Blackout

Blacking narrowboats

WB needs to have her bottom blackened.

It's two years since she was last out of the water and the rust is starting to show through. I am quite tempted to do it myself, and the guys at Stafford Boat Club are very happy to hire out their cradle and hard standing for a very reasonable fee. However, the annodes are shot and welding is currently beyond me - I have neither the kit nor the experience. I therefore think that this calls for professional intervention, and that usually means Phil Jones.

My dilemma is simple: Bitumen or two pack epoxy? I know that Bitumen is cheaper and Epoxy calls for shot blasting the hull, but is the two pack approach really worth the extra money. Come to that, how much more does it cost and how much longer does it last?

Blacking is a big expense but I see relatively little written about the alternatives. If you have a view please comment!

So, with the decision deferred till the end of this season, I am faced with a very scruffy looking hull for 2009. Wand'ring Bark has quite a hard life, she is out for nearly 10 weeks per year and a good proportion of that is in the relatively harsh environment of the BCN. She therefore suffers more than her fair share of knocks and scrapes. But that's OK, I subscribe to the school of thought that says that you paint a narrowboat mainly to protect against rust, and then enjoy knocking it all off again.

I know it is vanity, but the sight of her badly scuffed lower sections, and rusting rubbing strakes irritates me. I like a shower before I start a day and I like WB to look spick and span before we start the season. I therefore took her off for a wash and brush up in a handy little spot where there is a 12" recess, about 30 feet long and complete with a smooth concrete edge. Just right for straddling WB across and giving easy access to the sides down to the waterline.

My escapades in the ice had not been kind to the blacking at the front, and frankly she looked in a right sate. However, when we were out in the ice I happened to have a ton or so of timber in the front well, so she had been riding very low in the water. I therefore had the brainwave of emptying both the timber and the water tank, thus taking about three tons off the front end. The end result were the bows rising up about nine inches and the bare metal emerging into the fresh air.

A good rub round with a scraper and a wire brush provided a sound dry surface, down to within two inches of the new waterline. After a couple of hours aided and abetted by a small roller, a paintbrush and some rather stiff bitumen (it was only 5 degrees C) I had WB looking smart and clean again. With the bitumen dry, I then refilled the water tank which took the freshly blacked front back into the water, with the blacking extending a good three inches below the surface.

I know its mostly vanity, and the real benefit is the bit below the waterline, but it was most satisfying to look along the newly blackened sides and see an end result which matches the carefully applied paint job higher up.

If you see WB at the end of the season her nether regions will probably have returned to their natural state of abraded degradation, but by then she will be booked in to see Mr Jones and ready to feel the gentle caress of his pressure washer.

What do you suggest: Bitumen or 2 Pack Epoxy?

.

The £25 Cratch Cover

12th February 2009
A cratch cover on the cheap

The cratch cover on Wand'ring Bark is somewhat unique being home made and costing a mere £25! Is often elicits remarks from other boaters and therefore deserves a mention in the blog.

The cratch has something of a history. If you look at the early photos you will notice the the boat came without a cratch, and it was one of my earlier construction projects. The brief was a conventional glazed cratch, but one which could be easily disassembled in fine weather. The end result is something of a work of art, with glazed panels which can be removed, leaving the central post and top plank in place with the tunnel light attached. In addition, the front post can split, with part folding down into the well of the front deck and the top plate with the light section folding back flat onto the cabin roof.

But it's no good having a cratch without a cover. The plan was to commission a cover from Wilsons of Kinver, who make the Rolls Royce of covers. However, before they came to measure up we were hit with a very large and unexpected legal bill and something had to give. A £500 cratch cover is not one of life's essentials so the plan was abandoned.

A few weeks later we were on the boat and Belle was poorly leaving the Captain at a loose end. During some rummaging around I came across a three metre square of camouflage tarpaulin which I had bought for £10 from Machine Mart, together with a roll of Duck Tape. I positioned the tarpaulin over the cratch and, with some cutting folding and one largish join I fashioned cratch cover Mk 1. I added some eyelets and elasticated hooks and bobs your uncle - the very first stealth cover on a narrowboat.

