Blue Flag 109

BLUE FLAG BLUE FLAG THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION BF114 OCTOBER 2015

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 1

THAMES CRAFT DRY DOCKING SERVICES LTD Bay Wharf, 231 Tunnel Avenue, London, SE10 0QE 40 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

BLUE FLAG EDITOR: Paul Goldsack, De Brave Hendrik, Twinney Wharf, Susans Lane, Upchurch ME9 7HA; editor@barges.org; +44 (0)1634 234443 ADVERTISING SALES: Sandra Salmonese sandy@barges.org; 01206 382836 MEMBERSHIP MATTERS: +44 (0) 303 666 0636; membership@barges.org BOOKSHOP: Val Goldsack: +44 (0)1634 234443; bookshop@barges.org GENERAL ENQUIRIES ON DBA MATTERS Tel: +44 (0) 303 666 0636 Email: info@barges.org DBA - The Barge Association, 'Cormorant', Spade Oak Reach, Cookham, MAIDENHEAD, SL6 9RQ, UK

DBA BOARD MEMBERS Andy Soper - Chairman +44 (0)7940598364 andy.soper@barges.org

IN THIS ISSUE DBA fights ‘Floating Homes plan

7

Facelift for Queenborough

8

Canals: making of nation

9

Barge handling: mooring up

10

Friesland: a place “to stay forever”

14

The metamorphosis of ‘Anna Maria’

18

Ship’s clock: a must have?

23

Cruising to Bordeaux

25

Lament for the keel

30

Guy Toye - Vice Chairman +33 (0)616314387 guy.toye@barges.org David Harle - Treasurer +44 (0)7712830456 treasurer@barges.org John Best +44 (0)7770778248 john.best@barges.org Mike Gibbons +44 (0)788523943 mike.gibbons@barges.org

COVER PICTURE: Shell V (Fritz and Nell van Geijenbeek) in the lee of the wooded hills lining the river Garonne - photographed by Stuart Barry (see his article ‘Cruising to Bordeaux’ on page 25)

Pete Milne +44 (0)7767251588 pete.milne@barges.org Tony Richardson tony.richardson@barges.org Barry Singleton - Commercial Mgr +44 (0) 07795 345 814 barry.singleton@barges.org Di Warner +44 (0) 7961552807 di.warner@barges.org

REGULARS:

FROM THE CHAIR KLIPPERINGS THE BILL COOPER COLUMN NEW MEMBERS BARGES FOR SALE

page 3 pages 4-10 page 4 page 6 pages 11-13

Opinions expressed in Blue Flag are not necessarily those of the editor or of the DBA board and directors. The editor and the publishers accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or consequences ensuing from any information given or advertisements in this publication. The editor reserves the right to decline publication of any contribution or to edit and condense text. Authors who wish to see the final proof of their article before publication must say so when submitting the article but that publication in the next issue cannot then be guaranteed.

Contributors’ Copyrights Reserved. ©

2 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

ty n at

FROM THE CHAIR

I

am writing this as we leave the Netherlands on our way to our winter mooring in Veurne, Belgium. We have really enjoyed the last year in this very watery and friendly country and leave with regret; but it is time for a change! Caroline writes more about our Friesland experiences later in this issue so enough from me.

John and Catherine Best organised an exceptionally good rally on the Thames at Bisham in August and our thanks to them and all of their helpers for such a successful event. A report and pictures will be publishedin the Dcember issue.

Charles Fitzhardinge’s article on the changes they have made to de Vrouwe Anna Maria makes very interesting reading. What leapt out at me was the fitting, by a reputable boatyard, of an expensive Blokland heat exchanger to the generator. The pipework was wrong, the heat exchanger ineffective, and the raw water cooling apparently left connected. I have heard from the owner of a newly acquired Dunkirk Little Ship that his ship failed the Boat Safety Scheme on 15 different points despite assurances from the UK shipyard that they knew what to do to prepare the ship for inspection.

Our ships are complex and individual and we do need a lot of expertise to maintain or modify them. This is where our friends the marine surveyors come into their own. They have a wealth of expertise, especially those who are members of our club, and I urge you to consider employing them when making a purchase or significant changes to your ship.

When we found Neeltje we had her surveyed, used the same surveyor to oversee the refurbishment of the machinery and systems and

he came with us on that first channel crossing! I am a marine engineer by trade but I knew that I was working outside my speciality (warships) when we found Neeltje and there is the rose-tinted spectacle issue that arises when you have found your ideal boat which encourages you to ignore or play down any deficiencies. A detailed survey report soon brings you down to earth and employing a marine surveyor is always a good investment.

I do hope that all of you have been able to enjoy some boating this summer. It has been great to meet many of you afloat in the Netherlands - we shall now see how many members we can find in Belgium!

With Best Wishes

Andy Soper Chairman

STOP PRESS The ‘Friends of Faversham Creek’ have done it!

They’ve raised £125,000 to save the swing brige on Faversham Creek in Kent (see BF113 p 8).

The final payment towards paying for a new swing bridge has been made into the KCC Swing Bridge Fund, bringing the total to £125,000. A new swing bridge will replace the current broken opening bridge and help revive the near-defunct basin above the bridge.

The money was raised with the help of DBA which made a donation of £1000.

CLOSING DATE FOR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING IN THE NEXT BLUE FLAG:

NOV 10 2015

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KLIPPERINGS THE BILL COOPER COLUMN

D is for Derrick, and Davit.

(Please pronounce that as ‘DAY-vit’) In ‘Hosanna’ we never used our dinghy in canals. We did use it a lot when sea-cruising and occasionally when on the Danube; but never on the French and Belgian canals. There, it just got in the way. We hung it in davits from the side of the poop and turned the whole assembly inboard. It became a dumping ground for fenders, odd bits of rope and our “panic bag”, which also was never used.

A derrick of sorts is now becoming more common on barges. Perhaps I should really use the word crane, for hydraulic cranes are now it were a registered French car. To achieve that, we available from most truck-breaking yards and many barges use them for hoisting in and out a motor-car. would have to take it to the Prefect with a (French) certificate of roadworthiness and several other silly, We did carry a car twice, which we hoisted in and out by derrick, with the fall sent to the winding drum expensive, and time-consuming requirements, not excluding the “nom de votre mere,” without which on the anchor winch. We had a FIAT 600 which one can do nothing in France. I went to see the we bought Prefect. I thought that logic would work. But this cheap off a was France. Logic does not work!

Dutchman, The Prefect looked at the scrap-dealer and they a rare event. both looked at me. Nothing was said and the It served us Prefect left the room. An indication that a creative well, having solution might be possible. a well-used “Eh, bien,” said the junk man, “Il faut perdre la voilook that did ture dans le marais.” Lose it in the marshes. “Down not attract ‘Hosanna’ : onboard car there someone will find it some day. They will call thieves when the police, who will ask me to recover it, and the left on quaysides. We used it when wintering in State will pay for the service.”

Rome, driving it back and forth to England without “Et moi?” I asked. any trouble. Its Dutch plates had letters and num“Va-t-en.” In other words Piss off, and leave it to bers that fitted English registration and we drove me. around England with no problems. I welded a large France may be a bureaucracy but they have exeye-bolt on the roof exactly over the centre of gravity when unladen and we could easily hook her on to cellent ways of circumventing unfortunate events, while at the same time extracting money from the derrick. We were once stopped by a policeman, somewhere. DON’T ASK. but he was interested in the large eyebolt on the roof, and not in our car documents, which we always kept in perfect order, very important as it saves a lot of trouble.

This car lasted several years until vandals pushed it off the high quay at Arles. Never leave identifying documents etc in your car. We played innocent, sailing past the recovery crew as they hoisted it out of the river, relieved no doubt to find it empty of bodies.

The next car was a Mini, which we took down the Danube to Turkey. We landed it twice en route. It travelled with us back to France, where it was evidently turning into a pile of red rust so we took it to the junkyard. After a couple of days the junkyard man apolo- ‘Hosanna’ at the top of the Arzviller inclined plane (The Saint-Louis-Arzviller inclined plane is part of the Marne-Rhine Canal) gised because he could only accept it if

4 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

I happened to be chatting by email with Charles Fitzhardinge about some of the excellent articles he has been writing for BF (see page 18 this issue for just one example). He mentioned, more or less in passing, that his injured elbowhad been a bit of problem over the past few weeks.

‘Elbow?’ I wrote back, “what was the problem?’ This is his response, which provides a reassuring reflection on concerns some of us may have regarding receiving medical treatment abroad.

Ooh-ow-ouch! and great medical help in Holland

T

he elbow is a story in itself! How did I break it?

Before we arrived in Northern climes at Workumer Jachthaven (our last winter mooring) Anna Maria was moved out onto the canal side to make room in the basin for the flock of smaller inhabitants (which winter on-shore). Alongside us was an old timber dinghy-launching ramp, sloping gently towards the canal and surfaced with those dreadful grooved planks of treated pine which we so often see on jetties and other walkways. The grooves of course run along the planks rather than across, so if as here the planks are laid sloping down the slope, they add nothing to safety.

Late one mid-May morning I was walking across the planked area in light rain, not a care in the world, when suddenThe dreaded ramp ly my feet shot downslope, and I fell heavily upslope, landing abruptly on my right wrist then elbow.

First problem – how to get upright – everyone sensible was inside due to the rain so no-one saw my fall! My right arm seemed useless (but there was no pain yet). It seemed like it took at least a couple of minutes for me to roll over onto my left side where I could push myself upright and retire to the boat.

I finished lying feet towards Anna Maria, right arm beneath me and face into the grassy slope.

In hindsight there must have been something oily on the wet plank surface – I suspect duck shit!

letters to the editor

Immediate medical help Never in my 74 years having broken any bones I asked Judy, a vet, (Charles’s partner) what a broken arm felt like – answer. She didn’t know – she also had never broken anything. After lying down on the saloon couch for a bit, arm now in a sling from our First Aid kit, I found the arm complained if I tried to rotate (twist) it – it hurt and I could feel something “clicking” near my right elbow – seemed to be a good idea to seek help, and being by now Saturday midday we felt we needed help to get help!

Before ringing the Euro-emergency line 112 I tried ringing one of the two brothers who own the Marina – I was in luck and in a minute one of them, Jelle, was there with his 4WD and we were off on the 20km drive to Antonius Hospital in Sneek.

from the operation to my room for the night – a ward with three others and its own toilet/bathroom. No brain-scrambled anaesthetic sozzled awakening in the recovery room!

Next day, more Xrays, a visit from the surgeon and then off back to Anna Maria. This was a new experience -learning to shower on board with my arm hanging above me in a plastic bag, training my left arm to take over, and with instructions apropos not to do anything which hurt the right arm!

