East Yorkshire Branch – April 2011 Newsletter

BRANCH PROGRAMME Spring 2011 Venue Venue (unless Cottingham Methodist Church Hall, Hallgate, Cottingham HU16 4BD stated otherwise) 8.00-10.00 pm. Use entrance down side of church.

Saturday 9th April

At Sneaton Castle, Whitby. 2.00-4.00 pm. Alan Whitworth on ‘Building a wooden wide bean canal boat’

Friday 15th April

‘Wildlife on the Waterways’ by Jonny Hart-Woods Invite your nature-loving friends

Friday 20th May

‘Horse boating and the way it shaped our canals’

by Adrian Lovett

Friday 17th June

A walk along the Pocklington Canal from Melbourne Park near the sanitary station or by the pub if dining first.

Saturday 23rd July

A cruise on the Calder Navigation on a boat from Safe Anchor Trust. Details in the newsletter

Friday 16th Sept

‘Morse code on trawlers’

by Dave Peacock

Friday 21st Oct

Humber Sail and History

by Chris Horan

East Yorkshire Branch

BRANCH NEWSLETTER APRIL 2011

There will also be meetings on 18th Nov, 2nd Dec (Christmas meal), 20th Jan, 17th Feb, 16th March (AGM), 20th April, 18th May For more information about the Inland Waterways Association use the website www.waterways.org.uk or contact Barry Robins on 01482 658254 or 07885941983. For more information on the above meetings contact Roger Bromley on 01482 845099. The Branch email address is roger@roger.karoo.co.uk This newsletter is edited and produced by Barry Robins, 90 Carr Lane, Willerby, Hull HU10 6JU Note: The views expressed in this newsletter are not necessarily those of the Association and should not be construed as such unless so stated.

Bielby Arm on the Pocklington Canal Our destination on 17th June Photo from the PCAS website

Some recent social meetings

Some recent social meetings

You will recall that our previous newsletter was produced earlier than usual to allow publicity of the special January meeting.

The January meeting was held at Willerby Methodist Church to give extra room and improved access. We had an enjoyable programme of mixed presentations from the Yorkshire Film Archive. Some were waterwaybased and others brought back memories of childhood holidays. Those who worked on planning the meeting and helped with the publicity are to be congratulated as over 90 people attended and significant funds were raised to help us support local waterway restoration. As funds for restoration become tighter it is important that the Branch is able to respond positively to requests for grants.

In February Elaine Scott took us on a waterway journey across the Pennines, crossing in both directions using the Rochdale Canal westbound and returning on the Huddersfield narrow and broad canals. An interesting and informative evening.

Following the AGM on 18th March we enjoyed a dvd on the Seven Wonders of the Waterways, a revised edition of the earlier video with the Falkirk Wheel added but which wonder had been edited out?

Some events in the York area from the River Foss Society These events are from the River Foss Society newsletter. Full details on www.riverfosssociety.co.uk or from June Card on 01904 766796 13th April

Foss Walk 2, Coxwold to Yearsley via source of River Foss

30th April

IWA North Riding, Open Day at Castle Mills Lock

25th May

Evening walk at Strensall followed by optional supper

14th June

11am, Foss Walk 3 from Yearsley to Crayke, picnic lunch

9th to 24th July York Festival of the Rivers. IWA North Riding involved 10th July

York Dragon Boat Race Day

Also in July

(provisional) trips on Syntan

12th August

Morning walk around Stillington

10th Sept

10am Foss Walk 4, Farlington to Lilling Low Lane

Something you can do from next Sunday

Have you booked?

NEW HORIZONS IS BACK

Look again at the special events on page 3

Better than ever!

Why not join us

Yes the smartened trip boat of Pocklington Canal Amenity Society starts Sunday afternoon trips from 3rd April. On a fine day what could be better than a trip on the Pocky with knowledgeable crew members to guide you.

Then a visit to the visitor centre at Canal Head on the A1079, perhaps with a picnic tea. Longer trips are available at other times with organised parties.

Have you decided

Details from 07514 978645 or Greg Dixon on 01759 318699 or check on the PCAS website www.pocklingtoncanalsociety.org

when you are going to have a trip on New Horizons?

