Progress with Thea - Week 1

Well Thea has now been in the dock for five days and a lot of headway has been made. As with most jobs on boats the list just seems to get longer and longer, but it's always best to address any issues when they are discovered. 

It was decided to remove the rear slide runners prior to preparing the cabin for painting and it was a good job that we did because there was a lot of corrosion going on under there as you can see by this picture!

It has now been needle gunned and linished back to remove it prior to a rust inhibitor being applied as you can see here. 

You can also see that we decided to remove the chimney collar to treat the corrosion that was occurring underneath it and the corrosion that was occurring down the cabin side has been dug out too.

The counter, dollies and cants get continued use, so we have decided to take this working area back to bare metal.

The large front deck which is constructed out of chequer plate has been needle gunned and wire brushed.

All the portholes have been removed and all apertures papered up...

Richard has now started to sand down the cabin sides.

I'll give you another update at the end of next week.

Best regards,

David.

What a difference a day makes!!

On Tuesday I was saying how fantastic the weather was, well what a difference a day makes because it has now gone the other way and the temperature has dropped massively compared to two days ago! So much so that coal sales have shot up through the roof and we now have deliveries planned for tomorrow to our usual customers, that will please Fred. Don't forget that not only do we sell pre packed solid fuel, coal, logs, stick, fire ligthters but we also deliver by road (minimum 10x25KG bags) and we still deliver by water, but only in Norbury, and only on a small boat that we load on the wharf not a 70 footer like other people do.

Another busy day here at Norbury today, well it was first thing this morning, the reception was full of people, people collection ordered parts, people getting diesel on the wharf, a big tractor with one of our regular customers on also after diesel, day boaters coming to collect their boat for the day, the phone wouldn't stop ringing, we didn't know where to turn first, we could have done with three tills at one stage and three ears to answer the phones, and then it was like someone turned the electricity off as the place went dead quiet and it stayed like that for the afternoon, the day boat came back with happy boaters on it and we had a hire boat return that has been out for the last three weeks with a regular customer on board.

Nothing really exciting happening around the yard, Simon has been working on a vintage engine in a boat, and has been fitting anodes, as well as having a mooch around the engines in the hire fleet, Lee has blacked a couples of boats on the dock and done some tidying on the moorings, and Richard has been mostly making a dusty mess in the paint shop as he carries on stripping Thea (a converted ex working boat) that belongs a to a friend and customer of Norbury.

That's it from me for today.
Simon

WOW!

Its hard to believe that it is the 8th October today as the sun has been belting its rays out all day, in fact its been that warm that I almost had my jumper off and Angela almost broke out in to a sweat, Simon was moaning because he hadn't got his shorts on and his legs were hot, as you can imagine this weather has bought out the visitors to Norbury which has keep Joyce very busy in the kitchen today, its just a shame that the canal is not a bit busier with people taking advantage of this brilliant weather, lets hope it stays like this for the next few weeks!

We have had a great response to the boat naming competition and have had some interesting name suggestions put forward, we do have a favourite at the moment but please please keep sending in the suggestions, oh and don't forget that the lucky winner will get to take the boat out FOC next year (not the whole of next year, just a short break)

The fish and chip suppers are nearly finished for this year so if you fancy a trip with some lovely fish n chips get in quick as we only have a few spaces left for this Friday, Saturday and next Friday.

We find ourselves in the unusual position of having two moorings becoming available shortly so if you are looking for a mooring in this beautiful spot(they don't come up often) then get in touch.

That's it from Me for toady
Simon

It's been a really busy day here at Norbury today.

It's been a really busy day here at Norbury today.

The trip boat has operated four trips as usual today, 11:00, 12:30, 14:00 and 15:30 hours. Each trip departs our Wharf outside the shop/tearoom and takes an hour round trip to Grub Street winding hole and return. There's plenty to see on the way and our experienced crew give a running commentary of things to look out for; like the infamous "High Bridge" that carries the Newport-Eccleshall road across the Shropshire Union Canal near to the village of Woodseaves. We ensure that our Fully Licensed Bar is well stocked to keep you fed and watered during the relaxing cruise.

