The oldest concrete boat was built by Joseph-Louis Lambot in Southern France in 1848. That first vessel hull was still good 150 years later. Concrete or Ferroconcrete was used for commercial vessel construction. Concrete is cheap and is an inexpensive material for a hull. Back in the 1960's there was a vogue for concrete sailing yachts typically 40 feet or longer made from a steel frame and chicken wire covered by concrete. Special teams were able to plaster the hull to quite a high standard. Home made hulls were often rubbish. Although the material was cheap the labour costs could be high removing one of the advantages. The hulls were very strong and surprisingly much lighter than you might have expected.
We played there too. There were three you could climb on easily, one from a tree. The best part was when the ships passing sucked the water out of the channel and then sent a wave back up.
A really interesting video Ollie. To think I drove over that for 6 years on the M6 on my way to the regional office in Eccles and had no idea what I was going over. Think I've got kayak envy!....great to hear my tune as well, thanks. 😉
They are called Ferrocrete Boats, one still has the letters FCB13 painted on. Ferrocrete is concrete poured over a wire mesh. If you had gone a bit further south in the bay on the right there is another two full barges grounded in the woodland! One has a tree growing through the hull! But anyway - it was amazing to see the sunk sections in such detail! You captured them all perfectly! Another great clip! Bravo!
@@nickbenke3306 Thanks for getting back to me. Above you mention that there are two more (and in fact, my information is that there are three more) but just now you imply there is (just) one more. Short of trying to persuade Time Team to come along with their geophysics bods, I need to plump for a number !. I will gladly use your information and quote you in my book, but is the number two or is it one ?? I am also trying to see if the Manchester Ship Canal Facebook group can confirm - there is one answer from a chap that was present when they were dumped and holes drilled in them, but even then that doesn't mean that what he remembers is the total. Elk for example was dumped by 1931 and the MSC Co. used the dead river arms to dump all sorts of stuff - such were the times !
We played there a lot in the early 70s and I recall 6 including the accessible ones at the bottom of the channel in the east bank. All the trees at the base were not there when we were kids it actually had a bit of a beach of oily sand.
Slightly off topic, but years ago I was told of a factory in Trafford Park making instrument cases for aircraft (part of what became GEC I think) who had a cunning plan for the rejects they made. They threw them in the canal at the back of the factory, until a barge grounded out there and they had to pay for the canal to be dredged. I was told there were at least 10 thousand rejected casings by the end of the performance. And we still won the war!
Great Video..... can't get the 'Delverance Tune' out of my head now🤣..... We also have an abandoned concrete boat...('Cretehawser') on the Banks of the River Wear in Sunderland....👍
I remember playing on these as a kid in the 60's. We also used to go swimming in the cut close by, obligingly moving to one side to let the ships go past. Health and safety non-existent.
I assume that was the Bridgewater canal for the swimming as the ship canal was filthy in the 60s and 70s. So much water in Lymm with the canals and the beautiful dam my mum insisted we all could swim by an early age.
My Mam walked us down to the concrete barges once. She lived in Thelwall as a child and used to play on them. Thelwall Viaduct was original just the one bridge completed in 1963. The second bridge was completed in 1996. The issue with the first bridge was found in 2002. So they were incredibly lucky in a way that the second one had been built. I think at one point the maintenance work had to be temporarily halted due to a Kestrel family nesting under the bridge. Which are protected by law.
The French Navy used concrete supply ships. One, the Crocodile, was bought by a chap called Georges de Caluwe in 1962 and he converted it into an Offshore Radio ship. He renamed it Uilenspiegel (which translates to Owl Mirror, a legendary Flemish folk hero) and once fitted out, it was sailed out to international waters off of Zeebrugge in October 1962, broadcasting as Radio Antwerpen. On the night of 15th/16th December 1962, Uilenspiegel dragged her anchor in a storm and after the crew were taken off by lifeboat, she ran aground at Cadzand. There the UIlenspiegel lay until 1971 when the Dutch authorities blew her up as she was considered dangerous.
Love videos like this Ollie. The waterway is amazing to see with the overbridges - a totally different perspective to what one would ever know about, with being on the water, and in such isolated places. Who would ever know about those concrete barges stuck in a disused part of the Mersey, too. Thanks very much for doing this film, it's so interesting.
Great video as ever Ollie, and really pleasantly surprised to see something like this so close to home. Easy to forget how much history there is on the doorstep. Just a little addendum re Thelwall Viaduct, what is now the northbound viaduct was opened in 1963 to accommodate both north and southbound traffic. What is the southbound viaduct wasn’t opened until 1995, and even then it had to carry the northbound traffic in addition, for a little while whilst the old one was getting repaired… until the bearing situation about 10 years later.
Not a thing is taught about any of this or the local infrastructure in local schools. Absolutely shocking indictment and evidence they don't want people feeling attachment to where they are from or their ancestors. Warrington is a stones throw but I mean Newton le Willows is the epicentre of the intersection of the first canal, the first railway and the first railway viaduct with the Vulcan Foundry being at it's heart and ask a local kid what they know from school, the answer is nil. Best place to learn about it is the Wetherspoons named after the viaduct with the information put up inside celebrating it. That should tell you enough.
