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Waddingtons Boatyard, Swinton.


carlt

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I spent a pleasant afternoon wandering round Waddingtons, on the S&SYN, on Saturday.

 

 

Victory, a Sheffield size keel, built by Harker's of Knottingley and currently being restored.

waddingtons016.jpg

waddingtons042.jpg

 

 

This one is "Heritage".

This one is interesting because the front end was built to replace the badly damaged bows of another, rivetted, keel but, by the time it was finished, the original boat had been plated up to a satisfactory condition, so Waddingtons built the back end (welded) to graft onto the bows. She's the only keel to be built, at Waddingtons.

waddingtons001.jpg

waddingtons018.jpg

 

 

Sadly the future looks bleak for the dumb keel, Turog, and she is likely to be cut up. Her Backcabin is completely intact, though (only had my phone so the pictures are pretty bad).

waddingtons020.jpg

 

 

Another Harker's Keel, a bit further on the restoration road, with wheelbox (I've forgotten the name):

waddingtons040.jpg

 

 

I'm very tempted by the Humber Keel (Selby Martin), in the background. She's 97' long and would make a lovely home:

waddingtons044.jpg

 

Until recently the arm was filled with keels, lined up, for disposal but there are very few left now, having, mainly, been sold for restoration, around the coast but some have gone abroad.

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My wife works in one of the shoe shops at Parkgate. My boat is the first one visible beyond the winding hole as you go over the bridge back towards Rotherham. Small world. Lee

 

Its not very often we go down there since moving to Sheffield but we didnt fancy Meadowhall the other day so Parkgate was the next best thing.

 

Will keep an eye out for you when we bring Cal up there at some point.

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When did you go down, we were in Parkgate doing some late shopping the other day. Maybe we drove past you.

Mid-afternoon, en-route to parents for the annual present swap. You wouldn't have missed the camper van!

 

As a kid I used to hitch rides on the keels and pusher tugs and in college holidays, I worked, at Croda Hydrocarbons, at Kilnhurst, testing the contents of the tanks, before demolition.

 

 

 

 

If you pass again...

I'll make an announcement!

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Mid-afternoon, en-route to parents for the annual present swap. You wouldn't have missed the camper van!

 

As a kid I used to hitch rides on the keels and pusher tugs and in college holidays, I worked, at Croda Hydrocarbons, at Kilnhurst, testing the contents of the tanks, before demolition.

 

We used to have great fun watching the barges on the go.

 

I lived near the Ferry Boat pub in Mexborough a stones throw from the canal. Then moved to Denaby on the Don flood plain, (not a good idea) and then to Conisbrough and have since moved to Sheffield with the other half.

 

Didnt see the van but i cant say i was looking for it.

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I spent a pleasant afternoon wandering round Waddingtons, on the S&SYN, on Saturday.

 

Another Harker's Keel, a bit further on the restoration road, with wheelbox (I've forgotten the name):

waddingtons040.jpg

 

What's the little tug?

 

Is the small covered dry-dock still in use?

We had the Beecliffe on there for a couple of weeks prior to taking her across the North Sea in 1975.

 

Tim

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She's called Jumpsey. Apparently her owner recently passed away.

 

 

The boat "Progress" is in the covered dock, at the moment.

 

 

Isn't 'Progress' one which Waddingtons lengthened in the (IIRC) late 1970s/early 80's?

If that's the case, they must also have lengthened the covered dock, as it was just Sheffield size when we were in there.

 

Tim

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I spent a pleasant afternoon wandering round Waddingtons, on the S&SYN, on Saturday.

 

 

This one is "Heritage".

This one is interesting because the front end was built to replace the badly damaged bows of another, rivetted, keel but, by the time it was finished, the original boat had been plated up to a satisfactory condition, so Waddingtons built the back end (welded) to graft onto the bows. She's the only keel to be built, at Waddingtons.

waddingtons001.jpg

 

 

 

Sadly the future looks bleak for the dumb keel, Turog, and she is likely to be cut up. Her Backcabin is completely intact, though (only had my phone so the pictures are pretty bad).

waddingtons020.jpg

 

Pedant alert, as Mr Fincher might say. Which is the Keel and which is the Sloop?

 

I know they're mostly called Keels once the sailing gear has been removed, and the difference is more than sail rig.

http://www.humberships.org.uk/index.html :lol:

 

Oh! - and love the CA dormobile! Wonderful colours.

Edited by Derek R.
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Pedant alert, as Mr Fincher might say. Which is the Keel and which is the Sloop?

 

I don't know. I always assumed Sheffield size boats were Keels.

 

Bit of a grey area. We tended to refer to the 'Beecliffe' as a Keel, as not many outside the area would know what a 'Sheffield Barge' was.

To the best of our knowledge she never sailed, but was built (in 1925) with all the necessary hull fittings such as chain plates.

So far as I can gather, that wasn't uncommon at that time.

Chances are that few if any of the boats in Carls pics ever carried a sail. Some might say that that makes them simply 'barges' or 'boats', others would be quite happy to refer to them as 'keels'.

I believe there were plenty of instances of boats which carried both Sloop and Keel rigs at different times in their lives.

 

Regarding the dry-dock, it's obviously been completely changed as it was a self-contained Sheffield-sized dry-dock when we were there, probably very 'original'.

 

Tim

Edited by Timleech
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