Stealth cover Mk1 was only supposed to be temporary, till financial solvency returned. In the event, everyone became rather attached to it and it survived storms and gales for two years, before the constant rubbing on the top plank finally reduced its water resistance to nil.

A replacement was needed but not before we had a great laugh at the expense of some unruly urban kids. A pack of dodgey looking individuals were eyeing the boat and, seeing the camouflage cover asked if we were an Army boat. We had to see where this conversation would take us so we answered "yes, we are on patrol securing the canal". "So, whats under the cover?" they asked. "Well, I shouldn't really tell you this, but that's where we keep the machine gun, but we have to keep is hidden up cos all the other boaters get a bit scared if they know we have a gun with live ammo on the canal". It worked a treat, the kids were dead impressed and skulked off, dropping the stones they had been planning to use in an ariel assault on WB.

So that takes up onto cratch cover Mk2.

• With No 1 failing badly I bought a huge (10 m x 10m) sheet of heavy gauge woven polyurethane tarpaulin off the Internet, together with a couple of rolls of high tack adhesive tape - the sort market traders use to stop their stall covers blowing away. Cost £40.


• Using the old cover as a template I marked out and cut a new cover. If I started again I would buy a big plastic dustsheet (99p from Wilkinsons) and use it to create a template.


• I attached two strips of 15mm copper water pipe to the leading edge and folded the flap back on itself thus forming a rigid edge, fixing it all together with the tape.


• The front is held onto the cratch plate using cup hooks and elastic straps.


• The back end of the cover is held in place with more elastic straps (50p per metre from Homebase) which stretch from some reinforced eyelets to some some chrome hooks pop riveted onto the side of the boat (£2.50 from Midland Chandlers)


• Finally, to give it a better shape I cut some narrow pvc water pipe (the sort used for the overflow on a toilet) and stuck this to the inside of the cover between the front corner of the cabin roof and the top of the triangular glazed panels.

Whilst the end result is clearly not a professional job, it is 100% effective. The key factor for me is that in addition to the cratch cover I had enough material and tape left over to fashion a stern cover and have enough in reserve to make yet another cover as and when this one fails. Given its lack of deterioration so far, I am confident that it will last me 5 years, probably more. In addition, I have no worries about tearing it if I hit the cabin room on a low bridge.

All in all I have 100% of the effectiveness for about 5% of the price of a professional version. Ok, its not quite as beautiful as the one Wislons could make, but I can think of lots of things I would rather spend my £450 on.

So, as I sit and home in front of my new £450 widescreen TV in the sure and certain knowledge that WB's front deck is as dry as a bone, I toast you.

Porthole Project

Carpentry Project
Porthole Cover
8th February 2009

These long winter days get you down. I had big plans for January and February - I was going to rebuild the toilet / shower room on Wand'ring Bark in time for its Easter trip, but what with one thing and another I havn't made a start. I have therefore decided to re set my target completion date to the start of the summer holidays and focus instead on something slightly less challenging, which can be undertaken in the relative comfort of my workshop at home.

Last winter I installed a cupboard over the main bunk, complete with an archway over the porthole window, a project which was particularly interesting and to my mind, very successful. As part of this project I constructed a removable pine porthole cover and Belle has suggested something similar would be good on the other side. I mulled over the options for a number of months and finally came up with a design where a circular "plate" of wood can roll back and forth in a channel with undulations in the track to either keep the porthole covered or, during the day, to keep it open.

I cut the disc months ago but never got round to making the rest of the assembly. Well, today with snow lingering on the ground I decided to have a go and, for the sake of posterity, to take a few photos as I went along.

As with most of my projects, I only use a minimum of measurements in a workbook and then design it as I go along, following the classic maxim of making form follow function. For the uninitiated this means that before you make it look nice it has to do the job it is designed to fulfil.


Having cut the disc (41.5 cm - the diameter of the porthole plus the frame) on the bandsaw I routed a rounded edge onto the outside face.


Next I cut a template of one half of one rail (it can be turned over to create a mirror image at the other end), following the curve of the disc and using a paintpot to get the rounded end. I added a marking to this template so it can be reduced later on and help to create the "track" pieces of wood which will be fixed to the rear of the facing strips.