I've always wanted to see a map of the area before they built the Manchester Ship Canal to see what the Mersey and Irwell were up to. Great you found one as I haven't yet!
Warrington used to have a pretty large shipyard at one point. One ship built there is described as "Warringtons Titanic" which, iirc, sank off the coast of Ireland.
Nice to see these 2 back together again- there always happy together - when you have find some one ☝️ and you have this type of loving bond / never let go
The sensors may actually for water level monitoring. The Mersey is tidal and floods so they monitor the water level all along the river and canals to issue timely warnings of potential flooding to locals.
A new Bee Here Now video---A great day. "Deliverance," Some friends and I years back when we were little kids watched that as a late night movie, bad idea. What a enjoyable watch, Thanks. It is sad to see some of the tools, "the concrete boats," of WWII just sinking in the mud unseen and long forgotten. Thanks to Ollie for another fine video.....
@@BeeHereNowuk It was a "strange" movie to say the least. Your videos have really come along, narration content and back stories. You are among three youtubers I watch for Manchester and the surrounding area. Thanks again.
There are concrete barges where I live Purton, a lot of them were manufactured locally and were beached 60- 70 years ago to stop erosion from the river Severn
The Purton FCBs were built in Barrow-in-Furness, allocated to Bristol Docks and then transferred to the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal. Beached in the first half of the 1960s. One was refloated 1990 and taken to Gloucester Waterways Museum. Moved about 2005 and then allowed to sink in the canal. Still there.
Another really enjoyable video, It's great to see you exploring old relics of the past from the railway and canal age. I look forward to seeing some more content soon.
Plenty of ocean-going yachts are made of ferro-cement, Ollie! It doesn't corrode like steel (except if the reinforcing gets damaged and is nowhere near as toxic to work as glass or carbon-fibre reinforced plastics...
There were a number of these barges just off Gainbourough Rd before that part of the canal/river was filled in, now under the car park near the old brewery.
Nice one Ollie! Remember me telling you about these ages ago? Thanks for being first (that I've seen) As usual you went that extra mile and chose a great method of accessing the barges. They are the wrong side of a golf course? BTW if you'd gone about 1/4 mile further toward Latchford Locks on the way back, the Mersey is about twenty yards the other side of the bank, you'd have saved yourself 80 per cent of the journey back! Thanks for making my day Ollie! Great work mate!
@@BeeHereNowuk It's easy for me to say that I grew up round there. At least you got to see some beautiful countryside from the river. And all thirty minutes walk from Warrington town centre.
I remember in the 80s Thames barges made in concrete They were selling them for 400£ They were 1892 when made still fine They make them upside down then flip them Concrete under water becomes stronger over time
A chap near us In North Wales built s ferro crmr tbys by snd set sail yo hi round the world but hit bar weather off Lands and foundered but I think they were all saved. Doesn't t fill you with confidence, concrete, does it?
@@hefinhughes7263 I did consider having one but I ended up with a steel Dutch barge But it's around 2000 just to have her craned out for it to be blackened Concrete would be ok on the river
There were lots of Swim-head Thames barges, built by Wates in WWII. They were craned off the dockside by Mammoth. The upside down build was unique as far as I am aware to some of the first building in Norway in 1917
We lived in Satham, Lymm and played there all the time. We called it Old River and we’re aware it was part of the Mersey before the Ship Canal was cut. You can drive down the lanes before a short walk to get to it. In the 70s when the big Manchester Liners ploughed the canal their draft would draw all of the water out of there and then return it in a big wave. We could also get under the viaduct and walk across to Wollston on the cat walk. Good days those!
That’s bizarre to think they were made out of concrete. And that they are still here after all these years. I have lived in Manchester area for 50 years and never heard of these. Cool video dude
Great video! There’s a similar concrete barge near Newark in Nottinghamshire on the banks of a lake next to the river Trent. I think there’s quite a few of them knocking about and as you said they can’t be scrapped, so they are just left to gradually just…. sit there forever. Top work on the videos, really enjoy them.
Cool video, looks like you had fun! Re concrete boats: I think there was a competition between the civil engineering departments of some German universities on building and racing concrete kayaks....
Great video, never knew concrete barges existed! Was surprised to see Lewis face on this video, I'm subbed to his channel too. Did he make you use a walkie talkie 😁 Wonderful to see under thelwall I used to drive over that and back each day for many years.
Aquarius is that houseboat. I have tracked FCB 25 houseboats so far, there's 4 at Burnham-on-Crouch but also as far afield as Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Norway
I've seen a few Ferro cement yachts sailing around. They built them into the 70's, I'm not sure if you cant still buy them. There really easy to repair.
