Goodnight Lorry, Goodnight Boat, Goodnight Daddy
Saying “Good night boat” was a ritual that young Kay insisted on every evening as the lights of her bedroom were turned off and she settled down to sleep and cuddle Paddington bear. The boat in question was a cardboard model of a tug boat that lived, alongside models of a steam engine and a lorry, on one of the beams which then spanned the ceiling of her bedroom in Olney, Buckinghamshire. Those of a certain age will remember the type of cardboard models one found on the reverse of Weetabix boxes. But Kay’s boat was not a Weetabix model, it was a model of St. Canute, a steam powered,ice breaking tug boat built in Denmark in 1931 but giving faithfull service in many yards and harbours in south west England. In 1977 St.Canute occupied pride of place in the sadly now defunct Exeter Maritime Museum. And it was in 1977 that little Kay visited the museum and like me fell in love with St. Canute. I was already in love with Kay's mummy and still am :)
Marilyn and Kay on the starboard quarter of the bridge
So gentle reader you must be wondering what this is got to with present day? Well the Ashridge Boatyard has spent the last 9 months building a model of Kay’s boat and today I finished her. Here she is, and when the weather improves she’ll be undergoing sea trials. But I am really pleased with the way she has turned out and she looks great alongside all my other dust gatherers! I hope Kay likes her.
The real St Canute has been restored and renamed St Stokvik and is serving as a working heritage boat in Sweden. I’d love to see her one day.
But this doesn’t mean that the Ashridge Boatyard has no more work. On the slipway now is the rather troublesome Miss Baby Bea; an experimental twin engine tunnel hydroplane which is undergoing modifications to hopefully improve her performance and reliability. More of this later….I’ve got a car to repair, and a Christmas cake to ice ..it’s a long story.
Tara a bit.
Marilyn and Kay on the starboard quarter of the bridge
So gentle reader you must be wondering what this is got to with present day? Well the Ashridge Boatyard has spent the last 9 months building a model of Kay’s boat and today I finished her. Here she is, and when the weather improves she’ll be undergoing sea trials. But I am really pleased with the way she has turned out and she looks great alongside all my other dust gatherers! I hope Kay likes her.
The real St Canute has been restored and renamed St Stokvik and is serving as a working heritage boat in Sweden. I’d love to see her one day.
But this doesn’t mean that the Ashridge Boatyard has no more work. On the slipway now is the rather troublesome Miss Baby Bea; an experimental twin engine tunnel hydroplane which is undergoing modifications to hopefully improve her performance and reliability. More of this later….I’ve got a car to repair, and a Christmas cake to ice ..it’s a long story.
Tara a bit.