Boats Far From Home

[Broads01]

Nice picture. I work in Central Bristol and I've walked past that one. It never moves and I'm pretty sure it's a live aboard. From the colour scheme it looks like ex Thames Falcon from Bridge Boats in Reading. 

[Broads01]

Yesterday, for the first time, I visited Portavon Marina near Bristol and I don't think I've ever seen a location away from the Broads with so many Broads craft. I should have taken more photos because there were also a few woodies which I couldn't identify but I could tell their origins from the styling. I did take these.

The Calypso, once of Horning Pleasure craft, looked sadly unloved. The Bermuda (which started life at Albatross Marine, St Olaves) looked much brighter. Fleetwing was virtually unchanged from it's Topcraft days - paintwork, name and former location still in tact. 

[ExSurveyor]

8 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Fleetwing was virtually unchanged from it's Topcraft days - paintwork, name and former location still in tact. 

It was moved down to Bristol about 3 years ago to use as residential.

The other two from the fleet remain on the Broads.

[Broads01]

36 minutes ago, psychicsurveyor said:

The other two from the fleet remain on the Broads

I'm guessing that would be your boat and the Barnes Brinkcraft one? I didn't realise there were only three. 

[ExSurveyor]

17 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

I'm guessing that would be your boat and the Barnes Brinkcraft one? I didn't realise there were only three. 

Mine and one other member on here, have the same two cabin ones,

 Barnes had the three with the open plan four poster type, they sold one that is now in Surrey and they have a second one up for sale, very odd layouts. There were 3 of each type built, the barnes ones being converted from caravan carriers and the later three ( blue roofs ) were designed as cabin cruisers from scratch rather than being conversions.

[RealWindmill]

Interesting to see the picture of the Topliner Fleetwing at Bristol Docks. Thanks for posting.

She looks permanently moored and i see she has a wood burning chimney stack right above where the helm position was. So it doesn't look like it is moved about much anymore ( or they may get hot trying !) Be interesting to see inside what other mods they have made.

I was at the TopCraft yard when her purchasers were viewing her and remember the conversations that they were looking for a liveaboard boat for Bristol. Fleetwing was in the yard at the time. They were discussing taking out this bulkhead and making that bit open plan, to which Paul, Topcraft Engineer and excellent fellow, replied something like, " you wouldnt want to do that , the roof will collapse ". We had a larff.

[Broads01]

7 hours ago, RealWindmill said:

Interesting to see the picture of the Topliner Fleetwing at Bristol Docks. Thanks for posting.

She looks permanently moored and i see she has a wood burning chimney stack right above where the helm position was. So it doesn't look like it is moved about much anymore ( or they may get hot trying !) Be interesting to see inside what other mods they have made.

I was at the TopCraft yard when her purchasers were viewing her and remember the conversations that they were looking for a liveaboard boat for Bristol. Fleetwing was in the yard at the time. They were discussing taking out this bulkhead and making that bit open plan, to which Paul, Topcraft Engineer and excellent fellow, replied something like, " you wouldnt want to do that , the roof will collapse ". We had a larff.

Not Bristol docks, Portavon Marina is at Keynsham which is between Bristol and Bath.

The most interesting thing to me was how little had been changed. Only the Topcraft name had been painted out but only in a half-hearted way so the lettering was clearly visible under the paint. "Oulton Broad" was still there. 

[ExSurveyor]

Bit like this

[Broads01]

1 hour ago, psychicsurveyor said:

Bit like this

Yep, except the Bristol boat still has the original Fleetwing lettering. 

[RealWindmill]

9 hours ago, Broads01 said:

Not Bristol docks, Portavon Marina is at Keynsham which is between Bristol and Ba

Spelt  K-E-Y- N-S-H-A -M.  

Remember that broads01, or is that a little before your time ?.  Radio Luxembourg and all that.

[Vaughan]

10 hours ago, RealWindmill said:

Spelt  K-E-Y- N-S-H-A -M.  

So that's who you are!

I knew I recognised your style from somewhere!

HORACE BATCHELOR.

