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Hi there,

Having just ordered what will become the 58 ft narrowboat "WIZARD", we would like to join the owners club. Clicking on the "download the form" section, we can view the accompanying letter, but there is no form visible at all, so we are unable to join!!! Is it possible that you e-mail us a joining form, or a link which is operational ?? We have tried many times now to download one, but it simply will not appear; I hope that Jonathan builds the boat quicker!!!

Many thanks, and we look forward to meeting you all;

Best regards

Richard and Wilma Evans

Sorry about that. Having checked out the site on both a PC and Mac though, the link worked ok, maybe it was just one of those things. I Look forward to meeting you both at the get together!

Dave

I like the new look to the, well still new, members only section. Keep up the good work.

John Cliff

Dave

How dare Mike Howard have a snipe at David Suchett for standing up to be counted in the fight to sell off the Thames lock keepers houses. David is doing a wonderful job in the battle with the dolts at EA. I would have thought you would have commented yourself on his writings on the subject.

Jack Willis NB Willow.

Well Jack I just publish what he sends in and, as long as it is not profane or personally insulting to individual club members then he, like the rest of us, is entitled to his opinions. Some of them do and will go against the grain, but at least he has an opinion, and no one could accuse him of sitting on the fence. On this occasion however, he appears to be not so much criticising David Suchett for his stance on the Thames issue, he is more drawing our attention to the fact that, when something similar happens elsewhere, and possibly further away from London, no one seems to care very much.

You do have the right of reply though Jack, you can respond on the same 'Angry page' he writes to. I feel sure he would welcome a healthy argument. In fact having now met him on at least three occasions, I know he would!

Dave

I read the stove refit with interest. (Summer Tillertalk) I found the reasoning behind not fitting a solid fuel stove to be a bit woolly. Did not the same author in another of his writings, when his former diesel heater packed up complain about having no heat and feeling utterly miserable ? Surely the one thing you can guarantee with a solid fuel stove is that you can always keep the boat warm. Even if you run out of fuel, you will always find something to throw on it from the towpath.

J Martin

Hi Dave

I own a boat built several years ago by Les Allen and I intend refitting it to incorporate a boatman's cabin. I would really like to read the Anthony 'M' fit out articles on the subject. Can I ask for the code for the owners only site please?

Mark Baines

You can certainly ask Mark!

Hello

I like the site very much but how do I get to see the pictorial fit out of Merlin and Volusia plus the boatman’s cabin fit out mentioned?

Thanks R Gent

Glad you like the site! In order to gain access to the pictorial fit out's etc. you need to join the club, the details of which are elsewhere on the site, but you do need to own a boat built by Wilson, Tyler and / or have one on order. Thanks for your interest in the site.

Christine

Thanks for the club coat and baseball cap, I received them today. Really impressed with the quality of both items. I will be sending an article with photos for Dave of our first trip on the Chestefield canal up to Retford shortly. Again. many thanks.

Roy Pennington

Glad you like them, and it's thanks to Jonathan and Tim that we have them at cost. I hate to think how much they would have been otherwise! Dave will be glad of the article. Christine

Dave

I have had to write regarding the angry column, I have to admit

I have up to now found Mike's comments amusing and to the point, but I am concerned about the latest Boston trip he made and the opinions he gave about the migrant workers there. Maybe you ought to have edited him not to say all those things. Is he national front? Thanks Bob Earl

Well Bob the article on Boston will not be appearing in TillerTalk purely because there is not enough boating content to it. My job here is, as you say, to edit. What you are suggesting though is censorship. Sadly, the very places many of the people Mike was talking about come from are made up of regimes that do that sort of thing all of the time. Let’s not join them! As to the question of his political leanings, Mike is most definitely NOT national front. In fact he is a stolid Tory voter.

Hello Dave

I was hoping to see you at Crick again this year and looked in vain for Jonathan's entry at the show. What happened?

