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Nb Tay and the dream!


Dave Payne

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On 22/06/2017 at 10:00, junior said:

Another reason is that i think most 'coal boaters' get into it because they are passionate about Historic boats rather than they've drempt all their lives of selling coal. Personally speaking I'd have no interest in doing this job on a modern boat, although should you not be into histerical boats it could still be a great lifestyle on a modern boat.

As far as i am aware Mountbatten & Jelicoe are still for sale. Already kitted out as fuel boats, with a round, and with some additional living space on the butty. Only really suitable for small people though if you want a good nights sleep.

I've contemplated taking on M & J and giving the Llangollen fuel run a go on several occasions but the large reduction in our income and the fact that we'd have to sell our current boats has always made me think twice.

 

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17 hours ago, noddyboater said:

Autherley! That was it. Lovely shaped hull and all the hard work looked to have been done. I'm sure the price dropped well under 10k but I don't know if it sold or not. 

All the "hard work" was done in 2000 so should be about ready to be done again.

I would say that the owners were not entirely content with the work done back  then but enough black was put on for it to win the Ken Keay Award

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1 hour ago, Cloudinspector said:

I've contemplated taking on M & J and giving the Llangollen fuel run a go on several occasions but the large reduction in our income and the fact that we'd have to sell our current boats has always made me think twice.

 

Is this pair still advertised for sale somewhere  ? My records suggest they were last advertised on Apollo Duck in September 2016.

I spoke with the owner back then as I had an interest in purchasing MOUNTBATTEN, but he would not split the pair even though I was prepared to offer strong money at that time. The owner suggested I take a look on Facebook at the hull work that they had undertaken prior to putting them back into trade, and having seen these my interest dwindled somewhat as I am no fan of overplating. As it turns out the owner never contacted me again and I never contacted the owner again. I did get a bit of a pasting for wanting to split this pair but I am no romantic, and contrary to popular belief this is not an original pairing :captain:

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50 minutes ago, pete harrison said:

Is this pair still advertised for sale somewhere  ? My records suggest they were last advertised on Apollo Duck in September 2016.

I spoke with the owner back then as I had an interest in purchasing MOUNTBATTEN, but he would not split the pair even though I was prepared to offer strong money at that time. The owner suggested I take a look on Facebook at the hull work that they had undertaken prior to putting them back into trade, and having seen these my interest dwindled somewhat as I am no fan of overplating. As it turns out the owner never contacted me again and I never contacted the owner again. I did get a bit of a pasting for wanting to split this pair but I am no romantic, and contrary to popular belief this is not an original pairing :captain:

I would guess that butties are harder to sell than motors, so he didn't want to be left with an unsaleable boat on which he would have to pay fees and upkeep expenses for ages.

Do they still belong to the Bachelors (not sure if there is a "t" in their surname, apologies if there is)?

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15 minutes ago, Athy said:

I would guess that butties are harder to sell than motors, so he didn't want to be left with an unsaleable boat on which he would have to pay fees and upkeep expenses for ages.

Do they still belong to the Bachelors (not sure if there is a "t" in their surname, apologies if there is)?

The Batchelor's sold this pair to a young couple in 2014, and it is they who operated as fuel boats on the Llangollen Canal.

It is getting on for a year since I spoke with the owner and my interest in purchasing MOUNTBATTEN. You are correct in surmising that the owner had a fear of being left with an unsaleable boat with fees and upkeep expenses. If they had being prepared to discuss my offer further, and assuming we had come to an acceptable agreement for MOUNTBATTEN then they would have had somewhere between two thirds and three quarters of their total asking price in their bank account - instead it would appear that several months later they still have fees and upkeep expenses and their money still tied up in a pair of fairly unattractive boats, assuming of course that they were not sold :captain:

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 23/06/2017 at 14:48, Dave Payne said:

So what do you need to become a fuel boat?

 

Dont say boat, or fuel, in terms of licence and legal stuff.

You need:

-A suitable boat, and the gear for it (Merchant on the Thames cost nearly £200,000 all in!)

-A patch or round that isn't already covered. The margins are thin enough without people competing. Failing that, an area such as London where there's enough customers to support more than one.

 

-A Boatmaster licence (CRT requirement for hazardous cargo)

 

-to become a Registered Dealer in Controlled Oils and know all the paperwork requirements

Enough savvy to use social media to contact your customers and arrange your deliveries

Places to load (Harder than it seems, Jules on the Southern GU has to run a pair as there aren't enough loading points any more for regular resupply and she needs to carry enough stock.