After that regular weekly, then two-weekly, then monthly visits to the Xray and then the Surgeon and “Gypsmeester” (plasterer); during this period I

Waiting for the Doctor.

Hope I don’t have to wait as long as Yorrick!

Forbidden pleasures – in a cast and working on our new cockpit roof frame (of which, more in the next issue of BF)!

We arrived in Emergency. After a little wait I was seen by a nurse, taken to an adjacent room for Xrays, then seen by a young doctor who identified a complex break of the distal (elbow) end of my humerus (NOT humourous!)

I was given a crisp cast and a new sling, and sent off with some pain killers in case of need, and an appointment with the hospital orthopaedic surgeon for the following week.

Hospital treatment The treatment I received was first class, and the surroundings clean, cheerful and comfortable. Very good and efficient attention, and being Holland English was spoken by almost all the hospital staff.

The three hour operation was done a week later without general anaesthetic.

The medical team and the subject arm was hidden from me by a screen but I could hear their conversation (but not understand as they spoke in Dutch). I could hear drilling into my bones and at one stage see my shoulder pushing into the screen as the doctors manipulated my joint. Apart from my interest in the proceedings the big plus was that I was wheeled immediately from the

did lots of work on Anna Maria (finishing what we had started before the accident). I do not think the surgeon would have liked to watch.

Finally after two full months I was out of plaster and clear to set off in Anna Maria, with instructions not to bend my damaged elbow more sharply than 90°, and again, to do as much as I could, pushing limits, but only up to the point at which any pain ensued.

Costs/insurance We had travel insurance covering us for six months absence from Australia, so notified the company immediately.

The Australian insurer’s hub proved to be in KL (Malaysia) and immediately after each appointment we received a call from them to ask how we were, did we need help rebooking our travel or changing hotel bookings? The Surgeon also received a call from the insurer after each appointment asking for a written report!

Bilateral Treaty The most useful information we reCONTINUED - and other letters

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KLIPPERINGS ceived from the insurer was mention that Australia and the Netherlands have a bilateral treaty whereby the citizens of each are covered by the National Health systems of the other (also the case in Belgium, UK, most of Scandinavia, and a number of other countries.

We followed that up, completed some forms for the Dutch system, and now have coverage under the treaty; we pay the expenses and are then reimbursed by a nominated Dutch insurer - in practice we have yet to receive any account from anyone!

Overall The medical assistance I received in a small hospital in a small city in the far north of Holland was at least as good as I could have expected at home, and the constant and friendly attention from staff probably better!

Epilogue Driving and servicing Anna Maria proved not difficult although my enfeebled right arm tired easily. Lock work was more difficult especially on some of the bigger and more boisterous locks of the Dortmund-Ems and Mittelland kanals. I could not throw ropes painlessly with my right arm or accurately with my left. We took to Judy roping the bow (as she does usually) and tying off, with me keeping the stern against the lock side with motor and rudder until Judy had tied off the stern as well. I could manage the stern from then even in the deep “hooked” locks.

After a month of voyaging we moored in Potsdam where we hired a car and drove back to Sneek Hospital for my final check-up – “All is well, I am done with you” were Dr de Kramer’s parting words. Thanks doc!

CHARLES FITZHARDINGE

DROWNING!

In case you haven’t read the article ‘Drowning doesn’t look like Drowning’ in BF113 (p 10) perhaps you should.

Lots of readers have been in touch with BF HQ to say how impressed they were with its contents. Here’s two extract examples of the sort of thing they wrote: ust read that interesting article on drowning in last Blue Flag issue, what an eye opener.

J I

CAYA EDWARDS

found the article on drowning very interesting & informative.

ALAN KERR

LEARNING BARGING

My wife and I are looking towards purchasing a barge in the near future. As part of our information-gathering process, we came across the advertisement in BF112 from Roger and Alison Brown on board Iron Lady After a brief email exchange, we booked a three day visit with them north of Paris in the town of Pontoise. Our expectations were varied, hoping to gain some understanding of barge life, boat operations, navigation, legal considerations and the like. We were greeted with a professional air and a well organized plan of events to address the long list of questions I had emailed to Roger prior to our arrival.

The days were packed with short oneon-one seminars, including a day trip up the river to L’Isle-Adam and Auvers.

While the information flow could be a bit overwhelming at times, Roger’s informative guide and calm manner help us absorb what we needed to know efficiently. We were feted by Alison every day to a wonderful breakfast and lunch of fresh delights, well timed to keep the information overload at bay. Their barge became our home for those few days, and we left (sadly, as all vacations must end) feeling more as friends than guests. If you are seeking information about barging in Europe, or just want to enjoy an over-the-top B+B experience, we think you need look no further. Go to their website: bargeironlady.com, you will be in for a wonderful experience.

HUGH BERNARD JULIE SURRATT

Incidentally, Roger and Alison Brown also wrote to BF: “I have been meaning to write to you ever since our article “Prague to Paris” came out in the August edition of the Blue Flag just to say how impressed we were with the layout and also what you did with the photos - absolutely superb - well done and thanks.

Cheers for now.”

Welcome to these recently joined new members In UK Nik Alexander David Appleyard Stephen Bernhard Andrew Chmielewski Serge Corti Trish Edwards Nicholas Farnhill Dinah Fell Barney Fisher John Hammersley Gavin Harding Benjamin Heath Keith Howden Deborah & Michael Hoyle Catherine Lieben Iolo Lavender Frank & Susan Little Timothy Maryon David Miller Scott Mills Rosie Platts Andrew Phillips Kenneth Ross Cherelyn Sell Mark Simmons

6 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

David & Angela Steel Heather & Mark Thompson Eddie Tottle Neil Wailing Alan Wilde Howard Wilson And abroad Brian Barrett, Australia David Coyte, New Zealand Scott Curry-Sumner,

Netherlands Andrew Greenshields, USA William Goodridge, USA Ian Grose, Australia Simon Jones, Australia John Kennedy, Ireland Dean Lovell, New Zealand Ian Milroy, Italy Graham O’Donnell, Ireland Michael Ogier, USA Keith Schoendoerfer & Linda Lansky, USA Graham Thow,

New Zealand Dick Tuschick, USA

KLIPPERINGS

New eBook: avoiding VAT claims

Buying or sellin ga boat and all at sea?

A guide to UK

VAT rules (J

By Ann L Hu mphrey Solicitor & Tax Specialist

une 2015)

w: ann@annlh

umphrey.com

e: ann@annlh

umphrey.com

‘Buying or selling a boat and all at sea?’ is an eBook that has been produced to help boat owners and buyers understand when VAT is applicable to the sale of a boat. It has been written by Ann Humphrey, a solicitor specialising in VAT. “HMRC’s guidance on VAT and ‘qualifying ships’ is not as helpful as it could be and can sometimes differ from the law,” comments Ann, “leading to considerable confusion and many boat owners and buyers do not understand when VAT is due and when it isn’t.

‘Buying or selling a boat and all at sea?’ has been compiled to answer key questions relating to VAT and boats, providing instructions and information such as: • When VAT applies and when it doesn’t * Definition of a ‘qualifying ship’ • Advantages of zero-rating for a qualifying ship • Detailed guidance on how to calculate gross tonnage • Comprehensive list of frequently asked questions in this area ‘Buying or selling a boat and all at sea?’ costs £35 and all the proceeds from the sale of the eBook will go to My Place, a Hong Kong based charity which helps to transform the lives of the most disadvantaged and at-risk children in various parts of Asia. The eBook can be ordered from: http://bit.ly/VATQShips [In actual fact you can get comprehensive information on barge buying/ selling VAT issues from the DBA website: go to www.barges.org and click on KnowledgeBase,then UK VAT on Barges - ed]

DBA FIGHTS ‘FLOATING HOMES’ PLANS ON THE THAMES

The DBA has lodged a strong objection to proposals for redevelopment of moorings at The Willows Riverside Park (Berkshire) on the River Thames which proposes replacing boats with ‘floating homes.’

On behalf of the Association, Chairman Andy Soper objects on the grounds that the proposals will damage “amenity, safety and river character”: Specifically: “Loss of Amenity – the number of approved residential moorings on the Thames is already critically inadequate.

“Out of Character – The Willows with its eclectic community of barges, cruisers and narrowboats, linking with the park home site residents, has been part of the Thames way of life and a very appropriate river scene. The proposed row of pontoon houseboats will look like a row of floating boxes and take away all character from this reach.

“Maintenance – The proposal is for steel pontoons which will need regular slipping or dry-docking for inspection and preservation of the pontoon.The completed size of the proposed craft will not be able to go under Windsor Bridge and there are no facilities capable of taking these craft upstream. When completed they will be too large to crane out easily for maintenance on site and there is no provision for this in the plan.

Most new construction houseboats are built on concrete pontoons to reduce the

maintenance requirement.

“Flood Risk – The assessment discounts the floods since 2000 and has not even reported the flood events of July 2007 or the winter of 2013/14. 2007 is notable in that flooding of the Thames is not confined to winter months as climate change has affected the volatility of the river.

“Our barge was moored at The Willows during the 2003 event when flood-water, at peak, flooded the Park Home site and some residents had to be evacuated.

Life on board was noisy, an exceptional amount of debris comes down with the stream, but with two anchors down in addition to normal mooring ropes, life continued as normal. As boats have generators, battery back-up supplies, water tanks, ample fuel tanks and on board gas bottles there are a number of alternatives if shore supplies are severed. The proposed house-boats will not be habitable in flood conditions.

“The current planning consent, with thoughtful foresightedness, specifies that ‘the consent shall apply only to the mooring of traditional boats or houseboats being capable of navigation by an independent integral means of propul-

sion’. This could be particularly important in flood conditions as it does ensure that the moored craft could move to another place of safety upstream eg Windsor or Bray marinas or Bray lock tail if the moorings are overwhelmed. The proposal is for pile moorings but these can be over-topped or fail at the weak point – the link between pile and pontoon – and then a domino effect could result in others being cast adrift as well.

“The vessel shape is also significant – boats have a pointed bow section and usually moor facing upstream to face the flow. The proposed house-boats will have a significantly larger and rectangular cross-section facing the flood stream with hugely increased pressures on their moorings.

“I have seen many pontoon house-boat sites in my travels on the inland waterways of Europe. Almost without exception they are on canals, with no flow, or on river back-waters where there is a rise and fall but again little flow. The Willows site is on the outside of the bend in a narrowing section of the reach and thus has a very fast flow in flood conditions.

“I urge the rejection of this scheme and return of the moorings to residential use for powered traditional craft on the grounds of amenity, safety and river character.”