Tony

Jonathan and Tim did not enter one as such, instead they took along and supported, the concept boat they produce in conjunction with the Little Brown Mouse Co. There was as usual many of their shells fitted out by third parties at the show, so taking an extra one along would, it was felt, have been gilding the lily somewhat. I take it you were there on the Saturday before the deluge commenced.

Hi Jonathan

When we were talking at the Crick show last year I mentioned that I had bought a 43ft Stenson tug whose shell might have been built by you. Well I just stumbled upon the WTNBC website and thought I’d send you a photo to see if you recognise it. The boats name is Star and it was built by Stenson in 1993/4. It has fully recessed panels, bow lockers and an engine room with a little Petter twin. We had the doors cut in to the front bulkhead when we bought it. The fit out is very traditional; it’s all in ply which has been scumbled (but not very well)

It is very similar to another boat you we looked at called Diamond which I believe you built when you were at Stenson.

Anyway take a look at the pictures when you get the chance I’d be very interested to know what you think. On another topic have you got anything interesting for Crick this year? I’m freelancing for the mag now and will probably still be doing the Crick reviews.

Kevin Blick. Editor at Large Canal Boat Magazine

Jonathan replies;

Sorry no, Star is not one I built! It looks to have been built along similar lines to my tugs by Stenson after I left. As to Crick! We are not entering this year as there will be so many of our shells fitted out by third parties on display. One of ours, you will recall, fitted out by Braidbar boats won it last year. We will be there with our jet system range under the banner of the Tug and Butty Company though, so call in and see us. Glad to see you are still involved with Canal boat magazine!

Dave

Any plans for the new WTNBC logo being made available for cap/blazer/flag badges. I really like the look of it.

Regards

Cliff

I have thought about it and will look in to the possibilities. Like everything else, it all comes down to cost. However, should any fellow members know of anyone who could make said items up at a reasonable price, please let me know!

Hello Dave

Glad to see the site back, and I have to say it is better than ever! The artwork alone is just wonderful and the content could not be bettered. How do you get the reflection effect in the photos?

John & Emma NB Cutty Park

Thanks for the kind comments, sort of makes the effort worthwhile to hear someone likes the site. As to the reflections. I use a combination of Paint shop Pro and an old, even obscure programme called LivePix. Again. Thanks for the comments.

Dave

I took your advice and ventured down the Trent. Having decided to cruise to the Chesterfield canal, sad to say, we got only as far as Torksey. Once there, having, had a howler of a trip down from Cromwell we decided instead to make the same journey you made earlier in the year; Lincoln. To say we are delighted with our journey is putting it mildly. More, we carried on beyond Lincoln all the way to Boston and simply spent the rest of the summer in and around that area. We even decided to spend the winter on the Witham or Fossdyke but having experienced the flood we decided against that choice. We definitely intend to make it to the Chesterfield canal in 2008 though! It was only the amount of water running down the Trent and the turn in to the lock at West Stockwith which put us off this trip. All in all though, we really did enjoy Lincoln and beyond.

John & Samantha. (NB Evensong)

As I have mentioned before. Always contact the lock keeper prior to departure for and arrival at West Stockwith. You won’t then go wrong!

British Waterways has announced that it is to hold the last of a series of meetings, to be attended by BW chief executive Robin Evans, to listen to boaters’ view on its licence fee consultation. Anyone is welcome to attend. The meeting is being held at BW’s offices on 10^th January Northwich, Cheshire ( 01606 723802

Mat Duncan BW

I had to re-read part of the above correspondence twice, and I still don’t believe it. Someone it says, from BW will, and I quote;

Listen to boaters views! Un-quote. Now there’s a first!

Hi Dave

We really enjoyed the open day and thanks for inviting us to stay for the evening revelry. It was a lovely occasion and everyone made us feel so welcome. You will be glad to know I ordered a boat from Jonathan and will join the club as soon as we take delivery. Are there any events planned for next year. I meant to ask at the get together but was just totally blown away by the friendliness of every one there I completely forgot.

Thanks. Tony and Jean Hardy.

