david matthias Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 I know its not quite what is normally for sale here but it is transport of sorts! My prized narrowboat is for sale having spent the last twenty years building it & restoring the old section. It is time for it to be transformed into the deposit for a house it's just not big enough for myself & Jo to live on. Its been my home for over 10 years & I shall be sorry to see it go but I can't have both a boat & a house. I have included the boats history & spec for those who have an interest. I purchased the boat back in 1985 at which point it was 42ft long. The boat was originally built by Braithwaite & Kirk of West Bromwich for the Fellows Morton & Clayton company in 1913 to there successful “Josher” pattern. It was built as a 71ft 6in horse boat which was named Rhine which then was changed to Rose due to the Germanic nature of the original name. From delivery it was used by the FMC Co until it was damaged during an incendiary raid whilst moored in the loading wharf at the HP sauce factory. It was then scrapped due mainly to the buckling of the hull side plates caused by the heat generated from the wooden boat that was on fire next to it reputedly loaded with figs. Around about 1940 the remains were purchased by Mattys of coseley whom commissioned Harris’s of Netherton to shorten it & convert it into a tug for them to use in there busy towage business. The work carried out by Harris’s was done to a simple & workman like standard resulting in a tug of 42ft with approximately 22ft of the original Josher bows being retained although some of it still badly buckled, this was attached to a new stern swim & counter of a very simple nature. At this time they also did other jobs like overplating to the original bow, new wooden bottom & new wooden cabin It at this time that the boat was renamed Eric after one of Alfred Matty’s son’s. After its time with Matty’s the boat was sold into private hands & used extensively around the BCN during which time it was named Erik. After this it was sold & spent some time on the Bank at Ashwood marina. The couple that I bought the boat from saw it on the bank at Ashwood & bought it. They used it for many years as a holiday boat under the name of Emily. During that time I met them & said if you ever want to sell it can I have first refusal which I was subsequently given in late 1985. I bought the boat & put it onto the bank at Les Allens & sons yard in Oldbury. It sat on their bank for the next year whilst we worked through our order book. We then put aside the next summer to work on the boat. We started out with the intention of just re bottoming it & then putting on a new cabin. But my perfectionist streak stepped in & we ended up scrapping all but 16ft of the original Josher Bows as the Harris’s conversion was not in good condition & would never have come up to the standard & traditional shape that I was aiming for. During this process I took the decision to scrap 6ft of the original hull side due to them being so buckled that it would be impossible to complete the build to the standard that I required. After building the hull we launched the boat & built the new cabin. At this time I renamed the Boat Erik Bloodaxe as a bit of a nod to the history of the boat & all the people that had known it as Erik of which there were many around the BCN. We then had a 12month contract doing restoration work at the new National Waterways Museum at Gloucester so the boat was towed down to Gloucester. When we left Gloucester after our twelve months I was able to cruise it back to Gailey under its own power having installed the engine & completed some more work during that time. I then spent the best part of the next 10 years completing boat. Working on it when time & money allowed. Having almost completed the boat I moved aboard full time equipping it with inverter /charger & shoreline facilities & central heating etc. Boat internal spec. The boat is externally very traditional with portholes & traditional signwriting panels which I will have redone to suit the new owners names on completion of the sale. At the stern we start with a traditional boatmans cabin with the benefit of an extra 12” giving a little extra space this cabin has a soild fuel range & a central heating blower mounted discreetly under the side bed. We then move into the engine room containing the Ruston & Hornsby 2VSH engine & the hot water tank in the corner. This is heated from the Eberspacher central heating unit mounted on the starboard side behind a panel. This unit can heat just the hot water or both the water & the radiators as required. From here you go through a portside door into a passage with a wardrobe on your right. Then a door opens into the toilet / shower room. Containing a ceramic hand basin, square shower tray with a thermostatically controlled shower mixer & a ceramic Mansfield traveller pump out toilet. The toilet / shower room is lined with a laminate which is easy to clean & also makes this space feel lighter. You then continue into the sitting room area which has a curved shelving unit down the port side. This shelving unit has both 240v & 12v dc supplies for TV & HI FI etc. An omnimax TV aerial is mounted on the roof with the cable terminating in the shelving area. In front of the sitting area is the Galley which contains a 12v/240v/gas fridge on the starboard side with a sink & drainer above. The portside has a built in gas cooker & hob. Both sides have cupboards & drawers with a white tiled worktop over. The galley units are hand made to suit