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KLIPPERINGS

FACELIFT FOR QUEENBOROUGH Locals say the streets of Queenborough on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent offer visitors a picturesque whisp of the past. I’m not sure about that but one thing I can guarantee: Queenborough has always been a grand place for barges to overnight, especially those CHARTLET 1: Not to be used for navigation taking a break on passage from or to the Thames and the Continent and Ramsgate. Now, following a hugely expensive refurbishment, it’s a better stop-over than ever.

 (+44)1795 662 051  www.queenborough-harbour.co.uk  info@queenborough-harbour.co.uk

Turnstile gates next to the sea wall help keep boats secure from unwanted visitors.

The new all-tide-landing walkway

• The previous and somewhat titchy hammer head has been extended by a 60m pontoon (from the old Gosport Ferry Terminal) which is now the site of a new harbour office and lock up; • The old metal-grid all-tide-landing walkway linking the hammerhead with the shore has been replaced/ re-

fubished with a much posher affair; • The hammerhead is divided into two parts: one for quick stay of 20mins for picking up provisions and people, the other half for for raft-mooring up to four boats; • the old concrete barge - on the opposite side of the channel to the hammer-

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Harbour Masters, South Street, Queenborough, Isle of Sheppey, ME11 5AF United Kingdom

head - which has always been favoured by visiting barges is still available for mooring alongside and rafting up • There are also fore and aft moorings for boats up to 60ft or more, and visitors buoys and swing mooring.

• There is a free trot boat/water taxi (VHF08 Sheppey one) to and from the hammerhead • free tokens for the trot boat, the all-tide landing, and access through a security turnstile at the sea wall end of the walkway are included in the price of a visitor mooring • water and wifi is available • If reading is your thing then the pontoon Harbour Master’s office houses a large number of books available for FREE, on condition is that you exchange one of your books when you borrow one of theirs; each book has a ticket to record your vessel name, port of origin and date.

PAUL GOLDSACK

Free tokens are available from the trot boat

KLIPPERINGS

INLAND WATERWAYS ON THE BOX

Canals: making of a nation

Following the runaway success of BBC4’s ‘Canal Trip’ earlier this year (two enchanting hours of nothing but a single canal journey watched by half a million viewers - no commentary, music or presenter and nothing more exciting than passing boats, changing scenery and the occasional passer-by in the distance walking along the towpath) TV producers have gone seemingly dotty about anything to do with Britain’s Canals, culminating in another BBC4 production, ‘Canals: the making of a nation’ transmitted in August.

Presented - at times tediously,” observes BF editor Paul Goldsack - by Liz McIvor, curator of social history and technology at the Bradford Museums and Galleries, and a canal expert, the programme took us through the construction of the Leeds-Liverpool canal linking the industrial powerhouses of Yorkshire and Lancashire and sparking the Industrial Revolution.

CANAL MANIA Canal mania’ was a boom period of frenzied activity that helped develop Britain’s modern financial economy. New canals were expensive and demanded large amounts of upfront investment.

THE NAVVIES The men who built our canals - the navigators or ‘navvies’ - were an ‘army’ of hard physical men who were capable of enduring tough labour for long hours. Many roved the countryside looking for work and a better deal.

They gained a reputation as troublesome outsiders, fond of drinking and living a life of ungodly debauchery. But who were they? Unreliable heathens and outcasts, or unsung heroes who used might and muscle to build canals and railways?

THE ENGINEERS The early canal builders struggled with the rugged terrain of England’s Pennine hills. Creating a network of canals in this landscape was an uphill challenge - sometimes literally! But connecting the powerhouses of Yorkshire and Lancashire was a great prize at the time of the industrial revolution.

What should the engineers do? Should they build over, under or around the hills?

Civil engineering flourished in the era of canals; civil engineers had a strong motivation to ‘make things work’ at all odds. The hills of the Pennines were a 2000ft high problem, and the hives of industry in Yorkshire and Lancashire needed to be connected – but how?

Two different engineering solutions presented themselves. Benjamin Outram’s plan was on the face of it rather simple: build a tunnel. He was consulting engineer for the pioneering Standedge tunnel on the Huddersfield narrow canal – at over 5km long and 200m above sea level, it’s still the both the longest and highest canal tunnel in the UK, and one of the so-called seven wonders of the waterways. Given the technology and understanding at that time, it was an extraordinary undertaking, with plenty of challenges along the way. The dig started from both sides of the hill, so getting the two tunnels to meet in the middle was an achievement in itself. Boats had to be powered by workers’ legs, walking along the tunnel walls, to get through the 5km stretch.

Issues with money, excess water drainage, and losing their chief engineer, Outram, who left before construction was complete, threatened to derail the project. Thomas Telford, another visionary engineer, stepped in to finish the job however and the tunnel was a success.

Today, the Leeds-Liverpool canal cuts through the Pennines, with locks, embankments and cuts. It was the first trans-Pennine route to be started, the last to be completed, taking 46 years to build the 127 miles and 91 locks becoming a vital link for industry.

CRAB CATCHER

I took some pics of an unusual and potentially useful statue today in Wormer (north of Amsterdam) and I thought you might find this boaty pic of some value. I have also attached a pic of Jenal for when and if you publish.

ALLAN ARNOLD

CLOSING DATE FOR EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING IN THE NEXT BLUE FLAG: NOV 10 2015

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 9

Mooring Up

KLIPPERINGS - BARGE HANDLING

OXO-ING TO A CLEAT

1

BF has been cruising the marinas again - this time to pick up some of the rights and wrongs about mooring up. The graphics and photographs by RORY HOPCROFT illustrate what we found out.

2

Using a cleat is simple.

1. Make sure you have a fair lead to the cleat by taking the rope under the horn of the cleat leading away from the load of the boat.

Then loop once round the base of the cleat (that’s the ‘O’ of th ‘OXO’).

2. Add a criss cross both ways (that’s the ‘X’ ) 3. Add a final loop round the base and it’s done. It’s enough to hold your boat without any need for more X-es and Os, but you may, if you feel complelled, add a half-hitch locking turn; BF was assured: “It’s highly unlikely that using a modern rope a locking turn on a correct sized cleat will jam.”

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BARGE MART

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BARGE MART

For Sale - OBSIDIENNE III A beautifully converted Dutch Tugboat (circa 1925) moored at Pont D'Ouche, Dijon, on the Burgundy canal.

Obsidienne is spacious, family friendly and comfortably sleeps six. A large wheelhouse/salon offers excellent all round visibility and will sleep 2. Also on the upper deck, there is ample rear deck space for seating and dining.

Being an old tug, she handles well and is very manoeuvrable. She has a forward bow thruster; GPS; Echosounder and SW Radio. Her large engine room and workshop house the Volvo Penta 6 cylinder 125Cv diesel engine (direct drive); Mitsubishi generator; Mastervolt electrical system with charger and 2.5kw converter.

Length 18.96 m, Beam 3.96 m Draft 0.9 m, Air-draft 3.26 m Hull sound tested and painted 2012 New batteries (main 2014, bow thruster 2015) UK Registered. SSR123738

The lower deck has a double cabin with en-suite (shower room and wc); a forward cabin with 2 single bunks and office space; separate wc; galley/dining area.

Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ Ÿ

There is plenty of storage and she is well equipped.

Included in the sale is an inflatable dinghy with new outboard.

For full details see www.obsidienne.info Tel:+44 (0)1246-590091, e-mail: tal@snorscomb.co.uk Guide price £100,000 or equivalent in Euros.

2007 Euroclassic Peniche XANADU for Sale.

14m x 60 x 4m x20 x OM70 Very comfortable and spacious live-aboard steel barge cruiser.

Ideal for long-term cruising throughout inland waterways of mainland Europe.

Viewable by appointment at Auxerre, France.

EUROS 195.000 Contact, Mike Gardner-Roberts on migr@orange.fr or 0033 (0) 632 645 708 Visit: www.aquarellefrance.fr

17x4.9x1.2m.

DAF 120 pk. asking € 299.00020.4x4.5x0.6 m.

DAF 120 pk. hydr. bowp. asking € 99.000-

sworn /certified shipbrokers 23.86 x 4.86 x 1.00 m DAF 120 pk. asking € 185.000- ex v.a.t.

l n . s r e k k fi . www

info@fikkers.nl 0031-50-3111404

12 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

CONFIANCE - 23m cruising barge is for sale.

Currently moored in Burgundy, France.

Ready to go - full details on our website. www.batteau-confiance.weebly.com Price Guide E149,500 Take advantage of the best exchange rate for years.

1911 GRONINGER TJALK - ‘OWLPEN’ - €100,000

Beautiful Dutch barge 20m x4.5m x 0.8m, sympathetically converted, fully equipped for sailing. DAF 575 110hp engine with turbo.

23m panelling. cruising barge is for sale. Currently moored in Burgundy Large, light saloon/galley/dining/chart table,CONFIANCEall in mahogany France, ready to go - full details on our website 2 double cabins,3urther berths in foc’sle. Toilet and shower rooms. www.batteau-confiance.weebly.com Dieel heating. Live aboard since 2001.

Price guide E149,500 Currently lying at St Leger sur Dheune, midway between StofJean de exchange rate for years.

Take advantage the best Losne and Roanne.

Tel: 0033 (0) 670 380 900 or email: owlpen77@yahoo.com

Built 1998 ‘Toggenberg’ £112,000 ono

At Newbury on the K&A canal winter 2015 HYPERLINK : “http://www.toggenberg.co.uk/”/ www.toggenberg.co.uk 01254 246177

FOR SALE - IN PARIS - NICE DUTCH BARGE. AUTHENTIC. 18.6 M X4.6 M HULL BUILT IN IRON

Nice conditions – Living room, Galley, One Bedroom, Shower and electric wc.

Full technical survey in 2012 is ok Main Engine Daf 105 HP, Diesel Electric Generator 220v AC and 24 V DC – Diesel Available and designed for Living on Board.

Mooring in Paris, in a private place on Seine River.

For more information and precisions, please look at http://www.archeverte.fr/#!a-vendre/cvil We are speaking and reading English and French Price - 133.000 £ (pounds) write us at archeverte@orange.fr Phone +33678575233

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 13

diverse... picturesque... friendly... downright q Friesland (frēzˈlənd\ Province (1994 pop. 607,000) of The Netherlands; c.1,325 sq mi (3,430 sq km. Leeuwarden is the capital. The province includes several of the West Frisian Islands along the North Sea coast and borders on the IJsselmeer in the southwest.

A principal dairying and cattle-raising region, Friesland has fertile land near the coast and sandy heath and fenland in the interior.

It is drained by numerous canals and small rivers and has many picturesque lakes. The Frisian, language, which differs considerably from Dutch, is still spoken by a sizeable part of the population.

Source: Wikipedia

14 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

FRIE

As Caroline and Andy S Friesland they realised h going to miss this d friendly and d province of th ‘We had been to F and 2014 but both t hurried and we were d more gentle pace this t much as p

‘To be totally h stay f

t quirky...

