Willow Wren Wooden Top

[Redshank]

We've got Redshank 1976 from Willow Wren Hire Cruisers Rugby. She's a wooden top. we're looking to repaint her in the original livery. has anyone done the same, or has any of her sisters? I've seen Oak on here but the trail has gone cold!

[Movin' on]

Some of the original 70 footers are still around,  their names escape me but they are still in the fleet I think, so willow wren might be able be help or even their website booking pages?

 

[Redshank]

Blimey! They must have been built to last if some may still be operating. We'll email WW and see if they have any info. Thanks for posting

[matty40s]

53 minutes ago, Redshank said:

We've got Redshank 1976 from Willow Wren Hire Cruisers Rugby. She's a wooden top. we're looking to repaint her in the original livery. has anyone done the same, or has any of her sisters? I've seen Oak on here but the trail has gone cold!

Off the top of my head its Light Brunswick Green(although I recollect Baldock looked a slightly darker green than the present Willow Wren colours), RAL154 Cream and , Ayers Red. Happy to be corrected.

[alan_fincher]

I don't think there was any particular standard for the Willow Wren and Willow Wren Canal Transport Services fleets of carrying boats.  Certainly I have seen very different versions of the colours, assuming you can believe old slides and negatives.

It was suggested somewhere that at one stage they were just Dulux gloss colours, because it was cheap and available.

I don't know to what extent hire fleet boats used the same colours or migrated to something different, although the current Willow wren hire boats are certainly different for what there has been in the past.

 

We have only done selected spot repainting on parts of Flamingo, but what is on it currently is so old and faded it undoubtedly bears little resemblance to what was first applied.  It is impossible to match it, because anything applied now is glossy, and the old stuff on there most certainly isn't(!)

1 hour ago, Halsey said:

Some of the original 70 footers are still around,  their names escape me but they are still in the fleet I think, so willow wren might be able be help or even their website booking pages?

 

 

52 minutes ago, Redshank said:

Blimey! They must have been built to last if some may still be operating. We'll email WW and see if they have any info. Thanks for posting

I'm doubtful that they are now operating anything very old.  Certainly i don't think they have operated any "wooden tops" in a large number of years.

There are hire fleets that still have some "wooden t6ops" still in service.  Wyvern Shpping is an example.

[Ace 01]

If you Google theboattripyears there is a blog covering a number of years' trips with Willow Wren Rugby and Willow Wren Kearns  Middlewich with photo links.

 

HTH

 

Cheers

 

David

[MtB]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

It is impossible to match it, because anything applied now is glossy, and the old stuff on there most certainly isn't(!)

 

Are you aware of International 'Matting Agent', to mix with your gloss paint to solve this exact problem?

[alan_fincher]

6 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Are you aware of International 'Matting Agent', to mix with your gloss paint to solve this exact problem?

Yes, but if I paint enough of it, I will ultimtely prefer shiny to matt!

[MtB]

11 minutes ago, alan_fincher said:

Yes, but if I paint enough of it, I will ultimtely prefer shiny to matt!

 

You shiny boaters.... 

[X Alan W]

I seem to recall that around 1966 seeing a couple of boats being repainted at Braunston bottom lock Dry Dock & Dennis Clarke pouring several different brands of red paint into a larger tin  so that pair of boat red paint would have been a mix of Dulux, Rylard,& the 3rd which I think came from Woolworths which I might add in those days seemed to last well & was cheap I found it to be one of the longest lasting before it started to fade/go dull

[bizzard]

Woolworths Household paint was excellent, Sherwoods brewed it, I think. You could get it in small tins too, for small jobs. There must be millions of gallons of half empty or nearly full tins of paint knocking around in peoples sheds because its almost impossible to get small tins. No wonder storage sheds and the like blaze up into a roaring inferno very quickly.  Valentines Valspar was another excellent paint which could also be bought in small tins.

Edited August 13, 2018 by bizzard

[NB Alnwick]

There used to be a shop near the top of Railway Terrace in Rugby whose speciality was supplying paint to various inland boat companies and professional sign-writers. The 'coach paint' that they supplied was made by a firm called J T Keep and the range included a variety of oil based primers, fillers, wood treatment and undercoats. Back in 1975/6 I used their coach paint to brush paint the bodywork of my racing Morgan (Royal Victor Green) and I am sure that I recall Willow Wren having an account there at that time. The shop also sold the whole range J. H. Ratcliffe & Co products. The Keep's range of colours has been re-created by Craftmaster so that would be the best bet if anyone wants to re-create the colours used before 1976.

[BWM]

17 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

I don't think there was any particular standard for the Willow Wren and Willow Wren Canal Transport Services fleets of carrying boats.  Certainly I have seen very different versions of the colours, assuming you can believe old slides and negatives.

It was suggested somewhere that at one stage they were just Dulux gloss colours, because it was cheap and available.

