Melville Smith - cruiser Azanute
In 1999 I decided to take early retirement. Work and 14yrs bring up three young children as a single dad had taken their toll. For 20yrs I had been hiring narrow boats, now it was time to relax and go looking for one of my own to while away some time in.
My travels searching for a boat took me to Whixall Marine; there I found a project. No not a Narrow Boat, though that is what I was searching for, but a 27 foot Creighton mid cockpit GRP River Cruiser circa 1980 - looking rather sad and in need of some major TLC.
As it was February 14 my heartstrings moved and I put my money down. The boat has an unusual lay out, with an engine in the middle of the boat running a hydraulic pump the hydraulic drive motor is remote and attached direct to the propeller (no shaft vibration).
It soon became apparent that the transom needed some structural repair, as did the back wall of the rear cabin so into the dry dock it did go. This proved that the rest of the hull was extremely sound and so Spring and Summer saw the boat transformed with new woodwork, cooker and fridge inside, plus a new water pump and filter system by Jabsco and Ecology respectively, plus a new colour scheme on the outside.
The name stayed - Maybe it's my warped sense of humour but I instantly thought of a well known phase or saying just by adding one word! - Many people still cannot work it out, though I suspect the Tuesday night club will readily catch on.
I managed to get some use out of her during the summer and autumn so all was not just work. With the onset of the colder weather her health began to fail and a heart transplant looked high on the agenda. January and she is about to undergo the required surgery. Out comes her BMC 1.5, which has been reconditioned and rebuilt twice before in its life. In will go a Thornycroft Kaisen T95, I hope, by Easter. Why Easter, because Whixall is a long way to travel and I have managed to obtain moorings at Crick from Easter which is only 20 minutes travel, which equals extra time cruising. I may be mad putting in a new engine, but I want to be cruising not bruising my hands on the engine each day trying to get it to tick over.
Of her history I know very little, warning signs around gas appliances showing a red letter A forming part of a flying pennant tend to suggest that she was a broads hire cruiser at some stage. An enquiry to Graham Booth of Waterways World Readers Forum has suggested that Bounty Boats of Brundall in Norfolk possibly did the engine work, helping to confirm this. How she got from East to West is a mystery.
In 1999 I decided to take early retirement. Work and 14yrs bring up three young children as a single dad had taken their toll. For 20yrs I had been hiring narrow boats, now it was time to relax and go looking for one of my own to while away some time in.
My travels searching for a boat took me to Whixall Marine; there I found a project. No not a Narrow Boat, though that is what I was searching for, but a 27 foot Creighton mid cockpit GRP River Cruiser circa 1980 - looking rather sad and in need of some major TLC.
As it was February 14 my heartstrings moved and I put my money down. The boat has an unusual lay out, with an engine in the middle of the boat running a hydraulic pump the hydraulic drive motor is remote and attached direct to the propeller (no shaft vibration).
It soon became apparent that the transom needed some structural repair, as did the back wall of the rear cabin so into the dry dock it did go. This proved that the rest of the hull was extremely sound and so Spring and Summer saw the boat transformed with new woodwork, cooker and fridge inside, plus a new water pump and filter system by Jabsco and Ecology respectively, plus a new colour scheme on the outside.
The name stayed - Maybe it's my warped sense of humour but I instantly thought of a well known phase or saying just by adding one word! - Many people still cannot work it out, though I suspect the Tuesday night club will readily catch on.
I managed to get some use out of her during the summer and autumn so all was not just work. With the onset of the colder weather her health began to fail and a heart transplant looked high on the agenda. January and she is about to undergo the required surgery. Out comes her BMC 1.5, which has been reconditioned and rebuilt twice before in its life. In will go a Thornycroft Kaisen T95, I hope, by Easter. Why Easter, because Whixall is a long way to travel and I have managed to obtain moorings at Crick from Easter which is only 20 minutes travel, which equals extra time cruising. I may be mad putting in a new engine, but I want to be cruising not bruising my hands on the engine each day trying to get it to tick over.
Of her history I know very little, warning signs around gas appliances showing a red letter A forming part of a flying pennant tend to suggest that she was a broads hire cruiser at some stage. An enquiry to Graham Booth of Waterways World Readers Forum has suggested that Bounty Boats of Brundall in Norfolk possibly did the engine work, helping to confirm this. How she got from East to West is a mystery.