IESLAND F

y Soper were leaving d how much they were s diverse, picturesque, d downright quirky f the Netherlands. o Friesland in 2009/10 h those trips were rather e determined to take a s time and try and see as s possible.

y honest, I could y forever.’

riesland’s waterways are made for DBA boats: plenty of water, moorings always to be found, bridges and locks that work, and another photo opportunity around the next corner.

We have enjoyed the contrast between stopping in large towns such as Leeuwarden, Harlingen and Sneek, smaller ones like Dokkum, Lemmer, Workum, Bolsward, Woudsend and Akkrum and even smaller places – Buurdaard, Hindeloopen, Wartena and Sloten, not to mention the Frisian island of Schiermonnikoog.

The Marrekrite moorings [see ‘FREE MARREKRITE MOORINGS’ panel on next spread - ed] in the meers of Friesland

are a welcome respite, offering basic moorings – possibly a rubbish bin – and wonderful views and a chance to see some beautiful traditional sailing boats in action, not to mention being a dog walking heaven.

A very welcome Marrekrite service is offered by the vuilwaterboot and we were fortunate to come across them as our tanks were getting quite full.

Their boat looks deceptively small but they offloaded our 2800 litres, took a while - three mugs of coffee worth - and did not charge, but we gave them some beer money as a thank you.

While on the same mooring we had a visit from the ice cream boat which also had eel and

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 15

FREE MARREKRITE MOORINGS Perfect mooring sites, for three days - FREE - in the very best of Friesland’s natrual wonderland. That’s what is provided

by Marrekrite which oversees more than 3500 mooring sites on behalf of Friesland and the province’s 22 municipalities Marrekrite not only man-

ages and maintains these free moorings, but ensures the removal of recreational waste, maintains buoys and beacons for recreational navigation, and manages all manner of other recreational facilities on Frisian waters and along Frisian shores. And the cost to us, the user: just the price of a Marrekrite pennant:

herring for sale; we bought ice creams for us and ice lollies for the dogs but decided against the fish.

From our arrival at Stavoren to departure from Steenwijk we have been welcomed by the Frisian people who are intensely proud of their heritage and, despite reports to the contrary, have a great sense of humour.

We had an interesting exchange with the host of the hotel restaurant in Dokkum, who, on learning we were from the UK, gloated that we had done very badly in the last Eurovision con-

“By purchasing a pennant, the buyer makes a direct contribution to maintaining these free mooring sites in their natural surroundings in friesland’, BF was told by Lourens Touwen, director of de Marrekrite Here are some key statistics taken from the English language de Marrekrite web site - www.yachtcharterwetterwille.com/uploads/pdf/ MarrekritefolderUK.pdf: • approx. 3500 free mooring sites at over 285 locations • approx. 50 km of quay and sheet pile wall of which at

Hindeloopen harbour master’s garden ornaments.

least nine km of landing stage and five km of sheet pile wall are made of recycled plastic

test. We agreed and then asked how many points the Netherlands had got and he had to sheepishly confess they hadn’t even made it to the final. Hoots of laughter, followed by much reminiscing of past songs – he knew all the UK ones!

Shopping in the city one morning I came across a men’s choir setting up their stand in the square, ably supported by wives and friends.

I have to confess that our trip was punctuated by many memorable meals including the Whisky restaurant, Schots, in

The Elfstedentocht—Dutch for “Eleven Cities Tour”—is a 200-kilometre outdoor speed skating race over the frozen canals of Friesland.

The race was first held in 1909.

There’s no set schedule for the Elfstedentocht; it only happens when the ice is sufficiently thick— at least 15 centimeters in depth throughout. There hasn’t been an Elfstedentocht since 1997, when the race was won by a Brussels sprout farmer, who finished in 6 hours and 49 minutes. But every winter, the Dutch hope that the race might happen.

16 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

-

.

• 100 waste containers at 60 locations • 2650 km of cycling paths 

Stavoren, all three establishments in Woudsend, and in Lauwersoog - Het Booze Wijf (no, it does not mean that!) and the restaurant by the ferry.

We occasionally visited a place more than once but that was no problem. Deciding where to visit next was fun.

While we were at Bolsward – wonderful Stadhuis - we realised that we had visited many of the 11 cities of the Elfstedentocht [see panel bottom left - ed] so decided we would collect them all. This meant

cruising to Workum then going on a short trip on the Ijsselmeer to Hindeloopen, a place I had been wanting to visit since reading about it in Louise Busby’s Guide to the Netherlands.

The 20 minute trip was calm and we reached the harbour to find a tjalk on the only piece of wall that we would fit on. The Havenmeester, resplendent in frock coat with gold braid and a white cap, told us the tjalk was going very soon and to wait.

Two hours later we berthed.

Hindeloopen is a fascinating

ticked off all of the 11 towns; a bonus while visiting Sloten, the smallest city, was the annual flea market in the city. The one main street with the canal in the middle was full of stalls and where we were moored just out of town were vintage tractors and engines, an engineer’s delight.

I know that Friesland has a reputation of smelling strongly of cow poo and it is true that at times your nostrils are aware of this. However the ever present wind soon disperses this and

‘Neeltje’ at Burdaard

little city and reminded me of a model village. We came across residents in traditional dress and a wonderful old house that was once a merchant’s which was entirely decorated inside with tiles. The Elfstedentocht museum was like the Tardis and chock full of fascinating items. The only black spot was me dropping my mobile phone in the harbour, lost forever in the mud.

Next day we left for Workum and I was very grateful to arrive after quite a choppy trip; but it was well worthwhile.

Eventually we had

the sight of a field of Frisian cows and calves is ample compensation. The weather is also a bone of contention but it is very variable. We have had severe gales near the Lauwesmeer necessitating a prolonged stay on a Marrekrite mooring followed by searing heat a couple of days later on a visit to Schiermonnikoog, and everything in between.

Take your time in Friesland, no need to rush and you will be rewarded with a warm welcome and plenty of photo opportunities, and like us, maybe a chance to meet up with fellow DBA members.

CAROLINE SOPER

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 17

The metamorphosis of ‘

BF has invited six of our regular contributors to write articles on how they have improved their barge.

This is the first of those articles - part one of an in-depth

T

HE OPENING PARAGRAPH to Arthur Ransome’s 1923 “Racundra’s First Cruise”, writes CHARLES FITZHARDINGE, has guided our barging experience and our decision to cruise for as much of our old age as we can – viz: “Houses are but badly built boats so firmly aground that you cannot think of moving them. They are definitely inferior things, belonging to the vegetable not the animal world, incapable of gay transition. ... The desire to build a house is the tired wish of a man henceforth content with a single anchorage.

The desire to build a boat is the desire of youth, unwilling yet to accept the idea of a final resting place.”

Arthur Ransome went on to write the wonderful Swallows & Amazons books which led so many of us to sailing (or boating).

This is our story and that of De Vrouwe Anna Maria. It is neither a recipe nor a claim of superiority. Every barge owner is different (often two on one vessel) and every barge is different – there are no “RIGHTS” and only some “WRONGS” (and even those which are judged ‘wrongs’ will depend on the judge). By a mixture of care, life experience, a lot of luck, and not a little hard work, we have enjoyed our dream and our dream boat/home for the past eightgoing-on-for-nine years (and hope for many more!)

Like every house, every boat is a compromise – that, as Ratty would have said to Mole, is the beauty of it!

And so to the notion of a ‘perfect barge’. It doesn’t exist. What we have done on Anna Maria is just one way (not the only way) of making a barge a comfortable and practical home.

We blame the Sydney Olympic

Games. To escape the razzamatazz expected in our home town in 2000 we decided to visit Europe for three months and with friends to hire a boat on the Canal du Midi for two weeks. This proved to be a great introduction to boating on the European inland waterways. For us, the seed was sown and further nurtured a few years later when we hired a narrow boat on the Thames. These two early adventures taught us a few things: We would like to spend more time boating in Europe and felt we could enjoy this together without too many marital disruptions. It also showed neither a launch nor a narrowboat would suit us for long term cruising.

We would strongly advise anyone contemplating buying a barge to “hire before you buy”.

The thought lay dormant for a few years, until we had both retired and no longer had the care and responsibility of elderly parents. We came back to the idea of buying a barge and spending the European summers exploring Europe via the many canals and rivers.

We realised that no boat for sale would be perfect for us and we didn’t want to spend money buying a newly built or beautifully restored boat and then want to change it. We decided to look for an old Dutch barge in reasonable condition that we could renovate to suit our needs, rather than a newly built craft.

In 2007, with limited criteria relating chiefly to draft (air and water) and maximum beam, we started searching in the Netherlands and France. Anna Maria was the third (of 11) boats we inspected and knowing what we know now, we were lucky to choose her. We became legal owners of Anna Maria in late 2007. Since then we have had wonderful experiences boating in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany.

18 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

ANNA MARIA AS B

Anna Maria is a Boltjalk, built near Groningen in 1913 to carry peat (and later in her working life, potatoes). She was converted to a pleasure craft in the late 1960’s and from the early 70s was owned by one family from whom we bought her.

She is 22m long with a draft of 90cm and air draft of 3.05m (whittled down from 3.4m). What we didn’t realise when we chose Anna Maria was how important these measurements are.

Her dimensions have allowed us to cruise in waterways inaccessible to higher or deeper vessels (eg the Nivernais, or many of the delightful small waterways of Belgium and The Netherlands).

Our length meant we needed a suitable boating licence gained with the instruction and help of Tam and Di [see T & D Murrell’s ad on page 39 of this issue - ed] and would need a pilot for certain waterways.

In due course we were inducted into the mysteries of TRIWV* and AIS**. [*All ships over 20m in overall length or where the result of Length x Beam x Draught in metres exceeds 100 need

f ‘De Vrouwe Anna Maria’ account by CHARLES FITZHARDINGE outlining the purchase and subsequent improvements incorporated into Charles’s and Judith’s 22m barge De Vrouwe Anna Maria.

S BOUGHT IN 2007

a European Certificate - known as TRIWV, CBB and ES-TRIN - to cruise the waterways of mainland Europe; For the full TRIWV regulations and more information see the DBA website Knowledge Base. - ed] [**AIS - Automatic Identification System - is an automatic tracking system used on ships and by vessel traffic services (VTS) for identifying and locating vessels by electronically exchanging data with other nearby ships, AIS base stations, and satellites.

- ed] A smaller boat would have provided less living space. Being Australian, visiting family and friends tend to stay for much longer than a few days, so we wanted enough space for a comfortable guest cabin. The extra space and comfort of a vessel longer than 20m has more than compensated for any down-side.

