Glimpses of Montgomery

Montgomery (or the Jam Butty) update

October 2013

Its been several weeks since I provided an update on Montgomery and truth be told we have been too busy to go to Stretton and have a look. What is more, the deal is that we wont take delivery till next summer, so the work can be fitted in round the other boatyard commitments and there is no expectation of an early completion.

The new gunnels go on

But that's not to say I am not interested. In fact, as time goes on I am more and more fascinated with how this little craft will look, swim and operate as a preserve selling base. In idle moments I find myself thinking about what we will do with it, how we will tow it, how much drag it will offer and what sort of progress we will make when under way. Then there is the interior - so many possibilities....

The general plan will be to get the hold painted and sheeted first, thus making her watertight and secure, worrying about the back cabin as phase two. Any suggestions about where to get the sheeting / cloths from?

Well, here are a few images showing that work is underway, the gunnels have been fitted straightening the sides and a cover has been erected over her to let them carry on in bad weather - all very exciting. But the sad fact is that I still havn't seen her - the photos were taken by my brother who called in on his way past and he spent tome time having a look at her.

But these past months havnt been idle. I have made some enquiries and found out a lot about the type of BCN day boat that the bows came from - the stern of one of a dozen or so boats built on the Ridgeacre Arm in 1911 /1912. Its odd that the stern looks seriously old but is a reproduction whereas the "bows" are the real McCoy. Can you see the rivet holes on the waterline in the top picture? They were supporting the steel steerers platform which has since been removed and the absence of gunnels is probably because the stern had a short cabin on it, which went right to the sides of the hull. But that is conjecture based on similar boats from that era.

Now here is the thing:

To qualify as a "historic" boat it seems that the craft has to basically include the bulk of the hold of the original craft. That means that using just the stern portion which was cut off and discarded when the butty was converted to a motor does not qualify! Relatively speaking, there are loads of front ends kicking around - all with their new engine rooms, back cabins and counters - but almost all of these historic stern ends have been scrapped. They are like hens teeth and, whilst I may be a bit biased here, surely their preservation deserves some recognition?

As Rolf would have said - can you see it yet?

Anyway, that is all just an aside. In a few days the wedding which has consumed so much of our time will be over, and we will be taking a much anticipated break on Wand'ring Bark and plan to stop off at Stretton Wharf on our way up the Shropshire Union. 

More updates in future weeks.

Origins of Montgomery

Origins of Montgomery

September 2013

I don't know about you, but if I acquire something a bit old its not long before I start wondering about its origins. I guess I like to place things in a historical and geographic context.

The decision to purchase Montgomery and add some new / old bows is one such case. The Montgomery stern isn't too difficult and a question posed to the CWDF guys soon revealed an image of how she looked in her last incarnation:

There was a life before this when she was a 30 ft butty and hopefully I will turn up a photo in due course. Someone is bound to remember her.

However, the new bows are more of a riddle.

Again, the Guys on CWDF came up trumps and were pretty confident that they were the stern of a Hickmans boat, not dissimilar to one shown on Laurence Hogg's photo taken in Teddesley in the late 1970's.

 This image shows how the stern of a day boat was commonly removed to allow a motor to be added and the second image shows the Josher'esque bows which are very attractive and would make a good front end for any reconstructed working boat.

My thanks to Laurence Hogg for permission to use these images.

In the main these redundant sterns will have been sold for scrap so the challenge is to find other examples. I saw one at Shardlow on Cygnet and the bows look very similar to those we have created:

As for the provenance of the bows,the consensus is that they were built by Braithwaite and Kirk in about 1912, presumably in their works by the Wednesbury Old Canal (Ridgeacre Arm) just beyond the point where reeds have clogged the channel. Whilst very different in style, it appears that they shares a pedigree with the illustrious Kildaire, the other half of the President combo.

Montgomery - The Cabin

Montgomery 
The Cabin
August 2013

The interior of the boatman's cabin was well constructed and there is a lot we can retain. Sure, the stove, chimney, bulls eyes and hatch are all missing - but that's all stuff which can be fixed. All this interior comes as a huge bonus.

From cabin to hold

At 6ft 3in I would find a low boatman's cabin very difficult to live with but that's one of the joys of this project. We can let rip with the traditional cabin knowing is more for show than for everyday use. 

Hold to stern

In the main it will be an office and a store but it will also double us as a spare bedroom for visitors, which will let us convert the saloon in the motor and make it more usable.

Cabin roof

I was surprised at the width - its a good 6ft 6 inches which make it a viable option for us as a temporary bedroom. Most cross beds are simply not long enough for us. 

Anyway, these images record the starting point.

Montgomery - artwork

Montgomery artwork
August 2013

The interior of Montgomery carries a few surprises - all positive.

The inside is a done out in true boatman's style, scumbling, artwork plus all the classic elements. 

This has all been applied with great care and considerable skill so my hope is to clean it all up but retain most of it, even if some is a bit worn. To be honest, I quite like the patina of age and use.

Drop down table / cupboard

Here are some samples of the interior artwork.

Any guesses about the artist?

Montgomery - the stern

Montgomery's rear end
August 2013

The stern of The Jam Butty is a 20 year old reproduction josher butty. The lines are sweet and graceful and the water will swim found it beautifully leading to a substantial elum which will need a bit of TLC before she floats again.

 Montgomery's stern

I am told that there was a plan to motorise the butty in one of its incarnations, and there are some fittings in place which will have to be removed. 

Insider the stern - hydraulic drive fittings

There has been a lot of love and attention poured out on this craft and as far as possible I will restore rather than renew. We will certainly keep the name on the stern.

