Back in the Water

Albert is now back in the water at Debdale Wharf after the grit blasting, two-part epoxy blacking and the gunwales painted. We decided to go for a different gunwales treatment opting for a matt black with a "raddle-red" top surface. I shall have to polish the rest of the paintwork to match.

New gunwales treatment

Stern looking smart

On Friday we shall begin bringing Albert back to Yardley Gobion.

Nynehead Boat Lift - Grand Western Canal

We spent some days last week in West Somerset staying at friends' cottage near Taunton. Not far away is the track of the Great Western Canal and the remains of the Nynehead Boat lift. The Grand Western was famous for James Green's boat lifts that served the canal for its 30-year working life.

It is over ten years since we visited the lifts for the first time, encouraged by a Waterways World article. Since then not much has basically changed although the site has been much cleared and there are some improvements to the lift chambers. The aqueduct that carries the canal over the carriage way from Wellington to Nynehead Court has also been restored

Nynehead Lift in 2002

Nynehead Lift in 2013

On our first visit we called in at Wharf Cottage, which is close to the site, to make sure we were not trespassing. We did the same again this time and met Denis Dodds who is not only the closest neighbour to the site but is also an authority on the Grand Western Lifts.  He supplied us with a handy map of the area so we could take a circular walk that walk included the line of the canal and crossing the River Tone. 

View from the top of the lift showing where there was a lock below

Looking towards Nynehead Court in 2002 

This is the line of the carriage way with the aqueduct in the background.

Same view in 2013 with the aqueduct parapet now restored

Restored aqueduct with cast iron sides

The canal was landscaped at the request of the owners of Nynehead Court by planting turkey oaks - today they are very large.

Walking along the towpath with the canal channel to the right.

For those with an interest in this West Country canal, with its boat lifts and inclined planes, there is the excellent book in the David & Charles series by Helen Harris that was first published in 1973 but has been reprinted a number of times. It includes some black and white photographs of the Nynehead Lift and diagrams from James Green's technical publications. If you are in the area of Wellington in Somerset, Nynehead lies just north of the town and is but a few miles from the M5. (reference 50.990712,-3.219393)

Hull Grit Blasted

Those who have been following my recent posts will know that we have been waiting for sometime for the new indoor grit blasting facility to come on stream at Debdale Wharf so Albert's hull could be taken back to base metal and an epoxy resin coating applied. Today was GB Day - Grit Blasting Day. The facility has been operational for a couple of weeks and today it was Albert's turn.

Dust Extraction equipment Debdale Wharf

In my last post about grit blasting I showed an image of the first boat through the facility. Above is an important part of the facility that is not normally in full view, the dust extraction equipment.

Albert with the cabin sheeted-up and hull without any bitumen coat

Albert went into the grit blasting bay yesterday and was treated this morning. I went up to Debdale this afternoon to inspect the hull once it was bare. It is revealing to see how she has stood up to almost 20 years in the water. Mike Goode took me over all the areas treated and, although there was some pitting along the water line, she appears to have stood up well. 

Bare hull sides with some signs of pitting

Anodes removed so area behind can be treated

Stern and Rudder

Tomorrow Albert moves into another bay in the building for treatment. The hull up to the rubbing strip will be coated with a two-pack epoxy resin coating and then the gunwales and counter will be painted. The red band on the counter will be reinstated but the paint will be applied over the epoxy base. There are also some extra jobs to be carried out whilst she is out of the water. The gas locker base and bulkhead will be treated with epoxy, because Albert has a wet locker, and we are having the bottom rudder bearing replaced since it has been groaning for a few years (like the crew!).

Nurser Feed Tin?

Firstly, you should note the use of the question mark in the title to this post.

A few years ago now we were lucky enough to obtain a small Buckby can from a local antique shop. Around the middle of the can was written Forget-Me-Not and the style was unmistakably Braunston. We have tried over the years to seek details of the use for the can, the painter and what boat he painted it for. This has included talking to contacts at the The Canal Museum at Stoke Bruerne and photographs of the can appearing in the Waterways World, Narrow Boat and Canal Boat magazines. Nothing definite has come from this. However, Tony Lewery has a similar can given to him by Angela Rolt and his view was that our small can is probably from the Nurser yard and from around 1911. We are therefore alert to similar items when we see them.

Small Nurser Buckby Can

Crick Boat Show is not the normal place to source such items, they are usually snapped up quickly, so when we arrived on the last day of this year's show it was much to our surprise that we discovered that one of the antique stalls had a horse feed tin with decoration that looked very similar to our small can. The tin appeared to us to say "Frank Nurser". The seller couldn't vouch for its history but he did proffer the interesting statement "a guy with a beard came and looked at it for some time and said he thought it was Frank Nurser". Not exactly a statement of authenticity, particularly since men with beards are two a penny at boat shows (!), but it got us hooked. The tin is certainly old, although not as old as the small can, and because the painting style looked so interesting we struck a deal with the dealer.

Our Nurser(?) Feed Tin

(Note strap fittings)

Detail showing some recent damage

Detail showing the base

(Note rivets)

Detail of daisies

Detail of roses

So what exactly is a feed tin?  They were containers suspended by straps from the harness of the horse so it could eat on the move. Ours is made from tinplate (as the name suggests) and it measures 9.5 inches high by 13.5 inches diameter (maximum).

Horse with feed tin at the bottom of Bingley Five-Rise 

(from CRT web site)

I have looked at the excellent Nurser web site that has been recently set up to celebrate the family operating the Braunston dockyard from 1876 to 1941. The site gives wonderful detail of the family and employees and includes some good images of typical Nurser decoration. Looking at the cans shown on the site has reinforced my view that our feed tin must have Nurser connections.

Please drop us an email if you have any views.

Happy 50th Birthday Canal Museum

On Saturday night, as a member of the Friends of the Canal Museum, we went to a party at Stoke Bruerne to celebrate its 50th anniversary. The event was held in a tent alongside the museum and true to form the weather was blustery and wet. There was a very tasty barbecue, music and a good bar. It was good to catch up with friends.

David Blagrove cutting the cake at the party.

The highlight of the evening was a short speech by David Blagrove, Chairman of the Friends, who recalled how he helped Charles Hadlow set up some of the exhibits back in 1963 when his boat was stuck in the ice; some of this is covered in his book Bread of Waters. He then cut the cake and we all sang Happy Birthday.