We bought Anna Maria in Holland where we found prices were lower and choice wider than in France. The Dutch broker’s purchase contract was clear and fair and the Kadaster (title) gave us clear and legal proof of ownership of the vessel.

Anna Maria is an old (1913) boat. We felt most “teething problems” would have been largely addressed by previous owners and

we could evaluate her “as is” before purchase. For example Anna Maria’s handling is impeccable thanks in part to bilge keels fitted by the previous owner.

As she had not been recently modernised, we could make our changes without feeling we had already paid for them in the purchase. Being handy, we carried out most of our alterations ourselves, leaving only the most “technical” to be done by the marina where Anna Maria had lived for the past 20 years.

Anna Maria has decks wide enough for safe movement about the boat and for throwing ropes. The conversion to a pleasure craft provided three levels of roof, getting progressively higher from cabins, saloon, and finally wheelhouse. This allows the roof to provide easy and safe access to high-sided mooring walls or lock sides. Her low prow provides the helmsman with an excellent view forward – unlike many barge types where the view forward is obstructed possibly hiding small craft (or swimmers) at close quarters.

From a manoeuvring point of view, we wanted a vessel with an aft steering position, so we could see how our stern was positioned without always having to look

backwards.

In 2007, Anna Maria had four small cabins and could sleep 10 people, or more correctly six adults and four small people. She had a cramped bathroom with a shower and a toilet.

There were wash basins in three of the four cabins. She was fitted out mainly for short duration summertime cruising; there was no generator or heating, and limited water and fuel tanks. Cooking was by gas and the very tiny kitchen was in a corner of the saloon.

CONTINUED

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 19

The metamorphosis of ‘De Vrouwe Anna Maria’

OUR CHANGES

As we had intended, w These were carried out in W There were two subsequent p mid-2013 at Scheepsbouw & R in the course of a visit made fo Inevitably we ourselves ha changes are discussed below a

(Following the description of each imp WJH and SRF as above), and (3) the o haps could be improved, P=Poor – m

Profile view of ‘De Vrouwe Anna Maria’. Note the screen around the stern cockpit - the one in the inset picture (right) has now been re

OUT

IN

with the old...

with the new galley based on low cost Ikea units

Upgrading the accommodation In 2007 Anna Maria was reasonably comfortable and well maintained, but dated in certain respects (kitchen and bathroom) and she was not fitted out for the longer term “live-aboard” cruising we envisaged.

One cabin became a new larger bathroom with spacious shower and a washing machine. The two small front cabins were merged to make a comfortable “Master Cabin”. This reduced our accommodation to 4 adults (sleeping very comfortably) with another 2

adults able to sleep in the saloon.

The kitchen was rebuilt to incorporate the former bathroom area and designed around modular Ikea drawer and cupboard units. We removed all gas appliances and went all-electric, using induction table-top-hotplates (which tuck away in a cupboard when not in use, relieving bench space for preparation etc), combined oven/ microwave, rice-cooker/slow cooker and a domestic refrigerator/freezer. The white goods appliances were bought from the local electric store in Sneek [the water

20 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

sport capital of Friesland - ed]. The appliances, all 230V with European plugs, are common-or-garden domestic appliances – energy efficient and competitively priced. All have been trouble free for the past seven years.

The washing machine is an Electrolux Intuition 7kg “Eco Valve” model and was chosen on the base of height (it had to fit beneath our side deck so it would not protrude too far into the bathroom) and price. We were able to download a manual in English from the internet.

The refrigerator (c. 170L) with freezer beneath (c. 100L) is a Zanussi Spazio (a brand previously unknown to us). This was chosen on the basis of price and its adequate but convenient size – most of the “family” models were enormous with power consuming frivolities such as door mounted ice-makers.

Washing Machine is located in the bathroom, refrigerator in hall alcove, and microwave+oven combi above refrigerator.

The Galley work area is on the port forward corner of saloon, basically comprising corner cupboard with appliances and utensils;Induction cookers, Tefal, woks, griddle, saucepans etc are brought up to work area only as needed, leaving enough

d, we made a number of changes to ‘Anna Maria’ immediately after we bought her. n Workum (NL), partly by ourselves and partly by the Workumer Jachthaven (WJH). nt periods in which significant changes or improvements have been made – one in & Reparatie Friesland in Harlingen (SRF) [SEE AD THIS ISSUE - ed]) e for survey (for insurance and TRIWV certification) and one in early 2015. s have progressively made other small improvements.Some of our more significant ow and comments made on the outcomes.

improvement we (1) indicate the year of the action, (2) who carried out the work (Us=ourselves, he outcome (E=Excellent – we are completely happy, G=Good – we are satisfied, N=Neutral – per– more work needed to improve)

en replaced with a new one as in the main profile, left.

i

preparation space.

The two table-top induction cookers we use were bought in 2008 in Singapore – Philips HD4918 – cost about €130 each (we have two, mostly use one but sometimes both together).

No problems to date – these are our most used cooking appliances. We had to ditch a couple of saucepans and a frying pan which were not induction compatible – easily replaced.

The Tefal “8-in-one” was bought from Amazon for under €90 in 2012 to replace a very old rice cooker – the Tefal cooks rice and other grains, steams fish and/or vegetables, boils potatoes and also does “slow cooking”-great for casseroles etc.

The new equipment has proven economic, highly practical and works very well for us. Our modest electrical system (4kW Victron Quattro, 14.4kWh battery bank and 4kW generator) handles the demands easily (with some management to avoid running all high current items simultaneously).

We reused as much of the existing timbers as possible, retaining their character and patina.

Comments - “building”work 2008 (to date) by Us, Outcome E

IMPROVING SERVICES: FIRST - INSTALL GENERATOR In 2007 Anna Maria had no generator.

The electrical system was 24V and there was fairly basic provision for 230V shore power (water heating and 2 small bar refrigerators which could also run from gas or 230V).

In 2008 we had a Fisher Panda 4000i generator fitted.

Comments – The Fischer Panda has proven an excellent and reliable generator. As installed it was fitted with wet exhaust making it extremely quiet. Installed by WJH in 2008, outcome N (see below).

The Fischer Panda 4000i (now superceded) is an excellent (but not cheap) German built 4kW generator set, powered with a Japanese Kabota 300N diesel. We accepted WJH’s recommendation of this on the basis of its quietness, which in its original form was impressive. We learned the hard way how lucky

we had been that Anna Maria’s DAF drive engine was keel cooled – in weedy canals we have never had a hint of a problem with the DAF but stoppages of the Fischer Panda due to blockages of the raw (river or canal) water cooling system for its engine were frequent. Hence our 2013 decision to convert the generator to a sealed (“keel cooled”) system.

The Fischer Panda had one failing – in the relatively clean waters of Netherlands and Germany there was little issue, but in the often weedy or grass-clipping prone waters of France we suffered frequent sudden shutdowns due to blockage of the raw-water filtration. This commonly resulted in failure of the impeller of the Jabsco raw water pump. Despite carrying a stock of spare impellers CONTINUED

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 21

HOUSEHOLD ELECTRICITY

MANAGEMENT & STORAGE

WJH installed a Victron Quattro power management system and a battery bank of six 12Vx200Ah AGM batteries in series giving a nominal power capacity of 600Ah at 24V (14.4kWh). Approximately 50% of this stored energy is available – we generally run our batteries down to between 40% and 60% State of Charge before recharging. We are still using these batteries seven years down the track – recharging seems a little more frequent now than originally but is not yet a concern.

Comments – Installed Jan. 2008 by WJH – outcome E.

HEATING

HOT WATER SYSTEM AND CENTRAL HEATING

We had a Kabola HR400B diesel fired boiler system installed to supply hot water and the three water-heated radiators installed at the same time.

Comments – This system continues

to serve us well, both for our normal April-October season and for the 2 winters we spent on board in Paris Arsenal.

Installed Jan. 2008 by WJH, outcome E.

WATER

When purchased Anna Maria carried only 700L of water. We brought this up to 1400L using Vetus plastic tanks which fitted under our portside deck [for information about water and fuel tanks visit the association web page, click on KnowledgeBase, then Internal, then Water and Fuel Tanks - ed].

Comments – 2008, Installed WJH, outcome E.

MECHANICAL

ENGINE AND GEARBOX

Anna Maria came with a DAF615M marine diesel engine [for comprehensive information about DAF diesel engines visit the association web page, click on KnowledgeBase, then Mechanical,then DAF Engines - ed] fitted new in 1976 (replacing a smaller older DAF). Over the following 30 years this had only 2700 hours duty – we have added as much again in 7 years. The propeller is

PROPELLER

Anna Maria was fitted with a 3 bladed propeller which seemed rather inadequate – our top speed was about 8-9km/ h and cruising speed 5-6 km/h.

We replaced this with a new professionally designed larger diameter 4 bladed propeller.

Comments – This has revolutionised our experience! Our top speed is now almost 13km/h and we cruise at 8-10 km/h. Surprisingly our fuel consumption (L/hr) is unchanged and our km/L has thus increased accordingly. 2013 by SRF, outcome E.

STEERING

GENERATOR CONTINUED (From bad to worse to sorted (to offset poor availability in France) we found this a b…y nuisance, so when Anna Maria was out of the water for survey in 2013 we replaced the raw-water cooling with a closed system (Blokland “keel cooling” box). This required fitting a dry exhaust.

Comments – The converted generator proved very noisy and worse, regularly overheated. 2013 by SRF, outcome P. Things had gone from bad to worse.

Inexplicably we still had unexpected shutdowns and failures of the dreaded Jabsco impellers while the exhaust outlet acted like a megaphone! We could not run our generator in a town, village or quiet mooring area and usually only ran it whilst under way (making the noise nuisance marginally less annoying and allowing the system to run marginally cooler).

We had no opportunity to deal until this spring, 2015.

Our investigations showed the gener-

driven via a Velvet gearbox giving 1.9:1 reduction. The engine is keel-cooled via 2 external pipes running along the aft 1/3 of her port side.

Comments - The motor continues to be foolproof. The external cooling must be considered when lifting her from the water. Anna Maria weighs 43 tonnes.

Fluid leakage from the Velvet has always been a concern to us and has now increased to about 0.2L per running day.

I collect this oil in a drip tray, filter it (coffee filter) and reuse it, replacing with new oil at the start of each year – so far so good …

ator coolant circulation had not been connectedproperly.

Unbelievably they had merely connected Blokland box to the original heat exchanger, leaving the engine cooling circuit unchanged. This meant the water circulating in the Blokland was warm (heated by the heat exchanger) not hot (from the motor) so the cooling box could make little difference!

We removed the heat exchanger and connected the engine cooling circuit directly to the Blokland, with immediate results. Meanwhile WJH fitted a high frequency muffler in series with the original and redirected the exhaust upwards.

