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Here you will find information on the Editor
of TillerTalk and the WTNBC, Dave, along with the club secretary, Christine, plus an insight in to the builders
of the finest narrowboats, and winners of so many boat shows, year in and year out; Jonathan Wilson and Tim Tyler
| THE EDITOR Dave Beet by Christine | Now
living in France, Dave has owned and fitted out quite a few boats which, in the early days at least, he had little time to
cruise. At that time, he worked the club & cabaret circuit with his comedy show group and he thought himself very lucky if he managed one weekends boating a month. Dave's
boats have been; (Susie Too) A 20ft Loftus Bennet which he took to sea quite
a few times. Deciding then to see the inland waterway system he purchased a 36ft Narrowboat shell (Suralia) This was a non trad` open rear deck type. Following the fit out he cruised extensively, before
selling it and then buying (Trojan) a 55 ft Narrowboat (Mike Heywood trad) shell, with
the welding by Jonathan Wilson, who at that time was just 16 years of age, Dave again fitted this one out, and once more cruised each weekend before obtaining a 70ft
Narrowboat (Eagle 70') This to was a new Mike Heywood shell (welding again by Jonathan Wilson, who was
then 19 years old) which he once more fitted out and cruised extensively before returning to sea boating aboard a twin
engined motor cruiser 35ft Viscount (Storm) While still owning
the Viscount he bought a 45 x 21 ft Catamaran AnnGinSan which required a full
refit. This he only sailed once before selling on to a couple who intended sailing her to New Zealand. In 1996. (Storm
sadly sunk in the summer floods of 2007 and her latest owner saw her written off by the insurance company.) Dave then bought,
the craft type he had admired for a long time. This was a 36' Moonraker 350, Delta Moon. Again, a total refit was called for before Dave managed to
make many trips up and down the East Coast of Britain and over to Belgium several times. Dave then joined the
Moonraker Owners Club and, following an article submitted to Morvyn Phillips, he was asked if he would consider editing and
publishing the first club magazine. `Moonrakers International` (as it has now become) was born. Following on
from this Dave went on to design and maintain the Moonraker Owners Club website which can be browsed by clicking
on the link http://web.ukonline.co.uk/david.beet Although he has not maintained the site for years it still remains active to this day. Dave also translated in
to English the original Danish Moonraker web site and this still thrives today. Prior to that he counts himself very fortunate
to have also sailed around the West Indies aboard the Cabrina 'J', a 97 ft steel yacht, skippered by John Horn. He
later sailed aboard the same yacht throughout the Med, which took him back to the time he 'drove' 'The Majulema'
(a 77ft Motor Yacht built originally for General Franco) also around the Med. the latter was moored in Moiraira and the Palma. CLUB SECRETARY Christine Beet by Dave Christine became interested in boats and boating at a very
early age, prior to meeting and marrying Dave she had only ever owned a small boat. Christine has now clocked up many cruising hours aboard
the 57ft Narrowboat 'Volusia' she built alongside Dave in 2005. Christine brings a lot of organisational
skills to the WTNBC. In the past she too has edited and produced newsletters, been treasurer of several committees, and has been on the
publications and public relations committee of a national organisation, for which she organised annual rallies and events..
e-mail:- christine@wtnbc.co.uk |
The Builders;
Jonathan Wilson Always a deep thinker, even as a youngster,
Jonathan has studied in great detail many subjects that on first meeting one would never expect the depth of knowledge he
has on subjects so diverse and far reaching. Interested in narrowboat building, even before he left school he
would often go down to his uncle's boat building establishment in Hanley Stoke on Trent. As soon as he left
school he started working for Mike Heywood, first at Stoke and then moving over to Hoo Mill lock on the Trent and Mersey,
just above Great Heywood Junction where Mike's, and Johns early boats were built. After a while John moved
on and started building his own boats as Stenson, a good bit further down the Trent and Mersey. Several other venues saw Jonathan
carrying out his skills then he set up at Thorne on the Stainforth and Keadby canal. The latter move allowed
him the room to build wide beam boats which is just another string to Jonathan's bow, to date he has built quite a few
broad beam craft and enjoys the diversity this side of the business brings. Johnathan was always concerned about the noise
his boatbuilding activities brought to the neighbourhood at Thorne, plus a constant problem with the slipway there so, when
the opportunity came to base himself in Sheffield right next door to the beautifully refurbished canal basin, which is smack
in the centre of the city. Well it was a place he couldn't resist! While all this was happening Mike Heywood
passed away and Jonathan took charge of the yard at Hixon for a while before handing this aspect of the business over to Tim
who by now was a full partner in the whole concern. Expansion of the yard at Sussex Street is planned for the near future
with a new, and much larger workshop to compliment the existing one. Add to this Jonathan's intention to open up a new
yard somewhere else on the system with moorings, slipway and possibly a dry dock then it's clear to see things for the
future are looking very positive indeed. One of Jonathan's pet projects at the moment is the building of
a large sea going motor yacht, and to this end he is devoting quite a lot of what spare time he gets these days.
Tim Tyler
Tim
was fascinated by what he had seen of the Narrowboat building world which had dominated the life of his brother in law, Jonathan
Wilson; so much so that he went along and served his apprenticeship under the watchful eye of Jonathan himself. Tim
was a natural, and it took no time at all before he became an award winner in his own right. Jonathan and he then became full
partners in the business. Tim runs the Hixon end of this ever expanding business. Not many people outside the
fraternity realise that all shells produced by Tim and Jonathan start life at Hixon, they are then transported on to Sheffield
where the finishing off takes place at the Sussex Street Yard. The predominant feature in all this is 'Family'.
Not just immediate family, which is a very strong bond in itself, but when you add the extended family and friends forged
over a lifetime, then it is not hard to see where the quality, so apparent in the craft built by Tim and Jonathan, comes from.
Tim, based as he is at Hixon, is looking after the long family tradition, where the late Mike Heywood
had first set the ball rolling. The family tradition mentioned usually becomes apparent with a phone call to the yard where
Tim's Father often answers the phone. Tim has two daughters who he spends as much time as possible with, but as always
the work of keeping the boats coming out on time devours much individual attention but Tim is quite philosophical about it
all and just gets on with the job of building upon the great reputation he has accrued within the industry.
The Cabinet Maker;
Anthony 'M'
If
I were a carpenter, sang the Four Tops! They must have taken one look at an Anthony ‘M’ fit out and thought they
never could be carpenters to this standard so gave up the idea and became the Anthony ‘M’s of the singing world.
OK it’s just a play on
words, but there is no doubting the class and style of an Anthony ‘M’ fitted boat. He makes boats that are a cut above the rest and, more importantly, he
now turns out superb boats working at the Sheffield yard exclusively for Jonathan and Tim, The last two Crick fit outs for instance, Dignity and In-Tuition, were
both to his designs and both for different reasons were show stoppers. A boat fitted out by Anthony 'M' is of the
A stream. No one comes close to his fit out standard, and are an investment second to none. Most people who own one proudly
carry his name on the side of their craft. You can catch his column too in TillerTalk!
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