Restoration

Restoration has always been an important part of our work, and we hope it will continue to be so. Our detailed knowledge of and enthusiasm for historic boats has earned us a reputation as one of the leaders in the field of narrowboat restoration.

We have been involved with a wide variety of projects over the years, ranging from major rebuild works, new cabins, gunwhales, decks and cants to minor hull repairs. We have undertaken rebottoming, refooting and conversions, both cloth shaped and conventional. Whatever the job in hand, we work with a high attention to detail, and complete it in the most unobtrusive and sympathetic manner.

We are able to offer pneumatic hot riveting, which we have used during major hull repairs, replacing counters, chine angles and refooting, and also when replacing engine rooms, Northwich cabins, decks and bulkheads.

In short, we are happy and able to undertake any repairs or rebuilds to historic boats, and wether the work is extensive or relatively minor, always with our usual attention to detail. We are also happy to offer our best advice whenever we can be of help to anyone considering having restoration work done, or doing it theirselves

Some of our more extensive projects include the following:-

Antlia

Antlia is a 1935 little Northwich motor boat. In the 1950’s the stern was cut off just in front of the engine room and was used as the stern end of a tug which was called Tardebigge. Subsequently, the front half of the boat was converted into a hire boat, the Water Vixen, with 20’ going for scrap. In 1993 Terry Chappell bought the Tardebigge, intending to have a new Northwich fore end built on to the original back end, but discovered that the Water Vixen, then called Kitty, had come up for sale. He bought the boat, and had it roaded up to the yard. We then set about reuniting the two ends as a 60’ boat, including a 10’ riveted section using original pattern knees out of a scrapped wooden boat, rebottoming, fitting new front and back decks, engine beds and diesel tanks, with a new riveted cabinand engine room as original, and eventually a new 25’ main cabin.

Sextans

Sextans was built as one of eight middle Northwich motor boats in 1936. Along with three others, the boat was converted to a 40’ icebreaker tug in the 1940’s, and was eventually sold on to Wyvern shipping and converted into a hire boat. The engine room and back cabin were removed, a new engine fitted under a long back deck, and a hireboat style cabin added. The boat came to us for restoration in 1995. We removed the cabin and engine, and lengthened the hull to 50’, using a 10’ section left over from the conversion of a middle Northwich butty. We replaced the whole counter and counter sides, front deck and back deck, before riveting a new back cabin and engine room, with new engine beds and diesel tanks as original, and a 20’ conversion.

Before:

After Restoration:

Scorpio

Scorpio is another little Northwich motorboat, which stayed in British waterways ownership to become a maintenance boat. In the early 1980’s the original cabin and engine room, engine beds and diesel tanks were removed, and a new welded cabin fitted, with the engine at the back and a mess cabin where the engine room had been. In 2002 the decision was made to restore the boat under the heritage lottery funded working boats project. We stripped all the cabin works off, and riveted a new back cabin and engine room, re-installing the engine, with new engine beds and tanks, finishing the boat as it would have been as a maintenance boat in the 1950’s

Dragon

Dragon is a 1925 Bolinder powered josher motorboat that had been extensively restored some years previously, with a steel bottom and back cabin. The counter was found to be in poor condition, as were the footings, and the bottom also needed replacement. We removed the cabin, engine and engine room (the cabin and part of the engine room was subsequently used on the josher Ibex), and assessed the condition of the hull. The whole counter, from the engine room aft, was replaced and riveted, as the original. The footings were also replaced, as was the chine angle, which was found to be too poor to fit the intended wooden bottom to. The new chine angle was fabricated and riveted to the footings from the engine room forwards. A new riveted engine room was fabricated and fitted, and the rebuilt Bolinder re-installed. The new back cabin was then grained in a mixture of walnut, light oak and bird’s eye maple.

Aquila

Aquila is my own boat, a 1935 iron little Woolwich, still powered by a National engine. When I bought the boat it was converted, and I found that whilst the sides, fore and stern ends were in good condition, everything else was ready for replacement. We stripped off the cabin and engine room, removed the engine and tanks, before fitting a new steel bottom. A complete new riveted engine room was fitted prior to the gunwhales, back deck and back cabin which were all done in timber. The front bulkhead was repaired, and a new front deck riveted on. We are currently in the last stages of rebuilding the engine, and hope to have the boat mobile next year.