Get Together 2008
When so many said they would attend the event by
road, the eventual turnout was very disappointing. On the positive side, the number of members arriving by boat had
inreased threefold from last year. In view of the fact that the latter stage of the journey involves quite a bit of hard work
,their efforts were very much appreciated.
We had the added bonus this year of a live band,
Bad Reputation, generously provided by 'Anthony M'. We may not have been their biggest crowd of the year but we were
certainly one of the most enthusiastic, with those members who had arrived by boat hoping to attend their next gig on
the way back from Sheffield. Certainly the venue must have been one of the most unusual they had performed in, playing
between two almost completed narrowboat shells.
Many thanks to all of those who assisted with the
event, especially Jonathan and Anthony 'M' , who worked tirelessly throughout the day getting things organised, whilst showing
round the guests who attended the open day. Unfortunately Tim Tyler was away on a pre-arranged holiday so once again
missed both the work and the fun!
WTNBC New Members Update
New members waiting for their paperwork etc. Please
bear with us as we are in the process of moving home at the moment. Everything is in storage as we await the paperwork to
be completed on our new home in France. In the meantime we are happily living on the boat. The weathers fine, the waters wonderful,
but can we find anything? Normal service will be resumes asap.
Vat Free?
Well, well, well!
It appears that a recent court case challanging the tax man on his right to charge VAT on a Dutch barge has ended with
a ruling that; as the craft in question was not built solely for pleasure purposes but built as a place of residence,
the VAT man had no right to put the VAT on the boat in the first place.
Better still,
I understand the judge failed to mention the 'above 15 tonne' rule. This rule, you wil be aware, effectively ruled out
live aboard narrowboat owners from claiming back the VAT on their craft. This ommision will now, no doubt, see a test case
brought in by such an owner.
Expansion of Activities at the Sheffield Yard
You heard it here first folks, (see Boating Centre of Excellence article, below and earlier)
Tim Tyler Boatbuilders Ltd are pleased to announce their long awaited move to Victoria Boatyard in the centre of Sheffield. “It’s been almost four years of planning and preparation, and has involved
a great deal of investment, including the construction of two purpose-built workshops and associated development of the site,
but it has been a worthwhile process as we can now bring our family group of companies together under one roof.
As you can imagine, our joint wealth
of experience together with our highly skilled and dedicated workforce operating on the one site will enable us to offer our
customers the highest levels of service and further enhance our hard-won reputation for beautifully crafted hulls. Once in
place, we will be in a position to offer the full and complete service right down to boat handling for those who need it.
This of course is something we could not offer at the land locked industrial site at Hixon and there has certainly been an
increasing demand for this service along with the need to provide space for those wishing to fit out their own craft with,
- and this is really important, - access to advice and help from the professionals on site.
It will be lovely to see things come
full-circle again!
Since I started as Jonathan’s
apprentice at ‘The Old Sidings’ in Pipe-Gate some twenty-two years ago we
have always worked closely together and have the privilege of training a whole new generation in the art of boatbuilding. So it is with a great sense of excitement and anticipation that we enter this new
chapter in our history determined to make Victoria Boatyard a true centre of boatbuilding excellence”
The move from Hixon in Staffordshire, to Sheffield
should be completed by the end of July and will see all three companies together again on the same site for the first time in nearly ten
years.
Effective from 1st August 2008, enquiries and correspondence
should be directed to:-
Tim Tyler Boatbuilders Ltd
Jonathan Wilson Boatbuilders Ltd
Mike Christian Boatbuilders Ltd
Victoria Boatyard
Sussex Street
Sheffield
Tel
01142 786490
S4 7YY
Tel/fax 01142 781234
Website; www.wilsontylerboatbuilders.com
Narrow Dog
to Indian River
Terry Darlington, author of the Narrowdog to series, the latest being to Indian River, e-mailed
WTNBC to say his boat 'Phyllis May' was built by Jonathan in his very early days. She has had many admiring comments
over the years.
and while the adventure was very scary at times it was never
because of the boat herself!! TillerTalk will be reviewing the book for the next issue.
Congratulations
from all at WTNBC
Club members, Ruth
and David, became Mr. and Mrs Crane recently. They e-mailed to say:-
"We actually did it by boat (well we moved down to Skipton for
the night so we didn’t have far to walk back from the pub)
WTNBC send every good wish for a great future together.
Dave, by the way has a great website you can visit via the 'useful web
site' page!
Boating Centre of Excellence
Jonathan &
Tim are planning to open a 'Boating Centre of Excellence' at the Sheffield yard. Not only will customers be able to purchase
a top of the range narrowboat at the location, they will also be given tuition in boat handling, should they so require.
American Intercoastal
Navigated by a Jonathan Wilson Narrowboat
Readers of the
May 2008 issue of Canalboat were treated to an article by Terry Darlington, of Narrowdog to Carcasonne fame who, along
with his wife, succesfully navigated the entire length of the Amercan Intercoastal waterway, including crossing over to the
west coast of Florida to the Gulf of Mexico, aboard his 60ft narrowboat 'Phyllis May' which was built in 1988 by Jonathan
Wilson. Well done from all at WTNBC not only to the pair of you, but also to Jonathan.
IWA National Festival
2009
IWA has announced that its
2009 National Festival & Boat Show is to be held at Red Hill, near Ratcliffe-on-Soar, on the Soar Navigation, close to
its confluence with the river Trent, and the junctions with the Erewash, and Trent & Mersey canals, just south of Nottingham.
IWA hopes to encourage boaters visiting the Festival to try the Erewash and Chesterfield canals and other lesser frequented
waterways of the East Midlands. The Festival, which is held over the August Bank Holiday weekend each year, also intends
to raise the profile and give support to waterway societies in the area, including the Derby, Cromford and Grantham canals
all of which are currently under restoration.