We have undocked Sue's boat and it is now in the paint dock ready for Rich to start his magic on it tomorrow morning. The boat that has been in the paint dock has now been collected and started it's voyage to Droitwich.

There has been a bit of activity on the Wharf today. People stocking up with coal for the winter and our regular diesel and gas sales - not to forget the pumpouts!

Denise has been busy in the tearoom whilst Ange has been running from one end of the shop to the other - answering phones, serving customers etc. Lee has been pressure washing and Mick has been fitting the boat up that we got out the dock and stripping Thea.

I managed to take a picture as we were swapping boats on the dock today. It shows Thea passing Tycho. Both of these boats are Middle Northwich boats built for the expansion of the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company in 1936 (two of eight pairs ordered) and are peculiar as they have rounded chines and vee bottoms. It's nice to have two of these unique boats here at the same time.

Talking of old boats we have got quite a collection at the moment, which include: Ant, Calstock, Clover, Thea and Tycho.

Until tomorrow.

Best regards,

David.

New resident at Norbury attracts some interest

Regular visitors to Norbury will notice that we have a new resident. He moved in last week and seems quite content to live within our "working boatyard" environment. I first noticed him on Wednesday when he was fishing on the towpath opposite the boat that I was working on. He has also taken to sitting on the front of the hire boats, watching the world go by and creating alot of interest. I managed to capture a picture of him earlier and I thought that you might like to see it.

It's been a busy day here at Norbury today. We had three dayboats out first thing, followed by the trip boat out on a five hour chartered cruise to Wheaton Aston and back. We have just finished turning her around and we are off out again at 7pm with a Fish and Chip trip.

Simon has finished installing the engine in Ben Cruachan and it has been run up and tested. I must say it runs a treat and it runs really quietly and smoothly. We have sound proofed the whole engine room, it is mounted on super duper rubber mounts and we have installed an Aqua Drive.

Mick has been doing a bit of this, that and the other, but is making head way with the works he is doing on Ben Cruachan too.

Rich and Fred have finished painting a roof on a boat that we have currently got in the Wet dock which we should be swapping for Thea tomorrow.

I best go and walk the dog, get changed and get ready for the trip at seven. Until tomorrow!

Best regards,

David.

Life on the Cut

I came across this great footage last night and thought I would share with you all, enjoy!

Life on the Cut from MACE Archive on Vimeo.

Best regards,

David.

Nearly a month!

I am so sorry that there has been a lack of posts over the last month, it has been very busy here at Norbury with the school holidays and different staff off on their holidays and time has just slipped past really fast, Angela was going to do a blog last night but it was her birthday after all so I reckon she deserved a night off!

I don't really know where to start in terms of whats been going on here, lots and lots of boats have been going out, almost three day boats constantly since July, its only now that the bookings are dropping off for them, the hire boats have been busy as you would expect over the school holiday period, but again they have dropped right off now and it almost seems like winter has arrived early, still there is loads to do here, we have some big jobs on at the moment, and the painting dock is very very busy which is keeping Richard on his toes, the dry dock too is still busy and we seem to have a steady flow of boats using that. The trip boat has been very busy indeed and we are currently running fish and chip suppers on a Friday and a Saturday night, public trips on a Sunday and that's not forgetting the charters which are gaining in popularity, only last weekend the boat was out Friday night, Saturday afternoon, Saturday night, all day Sunday and then again on Sunday night for a 5 hour cruise from the Boat inn at Gnosall to the Hartley Arms at Wheaton Aston, I think you could say it was a definite booze cruise judging by the amount of beer they got through on the boat!

Between David, Angela and myself we will be writing regular blogs from now on so keep your eyes peeled.

Regards
Simon