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4 hours ago, David Schweizer said:

I more or less guessed it was a spoof, given away by the support framework tacked to the bow, to stop it dropping when the top bends were removed.

Nope, all that is for is to rest a plank on, although I would admit that it will be of much more use whilst I am replacing the plate work rather than chopping it off

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13 hours ago, Steve Priest said:

Ok, it is, as most of you know, the Star, ex Water Rambler. I have been cutting off the top bends which were fitted some years ago and will be replacing them with something hopefully more convincing. 

 

I took some photos and thought that we might have some fun with it.

 

The second photo is more or less back to where waterways cut it, I might try to post another photo when the work is finished

 

Steve

When you say 'top bends' is it the return plates your referring too ?

 

Also I still think it would look nice with a bow cabin, lets be honest, its not that original now. is it.. ;)

Edited by 70liveaboard
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16 minutes ago, 70liveaboard said:

Also I still think it would look nice with a bow cabin, lets be honest, its not that original now. is it.. ;)

 

Let's be even more honest, bow cabins never look quite right do they? 

 

And most look an abomination when you look twice!

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Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

Let's be even more honest, bow cabins never look quite right do they?

Not on a "Grand Union" boat, certainly, they wouldn't.

The bows are much bluffer than boats like Joshers, and there isn't enough usable space for beds even for moderate sized children.

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37 minutes ago, 70liveaboard said:

When you say 'top bends' is it the return plates your referring too ?

 

Also I still think it would look nice with a bow cabin, lets be honest, its not that original now. is it.. ;)

No Steve is referring to the top bends, which are the slightly tapered sections above the top guard irons and the foredeck gunwhales. The term originates from when Narrow boats were built from timber and the top plank had to be be steamed and bent to form the bow. Many years ago a crowd of us helped John Wooley at Iver Boatyard steam and bend an oak plank to do that when he was restoring on old Nurser butty.

Edited by David Schweizer
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33 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

No Steve is referring to the top bends , ie the slightly tapered section above the top guard iron and the foredeck gunwhales. The term originates from when Narrow boats were built fron timber and the top plank had to be be steamed and bent to form the bow. Many years ago a crowd of us helped John Wooley at Iver Boatyard steam and bend an oak plank to do that when he was restoring on old Nurser butty.

Ah yes, I know them as 'bow return' plates on anything metal. But that doesn't mean to say, they are called something completely different using older terminology.

Edit: (I should just say, on metal when the plate, as you say tapers in, or I would say 'returns'. Not on a straight build, ship like for example.)

 

Another edit: after reading your reply, didn't yards steam all the bow planks originally, not just the top one.. ?  give them added stability against cracking/splitting with numerous impacts to the bow.

Just word of mouth I suppose.

52 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Let's be even more honest, bow cabins never look quite right do they? 

 

And most look an abomination when you look twice!

I quite like a bow cabin.. ;)

Edited by 70liveaboard
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6 hours ago, Derek R. said:

Very nice! But would it be more attractive without the bow cabin? From a modern day perspective perhaps, but they were built for a reason as we know.

These boats were built to be functional, not pretty.

 

I like the bow cabin, even on a modern boat, whereas the standard cabin gives way to a bow cabin. Heywood built a very nice example way back, although the builder he exclusively built these shells for at the time, didn't sell that many, mainly because they only wanted 30 & 35ft (sort of a trial type thing I guess). I think a longer boat, which I'm not sure if Mike went on to build for others, would have been a lot more appealing.

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4 hours ago, 70liveaboard said:

These boats were built to be functional, not pretty.

 

I like the bow cabin, even on a modern boat, whereas the standard cabin gives way to a bow cabin. Heywood built a very nice example way back, although the builder he exclusively built these shells for at the time, didn't sell that many, mainly because they only wanted 30 & 35ft (sort of a trial type thing I guess). I think a longer boat, which I'm not sure if Mike went on to build for others, would have been a lot more appealing.

My observation of modern pleasure boats is that the fore deck is far too short so when a fore-cabin is added they look stunted. More often on modern pleasure boats the fore cabin is fitted behind the fore deck so would be in the hold if it were a working boat - not a good look but one or two commercial carriers did fit fore-cabins in this location.

 

I really do not understand why a modern pleasure would need a fore-cabin as it is nearly all cabin anyway, although I am aware that some have one for putting gas bottles in :captain:

 

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On 24/05/2018 at 13:50, Steve Priest said:

Try as hard as we might, some boats are too far gone to do anything with and there is no alternative but to scrap them. Unfortunately, this little Woolwich motor is one such boat. We do hope, however, to be able to re-use some parts in the restoration of others.

 

42320993271_d8870611c5_h.jpg9B6BD2B4-B40F-4920-B316-342F612E1C30 by Steve Priest, on Flickr

 

42320976261_7c1ce091c5_h.jpg7996D17F-9521-4C3B-9B1A-B66E67CC1BB0 by Steve Priest, on Flickr

 

 

has any one got a good wood scrap yard i better head there now if there claiming this is too far gone!

On 28/05/2018 at 06:51, koukouvagia said:

 

On josher butties they do ?.

949543372_20180419_122950(1).jpg.80e3b62f42bb30ee1258845439aef49d.jpg

fairly use full on something like gifford makes use of an empty space

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On 25/05/2018 at 12:26, 70liveaboard said:

When does a restoration, stop being a restoration and just becomes another boat..

Some builders will restore you a boat, from the bow right back to the stern, then say 'there you go, I've restored it to its original glory'. When in fact to others, its just a new boat.. Albeit, probably a very nice boat, built to an old design.

 

We've always been very wary, when it comes to restored boats. It would depend on what was still left, that is original.

 

Then there are the replicas. We've just seen an ad, where the 'rivets' look as though they have been delivered by a machine gun. ?

All sounds a bit like 'Trigger's Broom' to me?

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On 28/05/2018 at 19:50, pete harrison said:

My observation of modern pleasure boats is that the fore deck is far too short so when a fore-cabin is added they look stunted. More often on modern pleasure boats the fore cabin is fitted behind the fore deck so would be in the hold if it were a working boat - not a good look but one or two commercial carriers did fit fore-cabins in this location.

 

I really do not understand why a modern pleasure would need a fore-cabin as it is nearly all cabin anyway, although I am aware that some have one for putting gas bottles in :captain:

 

 

Not all "modern" narrow boats have short fore decks, athough I would not want to spoil this one with a fore-cabin. As for gas bottles, we could fit five gas bottles in the locker and still had room for fenders, tyres, even a folding sack truck:-

 

579794829_StokeBruerne04.jpg.7c5d1f157c0dcf382b84c75edd01fff2.jpg

 

1031104108_NortonJunction(3).JPG.c31a360c7c2a92660bf90c0bc0f502ca.JPG

Edited by David Schweizer
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