Want to buy a butty?

At the boat gala at Stoke Bruerne on Saturday was nb Cygnus, a 1935 "Small Woolwich". Alan Baillie, the owner, was finishing off the signwriting and was very happy to chat, telling us that he was selling it, and did we want to have a look round?


So we entered the reasonably conventional back cabin and went through to a tiny galley: hob on the left and stainless steel sink on the right. Then into the engine room - only this is a butty, so no engine, just an elsan (and guitar) in the corner; the rest of the space empty except for evidence of being used as a workshop. A bulkhead separated this space from the hold. The floor in the cabin was, I have to say, horrible. Wood-effect vinyl.


Sorry - pictures only of barefoot Alan busy with his brush ...


... oh yes, there's one of his for-sale board. (I'll never make a journo - I didn't ask him the price.)

Alan suggested one way of providing motive power would be to tow it with a small tug: "You can get one for about six thousand pounds". Or, he said, you could put an outboard engine on it. Yes, he was being serious. Converting it to a motor boat (inboard engine) could cost up to £20k.

More from Stoke Bruerne tomorrow.