Stonehouse Court

I have, after some grief, finally managed to wrestle a ‘deal’ out of this hotel where many of us stayed last year – don’t they want us there? Perhaps we were too naughty last year!

Bed and Breakfast (single) £91.50/night

Bed and Breakfast (double) £100/night

Call them on 01453 794950 and mention ‘Steamboats’ to get this price.

There will be a ‘Chairman’s Dinner’ on the Friday evening at this hotel, details of which will be notified separately and will be limited to 40 people due to the size of the available room.

If you are thinking of staying over on Saturday, a few of us went for an ‘Indian’ in the evening – this will be a ‘play it by ear’ arrangement on the night.

Travelodge Stonehouse

I know some members stayed here last year. It is near the motorway and about 10mins drive from the AGM venue. No breakfast option on-site!

£41.99 Room only (as of 14 November 2019)

Hope to see you in March ‘20 … Kevin Slater, Chairman

From now until 24th October work will be in progress on the online archive of editions of "Funnel".   Access to the archive will be curtailed while this work progresses.  Once the work is finished all editions of Funnel will be available to Members online.

If you are a Member and unaware of this online service, do log-in to discover a rich trove of steam boating history, folklore and knowledge.

The SBA Store is back online with an extended range of merchandise for SBA Members.  Members can get to the store with this link to the Store.  

Malcolm Duckett writes:

I have been requested by a Dutch member to cast him a crank, and while I am at it I guess it makes sense to see if anyone else is interested.

Cost is £150 plus shipping. The crank is to fit a Leak Compound, and will allow larger main-shafts of 1.25inch-diameter, and longer-than-drawn main-shafts to accommodate pump drives, and an outrigger bearing for the belt prop-shaft drive we use.

I might be persuaded to provide a finished item if anyone was interested.

The full story of making these is here:

https://sy-befur.co.uk/2019/01/31/steamboat-crankshafts-lessons-manufacture-pt1

https://sy-befur.co.uk/2019/02/19/steamboat-crankshafts-lessons-manufacture-pt2

Please contact Malcolm directly (his details are on the Members Directory page).

The SBA needs a couple of computer-savvy members to take on the job of keeping the content of the website up-to-date.  You will need a good Internet connection and skill with web browsers, directory organisation, text processing and uploading of files.

Once you are familiar with the site the work is only a few hours a month; the actual content will be provided by others, you don't have to actually write the content, too!

If you would like to help to keep the SBA's web present topical, please contact Roger Heise ( sbawebmaster@heise-data.de ) or Kevin Slater ( chairman@steamboatassociation.org.uk ).

Puffing-a-Wey Friday 28 June - Sunday 30 June 2019

Anyone interested in steam boats plus of course SBA members, with or without their boats, are invited to this special National Trust weekend where we gather to support the National Trust who do a tremendous job in looking after the Wey Navigation.

Arrangements for the weekend have been finalised today with the National Trust and full event details are now available in the event listing.

Regards,

Ian Bucknall, SL Melissa

As previously mentioned at the AGM, and elsewhere, I am setting a challenge to all Steamboaters to ‘Steam Everywhere’ that is navigable in the UK prior to our 50th AGM which will be held in March 2021 – which is only 18 months(ish) away! Hence, I have decided to start now!

This is, I hope, not going to be too onerous. We will not have the ‘Steaming Police’ out checking up on you!

When you complete a voyage click here to fill in a form or copy and paste this URL: https://forms.gle/hMNaxqqKs5nKxznB7 

Or just send me an email/snailmail with the bare bones of your journey:

Your Name

Boat Name

Starting Point

End Point (or turn around point if you are retracing to start)

Approximate miles steamed (one way if retracing)

Add any other information that you deem might be interesting such as who/which boats were accompanying you on your voyage.

There will be prizes at the 50th AGM for various categories (to be confirmed) but certainly “Most miles steamed” and probably “Most individual voyages by one boat”

Bon Voyage … Kevin Slater CEng, Chairman

Dear friends, owners of Steamboats.

For the year 2019 as in 2009, the "Belle Plaisance" of the "RDV of the Erdre" will have for main theme "Steamboats".

Ten French boats have planned to participate in this beautiful annual meeting which will take place from August 29 to September 1, 2019.

If you wish to participate (which we all hope), the individual pre-registrations and the modalities of participation are available on the RDV de l'Erdre website:

http://www.rendezvouserdre.com

or by email:

belleplaisance@rendezvouserdre.com

Note that the organization makes a 50% discount on registration fees of 20 euros instead of 40 euros.

The firewood is provided for RDV of the Erdre.

A descent of the canal from Nantes to Brest from the city of Redon is possible from Monday, August 26th.

Contact joel.druel@freesbee.fr

Best regards,

Joel Druel

We have just heard of the Festival de Loire

CLASSIC RIVER BOAT OWNERS, FANCY A FREE TRIP TO FRANCE?

‘Boats of the Thames’ will be the guests of honour at the forthcoming Festival of the Loire in Orleans in mid-September, 18-22nd. And if you think you’d enjoy five days of French food, boat processions, music and fireworks, you can attend for free if you’re quick. Brittany Ferries are offering ten free return trips on their Portsmouth to Caen/Ouisterham crossing on 16th September, returning a week later, and the Festival will offer free accommodation and food — essentially a free holiday! Places will no doubt go quickly so check out their website, www.festivaldeloire.com and fill out their registration form, Festival of the Loire 2019 | EVT, and they will put you in touch with the organisers. They are particularly interested in traditional river boats, preferably old ones but not exclusively — and they will efficiently crane you in and out of the water. The Loire is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and this is the best possible way to see it. The festival is every two years and last time they attracted an amazing 750,000 visitors. Thames boats are very special, and this is our chance to show them off!

Full event details and a booking form are now available for the Manchester Winter Social, via the link in the event listing.

Bookings needed by 12th June please!