Some special events Currently this is the state of play. The prefabricated parts were moved to the ‘boatyard’ in a hire van with the help of my wife’s son. The three sections of keel were bolted together and placed on stocks made up of firm wooden pallets stacked high enough to allow access to the underside. The keel was then suitably painted with a coat of wood primer, two coats of grey undercoat and four top coats of International boat blacking, as once the hull was under construction, I would not be able to turn it over to paint the very bottom keel surface.

Once the keel was dry, it was set upright and the ribs attached. These were kept in place with lengths of 3” x 1” (75mm x 25mm) temporarily fixed at chine level and at deck level and removed as the side planking was added. The ribs were glued and secured to the keel; all the timber was then treated with wood preservative, and given a coat of primer and one of undercoat. The side planking was then attached by glue and screws, each plank butted up to the next with sealant between. On the inside, over each joint, a length of 3” x ¼” (75mm x 6mm) wood was glued and screwed, and then all the internal timberwork was given a lick of primer, undercoat and two coats of bitumen paint. On the exterior surface, each seam was continuously covered with a strip of D-shaped timber as a further sealant.

At deck level, a gunnel was created by adding a continuous length of 2” x 3” k(50mm x 75mm) timbers, which stood proud of the side planking by one inch.

On the inside was fixed 9” x 1” (225mm x 25mm) planking as reinforcement, cut around the deck supports affixed to the upright ribs at right angles ready to take the deck plank.

The next phase is to construct a suitable bow and stern and attach them securely, and then complete the external painting ready to move it on to the water. Fingers crossed I can achieve this by the end of the year, when I shall put the hull into the harbour at Whitby for ‘sea trials’, check for leaks, add ballast, and then take it back out again for the winter safe in the knowledge that it is water and weather-tight.

Finally, unbeknown to me, I was giving the locals a bit of amusement, when some ‘wag’ drew a cartoon of my endeavours for the front cover of the parish magazine Link reproduced at the beginning of this article.

Saturday 9th April, 2.00 pm to 4.00pm We meet at Sneaton Castle in Whitby for another of our meetings with our more northern members.

This time an illustrated talk on ‘Building a wooden wide beam canal boat’

by Alan Whitworth. There will of course be refreshments and an opportunity to discuss the future of these meetings as a consequence of the new North Riding Branch with social meetings at York, perhaps more accessible than Cottingham. There will be a charge of £3 to meet expenses.

Please let us know if you are coming, we do want to see you but Sneaton Castle provide those delicious homemade biscuits and they need to know numbers. Bookings by 5th April at the very latest.

Friday 17th June, a visit to the Pocklington Canal at Melbourne. We had hoped to cruise to Bielby but sadly the restoration work to open up this section of the canal is not yet complete. However, on a fine summer evening the Pocklington Canal offers excellent walking opportunities with its quiet rural setting, wide towpaths and variety of flora and fauna so do join us.

Again please book so that we know numbers and can choose a starting time which is suitable for all. Some may like to go for a meal beforehand.

Saturday 23rd July A full day out on along the Calder Navigation on a boat from Safe Anchor Trust based at Mirfield with a possible lunch out.

Numbers are limited by the capacity of the boat so if you have not already booked please ring Barry as soon as possible. We are hoping to use a minibus for transport as this would be the green method, would probably work out cheaper, gives an opportunity for socialising and means only one vehicle can get lost. Being a charity the Safe Anchor Trust cannot charge for this trip but would appreciate generous donations from those who take part. Discussions about transport and timing of departure will take place when the bookings are all in.

