6th September 2011 - by Nazir Daud
Hemel Hempstead: Dacorum Narrow Boat Project
The Dacorum Narrow Boat Project (DNBP) was set up to provide the opportunity for young people
in the Hemel Hempstead area and beyond to experience the pleasure of cruising on a canal boat. For many young
people this is an opportunity that, due to the often prohibitive costs of hiring a canal boat, they could never
normally enjoy.
Obviously there are significant costs associated with running and maintaining a canal boat so to keep costs to a
minimum most of the maintenance work that is required to keep the boat afloat and looking pristine is carried out
by local volunteers.
Because of the selfless work carried out by the local volunteers the DNBP is able to keep its charges very low and
this brings its cruises into the affordable range of local schools and clubs that might wish to educate their
children into the ways of the canal and the many lessons that can be learned from operating a canal boat.
A Brief History
The canal boat owned by the DNBP is known as The Belfast. She, boats are always female, was built in 1936 as a work
boat for the Grand Union Canal Carrying Co. but after many years of hard labour she was allowed to fall into a
serious state of disrepair. She was one of a number of ex working boat hulls lying in a dilapidated state on the
Wendover Arm, with no engine or rudder and offered for sale by the British Waterways Board.
In 1971 she was spotted by a member of the DNBP who saw past her dilapidated state to what she could become again
with some tender loving care and a lot of money spent on her. The Project began a serious campaign to raise the
necessary funds, not only to buy her but to restore her to her former glories and kit her out for cruising on the
Grand Union Canal. The purchase price of £500 was raised but this was obviously a drop in the ocean compared to
what was needed to be spent to equip her for cruising.
The rusted hull of the boat was towed to a boat yard in the Midlands where a second hand diesel engine was fitted
and a new rudder installed. This allowed The Belfast to be sailed under her own steam to The Fishery, Boxmoor where
the Project team began repairing, painting and making her fit for habitation and to accommodate people in a
reasonable degree of comfort.
When The Belfast arrived at The Fishery she was little more than a leaky shell of a boat with an engine and a
flimsy cabin which gave the boatman some protection from the elements. To refit the whole boat was a massive
undertaking and required many months of work fitting insulation, cabins, bunks, the galley, toilets - in fact
every single thing needed to accommodate people in a reasonable degree of comfort had to be installed.
Eventually though all the hard work paid off and by late 1972 the canal boat had begun pay her way and very quickly
became popular with the local schools and clubs in the Hemel Hempstead area. She has remained extremely popular
with the local youth up until the present day.
By the 1980s it had become apparent that a more permanent mooring site was required so that all the shoreside
equipment could be stored and the routine maintenance carried out and in 1980 this mooring was granted by the
Dacorum District Council on the site of a former refuse site at Nash Mills.
Since her initial refit the boat has needed constant ongoing maintenance and upgrading which, thanks to the
Project's faithful band of volunteers, she has received. Thousands of young people have been treated to excellent
holidays and weekends away thanks to the foresight of those who first set eyes on The Belfast's rotting hull but
had the vision to see what it could become. And the work continues. A complete internal refit of the boat was
completed in 1998, bringing the accommodation, galley, toilets and shower up to a really high standard and ensuring
that thousands more youngsters would enjoy fun holidays and be educated on the ways of canal people.
If you want to get involved as a volunteer then there is always room for you, especially if you come with a
specific skill in the realm of canal boats. If you just fancy booking The Belfast for your youth group then contact
the Dacorum Narrow Boat Project for prices and conditions and you too could soon be enjoying a relaxing cruise
along the Grand Union Canal through the beautiful Chiltern Hills.
Source: http://articlesabroad.com
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