the boat. The traditionally panelled front doors then lead onto the front well deck. Under which is a 170gallon Galvanised water tank. At the end of the well deck is the gas locker which houses 4 x 6kg propane bottles on an auto change regulator. The Josher fore deck retains its full depth rope locker under with steel cants & breast plate completing the josher fore end. Internally the materials used for lining out are 12mm birch ply scumbled in the traditional manner for the engine room & back cabin. The back cabin has the ceiling panels painted in an ivory to lighten the cabin a little. All bulkheads in the rear are 18mm birch ply scumbled. All bulkheads in the main cabin are 18mm American cherry blockboard. This is also used for all the shelving etc. The hull side linings are 9mm oak. The cabin side & roof linings are 9mm Ash with Olive ash styling beads edged with an American walnut styling bead. The floorboards are 18mm exterior grade ply treated with cuprinol. The hull & cabin framings are of Kapur & keruing a very good framing timber with a 25 year graveyard life grade. This is also treated with cuprinol just in case Insulation is 25mm fire retardant polystyrene fitted to the underside of the gunnels, cabin sides & the roof. The hull sides benefit from 3 layers of 25mm polystyrene. The hull spec is Baseplate is 10mm Hullsides 6mm Cabinsides & roof 5mm Hull frames 3” x 2” angle every 2ft with 6” x 3” keelson down the center Stern draft is 2ft 3in Stern swim is 15ft in length & barrelled The hullsides are turned in at the bottom by about 1.5” The fore end swim is approx 22ft leaving only approx 8ft of parallel hull side this means the boat moves through the water very well indeed. I hope some of you found it interesting. David & Jo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pistonbroke Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Very cosy , Looks like a lot of TLC has gone into your restoration , nice mix of traditional and new . being a long time boatowner myself I can appreciate the hard work and time you have spent . Good luck with the sale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffythefirst Posted July 8, 2006 Share Posted July 8, 2006 Lovely looking boat, after a dutch barge myself when finances allow. Good luck with the sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david matthias Posted July 9, 2006 Author Share Posted July 9, 2006 Thanks guys Yes lots of hours went into it. Just like the westy its more part of your life than a project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
westyblade Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 Have you tried Andrew with this i think it will be right up his street Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 9, 2006 Share Posted July 9, 2006 QUOTE Have you tried Andrew with this i think it will be right up his street Cheek! Truth is, it's probably faster than me Westy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liam Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 Lovely looking boat, after a dutch barge myself when finances allow. Good luck with the sale. Now there's a thing - Cossie powered barge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KerryS Posted July 10, 2006 Share Posted July 10, 2006 David I did enjoy reading this and wish you luck with the sale. We have had canal holidays for 30 years and really enjoy them but do draw the line at buying one whilst still in full time employment, but retirement looms and you never know, but, unfortunately, not yet. Over the years of the holidays we have noticed an ever increasing number of owner boaters who seem to treat hirers with more and more contempt which saddens me. We both pay to maintain the system. Kerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david matthias Posted July 11, 2006 Author Share Posted July 11, 2006 KerryS Glad you enjoyed the read. I agree with your comments regarding the increasing numbers of private owners who seem to think they own the canals. I have been around canals since before I could walk. It has been interesting if not a little alarming to see how some private boat owners treat hirers & the canal system, after all most of these private owners started out as hirers. Most hirers that hire for years learn the ins & the outs of boating & are in many cases more competent than some of the private owners who only use there boats for the odd break. Fortunately it is only a minority that have this attitude albeit an increasing one! My time is spent is running a fleet of hire boats & share boats as well as building new boats to order so it is quite interesting getting feedback from both sides of the fence. Our private customers also complain of the attitude of some private boat owners so it seems its not just hirers that get the crap. Never mind I can assure you that they get into just as much difficulty as some hirers so it seems owning your boat does not automatically give you ability it still has to be learned. Go on treat yourself it will make the idea of retiring so much more attractive knowing that you have a boat of your own to enjoy. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scruffythefirst Posted July 11, 2006 Share Posted July 11, 2006 I've always found the livaboard community to be fantastically helpfull, friendly and welcoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david matthias Posted July 12, 2006 Author Share Posted July 12, 2006 I wasn't really thnking of the liveaboards most of them are as you say very welcoming. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts