boat yards closest to Oxford?

[Athy]

2 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Oh yes, and I miss your bright colour every time we go past.

It's so easy to jump to conclusions when folks post with the minimum of information; suppose I should check on the posts counter before rushing in. Or perhaps throw my toys out and stop posting....

I don't quite understand this - if you pass our mooring and our boat is there, you won't miss its bright colour. What do you mean?

I looked up "Agenda 21" and found that it refers to a stretch of moorings in North Oxford near the Duke's Cut. Very pleasant they look too, quite rural but near to facilities such as the railway station. How did they get that name?

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Agenda 21 moorings are a very rare and expensive thing. Fully residential CRT online moorings, and fully transferable too. Only two sites, both near Oxford centre so consequently they sell for insane prices. The OP bought one for £35k IIRC including a free boat. There is another for sale for £95k IIRC. 

Finger lickin' good, if you can find and afford one!

[OldGoat]

5 minutes ago, Athy said:

I don't quite understand this - if you pass our mooring and our boat is there, you won't miss its bright colour. What do you mean?

I looked up "Agenda 21" and found that it refers to a stretch of moorings in North Oxford near the Duke's Cut. Very pleasant they look too, quite rural but near to facilities such as the railway station. How did they get that name?

There must be some worm eating my words. I thought I'd written "I miss your bright colour when you're not there" (Trojan that is, yourselves are never there 'cos we beep the horn (quietly). 

Edited May 2, 2018 by OldGoat

[Athy]

Just now, OldGoat said:

There must be some worm eating my words. I thought I'd written "I miss your bright colour when you're not there" (Trojan that is, you're never there 'cos we beep the horn (quietly). 

Ah yes, that worm sometimes atatcks my script.

Damn, it just did!

 

[OldGoat]

1 minute ago, Athy said:

Ah yes, that worm sometimes atatcks my script.

Damn, it just did!

 

Glad I'm not the only one - beginning to think I'm having senior moments.

[Wittenham]

2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Agenda 21 moorings are a very rare and expensive thing. Fully residential CRT online moorings, and fully transferable too. Only two sites, both near Oxford centre so consequently they sell for insane prices. The OP bought one for £35k IIRC including a free boat. There is another for sale for £95k IIRC. 

More or less you recall correctly. I paid a few pennies less, and also got a van full of tools. I think the 95k one is struggling to shift, probably not helped by the high monthly outgoings (they get to pay council tax on top of CRT). 

 

 

[OldGoat]

You're very brave, but you do have an appreciating asset - well, the mooring is, now to fix the depreciating part of it. College boats are near to you and a known dry dock is ony two or three locks up - so you could bow haul the butty (if fit and organise a group of friends).

If desperate - and perhaps a silly suggestion, how about pouring a large amount of modern flexible pitch into the black hole to seal it and keep the water out? The bottom's on mud, so it won't sink and by the time anything nasty happens you'll be moving 'onwards and upwards'.

If 'you've a mind'  PM me with the boat's name and 'we' cold be coming that way sometime in May to sample Oxenford's  Choral pleasures - though I haven't got a CaRT licence so will jolly well have to walk up from Hythe Bridge Street. Not that I can suggest anything sensible, you understand...

[MtB]

10 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

and 'we' cold be coming that way sometime in May to sample Oxenford's  Choral pleasures -

 

That sounds interesting. Do tell more!

[Wittenham]

1 hour ago, OldGoat said:

You're very brave, but you do have an appreciating asset - well, the mooring is, now to fix the depreciating part of it. College boats are near to you and a known dry dock is ony two or three locks up - so you could bow haul the butty (if fit and organise a group of friends).

If desperate - and perhaps a silly suggestion, how about pouring a large amount of modern flexible pitch into the black hole to seal it and keep the water out? The bottom's on mud, so it won't sink and by the time anything nasty happens you'll be moving 'onwards and upwards'.

If 'you've a mind'  PM me with the boat's name and 'we' cold be coming that way sometime in May to sample Oxenford's  Choral pleasures - though I haven't got a CaRT licence so will jolly well have to walk up from Hythe Bridge Street. Not that I can suggest anything sensible, you understand...

The boat is Promise, but you can't tell that from looking at it.  It is the first boat north of the lock at Godstow Road [assuming it has not sunk...].

 

We thought about hauling it manually, but I didn't realise there was anywhere close enough.  I will try to find College Boats.

 

thanks!

[Tony Brooks]

36 minutes ago, Wittenham said:

The boat is Promise, but you can't tell that from looking at it.  It is the first boat north of the lock at Godstow Road [assuming it has not sunk...].

 

We thought about hauling it manually, but I didn't realise there was anywhere close enough.  I will try to find College Boats.

 

thanks!

Its the hire fleet at Jerico

[Onewheeler]

17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

There is a yard just below Osney lock too but I've never succeeded in getting in there or even contacting anyone there, so no idea if they have a slip. But they look as though they would have. 

