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Chiltern Countess etc.


Ray

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Chiltern Countess - "often referred to on here as the electric brick" - was built in 1992 and plied her trade on the Southern Grand Union Canal on the Beds, Bucks & Herts border until she was disposed of by the then owner earlier this year after he took the decision that Grebe Canal Cruises would cease trading at the end of 2014.

 

A sister vessel - Princess of the Chilterns - was built some 8 years earlier and being diesel powered rather than electric, had a slightly larger cruising area. She too ceased her original (trip boat) task at the same time.

 

I was closely involved with both vessels and for the last few years of my close association with Grebe Canal Cruises was probably the most regular skipper of "Countess" - the others found the speed derived from the electric motor - the egg whisk - and the tighter clearances in locks and under bridges less to their liking. I worked on "Princess" for all but the last three years of her life at Grebe and worked part time for Grebe for about 25 years.

 

I understand that both trip boats moved elsewhere although I know not where on when. I'd be specifically interested to learn what happened to Countess (which I also played a small part in fitting out).

 

We sold our own narrowboat a couple of years back due to (my) health issues and I bowed out of active participation on this forum around that time which is why I have not been around.

 

Thanks you.

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Hi Ray, I remember you, and the boats well from my time down there.

Sad to see the business being shut down after so many years.

I suppose the pub opposite shutting didn't help, I've no doubt his day boats will still be leaving all paddles up and gates open as they go up Marsworth!!

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When we went down to Ricky in May we saw one of the two trip boats, but I'm struggling to remember which one, or where, (other than it can have been no further than Ricky).

I seem to recall, (though memory may be flawed), that it may have look set to become a live-aboard.

 

Matty - I'm fairly certain all the day boats got the chop as well when the trip boats left.

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Grebe Canal Cruises also had two self hire boats. One was called Grebe which we hired a couple of times in the early 80s. Those holidays convinced us that we wanted our own boat.

I think I saw one of these Grebe boats recently in private ownership and looking rather tired. I recognised the two distinctive circular gas locker covers on the cruiser deck.

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Thanks for the responses.

 

I understood that the three day hire boats went to Harefield on brokerage. One of the trip boats - believed to be Princess - was craned out at The Boat Shop at Leighton Buzzard. The last I saw of Countess she was over-staying "on" the towpath opposite Cooks Wharf earlier this year.

 

One of the trip boats is reputed to heading somewhere to start a new life as a restaurant. I think Manchester was mentioned.

 

The closure of the local pub was allegedly caused in part by the trip boat's presence when the owner of the premises applied for change of use.

 

I retained an arms length relationship with the owner of Pitstone Wharf after I ceased to tolerate working for the last owner of Grebe Canal Cruises. Therefore I have my on views on why Grebe shut up shop at the end of 2014.

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From my perception the one thing

 

The closure of the local pub was allegedly caused in part by the trip boat's presence when the owner of the premises applied for change of use.

 

The one thing that both the owner of the now closed pub and the final owner of the now closed trip boat business had in common was the fact that in my view both could be so unhelpful, rude and offensive that they really did not deserve to be trading!

 

It is normally a shame when businesses in an area close down, but based on my observations neither of these deserved to have any customers!

The Duke of Wellington also once provided us with by far the worst pub meal I have ever been supplied in my life - truly awful beyond belief!

 

(For clarity I am NOT talking about the previous owner of the trip boat business who continued to operate Pitstone Wharf after the two businesses were separated).

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From my perception the one thing

 

 

 

The one thing that both the owner of the now closed pub and the final owner of the now closed trip boat business had in common was the fact that in my view both could be so unhelpful, rude and offensive that they really did not deserve to be trading!

 

It is normally a shame when businesses in an area close down, but based on my observations neither of these deserved to have any customers!

The Duke of Wellington also once provided us with by far the worst pub meal I have ever been supplied in my life - truly awful beyond belief!

 

(For clarity I am NOT talking about the previous owner of the trip boat business who continued to operate Pitstone Wharf after the two businesses were separated).

The Duke of Wellington was like a ' back to the 60's' experience. Including the thickness of dust and the menu.

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I remember a group of 4 of us were drinking in there one lunchtime and laughing loudly at a joke (not rude) we were asked to not be so loud. There were only another couple in the large empty bar if I recall. We started walking down to the Swan thereafter

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We met the 3 day boats just above Kings Langley on 25th Jan heading London direction.

