IT is one of the rules ofboating that, no matter

what boat you buy – evena brand new one – you willfind after a few monthsthat there are little thingsyou want to change, justto make it perfect.You will sometimes hear boatowners, faced with anotherrepair bill, complain that BOATstands for Bring Out AnotherThousand; but tailoring a boatto be exactly what you wantcan be part of the fun of owner-ship.The experts at Norbury Wharf,on the Shropshire Union, cando most things boaty, frompaint to steelwork, engines tointeriors and they often findthemselves making the adjust-ments necessary for the ownersto feel they have the perfectboat.Not every list of improvementsis as comprehensive as thoserequired by boaters Chris andWendy Robinson when theyturned up at Norbury a coupleof years ago, as boatyard bossSimon Jenkins explained: “It allstarted when a lovely couplebought their 57 foot boat to usfor a repaint some time ago. “As in many cases, it went froma simple paint job to 'while youare at it' just replace the win-dows, modify the heating oiltank, change the pipe work.“'While you are at it' change theengine, sound proof the enginebay, fit a new coupling, and thelist went on.“Well all that was sorted and offthey went cruising. They had atrouble free season and that ledthem to drop back in and it all

started again. “Their boat is a very nicely fin-ished and has been built to agood standard. They love thelayout and now it has theengine of their choice and afresh paint job it seems that thenext logical step, for Chris andWendy is for them is to carry onwith the upgrades and somefiner fettling.“So after several meetings, a bitof head scratching and bounc-ing ideas back and forth theboat duly arrived at the end oflast year’s boating season andis due to be collected at thebeginning on March for theirfirst outing this year.“The list of works is impressive

and the upgrades willmake boating just thatbit nicer. To date thisincludes a refitted rearcabin, to include newwardrobes, new controlpanels, cupboards,flooring, roof and walllinings, wet hanging spaces,new steps.“It has all been done using solidwood, no ply wood and MDF inhere. Chris And Wendy have akeen eye for detail and want itto be ‘just so’ and our carpenterMick knows just how to make it‘just so’.“As well as the partial refit, theyhave also requested an upgrad-ed bow thruster and new tube

with better electrics, new bat-tery management system andcontrol system to list just a fewmore of the upgrades. “All these jobs are nearing com-pletion and by the time this arti-cle reaches you we will be onthe final snagging list, if you seeBen Cruachan out and aboutgive Chris and Wendy a wave,and ask them what’s in store fornext winter?”

IISSUESSUE 37 - F37 - FEBREBRUUARYARY 20152015

The perfect boatneeds dedication

A DAY OUT AT ANY TIME OF THE YEAR

The tearoom at Norbury Wharf - somewhere you canrelax and soak up the unique and friendly canal atmos-phere while enjoying anything from a traditional break-fast, to a hearty lunch with a glass of beer or wine orsome amazing cakes for afternoon tea. More on Page 3

Making it their own - Chris and Wendy’s boat at

Norbury and, inset, work on their back cabin.

Norbury News 2

What do they

do in winter?

BargainsBargains

DIESELDIESEL- Our fuel is- Our fuel isthe cheapthe cheap--est at aest at acommercialcommercialboatyardboatyardon theon thewaterways -waterways -and FAMEand FAMEfree. It canfree. It canchange on achange on aweeklyweeklybasis but itbasis but itis now at: is now at:

BATTERIESBATTERIES- - 110amphr110amphrbatteriesbatteriesJUST JUST

each wheneach whenyou buy fouryou buy fouror more inor more inthe samethe sametransaction.transaction.£69.00 each£69.00 eachif soldif soldsingly.singly.ECOFANSThe originalThe originaland best fanand best fanfor yourfor yourstove just stove just

69.9p

£64.95

£114.50

NORBURY'S planned online chandlery has-n’t gone live as yet, despite initial plans to

have it up and running by now.David Ray said “We were led to believe that itwould be live at the beginning of the year butdue to technical issues it has been delayed bythe IT support team in charge of merging ourwebsites etc.“We should laugh at this really, when you con-sider that back in the day Norbury was at thecentre of what was considered a major com-munication route where goods could be car-ried from as far away as London and beyondright up to Goole or Leeds, or Liverpool and

beyond. “Now in the 21st we cant even get the inter-net to do what we want in a time scale wewant it in, welcome to the world of moderncommunication!”

Canal comms better by water?

