Gallery pictures containing Carp

Following supplied by Graham Holland :- Owned by myself and used as a tug, towing Stewart and Lloyds\' BCN day boat 116, carrying general cargos until it was sold to Brentford Bridge Boatyard, who were in a better financial position to restore it (I was just a boatman). They removed the fine national Diesel and abandoned it and let it sink in Brentford Tide Lock cutting on the down-river side, against the bank, where I saw her remains only a few of years ago, when passing through by car. I could not resist visiting her grave. Even then there was enough to manage a restoration. All ironwork including the knees and wooden ribs round the front end and the stem post were there; as was the Counter Block. She is exposed at each low tide and can be approached from the rear of the Heidelberg building. She had even had enough life in her bones to sunk a pleasure boat which had moored over her grave and got impaled on her ribs. She never did much go for pleasure boats. She kinda thought they got in her way when she was up for boating. Carp would have made a fine flyboat. Ian Riley had recovered Carp from Norwich Middle Flash where BWB dumped her when they closed commercial carrying and abandoned the boating families to council houses; and then it had been acquired by Steve Wakefield. It was later sold to a group of young musicians and abandoned, sunk, at Croxley Green, Rickmansworth from whence I raised it. It never sank whilst in my possession; although that was darned hard work as it had some serious rot around the counter and the stem. It was badly hogged until I risked weighting the keelson with water barrels. This resulted in a period of nearly a year during which time, she was very inclined to suddenly leak like a sieve; but she came pretty-well straight in the end. It was a nightmare, but a delight. That was the finest motor I ever steered. I ran her out onto The Thames River on a couple of occasions. She was not overly happy about that. She didn\'t handle high winds over flooding tide too well. The chop brought waves up over her sensitive parts around the cheeks and a following tide (when going the other way) would flood over her low, 20\" counter and leak in the back doors when running full chat. But we made it out and we made it back a few times, to and fro from Twickenham. The crucial bit was timing the tides and not trying to punch them. Carp was quick, but not as quick as the Thames River in full flood; by a very long way. We nearly missed the Brentford Tide Lock cutting entrance a couple of times, and I thought we\'d end up coming in at Limehouse instead; but we just made it thanks to that old National engine. But at the end of it, she never let me down and could pull 3 loaded butties or day boats without complaining much more than a steam of water over the counter boards into the cabin; single handed! BWB hated Carp, but everyone else loved her. The thing with these Fish Class wooden single motors was that they swam so well. Her swim went forward of the engine hole. I guess it was on account of the relatively low power of the 9 hp. Bolinders which were fitted. 900 r.p.m., they did and swung an 18\" prop! Never intended to boat with a butty, they flew astern as well as they went ahead. I once reversed her the full length of the Tring Arm; only having to go ahead to straighten up twice, when I lost concentration for a second. I was pissed off about that! Steering was heavy, but accurate to the inch. There was no counterbalance on the rudder; this built your tiller arm, but gave the ability to tuck her in sideways. That was always a pretty trick! The pleasure boaters were terrified; but perfectly safe!. The cabin was a treat, too, and warm as a you could want in the hardest winter, which is more than I can say for the steel cabins of some of the GU Motors that Murrells used to use on the Lime Juice Run between Brentford and Boxmoor. I Lock-wheeled the last of those with Andy Farquarson at the tiller of TOWCESTER! No butty. Just a half full single motor. Sorry, I\'m rambling. Never quite lost the inclination for Tales From the Tiller to earn a pint outside a canalside pub each night when we tied up. Silly really! At 51 y/o (and heavens knows how many years since) I still have a soft spot for the memories. Would I go back tomorrow? Not on your life! But I\'m delighted and proud to have done it. Carp (affectionately known as anagram) had a Commercial Narrow Carrying Licence and worked commercially till I took her off the cut into the River Brent because BWB would not re-licence, being convinced she was going to sink. I wasn\'t quite sure, but she managed another year or two on the half-tide (with up to 20 feet of water under her belly) till I gave her to B.B.B.Y.

Posted by: Andy

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