Wednesday 29 April 2009


Hi

My name is Linda and I work in the Chandlery at Tooley’s Boatyard.

That is me in the leather, looking as though I am propping up the bar.

I was out on the maiden cruise of the restored “Icebreaker – Oxford 1” going through Banbury lock which is just beyond the boatyard.

I moved up to Banbury from Brighton in 2003, although I have been cruising the Inland Waterways since 1984.

Our first boat was a 16Ft fibreglass boat that we had brought up from Littlehampton, Sussex and launched onto the Grand Union at Southall. Our mooring was at the BWB yard at the top of the Hanwell Locks. We had many happy holidays on this boat with our four children and dog.

Our next boat was a “Microplus” which we moored at Marsworth. This was a lovely mooring on the Grand Union above the Tring reservoirs.

Our current boat is (or was) a Clubline “Mulberry”. It was a 20ft steel boat which was outboard powered. This has now been stretched to 42Ft and is powered by an “Enfield” twin opposed inboard. We even have a pointy end!!!!

I have met many interesting people since working at Tooley’s, as the historic boatyard was used by a lot of the old working boat families and has a 200 year-old working Forge, which attracts a lot of visitors.

Hopefully you will come in and visit us.


LINDA

Tuesday 14 April 2009

Taking a breather...

I'm in the process of relaxing at home (well, as much as one can relax with a teething baby!), following two complete re-paints. The first, 'Emerald Dream', was a 57ft trad. The colours used were Atlantic Blue, cream, and Postal Services Red for the coach-lines and a few other areas. Although you do occasionally come across re-paint jobs that simply require a good sanding followed by an undercoat and a top, they are few and far between. More often than not, a full strip-back is what's needed, a far more thorough option to be sure.

Here is 'ED' as a bare beauty:

And here she is once coated in beautiful Mason's P-Type (we use Craftmaster's lovely thick, full-bodied primers and undercoats, followed by Mason's top-coats - a combination that works for us):





Not a moment's breath later, 'ED' was out of the dock, and 'Sonflower' was in. Again, a 57 footer, but this time with a cruiser stern. A good-looking boat laid out more for safe, family cruising than traditional wants, the colours used here were Deep Royal Green, a Lemon Chrome, and light grey 'raddle' decks and roof.


I do love the contrast with the yellow and green, and the light grey sets both off beautifully.


Anyhows, both jobs were very much appreciated by the owners, and I certainly felt a sense of pride as the sun glanced off 'Sonflower' as she exited the dock.

Time for a break now, and for some time with the baby. This new 'dad' thing is really something else! And extremely tiring. Zzzzzzzzzz...



MARTIN

Thursday 2 April 2009

Another day, another Matt...


Hello there,


To continue the introductions, I am also called Matt. To save confusion if you call or come to Tooleys, I am known as Mechanic Matt, amongst other things.


My career started on rather larger vessels, as after studying Mechanical Engineering (Marine Bias) at Plymouth Poly, I spent 15 years in RMNB Devonport working on Royal Naval and RFA Ships.

During that time my small boat experience was keeping the boats, and believe it or not the jet-skis, of the Dockyard Police afloat and ticking over.

My interest in Narrowboats was kindled by spending a day on one with friends on the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation, this developed into a full time commitment when I convinced my young lady to live on one with me.

I started working on the canals as a mechanic with a local hire fleet, and have been at Tooleys for a couple of years,

I think the main reason for my continued enjoyment of the job is the sheer variety of engines and ancillaries that Narrowboaters and builders tend to fit, so if you have something unusual or a strange problem bring it to us, we’d love to see it!

Occasionally on the blog I am going to mention a maintenance task to jog some memories, this isn’t meant to put me out of a job, just to help make my tasks easier if I come to work on your boat.

The first one I’ll mention is clean out your deck drains, a simple five minute task that will help make working in your engine bay a lot nicer.


Ok that’s all for now, oh and sorry for the odd photograph but photography is another hobby, a free oil filter for your engine for the first person to email the canal name and lock number it was taken in.


Mech Matt.