NOWHERE near asmany people see

Norbury Wharf in thedepths of winter as pop induring the sunnier months– so do they all hibernatein front of a nice warm firein the cosy tearoom?That suggestion brings asnort of derision fromNorbury Manager DavidRay. “Unlike some places,we are open seven days aweek virtually all year,” hesaid.“The tearoom and chandleryis open every day and weare always here to servediesel and coal and otheressentials to winter boatersand passing landlubbers.”Managing Director SimonJenkins spells it out:“People often say to me atthis time of year 'I bet its

quiet for you now?' and thatcouldn't be further from thetruth.“Yes, we don’t see any-where near the amount of

customers that we normallysee during the restof the year, however,that doesn’t meanwe sit around withour feet up, regard-less of what people

might think.“We haveover 20boats, someof which areour hire fleetand someshared owned boatsto get ready for theupcoming seasonand the list of worksfor each boat ismassive.“They all get a lookin at the wet dockfor some much-needed paint work

TLC from Lee, our residentpainter. They all get theirbottoms gone over, thisincludes a thorough inspec-tion of everything underwa-

ter, including the hull,the prop, shaft andrudder gear, and thehull gets a coat ortwo of bitumen paint.“Then the boat has afull overhaul of itsinternal equipment,this list goes on a bitas you can imagine,then all of the gasequipment is serv-iced, then a comes alandlord safety checkand subsequent cer-tificate, and finallythe boat gets a full

interior spring clean.“Once complete the boat

gets checked over and isthen ready for hire, all thistakes the whole of the win-ter to do, and sometimes ifthe weather isn’t too kind, itcan take some of the springtime to finish off.“We are lucky this year asthe weather has been kindto us, but in 2010 we werebreaking ice nearly a footthick to get boats in and outof the docks, so as you cansee we don’t sit around withour feet up!”

Painter Lee- plenty of winter work

Bottom checking is essential

Bernard servicing an engine

Norbury News 3

Get afloatGet afloatand tryand try

the fun ofthe fun ofboatingboating

Take a tripTake a tripon Victory,on Victory,

Defiant,Defiant,Bounty - ourBounty - ourday boats forday boats for

10 people.10 people.You canYou can

enjoy up toenjoy up to17 miles of17 miles of

the beautifulthe beautifulShropshireShropshireUnion canalUnion canal

with no lockswith no locksand 6 pubs! and 6 pubs!

Or stayOr stayashore inashore inour cosyour cosycottagecottagehomehomefromfromhomehome

FANCY mooring your boat atone of the prettiest and most

fascinating parts of the canalsystem? Moorings at Norbury onlybecome available now andagain, because boaters appre-ciate having a proper workingboatyard and their highly skilledstaff immediately to hand, to

say nothing of a spot at theheart of the lovely ShropshireUnion Canal.This year there is some minormovement with just a couple ofmoorers heading for pasturesnew so one mooring spot willbe available now and another atthe end of the month. Call theoffice to check on the details.

Mooring spots open up - but soon go

MEET Pandora, the latestaddition to the Norbury

Wharf hire fleet and named afterthe first woman created by theGreek gods who was given'unique gifts'.The gift she will be giving overthe coming months and years isa top quality canal holiday fortwo small families or one largeone.She has a semi-traditional stylestern with seating in front of thesteerer. The interior of the boathas all the comforts of homeand externally has just beenrepainted in Norbury's colours,giving a smart appearance,while maintaining a traditionalfeel.Pandora has two doublebeds converted at night fromthe dinette areas and four singlebeds in pairs of bunks in four

separate sleeping areas. She also has a second toilet aswell as the main bathroomwhich has a toilet, washbasinand shower.With fitted carpets in the bed-

rooms, a fully-equipped kitchen,full central heating, a colour tel-evision/DVD and radio/CD play-er, Pandora is already popularwith bookings for 2015 growingdaily.

Pandora getting the finishing touches in dry dock

Pandora joins the fleet

WITH petrol selling at lessthan £1 a litre down the

road in Walsall, everyone knowsthe wholesale price of all oil-based fuels has been comingdown – but will it continue todrop?Norbury Manager David Raysaid: “The wholesale price offuel has been coming down forsome while now, which is

unusual in the winter months,as demand is usually higher,which helps drive the price up.“Now we are seeing a drop inprices, due to global factorssuch as American fracking anddemand in economies likeChina not growing as much asbefore.“Whatever the reason we arenot complaining. We wish thatthe prices would come down

further which would definitelyencourage more people to goout and use their boats.“We try to be the most competi-tive fuel supplier in the country,(at a commercial boat yard) andwe do react to price changes,which is why our price droppedto under 70p a litre for the firsttime for many years, recentlyand may well go lower.”

Diesel on downward slide?

Atearoom is just a tea-room – right? Steamed

up windows, elderly shop-pers filling their time withweak tea and anaemictoasted teacakes?Venture a little way down coun-try roads and you can discover atearoom that is much more, notonly does it attract cyclists, butwalkers, trekking along thebeautiful Shropshire Union Canalas well as passing boaters.Set inside an historic canalsidebuilding on a busy canal wharf,there is more to see here thansteamed-up windows. The interior is something of amini-musuem adorned with tra-ditional canalware, paintedBuckby cans, traditional rope-work, ribbon plates, jugs, even atiller and boat models.Norbury Wharf's tearoom offersmore than tea and toast. The full

