Starting the Big Clearup

Over the last few years through various difficulties such as not having enough volunteers, me having health problems and then the covid pandemic, certain areas of the WCBS have got into a mess. It's now time to make them unmessy! A big clear up is in order, particularly at the boatyard and aboard "Elton".

Poor "Elton" has always been the Cinderella of our fleet and when we didn't have enough time to sort out the metals collected on recycling trips etc, they  got dumped into "Elton"s hold. The idea was that they'd get sorted when we had time, but somehow that time was never found. A couple of times "Elton" sank and the additional sludge left after each inundation didn't make the job look any more attractive.

We decided to set up a working party to get it cleared, and the date selected was today.

At about 9 AM I extracted "Elton" from her place in the museum arm and shafted her across the canal. I tied her right next to the junction where we could work on the bank without risking conflict with passing towpath users.

Joe, the tree surgeon, was visiting from deepest Cumbria and, having been warned about the task in hand, brought some appropriate tools. At first it was just me and Joe. I bagged up aluminium cans in the boat and handed to Joe any items that needed stripping down. We bagged up separately the different categories of metal.

Soon Aaron arrived, then Kim. They took over working in the boat, Joe carried on stripping metal. I was kept busy carrying full bags of metal over the bridge to the trailer and advising on the different grades.


As the light began to dim we started to tidy up. We'd made a good big hole in the pile aboard "Elton", though plenty remained. I think we'll need two more sessions to completely clear it. There was little room to spare in the trailer. On Monday it will all be weighed in, along with more bags of aluminium cans that have been donated by the towpath litter picking teams.

I shafted "Elton" back into her place in the last of the daylight. Every scrap from the bank had been cleared away.

To my mind recycling is something that we all need to be doing as part of our duty to look after the planet that sustains us. We need a shift in attitude. So many people still see the things that they no longer need as so much rubbish that they just want to be rid of. In fact, much of it is valuable material that can be recycled so that less new stuff has to be ripped out of the Earth.

"Elton" is our youngest boat, having been built at Rickmansworth in 1937 for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company, mostly running between London and the midlands carrying a wide range of loads. As the Cinderella of our fleet she needs a Prince (or Princess) Charming to look after her and spruce her up. If you would like to volunteer for this role please get in touch via the comments.


Elton on Dock.

"Elton" has always been the Cinderella of our fleet. It's years since she was docked but she's now got 3 weeks on the dock at the marina. Long overdue anyway but precipitated by the damage caused when she was rammed by "Community Spirit". It's pretty amazing that we've managed to keep her afloat since the damage was done in March. The damage extends below the waterline yet it didn't start her leaking. If she had gone down it would have been a struggle to get her up again with that gaping hole in her stern. It's now being plated up. Here's some pictures of Aaron shafting her across the basin and the damage.