Comments - 2015 by us (cooling) and WJH (muffler). Outcome Cooling-E (immune to water quality), Noise G – noisier than the original wet exhaust but not offensive even close-up.

22 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

At some time the previous owners added bilge keels to Anna Maria.

Comments – Tjalks are reputed to be difficult to handle precisely, but Anna Maria has exemplary character.

The chain-and-cable steering was 16 turns lock-to-lock and rather sloppy. It is hydraulic assisted. We modified the gear ratio to give 8 turns and had the slack catenary portions of the chains (in the engine room) supported in steel channels.

Comments- These changes have made handling even crisper – a real joy! 2013

by SRF, outcome E. Clock work

CONTINUED NEXT ISSUE, WITH IN-DEPTH INFO ON • Security systems • Bilge management • Building a cockpit surround • Creating and maintaining an on-deck kitchen garden AND LOTS, LOTS MORE.

Of course, we had to have a ship`s clock. Looking back I don`t know quite why we wanted one or why ships had them. In those days, we had never heard of John “Longitude” Harrison or even the longitude problem itself. Baleful things like the CEVNI regulations, which stipulate a clock as a requirement, did not exist either. Still, we wanted a ship`s clock; it sounded right.

We fitted out Danum at the tail-end of the craze for pine furniture when the market was flooded with knotty-pine. We were able to acquire matching beds, tables and chairs, often at halfprice. One of our trophies was a pseudo station clock, run off a single AA battery.

It has a printed paper face with Roman numerals and is an imposing 20 cm in diameter. Two persuasive factors were its rather elegant, machined pine frame and it being half price.

We laboriously cut out a hole in the knotty pine of our “saloon” so that the clock could sit flush against a bulkhead. And there it sat ticking away more or less continuously for over thirty years.

To our dismay it packed up the other day. Changing the battery and cleaning the terminals in the little quartz movement made no difference. What were we to do? Our chances of finding a replacement were nil and the cost would have been astronomical anyway. We had to make some sort of repair. Google led us to discover that replacement quartz movements were absurdly cheap; they start at 5 euros a time. We could even buy a radio-controlled unit if we so wished. A helpful site warned us that whatever we did we were not to try to match a replacement movement to our old and much-watched hands. Throw them away and go for a movement and hands which matched even if they were

stylistically different. We also learnt that the post, the sort of stub-axle, which carries the hands comes in different lengths and that we needed a high torque replacement which would easily twirl the longer hands of the larger clock.

We watched a fascinating video on YOUTUBE called the `Internals of

nut! In less than a minute, we had the bits scattered before our eyes. We were amazed at how light the hands were – featherweight slithers of pressed tin alloy. An AA battery wouldn`t even notice that they were there. To think that we had thought that they would be as weighty as those of Big Ben or at least a longcase clock.

The first car-boot sale supplied us with a second-hand Disney wall-clock, featuring Bambi (a collector`s item?). “It works,” said the seller. So we bought it for all of an euro. “You should have bargained for it,” said someone.

We pulled off its hands rather like pulling the wings off flies, we thought. The movement was transferred to the back of the face of our clock with a dab of neoprene glue. The new hands were pressed into place, after much cursing from clumsy fingers and thumbs. Sadly, the movement chose only to move for 50 seconds and then it would stop. A bang on the bulkhead would give us another 50 seconds and that was all. Another movement was clapped out.

Another car-boot came a week later. It produced for us an allblack wall-clock with fake brass numbers stuck to the rim. A glitzy name, Patrick Arnaud, was inscribed on the paper face. This one cost us 50 cents. It too was pulled to bits and the movement glued into place. Hurray our ship`s clock bangs away again. There was even a small bonus. The replacement comes with an eye-catching, busy-body second-hand which we didn`t have before and it came sort of free.

John Harrison would either have sighed or laughed at us. Mind you, as a man who used wooden cogs to great effect in his clocks, he would have been fascinated by mass-produced plastic ones.

So, if anyone has a barge clock which doesn`t go . . .

You must have a Ship’s Clock...don’t you?

Quartz Clock Mechanisms` by Robert Massaioli. It was doubly fascinating because not only does he take the movement to pieces and put it back again, but he does so without saying a word. We learnt enough to know that we would make a terrible mess of it if we were to try to deconstruct such a deceptively simple movement – all those little plastic cogs. All we wanted was a replacement movement with suitable hands.

Feeling like Charlie Chaplin in The Pawnshop, we dismantled our clock.

Did you know that the hands just pull off? And in our case the movement was held in place with only a simple, brass

ROBERT COWLEY

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 23

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24 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

X U A E D OR

B g n i s i ru

C

to

Shortly after Bordeaux, a port city on the Garonne River, entered the new millennium its boulevards were pedestrianised, neoclassical buildings scrubbed and restored, a high-tech public transport system introduced. Long known as �La Belle Endormie� (Sleeping Beauty), a rejuvenated Bordeaux now scarcely seems to sleep at all, as STUART BARRY discovered.

We have made the trip from Castets-en-Dorthe to Bordeaux and back three times. Before the first trip we were given all sorts of dire warnings by lots of people who had never made the trip. They had heard from someone who had heard from someone else that it was dangerous. This short article summarises our experiences, gives you tips that might be helpful and provides links to

web sites with more information.

So why not go by barge up the Garonne? The journey is easy, as I shall explain, and you can stay in the best spot in town - in the middle of the city, in front of the Bourse, with a view over the river and the Pont de Pierre (floodlit at night). Who would pass up the opportunity to sip a glass of wine or have dinner on your own boat in such a wonderful position?

Because you go down and back with the tide you do not actually need a lot of power. We talked to someone on a small yacht who had come upstream. He only had a small outboard motor and made it successfully. On our first trip down we went out onto the river with a group of small boats, some looking like ex canal hire boats.

If you can cruise along the canal at 6 kph or so there is no reason why you cannot make this trip.

Of course, you do have to be aware of the conditions and there are some circumstances

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 25

Map source:www.snodoglog.com

The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of 575km (360 miles).

The Garonne river follows the Aran Valley in the Spanish Pyrenees northwards into France, flowing via Toulouse and Agen towards Bordeaux, where it meets the Gironde estuary.

Along its course, the Garonne river finally meets the Dordogne River, after which the two rivers become the Gironde estuary which about 60 miles later joins the Atlantic Ocean.

when no-one should be out on the river. But if you go in good conditions there should be no real problems.

DO I NEED NAUTICAL CHARTS? No. The standard Éditions du Breil ‘L’Estuaire de la Gironde’ has very good maps and shows you the channel and known markers. If you have PC Navigo or similar and GPS you will have a detailed map with the channel marked, as well as the PK markers, so that you can judge your progress.

SAFETY ISSUES? The Garonne is a tidal river, so should be treated with respect just like any other tidal river. But we have seen more severe conditions on the Thames.

If you have travelled on the Seine, the Thames,

Ocean going vessels visit the port of` Bordeaux as do inland waterway cargo essels from the Canal des Deux Mers, linking the Mediterranean to the Bay of Biscay.

The Garonne river remains navigable for large vessels until the Pont de Pierre in Bordeaux, at which point they can not go any further. Barges can navigate all the way up to the Midi Canal.

The Garonne Canal has been adapted to allow barges of up to 38 by 5 meters to navigate on it.

the Rhône, the Rhine, or any other such river you probably have good experience of the same type of waterway. The main difference is that there is hardly any river traffic on the section to the start of Bordeaux port, so you will not be dodging container ships or the like.

Because the river is tidal and possibly fast flowing it is advisable to wear a life jacket, even if you don’t leave the wheelhouse. There is generally no need for VHF, but what little river traffic that there is seems to use channel 10.

Because the journey is 4-5 hours continuous cruising it is a good idea to check that your engine is in good working order, with no chance of filter problems or overheating. The one issue to be aware of is that there are not many places where you can stop en route. There are pontoons

The Garonne river is navigable for ocean-going vessels as far as Bordeaux

26 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

Simple: to stroll the most graceful streets in France, eat well, drink better and then have the liveliest possible time in a city lately in touch with its Latin side...

“The very essence of elegance,” concluded HM Queen last time she visited Bordeaux...

Bordeaux has had the renovators in with a vengeance – restoring noble façades, installing trams and reclaiming from dereliction the vast swathe of riverbank.

[Bordeaux] remains the world HQ of wine and château-own-

WHY GO TO BORDEAUX? in the ultra-luxurious Grande ACCORDING TO THE Maison hotel since December TELEGRAPH’S last year. Philippe Etchebest ANTHONY PEREGRINE ing folk. Many do their business lethal host of French TV’s verin the Chartrons district, where sion of Kitchen Nightmare - is there’s a lingering air of aristo- due to take over the ovens at cratic commerce. There’s also a the Grand Theatre’s restaurant cracking museum of modern art in September 2015. Then the next door, tapas bars up the road original Kitchen Nightmare, and fusion food in the restau- Britain’s Gordon Ramsay, has rants. Talking of which, the top- signed to start running gastroend restaurant scene is renewing nomic operations within the itself right now (2015), underlin- terribly swish Grand Hotel, ing that Bordeaux really is in the though no date for his arrival vibe. Multi-Michelin star man, has yet been announced.

Joël Robuchonn has been running Welcome, in short, to the Borhis eponymous restaurant with- deaux nouveau.

of a sort every few kilometres, but all bar one or two are private. You could pull over in an emergency and sometimes private owners let you stop. But you should generally aim to make the whole journey in one go. In this respect it is rather similar to cruising on the Seine.

You should take note of the Mascaret - a tidal bore that develops upstream from Bordeaux with the incoming tide and continues beyond Cadillac.

It is strongest in the Cadillac area, a one metre high wave that travels upstream. A strong Mascaret brings out lots of surfers and viewers from the bank. The tide tables show the tide co-efficient from 0 to 100. The strongest risk of Mascaret is when the co-efficient is over 80. However, if you follow the advice for departure time from Bordeaux you should not have any problems. We have seen no sign of it despite travelling upstream when the co-efficient was 80.

There are web sites that give predictions and recommend viewing areas.

PLANNING THE JOURNEY The single biggest factor affecting the journey is the tide. The tide reaches about as far as La Réole. High water in Castets-enDorthe is two hours after high water in Bordeaux. Conversely, low water in Bordeaux is two hours after low water in Castetsen-Dorthe.

There are two locks at Castetsen-Dorthe under the control of a

lock keeper, locks 52 and 53. You have to book a passage by telephoning VNF. If you arrive before your booked time you can wait in the port (going downstream) or on the waiting pontoon in the river (going upstream). The port has the usual moorings and facilities, or you can simply tie up on the bank opposite the capitainerie, just before lock 52.