Contact numbers for bookings:Barry Robins

Alan Whitworth, Sleights, Whitby

Roger Bromley

01482 658254 bandrrobins@gmail.com 01482 845099 roger@roger.karoo.co.uk

Inland Waterways Association East Yorkshire Branch Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held at 8.00 pm on Friday 18th March 2011 at Cottingham Methodist Church Present: Barry Robins (in the chair), Peter Scott (Region Chairman), Jack Wootton (Treasurer), Christ Stones (Secretary) and 23 members Apologies: Gordon Harrower Minutes of Previous Meeting: These had been circulated. Acceptance proposed by Joan Muspratt and seconded by Bob Huntsman. Accepted unanimously and signed Report of the Chairman: This had been printed and given at the start of the meeting to those members present. An opportunity was given for members to comment. Acceptance of the report proposed by Roger Bromley and seconded by Dave Stones Report of the Secretary: This had been printed and given at the start of the meeting to those members present. An opportunity was given for members to comment. Acceptance of the report proposed by Jenny Burns and seconded by Joan Muspratt Report of the Treasurer and presentation of the accounts for 2010: The Treasurer, Jack Wootton, went through the accounts. As there were no questions acceptance of the accounts was proposed by Gordon Muspratt and seconded by Paul Waddington. There was a surplus for the year of £25.41 giving a balance of £2,526.76 Election of Committee Members: Dave Stones, Jack Wootton and Roger Bromley were retiring by rotation and were willing to stand for re-election.

Andrew Brett and Rose Wootton stood down. Thanks were expressed to Andrew and Rose for their hard work and support over the years. Further nominations were invited from those present but none were forthcoming.

Re-election of Dave, Jack and Roger accepted en-bloc

The two separate halves are then secured at the keel by a cross-member that sits on the keel itself, and strengthened by a 3” x 1” (75mm x 25mm) timber batten secured at the chine angle and reinforced by a 3” x 3” (75mm x 75mm) one-foot upright on the centre line that also rests on the upper surface of the keel. This cross-member would in addition, become the joist onto which the cabin floor would be laid; in total, I constructed fifteen ribs.

All the prefabricated ribs and keel, which I built in three sections, were then stored at the bottom of the back garden under tarpaulin. As each section and each complete rib weighed just as much as I could lift and carry on my own, I was getting plenty of weight-training moving them about. It took a day to construct a rib or a section of keel, eighteen days over two months.

Eager to see some progress, in April on a fine weekend, I engaged the help of my wife’s son, and we put a section together on the drive, and added planking. The dummy dry run appeared to work well. The design was sound, everything fitted and we were all able to stand back and admire the solid bulk of the craft – me, my wife, her son, and the neighbours, who wittily asked if I had been listening to the weather forecast and knew something they did not.

The ribs were set at 4’ 0” centres and the planks of pine measure 10” x 1” (250mm x 25mm). At two-foot intervals between each rib, I added a strengthener of 2” x 2” (50mm x 50mm) timber, shaped and jointed, and reinforced with steel plate.

Finally, I had gone as far as I could with building the boat on the front drive. It was time to find a suitable piece of land on which to put together all the parts of my ‘Airfix’ kit and complete the hull with planks, and add the stern and bow sections. After which, my idea is to waterproof the hull up to the deck line, and then put it into the water and construct the cabin structure and internal fittings from that point. Simple.

Eventually I found a suitable plot of land at nearby Ruswarp courtesy of Paul Tymon, where his miniature railway operated by his son snaked round the site. All summer I hammered and sawed to the delight of passengers. It was centrally located to my home and my timber merchant, AGI – Adrian, Geoff and Ian. Their premises are on a local industrial estate, and each day I would ferry wood to the ‘boatyard’ in my reasonably swanky silver 2009 Ford Focus hatchback risking damage to the interior.

drawn on the back of a cigarette packet than the polished draughtsman’s plans I envisaged, but they work okay for me.

My intention was to build a rectangular ‘box’ then add the shaped stern and bow separately. At this stage, I have yet to work out the boat’s motive power. I actually have a vision to return to those halcyon days of horse-drawn vessels. Or, failing that, the use of an outboard engine was my alternate choice, as I admit, I am no mechanic; therefore, space for an engine and its accoutrements was not a priority and so did not dictate my concept and fundamental design. As for electrical power, I will use a couple of Honda generators, and a series of batteries.

My budget was severely limited. Aged 58 I am now a full-time carer for my disabled wife who receives a state pension plus a bit from DLA. I get a modest £50 a week from the DWP, that is our entire in-come, but I have oodles of time, and a tiny pot of savings from an inheritance that might be used for the project at a push. However, there was no way I could even remotely contemplate buying a steel sailaway shell to fit out, so I would build from scratch.

I had it in mind to construct a 60-foot long by 12-foot broad beam boat as I remembered the confinement of a traditional narrow boat and with my wife’s restricted mobility, I felt this size would be more appropriate and provide a greater degree of flexibility.