breakfast often tempts citycyclists who make the tearoomtheir first port or call, an hour ortwo out of Wolverhampton orStafford on a day's ride.Lunch, from a salad to fish piecan be accompanied by real aleor wine and for dessert or after-noon tea there is a full range ofhome-made cakes to go withfresh coffee or tea.There's free wi-fi for those inneed but the real attraction isthe location – inside the chan-dlery and on the wharfside of abusy boatyard.Even in winter there are passingnarrowboats, many moored ves-

sels and a regular flow of peopleseeking esoteric items of boatware and many tearoom visitorsbrowse the chandlery for unusu-al gifts to take home. If you real-ly get the canal bug you can hirea day-boat for the day or evenbook a canal holiday on thespot. At weekends a 42-seater pas-senger trip boat offers publiccruises at weekends from out-side the tearoom door.In winter the tearoom opens10.00 till 3.00pm during theweek and 8.30 till 5.00pm week-ends, in Summer the weekendopening times apply all week.

More than a tearoomWhere cyclists and walkers go for history, good food and good beer

Norbury News 4

Boats for saleBoats for sale

The Merry PippinA semi-traditional stern narrow boat built in 2002 by RLL boats.Powered by a reliable four-cylinder Isuzu marine diesel engine. There are four berths - one fixed double and two single beds.From entering at the rear of the boat down a set of wooden stepsare the two single beds; one each side of the cabin. Forward of this is a small cabin housing a pumpout toilet andhand wash basin. Next is the double bedroom, followed by thebathroom complete with bath (with shower over), wash handbasin and pumpout toilet. Forward of this is the galley with stainless sink/drainer, new fullsized cooker, fridge and microwave. The large saloon is at the front of the cabin and is fitted with asolid fuel stove, television cabinet and plenty of shelving. A largetwo seater sofa and armchair complement the saloon. There is ample storage throughout the boat in the form of full-sized hanging wardrobes, drawers and over-bed cupboards. Thisboat has central heating throughout provided by an Alde gas boil-er and a combined inverter/charger. The Merry Pippin has been upgraded significantly during the past18 months including a full repaint, solid wood flooring throughout,galvanic isolator, new curtains and blinds, cratch and cover, rearcover. Complete new stern gear, a replacement propeller and fouranodes were fitted when the boat was docked and blacked withInternational Intertuf 16 in November 2014. This is an ideal liveaboard or spacious cruising boat that is ready to use.

£35,500

Lacewing - 50 foot traditionalstern narrowboatbuilt by therenowned builderJonathon Wilson in 1988. Sheis powered by aBMC 1.8 which hasbeen rebuilt byCalcutt boats.

£29,999

WilliamA 56 foot cruiser built by Hancock and Lane. The rear cabin has adouble bed, wardrobe space, and plenty of storage under the bed.The shower compartment has a pump out toilet, shower andhandbasin. The galley has the usual appliances and a large 12 voltfridge and freezer.The large open plan saloon, has front doors leading out onto thefront deck and the boat is heated via a solid fuel stove with backboiler as well as a Alde gas boiler. There is a 240 volt externalhook up,an inverter,and battery charger.The boat is powered by an excellent running 3 cylinder Lister aircooled marine diesel engine which was removed in 2010 andrebuilt, last serviced in August 2014, the boat comes with docu-mented service history since 2007. Last hull survey 2007.

£25,500.00

Maid of Avoca - 23ft all steel cruiser built by Springer engineer-ing, powered by an inboard twin cylinder diesel engine, doesrequire some work internally. £6,500

REF 10339

Ichthus - 57ft semi trad stern built by Cheshire boat company,powered by a Vetus diesel, professionally repainted in 2007,docked in 2012 for blacking. £26,999

REF: 10340

REF 10337

TUG- 20ft 'Bantam style'pusher tug. Poweredby a three cylinder aircooled Deutz engine.Hydraulic drive -motor recently serv-iced. Two winchesand ropes to the frontwhich are in excellentcondition. Dockedand blacked.

£9,999.

REF: 10297

Crew:36ft unpoweredwelfare/work boat. Cabinat rear with bench seat-ing, worktop with sinkand space for a multifuelstove. Toilet compartmentand tool store. Largeopen hold. The hull ofthis boat has been over-plated.

£4,999

REF: 10296ReF 10344

DuchessA 47ft all steel cruiser stern narrowboat built by WessexNarrowboats in 2000. She is powered by a three cylinder Barrusengine with PRM150 hydraulically operated gearboxwhich was fitted new in 2008. From entering the cabin at the stern is the fixed double bed withwardrobes at the foot of the bed. Next comes the shower roomwith full sized shower, pump out toilet and vanity basin. Following this is the galley which is fitted with a four ring gasburner, grill/oven, stainless steel sink and drainer and 12v fridge.At the front of the cabin is the saloon with a fixed seat on eachside which can be used as two single beds or converted to onelarge double. Heating is provided by a Webastodiesel heater which feeds theradiators throughout the cabin.This boat has been well maintainedand is ready to cruise.

£29,950

REF 10347

REF: 10346