Sandbach for sale

Sandbach is currently for sale and is being advertised on Apolloduck.

The asking price is £43,000 but, as with all things, this is negotiable.

Provided things go to plan, I am replacing Sandbach with ex FMC Josher, BADGER.

George

Trip to Braunston Show

The recent trip to the Braunston saw SANDBACH pick up a small towing job from Furness Vale to Etruria top lock.

The new build day boat JOSHUA, built by Paul Dawson from Trafalgar Marine , was being delivered to its new home on the Caldon Canal. The cheapest and easiest way of doing this was in the water being towed on cross straps.

SANDBACH was en route to the historic boat show at Braunston so the tow as far as Etruria was quickly arranged. Final delivery to Hazelhurst on the Caldon was made under her own steam.

The photo shows SANDBACH and JOSHUA waiting for permission to enter the Harecastle Tunnel north portal.

Towing a Block of Flats

Thanks to a recommendation from my old friend Brian McGuigan, I recently got a job towing a block of flats from Macclesfield to Marple. Just to make matters more interesting, we tied the owner's GRP cruiser on the back to complete the convoy. The whole move took half as long again as a normal tow thanks to the square pontoon shape of the houseboat.

Revenge is sweet! I got a phone call from the houseboat owner yesterday asking for another tow from the bottom of Marple to Portland Basin. I knew Brian was going that way today so I persuaded him to do the job!

(The photo shows my arrival at the top of Marple with the convoy in tow.)

Back to Work

Following five and a half weeks away at the Braunston show, combined with a trip to London, the Thames and Oxford, on return to the Peak Forest it was straight back to work with a tow for CAVALIER from Marple to Furness Vale dry dock for repairs to a broken rudder.

Etruria 2010

Sandbach attended the Etruria Canals Festival on 3rd-5th June. Other working boats present included Alton, Daphne, Darley, Ibex, Skylark, Towy and the modern, but no less a working boat, Stokie.

Daphne was having engine trouble so was towed by Sandbach from Kidsgrove to Etruria, where temporary repairs were effected. "Just in case", Daphne was towed northwards back through the tunnel . To round off a good weekend, Sandbach assisted both Towy and Alton who found themselves well stemmed up in modern canal conditions.

Photo shows Sandbach emerging from Harecastle Tunnel south portal towing Daphne. (Photo by Brian McGuigan)

Black Country Living Museum

We have just returned from a trip to the museum to attend the bi-annual tug gathering. Some 16 tugs attended and given the low number of original tugs around this was quite a creditable score. It was good to renew the acquaintance of some tugmen I knew from my Alton days as well as meeting new faces in my new world of "little" boats. The top photo shows Sandbach in the museum arm and the lower photo is at the top of the Wolverhamton 21.

I have a couple of interesting photos of how Sandbach used to look when first built in 1946. Then she was 25ft long but she must have proved impossible to steer as in less than 12 months she was sent back to Yarwoods to have an extra 10ft inserted.

The top photo shows her sister BEESTON on the bank at Ellesmere Port museum awaiting restoration (copyright Brian McGuigan)

The lower photo shows her as first built (copyright Cheshire CC,County Record Office, DDX 289).