For my birthday in February 2010, I asked my good lady for a power saw to cut mitres and angles that could be mounted on a bench. Some years previous, she had bought me a circular power-saw for slicing planks lengthways, and another time, she lovingly gave me an all-singing all-dancing electric drill, so with the varied hand tools I had collected over the years, I had the makings of a fine toolbox. Unfortunately, the problem with the new saw is it will only cut through timber no thicker than three-inch square, so I formed the keel from 3” x 3” (75mm x 75mm) treated timber fence posts and bolted them together with S/S coach bolts at one foot intervals until I ended up with a 6” x 3” (150mm x 75mm) timber base 56 feet in length.

I constructed the ribs of the same material as the keel. The hull would have a chine, so I marked out a datum line on the flat concrete drive and in the centre at right angles measured down twelve inch, and from the centre point. I measured out six feet on either side from this same centre point, giving me a 12’ 0” beam, and by laying the timbers on the floor over the lines; I could calculate the necessary angles to cut the joints.

A.O.B : Bob Huntsman expressed disappointment at the lack of interest in the proposed trip on ‘Amy Howson’. The feeling was that it was too expensive.

Discussion on publicity of Branch events followed with Roger Bromley, Branch Publicity Officer, reporting on the many ways, mostly successfully, in which he gets publicity for our meetings. The main problem seems to be with the local paper in Hull where we need to have a named contact. Bob Huntsman suggested we contact David Taylor.

A report from the Branch Officers and Members Workshop held at Stoke was made available for members to read. It was decided to push again for members to receive the Branch Newsletter by e.mail Address by Region Chairman: Peter Scott started off by saying it had been an exciting year with IWA being involved in discussions on the form of charity which would take over from British Waterways, which waterways would be in its control and how it would be funded. The new initiative was designed to encourage branches to make greater efforts to find new members. He also reported on the creation of the new North Riding Branch to cover the Ouse/Ure Corridor. The Chairman thanked Peter for his address.

Date and Time of next AGM: 8.00 pm, Friday 16th March 2012 -o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

WANTED 1

2

3

You will note from the above minutes that we have lost two committee members. YOU could be co-opted. Volunteers should contact the Chairman or Secretary.

We need someone to take on the role of Programme Secretary, organising the speakers for our monthly meetings. This could be meant for you.

Next year we will be looking for a new Branch chairman.

Chairman’s Report on the year 2010 MONTHLY SOCIAL MEETINGS I wish to express my thanks to Andrew Brett and Roger Bromley for arranging for a wide variety of topics. Once again they have provided something for everyone. The attendance at these meetings has held steady but is only a small percentage of the Branch’s membership and, if they are to feel able to invite speakers from further afield with the added travelling expenses we do need to be sure of a larger audience for them. The attendance of 90+ at our January 2011 meeting shows that the potential is there. Some of our members live a long distance from Cottingham and are of an age where long night-time journeys are too demanding but I am sure that there are members living closer who could make the effort.

Once again publicising our meetings has proved to be difficult; the waterways press are quite good but local papers cannot always be relied on to print details of our meetings so if you know someone in the media who could be used as a contact please let us know. It is disappointing to see some organisations having their meetings mentioned three or four times in the fortnight beforehand when we are lucky to get a mention on the day of our talks by which time many people have made their plans for the day. It must be a case of ‘who you know’ so we need to get to know one!

We appreciate the work done by Chris Stones and other members in preparing the refreshments and washing up afterwards. This task is important, they miss out on the socialising which goes on during the interval but they carry out an important task.

As a follow-on from our talk on ‘Humber Rescue’ our June evening out was a visit to the Humber Bridge base with trips under the bridge on the rescue boat when the crew demonstrated its capabilities much to the enjoyment of the passengers.

Our day out was later then usual but gave the chance for the group to travel on two boats quite different from Humber Rescue’s inflatables; an oldish narrowboat and a modern wide beam Dutch barge. We cruised from Sprotborough through Mexborough Bottom Lock to the New Pastures for Sunday lunch. We returned to Sprotborough where most of us opted to let our lunch settle, enjoy the sun and talk rather than go on the planned walk through Sprotborough Flash nature reserve.

Our Christmas meal had to be put back to the week before Christmas because of the adverse weather conditions. Once again the event was well supported and the staff at ‘The Back Room’ catered for us very well.