Glad you both enjoyed the do and the atmosphere Tony - the only event planned Tony is the get together and open day sometime in August 08. The main reason for this being that the WTNBC is more of an association than a club with members spanning the country so getting everyone together for a cruise is a little difficult. Having said that, should anyone feel the inclination to organise one please feel free, but please let us know about it so we can advise everyone of the bash through these pages.

Dave

I am considering ordering bow thrusters for retro fitting to my boat. Having read your thought on them before I have to ask what do you really think about them, and are they worth the aggro involved with a retro fit?

R Wallice NB Borodin

They are almost always useful. Though when, you need them the most, like trying to get off the side in a heavy cross wind for example, they are about as effective as pointing your backside into a hurricane and passing wind. God knows how those poor boatmen of old ever managed without them but they are a selling point and work well on a still summer’s day.

Hi Dave , Christine

How great it was to meet you both at Crick, and also to meet Jonathon and Tim for the first time. What great guys.! Thanks for the opportunity to look around the show boat it was superb!!!. Thanks also for the plate I met Tim in the afternoon and thanked him also) We are looking forward to the next members day it is not too much of a hop from the marina at Calcutt, I will see if there is a local travel lodge that we can book into, so we can really enjoy ourselves!

We are fitting our cratch board this weekend ( i will give some details of the joiner when the web site is back up, Mike Jordan, he advertises in Waterways world they are the Dogs ********* in my view) We ordered the cover at the show so all in all a successful but expensive weekend.

Hope you enjoyed yourselves even though I suspect it was hard work and again, not the best of weather. I was amazed at the number of Jonathon and Tims shells that were there.

Best wishes Noel and Carolyn

Thanks for the nice comments and it was good to meet you both as well. Look forward to seeing the photos of the cratch board; I remember how enthusiastic about it you were. Really happy to hear you will be joining us in August for the get together. We are hopeful that this year will see the best attendance by both public, members, and owners arriving by boat.

Hello Dave.

I am coming down the Trent this summer and, hopefully calling at West Stockwith for the trip up the Chesterfield Canal, hopefully to the head of navigation. Any advice on tide times from either Cromwell or Torksey would be appreciated. The holiday has coincided with a small tide coming down and a big one going back by the way.

Mark Goodall NB Falconer 4.

Well Mark, the web site being temporarily down, keep looking though as it will be back at anytime, carries all the information on Trent times you could need, having said that, I put the same information and a lot more besides on the Moonraker Owners Club website. You can access that by typing in web.ukonline.co.uk/david.beet or just put my name to a search engine and the site should come up. The following should help; See chart, back page alsoFrom Cromwell lock Look at the tide table and find what time high water is at Hull, you want to be leaving Cromwell an hour after this time, this should see you passing....Torksey at high water there. You will then have a fast flowing tide all the way to Stocky. Now in order to get into Stocky lock, you will have to round up and face the current, {which unlike on slack water will be running pretty fast} you then have two options either turn into the lock under power or tie up to the jetty with the assistance of the lock keeper and walk her in with the ropes. Alternatively you could time your approach following a layover at Torksey so that you start pushing the first of the small incoming tide. The advantage of the latter is that you don’t have to stem up outside Stocky to get in, Remember above all else contact the lock keeper, Sue, at Stocky, and take her advice, she knows that river better than anyone I know. Then, just take your time, think about it, and you will experience no difficulty at all.

Dave. I intend coming over to the River Witham this year and what’s more, rather than take the long route round, I hope to cross the Wash. Our 57ft Trad narrowboat is equipped with GPS (hand held) and all the required safety items, flares etc. I have visited your Moonraker site and see it’s a journey you have done many times in the past. I have spoken with other narrowboat owners who have completed the journey from Boston but I will be making for Boston. Any advice on locking times, especially in relation to tide times at Boston would be appreciated. Thanks. Jim Weedon. NB ‘Tunnel Vision II’

Don’t do it! You are correct, I have done the journey many times, but I did it in boats built for the task, and yes, the Wash in pussycat mode is a large flat calm area, but out of that particular mode its possibly the worse stretch of sea on the East coast. It’s shallow, it can cut up rough in minutes and you will most certainly have to sit it out on one of the sand bars Plus, and as if to demonstrate just how risky it is, you will be asked to fill out a disclaimer at your departure point. If you just intend coming down the Welland and turinig up the Haven then this should pose few problems, but again, pick the weather and have someone on call who knows what they are about. Please talk to the Boston lock keeper if you still intend carrying out your plan, give me a call also Jim, and we will talk in greater depth on the subject. I know it seems to be the fashion at the moment. but please take the long route, unless you just intend turning from the Welland to the Haven, or visa versa .

