Silsden is home to a large boat hire business so the canal through the town itself is currently lined with moored hire boats, with their distinctive livery. Silsden Boats have a drum logo and many of the boats have 'Drum' in the name: Hum Drum, Drummer Boy and so on. The lockdown has meant no-one can get away for a canal-cruising holiday. Some miles further on, I came across three boats moored - and they were all very different: one a fairly traditional narrowboat, one adapted with a tall wheelhouse and then the tiniest narrowboat I've ever seen! I don't know if it is a normal one cut down or whether some are built like this. I suppose it would be easier to get through the locks but there can't be much useable space inside. Cute though...
The white stern of the boat with the wheelhouse is an exact copy from carrying days. The 40t motor boats often towed a dumb barge. These 1900 built engineless barges were left overs from pre-steamer horse towing days. The stern was built wider then so that whole families could live and work aboard.
ReplyDeleteThat last one reminds me of the old tin bath we had when I was young!
ReplyDeleteThough I tell many,there must still be others, McVickar Marshall's ships and Fernie Brothers', Lochs, Counties, Shires, Drums, the countless lines
ReplyDeleteWhose house-flags all were once familiar signs
At high main-trucks on Mersey's windy ways-
They mark our passage as a race of men
Earth will not see such ships as those again.
John Masefield, Poet Laureate, "Ships".
Canal boats make me smile. It is sad people can't use them again yet.
ReplyDeleteHopefully they will soon be back taking people for trips.
ReplyDeleteHopefully, these canal boats will be able to take people on outings soon. I liked the purple one, my favorite color.
ReplyDelete