Etruria Historic Boat Gathering

Etruria

May 2014

Welcome to Etruria, our second floating canal festival of the 2014 season.

The boaters among you will know instantly that we are moored at the junction of the Trent and Mersey with the Caldon Canal but to those of you who are less familiar with the UK's inland waterways, we are in Stoke on Trent.

Aquarius with the long line

The Etruria is a long established historic boat festival with the entrance to the Caldon rammed with fascinating old craft. Whilst there are boats a plenty, its not an event which attracts a large number of Roving Traders. In fact its almost a re run of Droitwich with ourselves and The Homebrew Boat with a fledgling jacket potato venture in between us.

Aquarius reversing into the basin

It feels a bit odd to arrive at the boat by car, its a bit like being beamed aboard as we are far more used to travelling to an event and then having a friend bring it back for us later. However, on this occasion Mr Truth and his wife Les has some holiday available so brought the boat to Etrutia the long way round, a route which let them cover a lot of new water.

Poleing Ilford

And so we are aboard, with the banners and bunting aloft making ready for the weekend's festival. The main event is based round the basin with the trade and residential boats moored on the main drag out to Festival Park. We are the first l boat above the lock moorings so we have an excellent view of boats coming and going.

On particular pleasure was seeing Aquarius arrive heaving laden and towing Ilford which was similarly deep in the water. I have seen these boats paired before and with their pristine paintwork they looked fantastic. Unusually they were long lining through the locks which is a practice I havn't seen before. Essentially Aquarius (the motor) has a very long rope which is attached to the unpowered butty. By careful measurement of some quality communication between the operators, the motor is able to tow the butty into and out of the second lock down whilst the motor moves through the upper chamber. All very authentic and interesting.

But buttys which are 70ft long is so passe. Anything more that 24ft 3in is just wrong IMHO!

If you fancy seeing some interesting old boats, buying some great preserves and getting a DIY brewing fix come to Etruria! Follow the signs to Festival Park.

A weekend paint fest

Painting Montgomery

May 2014

Phew - what a weekend! 

Whilst the world and his wife we attending a soggy Crick or pounding a rain drenched beat on the BCN Challenge I was dodging the rain and getting The Jam Butty painted in the open air.

Fortunately I had a rain free Friday morning, was attending the BCN Photographic Workshop on Saturday, it dried up on Sunday afternoon and was warm and dry all Monday so one way or another I had enough windows of opportunity to break the back of the job. My task was eased by the remarkable drying properties of Symphony Coatings range of Narrowboat paint which is touch dry in 20 mins and capable of withstanding a few spots of rain.

We have opted for the same colours as Wand'ring Bark to make them a pair so its red bows and roof with green side panels and coach lines in cream.

The roof was rather the worse for wear having had several colours applied over its life but a good bit of sanding and the self leveling properties of the thick resin paint flattened it all off and it looks great. I followed the tips from a recent Waterways World article on coach lines, painting two coats of cream on on first, feathering the edges, applying no bleed masking tape and then applying the surrounding red and green. The masking tape is removed whilst the paint is barely dry and voila - a great result, clean crisp lines which are straighter than those on WB.

Its now all set for Jim McCormack to come up with a design for the side panels and stern bends and The Jam Butty will come to life.

This cute little boat is making friends at ever turn. During my weekend in the marina at least 30 boaters must have wandered over to know more and all were very keen to get inside and see what she looks like. I have to admit that this is exactly the reaction I was looking for and bodes well for the future.

I have cleaned the back cabin out a bit and whilst some scumbling needs attention, it has survived its years of neglect very well. In fact, it has a distinct patina of age which is appealing so maybe less is more in this area. I think we will live with it for a while and see how we feel at the end of the season.

Next I need to build the Cratch with the top plank plus the adjustable false floor all hopefully in time for the Birmingham Floating Market where she will be formally "launched".

A Question

BCN Question
May 2014

I  sometimes come across something which stirs the inquisitive part of me.

Last weekend I spent the Saturday in the BCNS meeting room which also doubles as a a small museum containing canal artifacts donated by members. One objects (actually there are two examples) are BCN signs where the metal has laminated to an extraordinary extent. 