Fancy a boat holiday swap in Australia? Hello there David,We would like to exchange time on a very well appointed 2 berth Narrowboat for time on our 23mtr 4year old Paddle wheeler on the River Murray in South Australia. If you can help by making our plight known throughout your club I would be most grateful Kindest of regards. John Ellison Wellington South Australia

Hi Dave,

Friday evening, (Early March) left the moorings for a 15 min. trip up to SALT BRIDGE, and a drink in the Hollybush inn. Returned after a few pints and lit the BBQ. ready to cook burgers and sausages, then it started!!.

Ate the burgers and sausages inside with a bottle of best red.

Saturday morning very, very cold but beautiful. If you ever need a picture for a caption competition. What is the duck saying? We love this time of the year for cruising, it is quiet, peaceful, and cosy with logs on the stove, and no other boats on the move, best wishes Tony & Angie, LARA 'B'

Proper narrowboaters! T & A demonstrating that a narrowboat is truly, a boat for all seasons.

Hi folks!

I am not a member , yet, but very much enjoy reading my friend’s copy of the mag. I hope you do not mind me writing for some advice in spite of my cheek!

My partner and myself are hoping to buy our first narrowboat this year and are having a few heated discussions about the virtue – or otherwise – of the dinette! I think they are uncomfortable and unsightly, almost resembling a railway carriage! My partner disagrees most strongly and says they are essential for separating the living and dining areas. He also makes the valid point that the dinette doubles up as additional sleeping and storage space that will be extremely useful when ~~unwanted~~ unexpected guests call by!! What do you think?

I look forward to your ideas.

Janet Thompson

Well you don’t get far in this life without a bit of cheek Janet, and I certainly don’t mind you writing at all.

This is a similar argument to the one I responded to regarding bow thrusters and fake rivet heads. It is whatever you like or want that matters. There are for’s and against’s on both fronts. As to the quote, ~~unwanted~~ unexpected guests. You could accommodate them on a bed settee in the saloon area and partition the boat off between the galley and the bedroom, with the toilet in between. But odds are that any guests will not be paying anything toward the running and upkeep of your boat, so why not just let ‘em’ whistle!

Hi Dave

Another season coming to a close, the nights already drawing in. Time to go back to the winter moorings, still there will be much to do! The odd repair or alteration to be made, the club house functions to attend, the Autumn boat jumble, to raise much needed capital for the club house. How I look forward to going back. I doubt I would like it so much if we moored there all year round, but having been away, the prospect of relating the summer cruising to anyone prepared to listen is enticing and the old coal fire with a pint of bitter to quaff appeals always. Thanks for last quarters mag, hope the sunset picture is of some use.

Lee Raynor

Hi David

Very interested to hear about the club as I understand our own narrowboat has close associations with Jonathan Wilson through Stenson. I have never found out whether she is one of 'his' boats or merely inherited aspects of his style through Midland Canal Centre. Is there any way of finding out? She is a 60' NB built at Stenson in 1993 for a customer called Frank Prince. She is called Thirza 2 and is powered by a Ruston and Hornsby 2VTH marinised by Brian Chisholm. Any help you can give us would be appreciated. I attach a pic if that helps Good luck with the club whatever happens! Kind regards Adrian Seward

The Stenson venture, devised by Mike Heywood and brought to fruition by Jonathan, saw the latter move away from Hoo Mill to set it all up. There was, during this phase, a parting of company for a while but family ties happily saw them back together again. However I spoke with Jonathan and showed him the photo you sent. Sadly he confirmed Thirza was built when Jonathan had left. Great shame Adrian as I know you were looking forward to joining us here at WTNBC.