Because the facing strips and the track strips have to be a perfect pair the track blank was temporarily screwed in place and the entire unit was then initially shaped on the bandsaw, then planed / spokeshaved and finally sanded smooth.


With two identical pairs created, the two rear track sections had their grooves cut out, creating an undulating rebate with the top mirroring the bottom. Hopefully this will allows the disc to remain firmly guided as it rises and falls along the track from end to end. For the sake of an attractive finish the edges of the facing plates were also rounded off using the router.


A rear view of the finished item showing the undulating track, awaiting varnishing and installation.

I am not sure how best to fix this to the plywood cabin sides, but I am thinking that three brass picture fixings on each batten would probably be both neat and effective. I will post a photo of the end result in a week or so.

Lichfield and Hatherton Restoration Trust

15 minutes of fame

I get plenty of public exposure within my day job, but not so much in respect on my rather nerdy interest (obsession?) in canals. Belle would undoubtedly say that that is a good thing, and she is probably right!

I was amused to receive the winter edition of Cut Both Ways, the Lichfield and Hatherton Canals Restoration Trust's newsletter. I perused the contents and there in the centrefold was a picture of your truly being formally welcomed in as the 2,000th member by Brian Kingshott, the Chairman.

I suspect that this is the first and last time I will be a centrefold, and I didn't even have to take my clothes off...... I am such a classy act you see.

Having overcome my surprise it was slightly saddening to read how the current economic troubles are impacting charities such as LHCRT, causing them to tighten their belts, reduce their short term ambitions, waiting for the return of more prosperous times. LHCRT has been operational for 20 years now and whilst much progress has been made, the "to do" list is as daunting as ever. Restoring rural canals is a long term activity and the primary qualifications for committee membership has to be patience and dogged perseverance.

The most salutary section of the magazine was the fact that of the ten who formed the original committee in 1988, five are no longer with us, three have moved on to other things and two stalwarts remain. Well done Brian and Eric - you deserve a medal apiece.

Cromford Canal - a short walk

Cromford Canal
Cromford Wharf to Whatstandwell
1st Feb 2009

Index of posts in this series:
1. Cromford to Whatstandwell - this post
2. Whatstandwell to Buckland Hollow Tunnel
3. Buckland Hollow Tunnel (Excavator Pub) to Ripley Bridge
4. Ripley Road Bridge to Butterley Tunnel (west portal)
5. Butterley Tunnel
6. Butterley to Ironville
7. Codnor Reservoir to Smotherfly (Pinxton Arm)
8. Smotherfly opencast section
9. Pinxton Wharf
10. Boat Inn at Pinxton
11. Ironville
12. Ironville to Erewash Meadows
13. Erewash Meadows to Langley Mill

A 9 mile return journey along the towpath, including the Nightingale / Lea Wood Arm

The narrow (7ft) Cromford Canal has a long and illustrious past, connecting Richard Arkwirght's Cromford Mill in the north with the Erewash's Langley Mill basin 16 miles away in the south.
The main section of the canal took five years to build and was opened in 1794, having cost twice as much as predicted. The waterway was an overnight financial success, paying the investors massive dividends and making it something of a Dot.com boom of the 19th century. The freight traffic was so heavy that the Butterley Tunnel was obliged to work 24 hours per day to cope - if you take a look at the waterway today it is difficult to visualise where the demand came from.

Whilst the trade in coal, coke and limestone was very good for many years, volumes halved between 1840 and 1843 when the High Peak Railway was completed. From that time on the canal was in decline, with trade down to a handful of boats in 1888 when the 3063 yard Butterley Tunnel suffered its first major collapse. It took 6 years to repair, only to see it collapse again in 1900. This time the closure was permanent cutting off the north west section of the Cromford Canal from the main system.

For most of its length beyond the Butterley Tunnel this lockless rural waterway has avoided the ravages of redevelopment but some blockages exist around Ambergate which will demand a creative approach if navigation is ever to be restored. Much work was undertaken by Cromford Canal Co Ltd, a charity which operated in the 1970's and 1980's and focused on the northern section, near Cromford Wharf. Whilst this body was wound up in the late 1980's, they delivered a lasting legacy of an excellent linear water park with a well made towpath which continues to have massive appeal with walkers and cyclists alike.