 

Princess pushed its way through the ice when we were stuck at Marsworth a week later and went up the locks pushing the gates open with the boat as it progressed. The next day CRT announced the top lock shut due to broken casting? on the top gate.

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I'd tied up for the night at Marsworth, late August it was 2005, when at about 9pm there came the most horrendous racket which got nearer and nearer. It was one of those trip boats. It had a large generator on the back deck, with I'm sure a completely blown silencer, what with that row and the music blaring out the noise was terrible.. It turned I think at the Aylesbury arm junction and went back to Pitstone. It could have been the electric boat with the generator powering it.

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In 2005 Countess's motor was still solely battery powered. The generator, which was water cooled, was purely for providing 230v for on board facilities like a DJ's deck. However, I believe an on-board charger was added in the last few years and I'm told that the/a generator was used continuously whilst cruising to either provide power for the motor via the batteries or to charge them whilst the boat was underway.

 

Countess wasn't the fastest on the cut as numerous people on here will probably be only too well aware of. That said, with a decent crew who knew what they were doing we seldom caused too many delays and I've frequently followed a diesel powered boat over the longer pounds only to be stuck behind them each time we arrived at a lock (and we needed both gates open).

 

Personally I hated the trips when we had with the generator running and would do my utmost to avoid using it as I felt it destroyed the ambience of what was otherwise a virtually silent vessel.

 

BTW I well remember Canis and the (to me) unusual head attire of the owner, someone with whom I regularly exchanged banter (as I did with many of the local moorers).

 

It was only in the last ten years or so that the "noisy" trips transferred from Princess to Countess and the mainstay of these trips likewise transferred to working south of Pitstone instead of to the north where the longer vessel was unable to turn before reaching Slapton - a four hour round trip.

 

Reports of alleged damage to the lock gates don't surprise me. I've pushed said gates open the same way on many occasions but I'd been taught how to do it without causing damage by a master. The final owner of the trip boat business on the other hand found no place in his vocabulary for the word advice so never had the opportunity to gain the same knowledge.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Ray, I remember you, and the boats well from my time down there.

Sad to see the business being shut down after so many years.

I suppose the pub opposite shutting didn't help, I've no doubt his day boats will still be leaving all paddles up and gates open as they go up Marsworth!!

 

Oh man that Grebe day boat brings back some memories of when we had our old boat Hawthorn , joined a group of well oiled "boaters " aboard it on the marsworth flight once , I swear that little boat was amazing , it must have been armoured plated the amount of heavy impacts it made to lock gates , lock walls and even head on into the bank at one point at right angles nose first... amazingly they didnt hit Hawthorn which was a miracle in its own right . Will keep a wide berth if we see her in my new sparkly boat lol

 

More than once we saw the same antics aboard her and still she stayed afloat . We even devised a little tune to sing every time we saw her from then on .... bit like the laurel and hardy theme

 

Happy days

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Oh man that Grebe day boat brings back some memories of when we had our old boat Hawthorn , joined a group of well oiled "boaters " aboard it on the marsworth flight once , I swear that little boat was amazing , it must have been armoured plated the amount of heavy impacts it made to lock gates , lock walls and even head on into the bank at one point at right angles nose first... amazingly they didnt hit Hawthorn which was a miracle in its own right . Will keep a wide berth if we see her in my new sparkly boat lol

 

More than once we saw the same antics aboard her and still she stayed afloat . We even devised a little tune to sing every time we saw her from then on .... bit like the laurel and hardy theme

 

Happy days

Over time there were several different day boats - and up to three concurrently. They probably all shared the same exciting experiences!

 

I know not whether the last day hire boats were sold on as hire boats or for private use. The newest member of the fleet was a converted cruiser, much altered to become suitable for day hire. By then that one and one of the others had precious little metal bodywork above the gunnels so was really unsuitable for anything more than day hire (unless they found somewhere warm to be operated from)!

I'm sure I've seen the Chiltern Countess as a ccing liveaboard on the River Lea.

 

Many thanks for that. It sounds as though she might have met a similar fate to one of her predecessors. I last saw that - Kingfisher of Tring - in passing as a live-aboard at St. Pancras where I believe she still is.

 

I'm not sure I'd fancy cruising Countess on a river as the electric motor was barely powerful enough for canal work.

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