Locks 52 and 53 only open during the standard lock hours. In addition, you can only enter from the river or exit to the river from one hour before high water up to one hour after high water. So, for example, if high water at Castets-en-Dorthe is at 20:00 or later you will not be able to use that lock.

To be able to use the lock you will need a high water time of roughly between 10:00 and 18:00.

As the journey takes about four hours in either direction that means that the ideal high water time

The Barry’s ‘Hilda May’ comfortably berthed in Bordeaux

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 27

for going down is in the morning, and for coming up it is in the afternoon.

If you want to leave on an early morning high tide (to save arriving late in the evening in Bordeaux) you can go through the locks in the afternoon and tie up on the waiting pontoon just after the bridge on the left bank. You cannot get off the pontoon to the bank. Coming back the reverse is the case.

If you arrive after normal lock times you will have to wait overnight and enter the lock sometime the next morning.

In case you lose the telephone number it is posted at the waiting pontoon, and you can also ask the lock keeper for the number as you leave. In fact, it is a good idea to have a chat with the lock

WHAT TO DO IN BORDEAUX There are plenty of good guide books to tell you the best things to do, but we found that, operating from the boat, there are several things that were good fun.

keeper to re-confirm what you plan to do. There are current tide tables and you can book your return passage as you enter the lock going down.

THE JOURNEY The journey time depends on conditions. In calm conditions, especially when the Garonne is low in the summer, the current is slow and the tide is the strongest factor. In times of stronger current, such as after heavy rain, the current and tide combine to give an even stronger flow down, butslower coming back. Since most leisure boaters travel in the summer months when the conditions are generally calmer it is the tide that we should consider most. In most cases the journey in eachdirection takes about 4 to 4.5 hours travelling a distance of about 55 km, so you can immediately

see that you will be travelling at an average speed of around 12-13 kph.

GOING DOWN The river is mostly around 3-4 metres deep, and up to 9m in some places. It’s best to keep to themiddle of the channel unless otherwise marked.

Between PH 19 and 21 there are red channel makers showing that you should keep well to the left for about two kilometres. At Langon the channel also moves to the left. Apart from that there is nothing special to watch for. Lots of people talk about hazards such as logs; we have only seen significant debris in the river after a storm. At other times it has been mostly clear. And since you are travelling with the flow in both directions

Visit the Arab quarter where there are frequent markets and one of the best boulangeries we have found, open every day including Sunday morning. Turn left on the quay, turn right at the bridge then left after a couple of left turns where you start to see small grocery shops. The market is in the square by the church with the very high spire.

Walk along the promenade and gawk at the large hotel boats and cruise liners.

any logs will be travelling with you, not against you. It’s no worse than any other navigation - just keep your eyes open for obstructions.

There is occasional turbulence at PK 58.5, just to the right of the Ile de Lalande (going down), but it soon passes.

As you approach the Pont de Pierre, the arched stone bridge that marks entry into Bordeaux, keep to the right of the centre arch (reserved for the Airbus barge and marked with a red light). Any of the arches to the right are fine. From a distance the arches look very small, but at low water (which it will almost be when you get there) there is plenty of room all around. Just be careful to line up in the middle of an arch as the outgoing tide funnels through the arch pretty quickly. There is some turbulence on the downstream side of the

28 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

arch, but this quickly subsides. Once you arethrough the arch you will see the Ponton d’Honneur on your left. Assuming that you are going to moor there, take a wide sweep round and you can come up to the pontoon gently against the tide.

When you reserve a spot you are given a number and can see the numbers on the side of the pontoon. Ignore the big numbers up at the top of the quay on the old bollards.

Quayside facilities include water and electricity.

When you reserve you are given a code for the gate. There are security gates at each end to prevent anyone other than boaters entering the pontoon. If you stay on your boat for a few hours you will be amazed that the height of the tide-

Sample all sorts of Bordeaux wine at the Bar à Vin. Find the tourist office on a map and it’s almost directly opposite. It’s like drinking in a smart club. Wines are from €2 to €6 a glass.

Insider’s tip: ask for a demi and you can drink twice as many glasses for the same price.

Walk to the cathedral. When we were there we listened to a free organ concert at 18:00 one evening. Nearby are the Richard Rogers designed courthouses.

takes you up level with the top of the quay, giving a wonderful view of the centre of Bordeaux.

It is advisable to use four ropes for mooring. Two will take most strain on the outgoing tide, the other two on the incoming. Since the pontoon floats on the tide you can tie up tightly.

GOING UP The general advice is to leave about one hour after low water. The three times that we have made the trip we chickened out soon after the tide turned as it seemed to pick up pace so quickly.

However, on each occasion we outran the tide and lost some of its benefit as we got past Cadillac.

So it does seem that it is best to leave about an hour after low water. The water flow through the-

first bridge will be reasonably fast, but the tide will carry you upstream much better. If you leave too soon you might find that the tide is still going out, creating a strong flow through the bridge arches, making it difficult for some boats to make theirway comfortably.

THESE MAY BE USEFUL • A timelapse video of most of the return journey is available: www.stuart-barry.co.uk/stuartbarry/ index.php/boat-blog/46-bordeauxtl • www.bruno.chanal.perso.sfr.fr/cnc/Garonne. html#info - this site gives lots of information about cruising to Bordeaux and related matters. There are links to the Bordeaux Mairie web site and tide tables.

Cycle (or take the tram) to the submarine pens and imagine what went on there during the war.

If you are at a loose end you can always have an interesting haircut (as seen in a haidessers’ window)

• Tide tables: www.tides4fishing.com/fr/aquitaine/ bordeaux - an alternative tide table, a little simple, but good as a cross check because it actually puts the date on the chart. You can never quite be certain with some of them that they are showing the current year.

• Map of places to moor in Bordeaux: www.bordeaux.fr/ebx/pgPresStand8.psml? _nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pgPresStand8&classofcontent=presentationStandard&id=14065 • Mooring fees: www.bordeaux.fr/pgFormContribuable.psml? _nfpb=true&_pageLabel=pgFormContribuable&classofcontent=formulaireContribuable&id=473 • Mooring booking form: we have always received an email reply with a reference number.

STUART BARRY

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 29

Lament for the Keel

“The sound of someone hailing ‘Keel – a – hoy. Are you there, Captain?

Come ahead with that keel’ faded away about 1940.

“It had been a familiar sound for longer than any living soul could remember. All around the docks of the River Humber seaport, the havens, creek and riverside quays, the warehouse, wharves and jetties – oh yes, far inland, wherever there was a navigable channel or canal, one could find a wooden carvel-built, square-rigged keel.

“My earliest recollections begin in the early 1900s. In the late 1920s, the keels began to disappear gradually as the new steel motor barges, powered by diesel engines, took their place.

“The once familiar sound of ‘keel – a – hoy’ has, like the dodo, taken its place in history.”

HERBERT RHODES A number of BF readers (17 to be exact) contacted the magazine’ by phone or email to say how much they enjoyed BF 113’s memories of onetime Keelman Herbert Rhodes. Take this email from Kate Bronson of ‘MV Integrity’ as an example: Dear Editor Thanks for yet another excellent edition of Blue Flag.With reference to the fascinating reminiscences of a keelman on pages 7& 8 of BF113, you may like to know that, in canal parlance, a ‘clough’ is a paddle, ie the mechansim by which water is let into or out of a lock, usually operated by means of a windlass, or in

some parts, a handspike. (And…) just in case you were not clear on what a handspike is, it’s a 3 ft long piece of wood, 2 inches x 3 inches, which fits in the pinion which connects to the clough to lift it. Best wishes to all in DBA. Encouraged by Kate, and others, we are pubishing more from the reminisces of Herbert Rhodes, this time extracted with permission of Thorne Local History Society which published the Herbert Rhodes’s ‘Keela-Hoy!’ memories in 1957 with due acknowledgement to the magazine ‘Sea Breezes’ where the articles first appeared.

30 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

T

HE KEELS I skippered were built of wood, with iron keelsons. Timbers, hooks, beams, and outside hulls were of oak, the flat bottoms mainly of elm, and decks of pine. The craft carried one mast and two square sails, also a pair of leeboards.

Her top work was arched – shape so that she might creep under the low arched bridges on her travels up the canals after her gear had been unshipped and put ashore part of the way up the ‘navigations’ or waterways. The length of my craft was usually about 61ft. 6in, 15ft.

2in.-4in beam, and about 7 to 8ft high to gunwale; their deadweight capacity was CONTINUED

between 120 to 130 tons.

In the early 1900s the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Canal was alive with these small craft, loaded with all kinds of merchandise and minerals, hailing from Thorne, Stainforth, Hull, Goole, Beverley – in fact, lots of small villages on the banks of the Ouse, Hull and Trent, and navigations connecting them. It was a fine sight to see these craft in June, around Thorne Fair time, when standing on the canal bank. At Thorne, the keels lay moored there with their burgees, and bunting flying.

Men were painting and fettling them, and getting things ship-shape.

Little did the onlooker realise what a complicated trade it was to put a lad to learn. When (a lad) went as mate of a keel to learn the trade, he found himself in a strange world.

Names of the gear which he had to help work, and the nautical phrases were strange to him and of course there was one taskmaster -the skipper – who had the boy as his sole scholar.

The lad looked around to see if there was anyone else to blame if things went wrong, but, alas, there was only himself.

Main rigging of the mast was as follows: riggings were spliced in a loop at

the top and slotted over the masthead and down to their positions just above the main sheave. The backstay was made of wire rope and in its lower end there was spliced a wooden deadeye with three holes through it, and also a hemp lanyard spliced to the deadeye.

Another deadeye was shackled to the after head ledge through which was rove the above lanyard to be made fast and adjusted in its proper place. Next came the shrouds, or side rigging.

They were constructed similarly to the backstay but of heavier material.

There were four in number, two for each side, and the low deadeyes were hooked onto chain plates on the gunwale, to be adjusted with the lanyard.

Next came the main forestay of even heavier material which ran to the fore end of the ship, and which was shackled to a heavy pair of blocks.

The keel also carried a pair of wooden leeboards which were used for the same purpose as the centre board in a small yacht, to stop the leeway of the vessel when she is unloaded and under sail. .

Height of the mainsails that I worked was about nine yards from the centre of the foot rope to the centre of the head rope of the sail. The width of the head of the sail was about 19 breadths of canvas. The topsail was a square sail of very light, strong canvas.

Anchors were worked by a windlass fitted into stout bitt heads at the foremost part of the forecastle deck and the keel steered by a wooden tiller slotted into the rudder head when in use.

A small boat was very often attached to the stern by a painter when the keel was operating in rivers and similar narrow waterways and was sculled by an oar which fitted in a notch on the boat’s transom. With the wind fair and your sails set, the yards were square with the ship, and were controlled by the braces and the sheets hove into position. When you hauled the wind to port the port tack was hove down in the bush, your sail hauled in position and the sheet adjusted and bowline hauled. When hauling the wind to starboard the same work was done, reversing port for starboard.