Well, that's a potted history of the north western section. With Tilly's school nearby the canal seemed an ideal destination for a winter walk, with the prospect of a pub lunch at the far end.

We set off with the thermometer hovering on zero and Siberian blizzards forecast, so our expectations were not high. We parked up opposite Arkwright's Mill, which is backed by the feeder into the canal. This car park is free, unlike the "official" car park at the wharf which will set you back about £3 for a 3 hours.

The extensive restoration work undertaken in the wharf area is a delight and provides a beautiful jewel for the current restoration project to work towards. To complete the scene, just add boats.

The well maintained towpath leads south past Railway End Bridge (Browns Bridge) which was the southern terminus of the High Peak Railway, constructed in 1831 to connect with the Peak Forest Canal in Whaley Bridge via a series of 3 inclined planes. A canal link was considered but rejected on the grounds of costs, locks and lack of water.

A little further on there is the impressive Lea Wood Pumping Station which was used to raise water from the River Derwent at a rate of 4 tons, three times a minute. The steam engine is still operated by volunteers who raise a head of steam and allow visitors free entry on bank holiday afternoons, belching smoke from its distinctive chimney.

Close on its heels is the Wigwell Aqueduct which carries the canal over the Derwent via a massive stone span with an inset iron trough, reminiscent of the Dundas aqueduct on the Kennett and Avon. The structure can't be viewed well from the towpath but a diversion along the Nightingale Arm and then down the steep bank to the rivers edge will be rewarded with a great view from a perfectly sited wooden bench.

The Nightingale Arm was a half mile private canal, built by Florence's father, to serve a range of quarries, lead works and cotton mills, continuing to be used long after the closure of the tunnel as a connection to the railway transhipment yard until it too was closed in 1936. The canal bed remains, but the trough carrying it over the High Peaks Railway has long since gone, leaving just an outline in the abutments.

The canal winds round the hillside before passing over the same railway line as it emerges from the southern end of its tunnel. The High Peak Aqueduct crossing is made by a short iron trough, which is now showing signs of age and had been dewatered at the time of our visit.

The canal continues to make it's way south, hugging the eastern slope of the Derwent valley till it encounters a high ridge through which the 200 yard Gregory Tunnel was built, emerging into a large, heavily reeded up lagoon.

Whilst the CCC Ltd's tour boat John Gray navigated the tunnel as recently as 1988, this is the end of meaningful navigation for anything but canoes. The bed gets progressively closer to surface and at times there depth is reduced to a few inches with obstacles obstructing even such shallow drafted craft. Land drains cascade silt into the canal bed, creating alluvial deltas which have to be periodically dredged to maintain the canals residual drainage function. However, silt is easy to clear and the canal bed remains in good shape.

Lunch was taken at the Derwent Inn at Whatstandwell, about an hour and a half south of Cromford Wharf. This pub serves large portions of Sunday Lunch for about £7.00, making it a popular destination for walkers.

The return journey was completed with snow laden skies gathering over our heads and the temperature dipping below zero. We just had time for a wander up the Nightingale Arm before returning to the car, four hours after we set off.

This is a spectacular stretch of canal with a well maintained towpath, ensuring a steady stream of visitors, albeit in two feet or two wheels rather than atop a marine diesel engine. Hopefully the work of the Friends of Cromford Canal will result in a complete restoration in due course, with navigation possible all the way to Cromford Wharf. The journey high up along the side of the Derwent valley is spectacular and could rival the Vale of Llangollen, minus the Poncycellete of course! The linking Erewash Canal isn't currently one of my favourites, with only it's last mile hinting at the boating possibilities which could one day lie beyond the 16 disused locks above Langley Mill.

A lack of time and energy prevented further exploration but, having sampled the first four miles, that means that there are another 12 miles left, plus the Pixton Arm which justifies at least three more visits. As if I need an excuse to poke around a waterway! 

Update 6.1.10: THree more visits, what a joke! I havenow been back on four more occasions and have only just reached PInxton. Ironville to Langley Mills remains unexplored.