Working Boats

On Friday, I spent the day helping out on a historic narrowboat. BCN 108 is a butty built in 1883, that is being used to carry aggregate (sharp sand and gravel) from the quarry to the asphalt/concrete works 4 miles downstream in Uxbridge. A butty is a traditional boat without an engine that was pulled behind a tug. Here is BCN 108 moored up at Uxbridge waiting for the loading to begin.

BCN 108 moored up

I arrived at about 7:20am just in time to find the fire lit and the kettle on. Peter, who owns BCN 108, had spent the night aboard. He and Richard take 55 tons of aggregate down every Friday. Richard also takes around 60 tons of aggregate down on Thursdays in his boat Arundel. On Fridays Arundel pulls BCN 108.

Kettle's on

You may be wondering why a 100 year old boat is being used for the supply chain of a modern asphalt factory? Well, as well as the two traditional boats, there are two modern boats. The boats are significantly greener than sending the cargo by road. Unfortunately the modern boats weren't designed quite right. They were specified to take 100 tons each, but they didn't take the canal quite into consideration, and when filled with 100 tons, they simply sit on the bottom! So they take 70 tons a run, and the traditional boats take the extra load.

Richard loading 30 tons of sharp sand into Arundel

When I was a teenager, I used to take holidays on traditional narrowboats, and the opportunity to see one in action doing something useful was irresistable. The main work is the loading and unloading, interspersed by a very relaxed trip down the river. I was sent on ahead to set the two locks (get them ready). Here we are going through Cowley Lock.

Arundel and BCN 108 in Cowley Lock

The unloading is the real hard work. The main part is done by a JCB, but in between Peter and I got into the hold and dug the sand out of the corners!

Unloading the sand at the Hanson plant

I entertained Peter with a couple of tunes on the whistle. Since it was St. Georges Day yesterday, I mainly played English tunes - the Morpeth Rant, Not for Joe and Barham Down.

Peter about to take the boats through Uxbridge Lock

It was an enjoyable day - the weather was perfect too - and it was interesting to wonder if the green revolution might bring back some more use of Britain's canals - typically freight on a narrowboat uses 1/5 of the diesel of the same freight on the roads.