Peddler of dreams of making money, that never came to anything, in reality.

Thank Goodness, when lying under my boarding school bedcovers with a torch, listening to Luxembourg on my crystal set, I was too young to be taken in by all your "old squit"!

[JennyMorgan]

Vaughan, memories, this clip includes Horace Batchelor at 17.04 minutes into the program. 

Ex WD earphones prevented overheating under the sheets!

 

[JennyMorgan]

On 20/09/2020 at 14:36, RealWindmill said:

Paul, Topcraft Engineer and excellent fellow, replied something like, " you wouldnt want to do that , the roof will collapse ". We had a larff.

There has been more than one Broads boat ruined by the removal of bulkheads in the name of rampant open planning .

The downsides of open planning often manifest themselves when a boat is slipped and the lack of internal support becomes expensively obvious.

[Broads01]

15 hours ago, RealWindmill said:

Spelt  K-E-Y- N-S-H-A -M.  

Remember that broads01, or is that a little before your time ?.  Radio Luxembourg and all that.

Nope, over my head I'm afraid, I'm perhaps too young. 

[JennyMorgan]

20 minutes ago, Broads01 said:

Nope, over my head I'm afraid, I'm perhaps too young. 

You'd be pretty much into the senile decay bracket if you can remember Dick Barton, Dan Dare and Horace Batchelor!

[RealWindmill]

1 hour ago, Broads01 said:

Nope, over my head I'm afraid, I'm perhaps too young. 

No worries Simon.

As has been said it dates back to the early 1960s ,perhaps even late 50's, so those of us who can remember and comment on it are well into our dotage.

Radio Luxemburg was transmitted on Medium Wave ( or was it even Long Wave) radio frequencies from Luxembourg  and was receivable on them new fangelled transistor radios that had just been invented. Its signal used to fade in and out something awful, especially when listened to under the bed covers when parents thought their kids were sleeping.

It predated pirate pop radio stations and Radio 1 by many years and was the only way kids could hear their latest favourite pop songs.

So to Keynsham,  which was put on the map by a nuasious  advert run by Horace Batchelor who was a football pools get rich quick merchant based in Keynsham. The punchline was " Keynsham spelt Keynsham Bristol "as can be heard in JM's clip.  Thanks JM.

So now you know.

[RealWindmill]

6 hours ago, Vaughan said:

So that's who you are!

I knew I recognised your style from somewhere!

HORACE BATCHELOR.

Peddler of dreams of making money, that never came to anything, in reality.

Thank Goodness, when lying under my boarding school bedcovers with a torch, listening to Luxembourg on my crystal set, I was too young to be taken in by all your "old squit"!

 

Funny.

[StillCruising]

Radio Luxembourg otherwise known as Fabulous 208 was originally on the long wave, it changed to the medium wave in the very early fifties.

[TheQ]

9 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

You'd be pretty much into the senile decay bracket if you can remember Dick Barton, Dan Dare and Horace Batchelor!

Funnily enough they're playing the Devils Gallop by Charles Williams on the wireless at the moment..

(Theme tune for Dick Barton)

[JennyMorgan]

5 minutes ago, TheQ said:

Funnily enough they're playing the Devils Gallop by Charles Williams on the wireless at the moment..

Perhaps as to what a 'wireless' is should be explained to our younger members!

[NorfolkNog]

14 minutes ago, JennyMorgan said:

Perhaps as to what a 'wireless' is should be explained to our younger members!

Indeed JM 

And a record player too! 

(going off topic as per the norm) 

[TheQ]

3 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

Perhaps as to what a 'wireless' is should be explained to our younger members!

Should I have said radiogram?

[CambridgeCabby]

I wonder if they still get schoolchildren to make crystal sets in physics at school , 

[CambridgeCabby]

[Vaughan]

13 hours ago, JennyMorgan said:

You'd be pretty much into the senile decay bracket if you can remember Dick Barton, Dan Dare and Horace Batchelor!

Not forgetting Brian Matthew, Keith Fordyce, Sam Costa, and even Jimmy Young.