IWA’s National Festival
brings hundreds of exhibitors and visiting boats as well as thousands of visitors to an area, offering a great day out for
families as well as raising the profile of the waterways with local authorities and business communities. In 2007 the
Festival was held in St Ives, Huntingdon and the local authority estimated that the event brought over a million pounds into
the local economy as a result. In 2008, the Festival is being held at Autherley Junction, where the Shropshire Union
Canal joins the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, on the western outskirts of Wolverhampton.
The 2009 site has good access
to public transport, with an adjacent railway station and a 30-minute, 24-hours-a-day, bus service to Nottingham as well as
good road links with the M1 and the A50 close by. A meeting to launch the Festival and form a local team to fun the
event is to be held in October 2008, details to be arranged, when local people will be invited to hear more about the Event
and how they can become involved.
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Crick Disaster 2008
Saturday saw the crowds, the sun shone and memories of 2007 and the heavy rain were far
far away. That was Saturday. The rest was a complete
washout! On the Sunday it was 2007 all over again, but this time there were high winds and the site
looked like a boaters version of a US ghost town. Exhibitors had, had enough and closed themselves down well before the stated
end time of six. BW went one better on the Monday and by 1030, on health and safety grounds, 'Oh that misused phrase',
closed down the show. This decision did not go down well with exhibitors who had forked out a lot of cash just
for the privilege of being there.
With visitors down 70% due to the weather this
could be the final nail in the Crick coffin, as the previuos 2 years had been a washout too, 2005 was the last
time the sun shone over the full three days.
Take em on!
Further to the recent announcement by the Environment Agency that it was intending to de-man
selected Thames Lock houses and dispose of them by sale or let. The Inland Waterways Association (IWA) has been carrying out
some intensive parliamentary lobbying; together with writing to many Thames side MPs in whose constituencies the lock houses are situated. An Early Day Motion
has now been tabled by Ian Taylor MP for Esher and Walton, concerning the proposed sell-off of Lock Houses on the Thames by the Environment Agency. Early Day Motion 1587 states: That this
House is concerned about the Environment Agency's proposal to dispose by sale or letting of 22 lock-keepers' homes along the
Thames; recognises the importance of lock-keepers being resident in homes adjacent to locks to maintain safety on the river;
fears for the welfare of the lock-keepers and their families; and calls on the Government to ask the Environment Agency to
re-examine its decision so as to protect this unique part of the nation's river heritage and the tradition of lock-keepers
living at the site of locks.” IWA believes
that this Early Day Motion is a reflection of the unprecedented concern
and outrage of many people currently being expressed up and down the river. Former Thames Navigation and Recreation Manager John Redmond, speaking in support of IWA’s campaign
said: I am saddened to think that Thames managers are unable to find other efficiency savings that would have less of a permanent impact
on the wellbeing of the River Thames, its users and local residents. Having staff living on site and being generally available
as the first port of call for weir work and emergencies has proven its worth time and again over the years.” IWA asks that all waterway supporters join together in lobbying
their MPs to support this EDM and to help save an essential safety service and a distinct and valuable part of the Thames waterside community. You can see the details of the Early Day Motion and which MPs have signed at :
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WTNBC Club Clothing
Available in May is a new range of club clothing. More information
is available in the members only section of the site. However, the club badge has now been approved and the clothing
should be with us within the next few days. Once here the range will be on view in the members section.
IWA 2009 National Campaign Rally
When? Saturday 23rd of May through
Monday 25th of May 2009
Where? Chestefield Canal Kiveton Park.
Come and join thousands of others at this
special event to mark the start of the campaign to complete the restoration of the Chesterfield Canal.
IWA National Festival 2009
IWA has announced that its 2009 National Festival
& Boat Show is to be held at Red Hill, near Ratcliffe-on-Soar, on the Soar Navigation, close to its confluence with the
river Trent, and the junctions with the Erewash, and Trent & Mersey canals, just south of Nottingham. IWA hopes
to encourage boaters visiting the Festival to try the Erewash and Chesterfield canals and other lesser frequented waterways
of the East Midlands. The Festival, which is held over the August Bank Holiday weekend each year, also intends to raise
the profile and give support to waterway societies in the area, including the Derby, Cromford and Grantham canals all of which
are currently under restoration. IWA’s National Festival
brings hundreds of exhibitors and visiting boats as well as thousands of visitors to an area, offering a great day out for
families as well as raising the profile of the waterways with local authorities and business communities. In 2007 the
Festival was held in St Ives, Huntingdon and the local authority estimated that the event brought over a million pounds into
the local economy as a result. In 2008, the Festival is being held at Autherley Junction, where the Shropshire Union
Canal joins the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal, on the western outskirts of Wolverhampton. The 2009 site has good access to public transport, with an adjacent railway station and
a 30-minute, 24-hours-a-day, bus service to Nottingham as well as good road links with the M1 and the A50 close by.
A meeting to launch the Festival and form a local team to fun the event is to be held in October 2008, details to be arranged,
when local people will be invited to hear more about the Event and how they can become involved.
Anything
you like, or don't like? BW Head Office Staff Contact Details below:
Neil Edwards
Chief Executive
extn 21 neil@waterways.org.uk
Matt Duncan
Operations Manager
extn 26 matt.duncan@waterways.org.uk
Helen Elliott-Adams
Finance Manager
extn 27 helen.elliott-adams@waterways.org.uk
Jo Gilbertson
Campaign & Communications Manager extn 31
jo.gilbertson@waterways.org.uk
Jenny Black
Volunteers Co-ordinator (WRG)
extn 23 jenny.black@waterways.org.uk
Andy Noble
Sales Co-ordinator
extn 23 andrew.noble@waterways.org.uk
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