Hi all, Having more or less finished the Smithy's house for Lantern Yard, I return to the model of Heather Bell, the boat in the wharf.Heather Bell was a boat my wife and I owned, lived on and 80% restored before health issues stopped us finishing her.
It therefore follows that I know her well enough to make that rare thing…an accurate model of a canal boat on a model railway.  So often the hulls are completely wrong, especially at the starn end or the cabins are a nonsense and it annoys me as a canal lover and ex boat owner (twice). There are thousands of books available and regular magazines which show boats of many kinds. Pick a style and look at the pictures. 
In my case, I'll be modelling the old girl as empty, which means she'll have to be modelled in her entirety. No fudging her hull shape by showing her full and sheeted up.   In the real world, even full boats were rarely sheeted. Firstly it was a real faff and secondly, only perishable goods would require it.  OK, HB often carried sacks of grain and flour, so would have been sheeted, but coal wouldn't have warranted the task.  I also wanted a full model of our old boat, every plank and iron knee and the old Petter 15 horse semi diesel engine, back cabin, etc. The boat model would be done in wood, like the real boat, 5 plank sides.

Heather Bell was built for Ralph March and his sister, Daphne, partly for pleasure, mainly for serious carrying, which she certainly did as 2 years after launch, the War was upon us and she carried everything from steel and aluminium billets to weaponry for the RAF, stones for the River Severn, coal for Worcester, etc.  She was the only narrow boat ever to shoot the Severn bore to get back up the river having dumped large stones low down the stream.
Daphne was the precursor of the canal women, of whom many books have been written. With her Mum she carried all through the War, showing others of her ilk (nearly all very posh ladies) the ropes of canal carrying. Some of those women went on to teach others on the Grand Union Canal Carrying boats (and write their own books on it) and eventually all the ladies wore an early cellulose acetate badge with the initials IW meaning Inland Waterways, but immediately called by canal wags, Idle Women, which was, of course, the complete opposite.  In all these books (which my wife was quick to collect) Heather Bell and Daphne March are mentioned. It is also the only other boat mentioned by name in Tom Rolt's seminal work, Narrow Boat, widely credited as the book that saved the canals.

HB was built slightly narrow to make going up the Welsh canal easier.  She was launched in 1937 at Nurser's boatyard in Braunston.
It could be said that she is the most famous boat on the Cut, unmodified .

So, my model is of her as she would have looked when carrying.  My period is after she was used as a trip boat, but that's a mere stretch of period to suit my liking for earlier cars and lorries, etc.

Here she is as a carrying boat:-


That's our Daph on the starn end. The C. was Ralph's first name, Christopher. He was always away in the Merchant navy.  HB was a rare solo motor boat built with a forecabin, because when Christopher WAS on leave he had to sleep in the forecabin. He couldn't possibly have slept in the back cabin with his sis.  He also apparently had the most appallingly smelly feet and we have a picture of the forecabin with his shoes OUTSIDE the narrow door!

This is how we got HB and after we gave her a massive clean up at Charity Dock, Bedworth, before we cruised her:-

The model is being made in Steamed Pear, which works like metal and has no perceptible grain or figure. In 7mm scale she is 490 mm long and 75mm beam. Every plank and iron knee will be made as the real boat.

Pics of the model once I take some and assuming anyone is interested.

Cheers,
Martin

You can see the scarph joints on the ends of the planks, a la real boat.  Also, the wedge shape of the bottom boards, which are 3-4" elm on the real thing and wedged so they can be driven right up against each other hard, then the spare cut off by hand!  The embryonic bulkhead is the foremost part of the cabin, forward of the engine, made, like the main cabin, of deal boards.  The big baulks of timber are the engine beds. The  flat component is the kelson,unlike "normal" boats there is no keel for the kelson to go atop.  The spare planks top and bottom are awaiting steaming in the flow from our nice new kettle to put in the twist and curve for the front planking to be achieved.

Cheers,
Martin

Wonderful, Martin!   :thumbs

I'm going to love this thread.   :cool:

Thanks, Max.  I was thinking nobody was interested as it ain't railways.

Martin

Keep it coming Martin :thumbs

It's all engineering, Martin.  That's the common thread.  (NPI).  

We are a broad Church.   :cool:

Hi Martin,

Check the reads not just the posts. Just because posts are few is no indicator of interest. If it's clear I'll just follow on. Having been a frequent visitor to Tooley's in Banbury over the years (starting when it was derelict in the 1960's) it's all interesting. Got into canals when researching how cannel coal was transported to Fairford gasworks by canal.

Nigel

Nigel, if you need any info at all about canals, just ask. If I don't don't know, my books will almost certainly tell me!  I too, went to Tooley's when it had just been left for a while and took some pictures. Now it's a silly glass box, but it's still there….sort of.  Some beardy geezer gives "courses" there.  Hmmm.  The other boat apart from Heather Bell mentioned in Tom Rolt's NarrowBoat book is Cressy, which was turned into a live aboard by Tom at Tooley's, of course.  Model T engine running on paraffin! Chain drive to the prop shaft!

Cheers,
Martin

Gents, sorry had to rush to answer an important email….I realise this is not the fastest of forums.  My fault for not being the most patient of men!
I'll be doing some more on the Heather Bell model today, shopping and chores permitting!  What did we do before retirement?

Cheers,
Martin