Either a willingness to cover a large area and work almost every day, or a side interest or job e.g. fendermaking to top up your income

A willingness to get more acquainted with poo pumps and their contents than you thought likely- often just before your lunch 

The skills, fitness and willingness to load many tons of coal and gas bottles manually, and heave it up onto cabintops; to fight a loaded boat through shallow cuts, bladefuls and bunged up bridgeholes to get to your customers

The knowledge that you will never make a fortune doing it, it's bloody hard work over long hours for little financial reward.

 

But then again, not all rewards are financial! 

On 22/06/2017 at 09:55, junior said:

Only if you wanted to carry fuel in bulk from one place to another. Tay would be completely unsuitable for modern day retail fuel boating.

It'd work well on the Thames, the prices are high enough that you can undercut the boatyards. Talking to the operator of Merchant, he sells almost entirely diesel, very little coal and gas.

Or run it with fuel on the motor and a butty with the coal, gas, and pumpout!

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5 minutes ago, FadeToScarlet said:

You need:

-A suitable boat, and the gear for it (Merchant on the Thames cost nearly £200,000 all in!)

<SNIP>

 

Not forgetting the pump itself needs to be Trading Standards approved, checked and sealed.

George

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20 hours ago, David Mack said:

Autherley in Hebden Bridge today.

20170701_131358.jpg

20170701_131335.jpg

Wow - thank you  :) ...now that is a very nice looking boat...Im sure Ive seen her in the past now I can see her here..am I right in thinking she is a little narrower than majority trading boats or is that the angle of the pictures..?

 

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Those recent photos of Autherley definitely make her look longer than she is. I'm sure Pete will confirm it but I didn't think she was over 50 foot, certainly more of a tug than a "trading boat". 

She does have a fine hull shape with round chines, in fact I remember the owner gave that as one of his reasons for selling as his local dock wouldn't accommodate her anymore.

Isn't there a wooden boat moored near Wheelock called Shackleton with a longer cabin but very similar shaped hull? Maybe I dreamt that one..

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Long ago Malcolm Braine converted a wooden ice breaker named Shackleton at Norton Canes. This may well be the same boat. The original cabin side was, and could well be, hanging on the wall of the Navigation pub at Bugsworth. I saw it several years ago, surprised to see Ted Chetwyn's original lettering on there. He was my inspiration back in the 60s.

Dave

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On 6/21/2017 at 14:52, Dave Payne said:

ahh dont worry, it will never happen, just a though whilst staring at my pc...

Although i did think, why do fuel boats have to be from older ex working boats, why not just have a boat built, must be cheaper and easier to build a shell with a small cabin?

Been done - Dusty and Merchant both modern boats. Both look like new boats, and not historic ones, and presumably drive like new boats too. Where would be the fun in that.

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3 hours ago, dave moore said:

Long ago Malcolm Braine converted a wooden ice breaker named Shackleton at Norton Canes. This may well be the same boat. The original cabin side was, and could well be, hanging on the wall of the Navigation pub at Bugsworth. I saw it several years ago, surprised to see Ted Chetwyn's original lettering on there. He was my inspiration back in the 60s.

Dave

Shackleton is still converted and can usually be seen on the T&M between Wheelock and Middlewich. We were tied up near her above Kings Lock at the Folk and Boat the other week

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5 hours ago, J R ALSOP said:

Shackleton is looking decidedly sad, just gone past it, also M&J have enforcement notices on them as do Siberia & Buckingham further up the Llangollen.

I was out looking for MOUNTBATTEN and JELLICOE this afternoon, but around Audlem :captain:

Edited by pete harrison
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3 hours ago, J R ALSOP said:

They are moored about a mile above Hurleston on Llangollen canal.

I know the location and was going to go there as well, but didn't :banghead:

It would be very interesting to know how much interest these two boats have raised, and whether any offers have been made. I am a little surprised the owner has never got in touch with me again as I was flatly refused before we spoke about money - only on the basis that they wanted to sell as a pair and I was only interested in MOUNTBATTEN. Back then I was prepared to offer about two thirds to three quarters of the total asking price for the one boat as it was fully ready to go, but that would definitely not be the case now :captain:

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