I don't know to what extent hire fleet boats used the same colours or migrated to something different, although the current Willow wren hire boats are certainly different for what there has been in the past.

 

We have only done selected spot repainting on parts of Flamingo, but what is on it currently is so old and faded it undoubtedly bears little resemblance to what was first applied.  It is impossible to match it, because anything applied now is glossy, and the old stuff on there most certainly isn't(!)

 

I'm doubtful that they are now operating anything very old.  Certainly i don't think they have operated any "wooden tops" in a large number of years.

There are hire fleets that still have some "wooden t6ops" still in service.  Wyvern Shpping is an example.

Having looked at countless pictures of Willow wren liveries I'd agree there didn't seem to be a standard. I was told that the painting was often carried out by the boatman-possibly at their own expense? Some even had a round piece of wood with the logo tacked onto the cabin side. 

[Ray T]

One example:

Edited August 13, 2018 by Ray T

[alan_fincher]

Here's a very different variant.

 

[Derek R.]

Looks like a bit of Ex-Army Olive drab Alan!!

 

I painted a VW camper van with Keeps paint back in the early seventies - brushed it on too. Lovely finish.

Tekaloid is good. Are they still going? I remember Woolworths being rated quite high too.

[dave moore]

Keeps was indeed good paint, as was Tekaloid and Masons. Keeps suffered a fire in the factory back in the 90s and never really recovered. Tekaloid and Masons are long gone too, though various paint manufacturers can supply colours mixed to the appropriate formula. Masons P type enamel was a favourite with a good few of the boat painters I worked with in the 90s, their demise led Phil Speight to found Craftmaster as an alternative.

[Dav and Pen]

I used to use the shop in railway terrace, he kept all the scumble combs as well as the paints and varnish. He wore bottle glasses but still did lovely signs.

dennis Clarke was what you might call a carefull man with money so whatever was around went on but the green was aimed at light brunswick green.

[Paul H]

9 hours ago, bizzard said:

Woolworths Household paint was excellent, Sherwoods brewed it, I think. You could get it in small tins too, for small jobs. There must be millions of gallons of half empty or nearly full tins of paint knocking around in peoples sheds because its almost impossible to get small tins. No wonder storage sheds and the like blaze up into a roaring inferno very quickly.  Valentines Valspar was another excellent paint which could also be bought in small tins.

Probably not important but I always believed that Woolworths Cover Plus was made by Macphersons - now part of Dulux I think.  It was excellent and so painted all my boats in it including the hull of a lifeboat.  A Which report reckoned that it lasted better if you went straight from primer to top coat and forgot about undercoat.  Suited my lazy nature!

 

Paul

 

[Richard T]

The photos of Willow Wren working boats are a red herring. The hire boats were painted cream I think with red handrails, as pictures in this thread show. https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/86417-willow-wren-and-willow-wren-kearns/

[matty40s]

 

[Jess--]

Picture shows willow wren livery as used on boats in 1976 (I can be sure of the date from other photo's on the same film showing me in nappies and the new leisureline trip boat Jaycee / Jaysee getting it's signwriting done)

Edited August 13, 2018 by Jess--

[alan_fincher]

10 hours ago, Richard T said:

The photos of Willow Wren working boats are a red herring. The hire boats were painted cream I think with red handrails, as pictures in this thread show. https://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?/topic/86417-willow-wren-and-willow-wren-kearns/

Yes, I think I have said as much in the thread.

 

That said OP has contacted me directly in a couple of ways, but I think I made it clear that what was used on the carrying boats was probably different from anything used on the  hire fleet.  In fact anything used on a carrying boat may well have been different from the next carrying boat!

11 hours ago, Paul H said:

Probably not important but I always believed that Woolworths Cover Plus was made by Macphersons - now part of Dulux I think.  It was excellent and so painted all my boats in it including the hull of a lifeboat.  A Which report reckoned that it lasted better if you went straight from primer to top coat and forgot about undercoat.  Suited my lazy nature.

 

Now you have said that, I remember exactly that.

 

The glosses were far more opaque than modern paints, and you needed less coats for it not to look patchy.

[X Alan W]

From the time spent "Down Sarf" & the # of Willow Wren boats uncounted I reckon each could be classed as a #1 as it seemed each was different not sure but think the pair Ray White did for the re opening of the South Stratford in 64 had some differences could be incorrect on this though & Jack Monks pair was always a 2 off I guess the carrying set up was running either near or below the breakeven line for most of it's life span shame really came too late in the carrying time frame

[David Mack]

12 hours ago, Paul H said:

Probably not important but I always believed that Woolworths Cover Plus was made by Macphersons - now part of Dulux I think.

 

Macphersons are still going, now as part of the "Crown Paints family".

http://www.macphersontrade.co.uk

Edited August 14, 2018 by David Mack