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JamesFrance

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About JamesFrance

  • Birthday 17/01/1938

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  • Gender
    Male
  • Location
    Cheshire
  • Occupation
    Retired

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  1. I was too young to drink but I once took Joyce Grenfell for a morning of sea fishing when staying in a pub in Ireland. In the 70s before marinas were everywhere in the Med, we were often moored stern to on a public quay so had some interesting neighbours, one I remember who stopped for a chat was Juan Carlos in Andraitx before he became King of Spain, his father was also living on board his boat on the same pontoon as us when we had a one year mooring in the Club de Mar in Palma which cost £300 back then in 1979. All very different now sadly.
  2. Our first liveaboard in1969 was a Dunkirk little ship called Fairbright built in 1920 as a fishing boat, she had a plaque from one of the rallies and was converted after the war by David Hillyard. We bought her in Malta, spent the first year around the islands and Sicily, then ended the next year in Falmouth after many ports on the way and going via the Canal du Midi.
  3. CRT said lock 4 on the Middlewich. In the late 60s I had a hireboat sunk by trapping the rudder in one of the Llangollen locks, it was aircooled so flooded through the air outlet. Luckily the pound below was short so I drained it and brought a pump to remove the water to refloat it. BW never knew it had happened as it was October so the canal was quiet.
  4. A fine shell but 20 years older so unlikely to be of similar quality within.
  5. This post cannot be displayed because it is in a forum which requires at least 10 posts to view.
  6. I know it does not fit what you are looking at apart from the price, but this is what I would be looking at if I could still use it, very like the one I had 20 years ago and must be one of the last boats built by Steve Hudson before he sadly died. https://aqueductmarina.co.uk/second-hand-boats/brigand-67ft-steve-hudson-trad-stern/
  7. A pity it is cut short, I took a trip boat on it in 1967 but had to stop that the following year because the Board of Trade insisted on a lifering for every passenger, but not if we stayed on the canal.
  8. At the end of the video it says it was endorsed by the Association of Pleasure Craft Operators which I was a member of in the past. That became British Marine but I do not know when it was changed and you need to be a member to access their history on their website.
  9. No but I had the cassette in the late 90s.
  10. I came across a pre internet video I used to have years ago on a cassette. I always liked the music and was pleased to see it again on Youtube.
  11. I am now 85 and sold the last narrowboat last year and the last sailboat in Spain 2 years ago. It is some years since we went very far but more because of failing sight rather than age.
  12. Having been used to a 70ft boat years ago I found handling a 25ft one recently far more difficult. The small one was hard to steer straight whereas the 70 often seemed to steer itself, as that was what the canal was designed for and deeper draft tended to follow the channel. In locks the 25ft needed constant gear changing and speed adjustment or tying up to avoid being thrown into the lock gates, whereas the 70 with tug deck could just be nosed against the gates with engine staying in tickover and be left alone, the tug deck meant that leaking gates were no problem.
  13. Here is a photo of Steve Hudson arriving at the Braunston boat show in 1999
  14. I would think he would have used a chart plotter which were available by then, with charts for backup. It is so much easier since those were introduced as there is not the same need to study tidal charts and try to take unreliable radio bearings to know where you are.
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