But its not the construction which caught my eye but rather the inclusion of a star in the cut out design. It could be decorative, but I bet it has some significance.

Does anyone have any ideas what this means? - I have never seen it on any later signs.

I suppose it could be the star of David - but did the BCN have any Jewish connections?

And then taking this line of thought a bit further.... What do we know about The BCN Company itself? We know heaps about the canals they built, but what about the personality of the organisation who owned the infrastructure which held the West Midlands together and was the catalyst for its growth and prosperity. 

Liking to view things from a commercial perspective I want to know more but am unsure where to look, and cant find any books on the subject. Any ideas?

Missing the BCN Challenge

Missing the BCN Challenge

May 2014

I never went to University, and for three years from age 18 to 21 I rather wistfully watched my friends come and go from far flung destinations wondering if I had made the right decision. 

Blue Nun - the last entrant and the first to arrive on Saturday morning

I feel a bit the same about the BCN Challenge, a 24 hour endurance race round the BCN. I was a participant in 2011 and 2012 but missed 2013 on account of exhibiting at Crick. Roll forward to 2014 and Wand'ring Bark was unavailable as she is on her way to Etruria laden with a ton of jam for the festival next weekend, crewed by Mr Truth and his lady wife Les.

Titford Pumphouse meeting room

I suppose I could have crewed for another boat but the arrival of Montgomery and the opportunity to spend some concentrated time fixing her up ready for the Birmingham Floating Market was too much. And then there was the long awaited photographic workshop which was being held on the same day. Something had to give.

I am not sure that seeing a clutch of boats coming up the Titford flight helped much, It was a bit like those student returning for the holidays. It just serves to highlight what you are missing. However, the silver lining in this particular cloud was the fact the the said cloud was busy discharging a months worth of rain onto an unsuspecting Birmingham in 12 hours flat. I experienced conditions like this on the 2012 Challenge and even for a die hard canal enthusiast like me, boating lost is appeal.

Winding the Joey

The event did offer a clutch of interesting photo opportunities not included in yesterdays post.

So this post is a tribute to all those 48 hardy Challengers who have been bringing the BCN to life in the most atrocious conditions. 

BCNS Photography Day 2014

Photography Workshop

Titford Pumphouse

May 2014

Ask any photographer what he wants and the answer will inevitably be sunshine and blue skies, and that's exactly want Keith Maslin was praying for as he organised the first BCNS photography day. Sadly it wasn't to be as both he and the BCN Challengers discovered. It rained, and rained, and then intensified to culminate with the mother of all thunderstorms in the evening.

Titford Pumphouse

But undaunted Kev and his happy band of photographic enthusiasts gathered at the Titford Pumphouse, official meeting place for the the BCN Society.

Langley Maltings

There were about 12 of us with a whole range of experience and kit, from semi pro DSLR's through to Compacts but there was something there for all of us. My yardstick for success is to aim to come away with two or three insights which will make a difference in future and I picked these up in the first hour.

1. The depth of field (area of focus) is 1/3rd in front of the point of focus and 2/3rds behind - very important if I ever get a close up of a Kingfisher again.

2. When using the "thirds" rule also consider getting points of interest on the intersections.

Titford Locks

Being based on the interesting Titford arm it was all supposed to be about "getting out there" but our forays out into the big outdoors were hampered by the unremitting rain. Some participants opted for the camera in a poly bag approach but I favoured the snatch it out of the camera case and get it back asap. Either way it didn't make for well considered compositions!!!

Canal Character

The BCN Challenge was underway at the same time and a steady succession of boats came up and down the flight of locks and the particularly well timed arrival of Joanna towing a Joey boat coincided with a 15 minute window when it nearly stopped raining.

Static Object

And so the first BCNS Photographic workshop came to an end at 3.30, ably supported by the Wards who kept us well refreshed with tea, coffee, biscuits and good cheer and of course led by the hugely talented Kev Maslin.

Kev Maslin (not an assignment!)

As with any photography, we were set specific tasks and today's images are my offering.

View framed by a (pipe) bridge

Apart form the weather how could this fail to be a great event. Photography, canals (BCN) and great company - what a fantastic combination. Its a bit like getting your ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed and Composition right all at the same time....