That's Osney Marina. I don't think Les has a trailer big enough for a narrowboat, I've only ever seen him pulling out yoghurt pots. There is also a slip and hardstanding a bit further down owned by Salters Steamers, don't know if they do work other than for their own boats. The yard at Eynsham is very good but expensive.

17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

 

17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

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17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

 

17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

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17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

17 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Edited May 3, 2018 by Onewheeler
multiple post using dodgy connection from a train in Portugal

[OldGoat]

12 hours ago, Tony Brooks said:

Its the hire fleet at Jerico

College Cruisers is 'downstream' of you, shortly before the lock on to Sheepwash Channel. Google earth show a dry dock 'next door' - right in front of St. Barnabus chuch - perhaps they use it for total immersion baptisms...... 

I was thinking more of Enslow Wharf upstream who have a dry dock - look at their website  It's only one or two locks upstream and while quite a hard pull with lots of boats in the way, it's certainly towable.

However, if the butty is wooden (to my ignorant eyes all butties were wooden, it's very likely that getting of off it's 'mud berth' would destroy it as it's been there for may years?

That's probably why it was given away....

[Tony Brooks]

4 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

College Cruisers is 'downstream' of you, shortly before the lock on to Sheepwash Channel. Google earth show a dry dock 'next door' - right in front of St. Barnabus chuch - perhaps they use it for total immersion baptisms...... 

I was thinking more of Enslow Wharf upstream who have a dry dock - look at their website  It's only one or two locks upstream and while quite a hard pull with lots of boats in the way, it's certainly towable.

However, if the butty is wooden (to my ignorant eyes all butties were wooden, it's very likely that getting of off it's 'mud berth' would destroy it as it's been there for may years?

That's probably why it was given away....

You may be correct but I thought that dry dock was part of the now closed boatyard next door to College Cruisers (unless it has reopened).

 

[OldGoat]

14 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

That sounds interesting. Do tell more!

Possibly not to everyone's taste - but The Management and I sing in a couple of local choirs performing classical music. Oxford colleges hold Choral Evensong services at one college or another every day of the week. ignoring the religious aspect - if you will, it's worth just going and listening. There's not much bowing and scraping ant a lot of music. Colleges have quite large organs which can make a terrific sound - Merton has a new Dobson instrument which can be made to speak like a Wurlitzer in the right hands...

We go along and mutter sotto voce with the choir - good fun, if you will!

[Onewheeler]

10 minutes ago, Tony Brooks said:

You may be correct but I thought that dry dock was part of the now closed boatyard next door to College Cruisers (unless it has reopened).

 

Unless something dramatic has changed in the last few weeks, that dock closed years ago.

[OldGoat]

32 minutes ago, Onewheeler said:

Unless something dramatic has changed in the last few weeks, that dock closed years ago.

I only mentioned it as Google Earth show it quite clearly, in water with a gate on it. I idly wondered what College Cruisers do when their boats need docking. Plans for the area published with a lot of hoo-ha showed the dock as a 'feature' so somebody thinks it's worth preserving. However, that's immaterial to the case in point.

[Peter X]

As the OP's boat is a 72' butty, I'm assuming it'll be an old boat with a big wooden ellum, a specialised type of rudder. I'm not sure how difficult it would be to temporarily attach a suitably sized outboard to that, but if possible that might well work out cheaper than commercial towing. The hull will not necessarily be wooden, in fact it probably won't, because lots of steel butties were made and most old wooden boats have rotted away, they require a lot of preventative maintenance.

 

Does the boat has a wooden hull? This question is crucial for two reasons if the answer is yes: (1) Any repairs to that would need to be done by a boatyard with the specialist knowledge, and (2) It's costly; you have to be a little bit crazy to keep it.

 

The good news is that a butty will have been designed to be towed; it has a big ellum for a reason, and there will be a good solid T stud at the bow which won't break off under strain. If you need to take it on the Thames, the way to tow it is to have it breasted up to a full length narrow boat with an engine (known as the "motor"). On the canal cross straps or maybe a short line would be used. Either way, most boat insurance excludes towing except perhaps for emergencies, you either need someone who's insured for it or a fool who's prepared to tow without insurance and cross their fingers nothing goes wrong. Most boaters would tow to help someone who's grounded get off the mud, but little further.

 

Bow hauling can be done only on the canal, and is quite possible over a short distance if you have a long bow line and one strong person pulling on it, preferably two taking turns. But going past moored boats, especially with stuff on their roof, is difficult, and I think this will be a big problem in or near Oxford. If you attempt it, and you have a mast about 15 feet back from the bow as many old butties do, that's the place to attach the line because it makes steering easier.

[Wittenham]

The butty is made of steel and I found the rudder leaning against a fence, gently rotting away. 

 

I quite like like the idea of pumping some kind of sealant into the inside of the boat and just leaving it. But I will try to get it out of the water for a proper job. 

