to short?

[nickfox]

WotEver, I stand corrected, those flaming bagpipes are awesome. And another thing, that's the song I'm working on right now. Not the main guitar riff, but Malcolm's guitar rhythm part. Here is the rhythm part repeated over and over again (to practice to). I can listen to this for HOURS!

 

Cal, that totally slid by me until I read it the 3rd time....

 

Should I be talking about boats?

Edited December 8, 2016 by nickfox

[Athy]

Unless they are the Red Hot Chilli Pipers

[nickfox]

Are Springer boats well liked? I see a lot of those in the ads.

 

n

[Alan de Enfield]

Springers tend to be liked buy those who like them and 'hated' by the rest.

 

They were originally built at the 'bottom end of the price market' using reclaimed steel plate (typically from old gas-tanks).

 

They have not been in production for many, many, years (I believe last production was mid '80s, but am open for correction)

 

The steel thickness used on the 'smaller' sized boats was typically 3.75mm - today many insurers will not insure any boat with a base plate of 4mm or less.

 

There are several Springer owners on this forum and they are 'passionately protective' of their boats.

 

You would certainly need a full survey and be prepared to walk away.

[nickfox]

thanks Alan.

 

n

[OldGoat]

I was half way through what I thought was an amusing history of Sam Springer's boatbuilding - then I lost it (the thread -not the muse).

Suffice it to say that despite an unreasonably long life - methinks - these boat are coming to / have reached the end of their life cycle (unless a purchaser wants to join the restoration movement).

If the OP relishes the value of a Trabant or Deux Cheveaux or an very early VW as a restoration project (well why not folks spends £££ $$$ Euroxxx on their joys), then perhaps a surviving springer is worth the effort.

 

OTOH - there are some around because folks want rid.....

[nickfox]

I like doing restoration when I want to, not when I have to. Funny enough, my first car was 61 VW bus. One winter, the back wheel fell off. I spent 2 days lying on a piece of cardboard in one foot of snow trying to drill out the broken bolts to get that wheel back on.

 

It was hell on earth.

 

n

[Dave Payne]

Welcome to the world of boating!

[nickfox]

[nickfox]

OldGoat, I want to further answer your question about my desire to just be up here on the canals. I'm on a limited budget. I've been here in France for the past year looking for a place to buy but couldn't find anything decent in my price range. I came across the "Great Canal Journeys" documentary and saw how beautiful life on the canals was and it was something that I could actually afford. So that's another reason why I'm here.

 

n

[Athy]

Are Springer boats well liked? I see a lot of those in the ads.

 

n

They were the first affordable mass-produced leisure narrowboats. They were produced from 1969 to 1994, and goodness knows how many of them the Market Harborough factories built - it must have been thousands.

 

The comparison with Trabants is unfair, as Springers were sturdily built - I owned one for a while. The comparison with the Deux Chevaux is a better one: cheap to acquire, carefully designed to do their job properly, very long-lived, and have attracted a devoted following on account of their distinctive design (you can recognise them by their "moustaches" on the bows).. You could do far worse.

 

That said, take note of Mr. Goat's words of caution: some, but by no means all, are pretty much "crevés" nowadays.

[Laurie Booth]

I was half way through what I thought was an amusing history of Sam Springer's boatbuilding - then I lost it (the thread -not the muse).

Suffice it to say that despite an unreasonably long life - methinks - these boat are coming to / have reached the end of their life cycle (unless a purchaser wants to join the restoration movement).

If the OP relishes the value of a Trabant or Deux Cheveaux or an very early VW as a restoration project (well why not folks spends £££ $$$ Euroxxx on their joys), then perhaps a surviving springer is worth the effort.

 

OTOH - there are some around because folks want rid.....

My 1989 Springer.

 

I had a hull survey a few years ago and the thinest part was 5.5mm.

I always tell people it is the Morris 1000 of the waterways.

 

Edited December 9, 2016 by Laurie.Booth

[PaddingtonBear]

Very few if any in that shape, the comparison ro a Morris 1000 or possibly a Beetle very accurate, often not very well maintained (because they go on and on) and mentally dear to repair properly when they do esp. in the case of Sprigers with the V hull.

[WotEver]

My 1989 Springer.

 

Where's the moustache?

[Laurie Booth]

 

Where's the moustache?

No moustache on the Springer Tug.

[WotEver]

Phew! I thought you'd shaved it off.

 

edit for spillung

Edited December 9, 2016 by WotEver

[nickfox]

Laurie.Booth, nice looking boat. I've noticed that a lot of boats have that red, green, yellow color combination. Is there a story behind that?

 

n

[Athy]

Nick, you raise a VERY good question, and one which many of us are perhaps too close to have noticed. You, looking on with fresh eyes, have spotted something which a lot of us take for granted.

 

It is indeed a very common colour scheme. Blue instead of green is probably almost as common. Whether it was originally an imitation of a former working boat livery I don't know. One of the major hire fleets sports something similar, maybe they set the trend years ago.

 

It can look smart (as Laurie's boat does) but I would not want a craft with such a colour scheme. We could never find it in the car park.* Hence, our 'Trojan' is purple.

 

* humour anglais!

[David Mack]

Laurie.Booth, nice looking boat. I've noticed that a lot of boats have that red, green, yellow color combination. Is there a story behind that?

 

Yes. Loosely based on the working boat livery most famously used by Fellows Morton and Clayton, as on the pair below, but similar liveries were used by a variety of smaller carrying companies.

 

[WotEver]

I recall reading a book many years ago about how to fit out a narrowboat and the author wrote that he'd just had his boat painted and after some consideration had decided to go for "another red 'n green un"

Blue instead of green is probably almost as common.

 

[Laurie Booth]

Laurie.Booth, nice looking boat. I've noticed that a lot of boats have that red, green, yellow color combination. Is there a story behind that?

 

n

Thanks for the compliment. She is 35ft and I paint her every two years and blacked every two years. The paint is Dulux Weathershield. No idea why she has this colour scheme but I love it. Engine is serviced evey 100 hours.

[Athy]

I recall reading a book many years ago about how to fit out a narrowboat and the author wrote that he'd just had his boat painted and after some consideration had decided to go for "another red 'n green un"

 

WotEver.jpg

I like the name of your home port!

[WotEver]

I like the name of your home port!

 

Our argument went... "They don't advertise us, so..."

I had told the signwriter that 'wherever' was one word.

[Athy]

 

Our argument went... "They don't advertise us, so..."

I had told the signwriter that 'wherever' was one word.

The same could be argued for "Wot Ever", but I put it down to artistic licence.

 

I wonder if he was the same signwriter who lettered the old ice-breaker boat which I recently saw, 'Antartic'.

[OldGoat]

Nick, you raise a VERY good question, and one which many of us are perhaps too close to have noticed. You, looking on with fresh eyes, have spotted something which a lot of us take for granted.

 

It is indeed a very common colour scheme. Blue instead of green is probably almost as common. Whether it was originally an imitation of a former working boat livery I don't know. One of the major hire fleets sports something similar, maybe they set the trend years ago.

 

It can look smart (as Laurie's boat does) but I would not want a craft with such a colour scheme. We could never find it in the car park.* Hence, our 'Trojan' is purple.

 

* humour anglais!

 

Don't I know - I have to put my shades on every time we pass....

You're never there so we continue on our lonely journey (sob, sob)

 

If I may make so bold, Laurie B's is a later boat / or built to a better specification; looks more like a 'conventional' NB, and I assume it's not a V-hull?