The thoughts, fantasies and random ramblings of Ashton Boatman Chris Leah, largely, but not exclusively, connected with his work for the Wooden Canal Boat Society, restoring historic wooden canal boats and putting them to work doing good deeds for the community and the planet.
When the Dutton Dry Dock Co donated their Land Rover we stopped our Go fund Me appeal for a van and said we'd spend the money so far raised on trailers for it to tow. The first one was a box trailer for deliveries and collections for the shop. The price of trailers suddenly went through the roof and we had to go all the way to Kent to get a reasonable deal on a box trailer.
Some people thought they might be able to repair the old van, but, really it wasn't going to happen. The rust had eaten too far into the bodywork. We needed the space at the boatyard for the second trailer. This is a big sturdy plant trailer, in need of some TLC, obtained from Portland Basin Marina. The old van went via Car Take back.
Stephan got to work on the plant trailer, stripping away loose bits to get it ready for its first job, transporting a little cruiser called "Miss Maggie" from Lymm to the River Ouse , a few miles downstream of York.
The boat was one of several abandoned boats donated by the Bridgewater Canal during the winter which we sold via Ebay. This helped to see us through the winter lockdowns. Many thanks to Paul and Lynnette of the Dutton Dry Dock Co for arranging it. The difficulty was that it needed to go on a long journey to meet it's new owners, Amanda and James. This was difficult with no suitable trailer and the inhibitions of a third lockdown.
I set off to collect the boat with the Land Rover, plant trailer and two outboards, a little air cooled one and a vintage Seagull. I tried the air cooled one first but, though it started easily, it would immediately cut out. I tried the Seagull, but the transom was too thin for it's clamp. I inserted a piece of wood to make up the gap, tightened the screw and spun the engine. It started first pull.
I had about 3 miles to go along the Bridgewater canal. My difficulty was that the engine had a short tiller. If I sat down to steer I couldn't see where I was going. I stood up and briefly let go of the tiller while I tried to work out how to solve this problem. The engine note changed and I looked down in horror as the Seagull leaped off the transom and disappeared into the middle of the canal, leaving "Miss Maggie" to drift into the brambles.
I refitted the air cooled engine and tried to start it. After a while I realised that it would only run if I fixed the throttle on to full power. It would not tick over. Luckily, full power was not very powerful. I slowly proceeded through the centre of Lymm, standing up and steering with my foot. The arrival at Hesfords boatyard was not very elegant as I had to aim the boat, cut the engine at just the right moment, then leap off with a line before it drifted away again.
I backed the trailer into the water and guided the boat on to it. One of the boatyard workers told me what a nicely kept boat it was just a few years ago. I don't know why it was abandoned, but my guess is that its loving owner died and their relatives either didn't know or didn't care about the boat.
The boat fitted snugly.
I drove home and parked outside our house, much to the surprise of the neighbours.
Next morning I set off over the Pennines with the boat in tow. I'd no idea how long it would take and wanted to leave a bit of time in hand in case of problems en route. I'd told the buyers 11AM. My only problem was that. with the weight being so far back, the trailer had a tendency to start weaving on downhill bits of motorway unless I was quite careful. I got to the pleasant riverside village of Acaster Malbis at 09.25, so I decided to take a walk along the river bank. When James and Amanda arrived in a big white minibus they asked me to follow them along a rough riverside track. At the far end was a slipway with not a lot of maneuvering room to line a trailer up to it. I drove into the long grass and got out to survey the situation, only to find that a man was shouting from the far side of the river, threatening to call the police if we launched there.
After a quick conference the decision was made to go to another slipway. Amanda and James walked back to their minibus and I backed towards the water prior to making a tricky turn between high banks back on to the track. The angry man crossed the river in a dinghy and became quite friendly, almost apologetic.
The alternative slipway was about a mile downstream. It was wide and concrete with useful stagings each side. I handed James a line to hold so that the boat wouldn't drift away and backed in. The engine was fitted and, after a few anxious attempts, it started and ran. With no clutch or reverse gear the fact hat we were facing into the slip was a bit inconvenient but, with James' help we got facing the right way and set off. Amanda came for her first ride in the boat while James drove the 'bus up to the mooring. On arrival we were greeted by their friends on a steel narrowboat on the next pontoon.
After posing for photographs
we enjoyed refreshments from the minibus and, after much chat, James gave me a lift back to the slipway and I headed for home.
I decided to visit the nearby town of Tadcaster. This is a pleasant and rather affluent looking town roughly half way between Leeds and York. It's the head of navigation on the River Wharfe and also the source of some rather nice beer. The river under the bridge was shallow and there's no sign of boats ever actually visiting Tadcaster, even though Harold Godweinson assembled his fleet there prior to the battle of Stamford Bridge. To be fair, that was a long time ago.
Crossing the bridge I noticed someone in faux highwayman's garb prancing about on the flood embankment just upstream followed by TV cameras. After an interview he began serving drinks from a makeshift bar, behind a notice that said "No Rules".
I walked further upstream along the flood bank towards this wonderful weir.
The impressive railway viaduct in the distance was built in 1848 for a railway that was never completed because of the collapse of 'Railway King' George Hudson's shaky empire. It did later carry a siding for a flour mill, closed in 1950, but now just carries a cycle path. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_and_York_Railway
Now here's a project for my WRGie friends. The River Wharfe beyond the weir looks wonderful. How about building a lock to get boats up there!
From Tadcaster I got on to the M1, but left it near Wakefield to pursue a direct course via Holmfirth and over the lovely high moorland. At the Heritage Boatyard I shuffled trailers so that the box trailer was coupled to the Land Rover ready for shop use, then went home.
Amanda and James run a charity called the Open Nest which gives holidays for fostered and adopted children. They intend to use "Miss Maggie" to give the kids trips on the river.