[OldGoat]

5 minutes ago, Wittenham said:

The butty is made of steel and I found the rudder leaning against a fence, gently rotting away. 

 

I quite like like the idea of pumping some kind of sealant into the inside of the boat and just leaving it. But I will try to get it out of the water for a proper job. 

It was a bit of a throwaway line - on the basis of keeping the water out if there were pinhole and small leaks. The canal there is a bit muddy and the boat is probably well stuck on the mud... If you are thinking of spending a considerable amount on fitting it out methinks it would be best to resolve the hull problem properly before you begin. - towing it out after you've sorted the inside and then finding it completely rotten is not a good idea.

I had a rosy recollection of where Enslow wharf is - Canalplan tells me it's six locks and nine miles - so doable if you can find someone to tow it. The Thames is quicker with one lock and the boats can be breasted up, making for easier handling and a bit more speed. 

[David Mack]

On 03/05/2018 at 11:54, Peter X said:

Either way, most boat insurance excludes towing except perhaps for emergencies, you either need someone who's insured for it or a fool who's prepared to tow without insurance and cross their fingers nothing goes wrong. 

Really? Some policies exclude towing of inflatables, but most are silent on towing of other boats - provided no money changes hands.

[Wittenham]

To update:  Oxford Cruisers at Eynsham will tow us to their yard and haul out for survey.  We just need to get the boat to Dukes Cut as their tug will not fit through the lock. Rotting rudder rescued from tow path and repaired roughly. 

 

And then then I realise the boat is pointing the wrong way. So... down the Oxford Canal to where it meets the Thames above Osney Lock. Anyone know if there is room to pivot a 72 foot boat at that space?  Seems plenty big when I paddle a canoe through it....

[matty40s]

On 02/05/2018 at 17:16, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

First I've heard of this! 

 

Where do CRT say this then??

Thats it, all those boats with permanent towpath moorings at Braunston, Leighton Buzzard, Fenny Stratford, Gailey etc etc etc will have to start moving

[OldGoat]

4 hours ago, Wittenham said:

To update:  Oxford Cruisers at Eynsham will tow us to their yard and haul out for survey.  We just need to get the boat to Dukes Cut as their tug will not fit through the lock. Rotting rudder rescued from tow path and repaired roughly. 

 

And then then I realise the boat is pointing the wrong way. So... down the Oxford Canal to where it meets the Thames above Osney Lock. Anyone know if there is room to pivot a 72 foot boat at that space?  Seems plenty big when I paddle a canoe through it....

If you mean below Isis lock (if that's it's name), then 'no' and there a certain amount of flow hampering you. If you mean at the junction of Sheepwash and Thames proper, then most likely 'yes' but it can be shallow near the allotments and you'll only have to turn it through 90 degrees (ish). You'll need some help and lot of ropes...

How do you propose to get it from it's current mooring to either Duke's cut or Isis Lock (or am I being silly and it's roughly equidistant?).

Is there no room to turn at Dukes cut bridge? 

[Wittenham]

46 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

If you mean below Isis lock (if that's it's name), then 'no' and there a certain amount of flow hampering you. If you mean at the junction of Sheepwash and Thames proper, then most likely 'yes' but it can be shallow near the allotments and you'll only have to turn it through 90 degrees (ish). You'll need some help and lot of ropes...

How do you propose to get it from it's current mooring to either Duke's cut or Isis Lock (or am I being silly and it's roughly equidistant?).

Is there no room to turn at Dukes cut bridge? 

I do mean Sheepwash and the Thames. Dukes is much closer, but not sure dragging (or towing) a boat by its stern is very do-able. Unless the experts here tell me otherwise, I am planning to take the boat to Sheepwash/Thames, turn it around and then get it to Dukes Cut. 

[OldGoat]

1 minute ago, Wittenham said:

I do mean Sheepwash and the Thames. Dukes is much closer, but not sure dragging (or towing) a boat by its stern is very do-able. Unless the experts here tell me otherwise, I am planning to take the boat to Sheepwash/Thames, turn it around and then get it to Dukes Cut. 

Dragging a 'motor' against its natural direction will incur extra effort - mostly the irritation of the rudder flapping around. With a butty and no rudder (you say it's currently in a hedge) I'd suggest that it would be only slightly more difficult. If you look at the shape of the front and rear if your boat its should look very similar, the fore end may have a longer 'swim' but the stern end will be similar but sharper? Hopefully others will join in to confirm or deny my suggestion. If you go down to Sheepwash, you'll have to negotiate past quite a number of moored boats (which will be a pain - done it). There's no (practical) way you can bow haul the boat up the Thames  - but then the boatyard can tow you (or breast up) upstream to their yard without any problem - so no need to anywhere near Duke's cut as you write above.

[Tony Brooks]

I think  butty without its rudder will manually tow OK if you take a long line from the true bow to near the stern on the bank and then run a shorter line from the true stern to the bank. As you pull on the long line the true stern will sheer across the canal so you use the short line to control it and keep it mid stream.