I knew he had spent a fair bit of money on it, so my assumption was that he had 'kept on top of' the timber cabin work, and my expressions of sadness over the removal of the conversion were based on that assumption.

 

Tim

Edited December 18, 2014 by Timleech