We continued to make Branch events more accessible for our more northerly members by arranging two Saturday afternoon meetings at Sneaton Castle. This is a great venue with excellent parking and some fantastic views which makes it rather special. Attendance has been satisfactory but it would have been good to have more support from our North Yorkshire and Tees-side members.

SPECIAL EVENTS Once again we joined with our friends in the Beverley Beck Boating Association for a litter pick along the banks of the beck. The boat crews of BBBA took to the water and cleared up floating debris and litter inaccessible from the banks. Apart from the area near the fly-over the amount of litter continued to decrease slightly year on year no doubt encouraged by the

Building and owning a boat had other attractions too; my wife was forever suggesting we gad off for a long weekend to some overpriced hotel, so being a thrifty Yorkshire lad, I saw a saving in my idea, while still enjoying weekends away to exotic places. Then at dinner parties and nights at the pub, I would always have a topic of conversation. Yes, the idea had merit; I could scarcely wait to begin.

But: did I actual have any practical experience of boats my wife asked dubiously. Well, I was born and brought up in the West Riding in a village that sat alongside the Sir John Ramsden Canal at its confluence with the Aire & Calder Navigation, and as a child, I learnt to swim in the hardly used locks. Then there was a fortnight’s holiday with my parents who hired a narrow boat at Skipton when I was seventeen. A vain attempt by mater and pater to keep the family holidays going as long as possible, knowing I was getting too old to associate with them and my younger brother. After all, it was the 1960s and I was so hip, if somewhat a little too hirsute for my father’s taste. We cruised along the Leeds & Liverpool waterway toward Lancashire reaching as far as the Foulridge Tunnel before turning back. Never again, my mother said. It rained endlessly and her nerves were as taut as cloth on tenterhooks as tempers frayed in the confinement, and she worried constantly that her dearest offspring would die a horrible death in some tragic aquatic accident involving a lock.

Finally, there was a brief period with a past wife, whose father kept a 30foot converted naval cutter at Naburn on the River Ouse and we spent numerous summer weekends pottering up through York to a pool at Nun Monkton, the furthest navigable point, to picnic, then returning to the mooring at Naburn and the marina clubhouse. I learnt so much nautical lore there it was unbelievable. So yes, I did have practical ex-perience – and – in addition, I had an ‘O’ level certificate in woodwork. True, she had to admit, when it came to putting up shelves, building garden sheds and re-roofing the garage among many DIY projects I had undertaken over the years, I was adequately skilled in that department; pity about some other departments, she said with a wistful sigh.

Armed with a couple of library books, through the snows of January and February 2010, I dreamt, sketched and plotted for hours. True my final efforts were more akin to the initial scribblings for the Concorde

Tudor Rose – A Tale in Three Parts The idea to build a canal boat first saw light following the annual New Year’s Day lunch 2010. The pots and pans washed, dried and safely put away, my wife and I were sprawled across a sofa apiece dipping into a box of chocolates and sipping wine while half-heartedly watching some old movie on TV and idly discussing New Year resolutions. Like many, obsessed with the amount of weight we had put on over time, my wife was determined that I should regain my sylph-like figure of previous years and sternly ordered I should shed some pounds for the good of my health as she popped another truffle into her mouth!

Mellowed by the good food and alcohol, I was happy to heed the words of my beloved, no doubt kindly meant, if tactlessly put. However, reality is I have no willpower, and quickly proved the point by munching a soft-centre and opening another bottle of vino. Mulling over ways in which I might tone up my physique and lose weight without actually taking to the streets jogging, or wasting hours and pounds sterling, at some outrageously expensive gym while enduring endless chatter about dieting, it came to me, get a hobby that required physical activity.

