Gallery pictures containing Ferret

Of course. Click History at the top of this page then go to the Bolinder link! Any questions email me drew@joshers.info

Posted by: Drew

(2009-02-27)

quimper, in France 2009 february 27 dear sir, i have a svedish boat, built in 1907.this boat had sailed from Sweden to Australia, in 1930, with a Bolinder oil 15 hp engine; i\'m looking for picture or drawing of this type of engine; could you please tell me where i can find some; best regards; Pierre

Posted by: pierreleseach@club.f

(2009-02-27)

quimper, in France 2009 february 27 dear sir, i have a svedish boat, built in 1907.this boat had sailed from Sweden to Australia, in 1930, with a Bolinder oil 15 hp engine; i\'m looking for picture or drawing of this type of engine; could you please tell me where i can find some; best regards; Pierre

Posted by: pierre Le Séac\'h

(2008-04-14)

Ferret is powered by a Bolinder BM 15 hp hot bulb oil engine. As well as carrying her own cargo, this gives enough power to pull an unpowered narrowboat called a ‘butty’. A motor and butty together are called ‘a pair’. During her working life Ferret was paired with several butties as part of the Fellows, Morton and Clayton north western fleet. Rumour has it that Ferret was a ‘change’ boat, used temporarily while the boatman’s usual motor boat was in dock for major repairs. This might explain why Ferret was paired with so many different butties. Ferret was based at Albion Wharf, Wolverhampton, and travelled to various places in the North West of England such as Ellesmere Port, Weston Point Docks, Runcorn and Manchester. The butties it is known she was paired with include: Clara, Grange, Stone, Winsford and finally, for 4 years, Urmston. On nationalisation, Ferret was sold to the predecessor of The British Waterways Board on 18 November 1948. She was allocated to the North Western Division, Southern Carrying Fleet but transferred to London in 1953. This time the butties she was paired with were Northwich, John, Nebula and Bangor. After a spell as a maintenance boat, the Ferret was sold in 1960 to Waterdale Canal Services at Moore in Cheshire with the intention of converting her to a floating hotel. At some stage, her original Bolinder engine was removed (this was fitted into Dragon, a Yarwood’s built boat). In a rather poor condition and still in British Waterways colours, she was sold to Mr and Mrs Clark in 1964 who based the boat at Preston Brook and then Barbridge. During the mid 60s, they built cabins in the hold and the Bolinder engine from the motor Elk was installed (by Peter Froud) and served them well for nearly 20 years of extensive cruising on the canal system. The boatman’s cabin was restored professionally by Taylor’s Boatyard, Chester in the mid 70s. In 1983 she was sold to the City of Nottingham Industrial Museum. Although working well, at this time, the Bolinder engine was overhauled. The Bolinder engine is a lamp-start, single cylinder 15 horse power semi-diesel two stroke. This engine type was the work horse of the Josher fleet and has a highly prized exhaust note with an unusual hit and miss governor arrangement. In Waterways World, March 1986, John Cockcroft gives a colourful account on the starting procedure for the ‘terrifying’ Bolinder engine when he brought the boat back from Norton Canes to Nottingham: ‘This 15hp (1500cc) single cylinder engine has to be kick started – against compression – after being heated at the cylinder head by a blowlamp! Kick starting is achieved by means of a pin or plug which projects from the front face of the flywheel, it is spring loaded so that normally it is retracted. The victim puts his right foot on the pin, a small grab handle is provided for his right hand while the top of the fuel tank supports his left. The idea then is to concentrate all the force in your body onto that right foot and push down to the deck as hard and far as possible. When your foot hits the deck the pin springs back, onto the flywheel, which returns powerfully in the direction whence it has come, hopefully to start the engine by its inertia. Obviously if the would-be starter has totally committed himself, and the engine fires prematurely, then like a winged spirit he takes flight, hence our trepidation.’ The Clark family have added that, ‘Starting the engine was not a matter of strength but the correct knack in ‘kicking it over’ once the engine was hot enough’. The family were quite small but were always able to start the engine easily. In 1999 Nottingham Industrial Museum closed and Ferret was transferred to the Boat Museum at Ellesmere Port.

Posted by: Andy

(2007-08-25)

hi. my dads family, the Tolley\'s, used to work on various fmc boats from the 1920\'s onward(approx). he said that his dad worked the ferret around the 50\'s.

Posted by: d.tolley

(2007-08-15)

Was the first Bolinder I kicked when Ken Ward looked after her. I remember it well, was at Broxbourne in 1989.

Posted by: Drew

(2007-08-14)

based at the boat museum ellesmere port

Posted by: m

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