I have just recently fitted out my first boat.

a 57ft trad by shell by Mike Christian, I understand that Tim builds these shells, and that Jonathan is owner of the company. The shell registration document is signed by Jonathan. Am I entitled to become a member? Is my boat considered a genuine Wilson/Tyler boat?

Regards Steve Mitchell

You might be surprised to know that several of the better builders use the shells built by Jonathan and Tim so yes, you are most welcome to join us. Christine will look forward to receiving your details.

I have just ordered a Mike Christian Classic josher 57ft Trad which I believe is built by John and Tim’s teams which will be our first fit out , though not our first NB, I believe also it is based on a design by Mike Heywood. Could you provide me with any more details and background if my assumptions are correct and will your club include owners of this Shell.

Regards Noel

Again another very welcome addition to WTNBC! The Classic is indeed a Mike Heywood designed boat.

Dear Dave.

Being in the enviable, though some would say otherwise, position of starting to fit out our new shell I was delighted to here of the formation of the Jonathan Wilson, Tim Tyler Narrowboat Owners Club! I would love to join, please find my remittance of £8 which I understand is the figure for one year’s membership.

Will there be a chance to pay a bit more for life membership in the future? We feel an owners club of this kind can only add to the value of what is, in our opinion, the best made Narrowboat around. If that sounds like someone saying that because they own one, well maybe, but we thought that long before we were in a position to actually own our 57 footer. Anyone got a list of boat names? My wife and me are having a nightmare of a job to come up with one we both like!

Yours truly. Jack and Alice Whittaker.

Know what you mean about boat names Jack, hope you find one before too long!

Dave

I am just at the stage of fitting an engine in to my 57’ Jonathan Wilson Narrowboat

I had intended fitting a 25hp Vetus engine but I am having doubts as to whether this will be powerful enough. I will eventually be based on the lower Staffs and Worcestershire, and will occasionally use the River Severn. Friends say the engine will not be up to it, especially if the river’s in flood condition. What do you think?

Look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely. Bob Reynolds.

Well Bob, the first Narrowboat I owned was so underpowered that I had to fit a new engine after the first cruise. To offset this my second Narrowboat was somewhat overpowered, it had a 4 litre Ford 4D which was somewhat to far the other way, power wise, but I know to which end of the power scale I would rather lean Having said all that you will not be happy with such a small engine even on the cut. The Trent is a river I have been up and down in many types of craft and would really not be all that happy with anything less than one over 40hp in a 57 footer.

You might get away with a 38hp engine, which is certainly ideal for the canals but tideway’s and fast flowing rivers, which we seem to be getting more and more of these days, demand that bit extra from an engine. Look forward to hearing of your engine choice in the future Bob!

Hi Dave

Thanks for the photo of Volusia paint job looks great, I can see much effort went into this. Glad to here your fit out is progressing , the final trimming does take a long time. I have spent the last couple of days doing a lot of hard wood trimming. Carolyn has been hard at it again doing more Danish oiling.

Unlike yourselves we were not in the position to paint the new hull very early as the boat was up in the midlands until August and I cannot get the covered doc until next May, so I am just taking her up to an undercoat topcoat mix stage to protect the hull and give a good base for the topcoats. I really enjoy the painting, I strive to get a near brush free finish especially on the sides, in a former life I used to repair cars and bring a lot of that knowledge to bear, especially the preparation which is key to get a good finish.

The last Jpeg I sent you showed the boat in a bluey stage this is undercoat (blue) and top coat (Donegal green) mix. The roof has already had 2 primer, 2 under coat , 1 undercoat gloss mix and 1 gloss coat, non-slip will be applied when in paint shop. I have continued painting foredeck under front hatch and main front deck. All this will be hand rubbed down next year for final coats. I will obviously send pic for website when complete.

Best Wishes

Noel And Carolyn Roberts

Happy to oblige, and I look forward to seeing the final paint job when you have that part of the fit out completed and a few pictures of the finish you achieved with the Danish oiling would be great too.

