We’re Nick and Deb (and Miry & Poppy – a couple of naughty Staffies !).
Debbie worked as an Occupational Therapist for 35 years, and after ten years in the Merchant Navy Nick spent around 30 years in engineering sales. We’ve been boating for the last twenty years, originally hiring on the Trent and Mersey, Oxford, and Grand Union canals, and really wanted our own boat, but couldn’t afford it.
We found out about boat sharing and bought a 1/12th share in ‘Alexandrine’ – based on the Staffs and Worcester canal.
Alexandrine
Our share entitled us to four weeks cruising on her each year, however eventually after eight years, we felt we really wanted to be able to ‘just pop over’ to our ‘own’ boat whenever we wanted, and looked at buying one.
Having thought about second hand with a view to stripping out the interior and refitting it, we decided against because whilst it’s possible to refit the inside OK, the hull and engine were always going to have been well used. So we bought a ‘sailaway’ instead – a new hull with windows and an engine fitted, but nothing else ! The idea was to spend an hour or two every other weekend fitting it out, and after a few months we’d have a super boat exactly how we wanted it. Well – in reality it took the two of us EVERY weekend for a year and a half with the boat moored at the end of someone’s garden on the Kennet and Avon canal in Newbury.
Having managed to get to around 99% finished (no boat is ever completely finished), we were pleased enough, and named her ‘Swan Hunter’ (Deb was born and brought up in Geordie-land).
Swan Hunter
We cruised the boat on the K&A canal, but felt the need for another project, so we bought a second boat from Black Prince, the hire company, renamed it ‘Henry the Navigator’ and set up our own one boat hire business. It was all legit with the right paperwork etc, but it was no good being ‘down south’ really, so we moved to Stoke-on-Trent as there were more canals around there !
Henry the Navigator
The hire business ran for five years (though we also still had full time weekday jobs) until we realised that we seldom had a weekend available to cruise on ‘Swan Hunter’ – the one we’d fitted out. I used to get to cruise for an hour each weekend on ‘Henry’ instructing new boaters , but it was through the same lock each time so not much variety, and Deb missed out altogether ! So after five years we sold Henry.
Around about that time we just happened to see our present boat for sale at a marina, and having always wanted a tug with a vintage engine we sold ‘Swan Hunter’, bought the tug, and have been busy getting it painted and fitting central heating etc (just can’t leave things alone !) ready to cruise the system. He’s called ‘Brutus Maximus’ (has to be a HE with a name like that !).
Brutus Maximus on Tour 