New recruits to the boatyard staff

Dave Linney joined us in the first week of January. Dave is an extremely experienced boat builder and restorer having worked for over 30 years in the business, including work on many historically important boats. He has already formed a good clear plan of what needs doing. Andy and Ant are Boatyard Assistants who also arrived in January.

In February we welcomed two more Boatyard Assistants, Dan and Connor. They have both settled in well and have already spent time in the Power Hall, joined in boat safety training and picked up useful skills. Being proficient at cutting up an old narrowboat does not appear on many people’s cv, but safely using grinders and gas cutters does. The bad news is that after being part of the team cutting up Chiltern, they had to load it into a skip. In the picture they are shown adding the last pieces.

    Work parties are in action every day except Saturday from 10.00am to 4.00pm.
A variety of tasks are being undertaken - so PLEASE
come along and get involved. 

To volunteer your help please

Planning permission has been granted for the installation of the new Amenity Building for the Boatyard.  The building will be a portakabin which contains a classroom, toilets and a shower. It will be located in the far right corner of the boatyard. Before the building can be positioned we had to put in new drains and replace the old fence.

Expected delivery date for the portakabin is 8th March with a lot of work needed to be finished before the official opening. Hopefully most of the rubbish and remains of Chiltern in the skip and removed by the time the unit arrives.

Money for the building has come from a fund personally donated by Tony Hales the BW Chairman. Tony is immensely supportive of the Boatyard project and the museums involvement with young people.  He will be visiting the site again shortly to review progress and to develop other exciting ideas for involving young people in the museum and water related activities.

Fighting back the rust

Barry (and Dennis out of picture) have started to rub down and prime the rust spots on Bigmere.  

Over the next few weeks they will apply a top coat and have the boat looking great for Easter.

Bigmere

Ferret

Ilkeston

GD101

Mendip

Boats that have been repaired and conserved since January 2008:

Aleida I - Iron motor tug used by the Great Ouse Catchment Board - built to tow sugar beet barges on the Lincolnshire fens. Latterly it worked for the Anglian Water Authority, on Great Ouse Catchment Area, based at Southrey in Lincolnshire. It is fitted with a 2 cylinder air start Widdop engine, which is about to be restored.
(See News page)

Bacup - Leeds and Liverpool short boat - at 62 ft long, it could navigate the whole of the canal.  After carrying a variety of cargoes, it became a maintenance boat for British Waterways.

Bacup is back on display in the top basin after a total make-over by the Heritage Boatyard team. A new floor has been laid in the hold and the forecabin looks as good as new again.  The whole is resplendent in a total repaint and is a credit to everyone involved in the project.

Bantam II - Bridgewater Canal tug - built by E.C.Jones of Brentford and bought by the Manchester Ship Canal Company. It towed boats like Bigmere, loaded with grain, to the Kellogs factory at Stretford on the Bridgewater Canal.

Chalk barge

Marbury - a wooden horsedrawn ice-breaker

Marlyn - Mersey harbour launch or ‘gig boat’ - operated in Birkenhead and Liverpool docks and is being worked on by BMS volunteers led by John Bebbington.