Dave

I am just at the point of making the final decision on whether or not to have rivet heads retro welded to my the hull of my narrowboat which is due to be dry docked this year. Are there any disadvantages to having this carried out, and what are your thoughts on the subject.

James Naylor

Its a matter of your own personal preference! Some say they are a totally unnecessary item while others say how nice they look. Either way. It has to be down to you. Bit like side paneling really. At the end of the day, all that matters is what you like. If you want it James. Go for it!

Hi Dave

It was good to meet the team at the Crick show and I understand from Jonathan and Tim that good business was done in spite of the weather.

We had three weeks out in May (we intended to be out for the whole month but the later weather was so cold and wet - the monsoon had arrived - that we came home early. We just got fed up with putting all the wet and cold weather gear on day after day). We went to Stratford via Leamington Spa and Warwick, down the Avon to Tewkesbury (absolutely delightful) up the Severn to Worcester (absolutely boring) along the Worcester and Birmingham into Gas Street, out of Birmingham via the Birmingham and Fazeley to Fazeley junction and then home to Crick via the Coventry and North Oxford. The two Birmingham canals are a delight although we didn't really like the Aston flight on the B & F (lots of graffiti, low water levels in some pounds and a general air of gloom although once we were into open countryside again pleasing vistas were restored) We also chose to cruise along the B & F on a Sunday afternoon (wrong decision - lots of potential for bored scallywags bent on some fun with boats) and were stoned a couple of times for our trouble.

We did not hurry along the journey and spent time moored up for various lengths of time mostly two nights and one full day but also spent two and a half days in the Stratford basin (her excuse? - shopping) then two days in Worcester ( excuse? - shopping!) and two days moored on the Ouzels loop at Gas Street in secure moorings just outside the marina but patrolled by security guards on the hour and there is CCTV if you are able to moor in their vision. Absolutely ideal and appeared to be safe - we had no trouble at all.

Here is a warning however, we met a boat that had moored at Bourneville on the towpath side to visit Cadbury World and they were broken into and lost some possessions. There are dedicated moorings but on the opposite side of the cut (room for two 57 footers) and there is a BW key locked gate but also there is a warning notice about thieves operating in the area so we would not leave our boat unattended - better to go by car to get your chocolate fix.

So all in all we had a great break and we were surprised by the apparent lack of boats out at this time of year particularly on the two Birmingham canals.

And here is a challenge to all readers - with a bit of judicious lock wheeling we did the Tardebigge flight in four hours and we have timed photos to prove it! We were somewhat proud of this especially as it was a very hot day, there are only two of us and others have told us to expect to do the flight in a full day. We would be very interested to hear how other WTNBC members fare at Tardebigge.

Regards

Roy and Celia Heatley NB Strange Magic

Next is an e-mail from issue 9 and the web comments refer to the site I lost in the ether.

Hi Dave

Just a quick note to say the change to the home page looks good. I am interested in the logo at the top left which appears to be embroidered, which I think looks very stylish and subtle, which unless I am mistaken appears to be off the polo shirts that you wore at the Crick Show?

I recall in one of the earlier tiller talks there was some talk of a burgee or plaque for the WTNBC members. I wonder if you have considered the idea of polo shirts sporting the logo as a club corporate shirt available to members. I know that it is the initial set-up that costs but thereafter they can be quite competitive subject to the quality of the shirt.

I know from my point of view I would be interested, however I can’t predict what the uptake would be from other members I think it would be quite good.

Finally have you considered further a club plaque? I know having completed the fit out it would be an ideal finishing touch.

Best wishes to you all. Noel. NB NOEL'S ARK

Thanks for the comments re the web site Noel. The logo was indeed on the shirts we wore at the Crick show. Happily, as you will have seen earlier, there are now ways to own one, and of course there is a club pennant available. Watch this space and the website for developments regarding a club burgee etc., As soon as we have some, that’s where they will be displayed.

As to the plaque! Does any member have access to a plaque supplier, and I don’t mean a dentist!