Authentic detailing

Montgomery - the old steelwork

Montgomery
The Day Boat hull
August 2013

Today I will focus on the 100 year old bows and hold of The Jam Butty.

The reality is that the base plate was beyond salvation so that has been replaced with a a fresh sheet of steel. The sides are the real thing, a century old and in the main 8mm thick (or whatever that is in Imperial measurements).

 The old plating

It hasn't done badly, although there is blistering on the joins under the wide rubbing strakes. This expansion is nothing new as the bulging strakes show lots of evidence of wear from their working days. This corrosion is being repaired by removing bits of the strakes and welding extra plate to the rusted sections and then replacing the strakes to their original position.

 Rust repairs

Of course, the whole thing is studded with rivets and, before you ask, no I havn't counted them - yet!

Distinctive strakes

The strakes are unusual so and suggestions about the origins of the sides would be welcomed.

To blend the old with the modern strakes on the stern are being continued forward into the hold section and the stern will carry some on the BCN day boat strakes to blend the styles and create a unified whole.

The top "rail" is a temporary addition to achieve a straight gunnel.

New strakes carried forward onto the old

Jam Butty - the bows

Montgomery's bows

August 2013

I make no apology for a flurry of posts on the subject of Montgomery, the small butty which will become our close companion in the years to come.

We want to record her transformation from the cabin of a reproduction josher butty and the front end of a 100 year old BCN day boat. The two elements have been welded together with a new base in the bows and hold so I will run a few posts carrying a set of photos on various elements of the project.

For today lets look at the bows.

A Wand'ring Bark's eye view

Far from the sweeping lines of the stern, the bows are somewhat bluff, the rounded stem post rising near vertically which will make it relatively easy to create a snug fender nest between the two craft.

 The bows, left and right

The curious feature is the rounded stem post. Most day boats have a thinner stem / stern post and I have never seen another which looks like this - any ideas?

Inside the stem post - an original curved profile

Foraging ahead to Norbury

Weekend wanderings to Norbury

2nd August 2013

My lack of posts recently has much more to do with a lack of time rather than any lack of desire!

In fact, we have had two successive weekends away on the boat making full use of my altered working hours which effectively gives me a three day weekend every week. Not that we have travelled very far as foraging the first of the summer crops was the primary objective - cherries and wild raspberries.

 Paused at an inoperative Aldersley bottom lock

This weekend saw us move further afield, turning north up the Shropshire Union at Autherley Junction and soon spied a big cherry tree laden with shiny black cherries which were obligingly hanging over the canal. This allowed us to participate in out favourite form of foraging - rooftop gathering. In a few minutes we had gathered 5kg of these beauties. Big, sweet and containing a thick and succulent juice which soon covered the back deck.

Cherry harvest - part one

Along the way we found yet more cherry treed containing a  mix of red and black berries, a little smaller but very plentiful. We didn't pick as we already had about three hours of stoning ahead of us so they were left for the return journey.

Along the way we passed Stretton Wharf and couldn't resist a visit to see Montgomery aka The Jam Butty - but more of that in a future post.

A quick flash of Montgomery's shapely bottom!

It was a hot still day which got stickier as time moved on. We had a vague plan to moor at Gnosall but decided to wind before night. The snag was that I had forgotten that the next winding point is at Norbury, nearly and hour and a half further on. We had just reached the embankment before Norbury when the towering clouds behind us started to rumble and flash and put us in urgent need of a mooring. The problem is that on the embankment the margins are barely under water so when we spied push tug Atlas and two mud hoppers tied up on the offside we found our prayers answered.

Impromptu mooring near Norbury

In no time we were tied to these River Canal Transport craft and ducked inside just as the first big fat blobs of rain spattered on the roof. Its a good job we stopped as the rail hammered away to a greater or lesser extent for the next 8 hours.

We wounded off our evening  with a dictionary less game of scrabble which against all the odds, Helen won with her last couple of words. A bad scrabble player always blames his / her tiles....

Psst - we have a new baby!

Proudly announcing the arrival of The Jam Butty

June 2013

What can I say? We went, we saw and we agreed to purchase!

Some of you will know of our medium term plans to take extended cruises and our idea to combine these travels with the burgeoning preserves business. We flirted with the idea of buying a longer boat but the more we thought about it the more we fancied a short butty which, taken with Wand'ring Bark, would fit into a single lock.

Maybe we were swayed by the name but "The Jam Butty" does have a lovely ring to it. She will sit nicely in the firmament already occupied by the Fudge Boat and the Cheese Boat.

And so the seeds of a dream were planted in our imaginations and once visualised these things have a way of taking physical form. The form started with the stern in the shape of Montgomery's back cabin which we spied stacked on top of a container at Stretton Wharf. Enquiries revealed that Montgomery had been looking for a new life for years and when the purpose was explained the stern was soon introduced to the bows of a BCN day boat and hey presto - the Jam Butty is born.

We went to have a look at the components today and were both surprised and delighted to see that Keith had not only laid the bits out in the yard, he had actually rebottomed her and welded it together! He was clearly as taken with the end result as we were, observing the symmetry of the bows and stern which both rise with the same subtle curve. A bit of a gamble on his part though!

Ok, it still needs a bit of imagination when you look at the shot blasted and blacked stern contrasting the bare rusty metal front end but believe me, this cut and shut will be one cute little butty when we are through with her.

The bare bones specs are 11ft of Montgomery, about 20 years old and built by Keith on the wharf mated to 15 ft of a 1911 BCN Day boat with more rivets penetrating her antique plating that a body piercers fantasy!

I think you can safely expect to see a long series of posts on this topic as we bring The Jam Butty / Montgomery to life and prepare her to be one of the more unique and memorable boats on the network.

Go on - admit it, you are smiling as you read this post!