In tidal rivers, where it was wide enough to work or beat against the wind, you relied on the current of the

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 31

tide for help.

I will try and explain the art of tacking or ‘staying’ as our fellows termed it. If you were nearing a lee shore and your sails were tight hauled on your port tack, to come about and put her on the starboard tack required the following work. The skipper would put his helm to starboard until the fore end of the sail came off back; he would then lift the sheet pawl and let-go his port leeboard. The mate would release the tack and heave the slack of the starboard tack tight (the lee brace was held firm and the bowline fast, the bowline making the fore end of the sail do the work of a foresail, as in a yacht).

The skipper, watching the weather

two thirds of the freight. Freights were drawn by the skipper who paid the owner his share.

My grandfather, a keel man all his working life, died at the age of 82 about 1905 and my father, a skipper and owner, died in 1939 aged 76. They often loaded coal from collieries, such as Kilnhurst, Denaby, Manvers Main, sometimes receiving a bonus from the colliery companies for keeping the pits working when short of railway wagons. The colliery agent informing them of the price of coal at the pithead, they would proceed with the cargo to Hull, paying navigation dues and all expenses on their voyage. They would then sell the coal for the best price they

Yorkshire: ‘Atter going ter ev it by lump, or tack, or oor?’ Eventually we agreed on the price, our agreement was written out, a stamp affixed, across which old John and I signed our names. I completed the work to the satisfaction of both.

The Port of Hull was the chief centre for the trade of the keel. Other chief industrial towns they traded to were as follows. Place an imaginary left hand pointing up the River Humber at Hull; the thumb points up the river Hull to Beverley and Driffield, the first finger up the River Ouse to Selby and York, the second finger the Aire and Calder Navigation to Leeds and Wakefield from Goole, the third finger the River

‘I can hardly realise that the old crafts and wooden keel building, mast and ‘Atter going ter ev it by block making, sail making, rigging lump, or tack, or oor?’ out of keels and the manning of them, have vanished...’ vane until the keel’s head had pulled far enough, would order the mate to release the bowline and heave the starboard tack down. The skipper hauled on his starboard brace and then hove the sheet in, the helm being put to port. When the sails were trimmed and the bowline hauled, the keel was again back on her course, running up to windward on her starboard tack.

When nearing the weather shore the skipper would port his helm and the same work applied, only the term port substituted for starboard The earnings of a keel for cargo were known as a freight. When I agreed with the owner to take charge of a keel, my agreement generally ran as follows: ‘The owner to pay for the maintenance of the keel and gear, insurances and such.’

His reward was one third of the keel’s earnings; my duty was to find the cargoes and freights. All the expenses such as the mate’s wages, haulage costs, loading and discharging costs etc., were paid by the skipper, who also victualled the keel. The skipper’s reward was the remaining

could make to trawler owners, shipping firms, or various mills. When the cargo had been discharged they paid the agreed amount to the skipper who would then pay the colliery agent for the coal; the money left over was the keel’s freight.

I once left my keel, the Britannia, at Beverley and came home to Thorne for the week-end. Here, at home, I received information that a well-known local councillor and farmer named John Mitchell wanted to engage a keel.

I went to his house. Old John said to me that he had 10 tons of nitrate of soda in Victoria Dock at Hull, and about 50 tons of tillage at Keadby tillage works. I then had to call at Garthorpe Shore, and finish loading up with his spring corn, ploughs and harrows, and other farm implements.

When I was loaded up he wanted it taking to Rusham Farm, near Drax. I had to deliver the farm gear and three parts of the tillage there, the remaining tillage he wanted taking to New Bridge, up the Aire and Calder.

I replied that I would complete the work if we could agree about the freight. Old John replied in broad

32 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

Trent to Keadby and the Sheffield and South Yorkshire Navigation to Doncaster and Sheffield, the fourth finger the River Trent to Newark, and to Lincoln up the Foss Dyke Navigation from Torksey. We also traded to the ports of Immingham and Grimsby, on the Lincolnshire side of the Humber, below Hull.

Main trade for keels was merchandise and raw materials from Hull to the industrial towns and cities. The return cargoes included coal, pitch, slag, steel and other finished products.

Sometimes we loaded a cargo of Trent sand and gravel dredged from the bed of the river by hand; the skipper would pay all expenses and when loaded the cargo belonged to him. He would then sell it to the best market, his customers being corporations, builders’ merchants and contractors.

A skipper had to know the times of changing of the tide (high water and flood tide) in different parts of the rivers which he arrived at by reckoning from the time of high water at Hull, forecast in a small tide table which he usually carried. He also had to know the different drafts of the rivers

or ‘navigations’ in which he had to travel; also the weights his keel would carry at different drafts, to enable him to agree for cargoes which he had to carry up various navigations. The keel carried no maps or charts. He had to know the safe roadsteads in the rivers to ride at anchor, such as Hull Roads, Walter Dykes, Blacktoft Roads, Burr Wheel and Cliff End among others.

Keels were built at various small shipyards on the banks of the rivers and canals. For example, the five different keels I had charge of were: The Unity, built by Stanilands of Thorne; the William & Jane, built at Goole (both these owned by my father), the Britannia at Dunstons of Thorne; the

then lying in Alexandra Dock at Hull, discharging her cargo. I took my cargo and discharged it at the Flour Mills, Doncaster. The war years passed on and the barque, after being dismantled, was towed up to Goole and used as a warehouse. In 1945 I was skipper of a barge named Golfer, owned by G. D. Holmes of Goole, when I loaded a cargo of Ouse sand. I discharged the cargo into the Archibald Russell (lying in the West Dock at Goole) as ballast, for she was being prepared for her last passage down the River Ouse and Humber. It seemed to me very much like going to the funeral of an old comrade.

I myself can hardly realise that the

‘She was being prepared for her last passage down the River Ouse and Humber. It seemed to me very much like going to the funeral of an old comrade.’

Daybreak at Goole, and the Daystar at Mexborough.

Nearly all keels wore a burgee at the masthead on festive occasions. It was a large flag, made of bunting, with the Union Flag at the hoist. The burgee, which carried the name of the keel in large letters worked in it, ranged from 14ft. to 16ft. in length, and 5 to 6 ft. at the widest part. The keels owned by the Wilson Line of Hull flew a small pennant at their masthead as a weather vane. This large shipping firm had a fleet of keels to carry cargoes to Sheffield, and coal back to Hull from Manvers Main to refuel the large steamers.

All keels had to have a port of registration, some were registered under the Board of Trade and others under the Canal Act. It will of course be readily realised that the passing of the Humber Keel is closely connected with the passing of her big sister, the 4-masted barque. In 1939 I was skipper of the keel Datstar, owned by Hanley and Company of Doncaster. I loaded a cargo of Australian wheat out of the stately old barque, Archibald Russell,

or mandolins, all of a handy size for stowing away when not in use. My chief hobby was reading-frequently about Capt. Cook or explorers like Amundsen and Nansen. Occasionally I amused myself and the mate by playing the mandolin when we were brought up at anchor, or moored in lonely places up the navigations; of course, in those days there was no radio.

When I was a lad I used to play in Dunston’s yard at Thorne, near Doncaster, where old Ned Rippon, in the mast and blockmaker’s shop, used to think nothing of trimming a ricker pole, almost 60ft. long. In the long shed, with a large draw-knife in his

‘Only the hard, rough school of experience, and the knowledge and skill of the old skippers could produce a trained keelman’

old crafts and wooden keel building, mast and block making, sail making, rigging out of keels and the manning of them, have vanished, never to return. The wooden-built Humber keel has now been replaced by modern steel barges, propelled by the latest oil engines. I must pay tribute to the old engineers, long since passed on, who made my trade possible by the bridges they built, as well as the locks and weirs to dam the water. To raise a keel dozens of feet over hill and vale is surely a work of art, and great credit must be given to these men of a bygone age.

Many and varied were the hobbies and pastimes of my comrades in the keel trades. Some played for rugger clubs, others were soccer fans, while a few fished in the waters around them.

Some carved models or went in for joinery, others painted and carried out graining, signwriting and gilding.

Many made fancy knots such as Turk’s heads, and sennit for fenders and rudder heads; some made mats of old bass rope, rugs and suchlike, while a few played musical instruments such as melodeons, fiddles, concertinas

hands, he would work in shavings up to his knees.

Ned and his men turned out a surprising variety of products: Barge poles, sounding rods, masts for keel and sloops, booms, gaffs, large deadeyes for shrouds and small for backstays and manropes. And there was quite a business in catheads, fidds, tillers, windlass barrel ends, mast trucks, handspikes and mop handles.

Other products were large fancy bungs for the fresh water casks which all classes of craft carried at that time, and the wooden parts of pump gear-handles, low box and bucket.

Main and topsail, sheet, tack and leeboard rollers were also fashioned here besides blocks, sheaves and parrels.

Tools of ancient name and origin were common in the shed. Adzes, mattocks and a variety of shaped iron tools used for putting smart grooves in deadeyes so that lanyards could be rove.

(In the next BF Herbert Rhodes writes more about the days when he worked on the Keels) Published with permission of the Thorne Local History Society

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 33

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TURKS SHIPYARD FULLY UNDERCOVER DRY DOCK

SERViCiNg thE thamES & mEDwaY Turks Shipyard in Chatham based in the historic dockyard has been modernised to equip the growing marine industry. Servicing dry docking, boat repairs, new builds and conversion.

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36 THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION

Dry Dock (110 metres by 15.2 metres) Services include: • Dry Dock specialists • New build Dutch Barges and luxury houseboats • Dutch Barge refits and renovations • Dutch Barge maintenance and surveys • Emergency repairs on passenger boats, Dutch barges, work barges, piers, pontoons and all other vessels.

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THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 37

INLAND WATERWAYS HELMSMEN COURSES IN THE MIDLANDS RYA APPROVED BARGE HANDLING COURSES are now being held on the rivers Soar and Trent

On successful completion, participants will receive the Inland Waterways Helmsman’s Certificate.

A Helmsman’s Course Handbook is included in the course, sent for pre-course reading when booking.

Course instructor is DBA member Colin Paillin, live-aboarder and owner of the 73ft Luxemotor barge, ‘Anja’. Instruction will be on board ‘Anja’.

Pupils will have the option of staying overnight in the double-bedded en-suite stern cabin.

Courses last one to two days depending on the candidate’s experience. The maximum number of students per course is three.

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To advertise on this page call Sandy: +44 (0) 1206 382836 Or email: sandy@barges.org

THE JOURNAL OF DBA - THE BARGE ASSOCIATION 39