Well gardening was out; to me tilling the earth was pointless drudgery for the weeds forever sprouted back with a vengeance, and the grass grew weekly and required a monotonous amount of time keeping trim. I was too old for soccer and rugby, which I detested. Cricket was a bore. I had a dislike of most animals, so even though the garden was well supplied with manure from the constant procession of horses passing our gate, I spurned the idea of any equestrian pursuits even though there were stables and hacking to be had at the end of the lane and the neighbouring fields supported herds of seemingly wild horses. As for walking, why don fancy dress to clamber over hill and dal, I lived in the country for heaven’s sake, and could stroll through nice scenery every time I visited the local hostelry. What’s more, if I needed vigorous exercise, it was a one-in-eight mile-long climb to the bakery in the village. As my eyes scanned the local paper for the TV section, my attention was drawn to the advertisements for second-hand boats. Yes, boat building was a noble occupation that required toil – and as I live on the banks of a river that flows into the nearby seaport of Whitby, with its long tradition of ship- building, then that would be the hobby for me and she-who-must-be-obeyed could hardly fault my reasoning or choice.

regeneration work carried out by ERYC and the provision of litter bins.

We had hoped to have the Branch display stand at the Sea Shanty Festival but we found out too late that the date had been changed and, sadly, the 2011 event has been cancelled.

As Chairman I accept that we are not reaching out, that the majority of the public know little if anything about IWA. We need to improve our publicity. We have display stands and some material but we need to hear of opportunities for using them with or without offers of help. We rely on our members for this information.

YOUR NEWSLETTER It would be good to have too much material for the newsletter and perhaps occasionally to have to go to an extra page. If members would write about their waterway experiences special places, amusing events, particularly sociable places, finds of historical and nature interest, photographs they have taken or just how they enjoy the waterways then there would be enough material to fill the newsletter for years. Your editor waits - expectantly, hopefully, patiently? Don’t put it off - do it now!

MEMBERSHIP Membership changed little over the year and new members always receive a welcome letter from Joan Muspratt, our Membership Secretary. The inaugaration of the new North Yorkshire branch is likely to result in some members who feel more allegiance to that area changing their Branch affiliation when their membership is renewed. This will be disappointing but it is natural for members to belong to the Branch where they feel most at home. What is clear is that we need to do some recruiting, especially among younger canal enthusiasts if we are to extend our influence and become more involved in saving and publicising the nation’s waterways.

YOUR BRANCH COMMITTEE Members of the committee have attended meetings regularly and have made their contribution to the discussions. Things don’t always go as we would wish as the regular reports from our two major restoration waterways remind us but we are always trying to organise the right programme, the right visits and seeking to make the work of the Inland Waterways Association more widely known - and more widely appreciated. Perhaps with us not having popular, frequently enjoyed waterways in our area it is difficult to say to people what might have happened, and still could happen, but for IWA and what the members of the organisation have achieved not just for themselves but also the public at large. We need new ideas, new enthusiasm and as some of our committee members decide it is time to retire, then it is you we need. Andrew Brett who, assisted by Roger Bromley, has organised our social meetings recently has decided to retire from the committee.

Andrew has planned some excellent evenings and we are grateful to him for the enthusiasm and effort he has put in. Now we need someone to volunteer to take his place.

If you decide to offer yourself as a committee member then I can assure you the meetings never go on after 10.00 pm and usually finish by 9.30 pm. Oh, and Joan and Gordon give us a lovely warm room and make a splendid cup of tea

Barry Robins, Branch Chairman (The Sea Shanty Festival has been reinstated)

How How do you get your

do you get your newsletter?

You will be aware that the cost of postage continues to rise sharply, another 4p per letter as you receive this newsletter so the cost of producing and delivering this letter to you is currently over 50p and going up. We are repeating our request for those members who are willing to receive their newsletter electronically to send their email address to Roger Bromley at www.roger@roger.karoo.co.uk. The money saved will be used for the purposes of IWA, to maintain our waterway heritage for the enjoyment of all. In these days of limited funding for the waterways any money we can save is important.

The building of Tudor Rose

-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-

The new North Riding Branch On 1st January 2011 the North Riding Branch of the Inland Waterways Association came into being. The Ouse/Ure section of IWA had at last reached Branch status. Congratulations to those who have worked over the years since our Branch’s Five Great Churches campaigning cruise to maintain and strengthen the connections with City of York Council. Tony Martin and Keith Chapman were involved in that cruise and are heavily involved as officers in the new Branch.

Over the next 12 months, as memberships come up for renewal, members of the old Northumbria branch who moved to the East Yorkshire branch will be given the opportunity to change to the new branch. For those who would like to attend social meetings York may be an easier journey. Whichever Branch they are part of, I am sure that their membership and involvement will be appreciated.

Was this the only boat finished on time?

And a good job too!