We have quite a few of those down South,mostly ones that didn't get to be part of the Mulberry Harbours for the Normandy landings.I hope you'll be appearing on Lewis' channel now,helping him adjust his SWR or something like that!🤗
None of them were ever part of Mulberry, they are barges, not harbours. Mulberry = Spud Pierheads, Intermediate pontoons, Bombardons, Gooseberries, Beetles and Whales (with possibly a bit of Swiss Roll for personnel). Interestingly, the FCBs were tested in Garlieston in 1943 as a possible means to carry Whale bridge spans, but performed badly (as did Hippo and Swiss Roll). Beetles, some steel but most concrete, were selected as the bridge span carrying pontoons. Absolutely no question by the way, the Petrol Barges (201 of them) were built in London by Wates for the Army, overseen by the Admiralty and Ministry of War Transport, with a view to transporting petrol to support the D-Day invasion. However, they never went. Exercise Jantzen in summer 1943 was an operational trial, 4 petrol barges went, they broke their backs and pissed petrol all over the beach. I have read the Overlord papers, the Petrol Barges were not on the roster for towing, tugs being in great shortage and high demand. Petrol was provided in jerry cans, Y tankers and Chants until PLUTO kicked in during September . . .There are at least 80 surviving in Kent, 40 in Essex. The reason that there aren't so many in the North West is that Mersey Docks & Harbour Board scuttled all of theirs, many 70 ish, off Rhyl. There's 7 that came from Barrow at Purton.
Nip down to dockyard road Ellesmere Port. CH654EF. & you will find 5 of these boats. In 2 stacks. Sunk by the ship canal company to stop Cleanaway ever using the berth there to import waste. Only the top 3 are ever visible unless the canal has really low water. I worked there for over 20 years & only ever saw all of the boats on one occasion
Hi. So I have a map and photos of 6 FCBs that were taken in the 1960s and appear in Philip Simons’ World Ship Society publication on the topic. Personally, I found 5 but not the 6th…
In Canada there's remnants of the prototype underwater,, they had to run refrigeration to keep it frozen. Torpedoes wouldn't do much damage. I made the mix myself and tried smashing it with a sledgehammer and couldn't do anything to get it to break apart.
Concrete Barges... Gahlic bred?? 😂😂 Stop it. Its 3am I need to sleep this is far too entertaining. 3rd video in now these are SO interesting thank you.
Fascinating. And did you have a nice day or what? I am curious to know at what point in the Manchester Ship Canal does the water go from fresh water to brackish to salt?
World War 1 - Concrete Seacraft Limited was founded on 26th January 1918 by H. C. Ritchie and W. Black. Mr. Harry Ritchie was an inventor and concrete innovator, patenting the ‘Ritchie Unit System’ and between himself and Mr W. Black, they held a number of patents. Concrete Seacraft Ltd established their shipyard at Fiddler’s Ferry, along the banks of the River Mersey. Today, the company that Ritchie and Black founded in 1918 is still going strong as Williams Tarr Construction and uniquely, the company recognises its heritage as a builder of ferro-concrete ships
There are many examples but if you Google 'Brain of Brian, Penryn ' you'll find THE best office and at Burnham on Crouch there are 4 houseboats built on WWII FCBs. Probably the best houseboat is a luxury conversion known as Lady of the Twizzle...Walton-on-the-Naze....
Are you 100% certain that it is a dead arm of the River Mersey ? I see it elsewhere called the River Lymm ? The wooden vessel is the 'Elk'. It is believed that she was originally a three-deck frigate, built in 1851. She apparently served in the Crimean War (1854-56). Converted to a dumb hopper by the Dundee Harbour Trust and then went to Penarth before coming to the Ship Canal in its construction days. She was fitted with a Priestner grab in 1899. She is therefore, a truly historic vessel, apparently dumped in 1931. There are allegedly 6 WWII FCBs where you were, the others have disappeared into the bank, further down the river arm. Nick Benke below referee to two of them. Enjoyed the video.
That's some great information, thanks for sharing. I didn't find anything about the Elk so thanks for letting me know! Yes I'm 100% it's the old Mersey riverbed. I can't find anything about a River Lymm and the Mersey meandered a lot before the Ship Canal was knocked through there. Thank you 👍
The three mid channel were there in the late 60s and had been there some time. I remember being frustrated we could not reach them without a boat and even with a boat it would have been risky due to the ships passing and the tsunami sent up channel. Those wooden wrecks were more prominent then and nothing looked big enough to have been a frigate. They looked like wide shallow draft barges. When the massive Manchester Liners went passed the water was drawn out of the channel exposing the wrecks. The wooden wrecks also impede passage down the channel so the concrete barges must have been scuttled earlier.
Something that might interest you if you go on the river Hamble in Hampshire there is Boat chandlery and it was actually in One of these concrete barges and it is so used every day it’s got a top wheels on it but it is what you’re on about just thought I’d let you know Michael
I found them. There is one at Elephant Boatyard that is used to store masts and three at Foulkes & Sons (Chandlery, a houseboat and one that is to be converted into a cafe)..
@@BeeHereNowuk they might not be able to use the bridge if the level is above a certain setpoint or it could be collecting data for the environment agency / rivers trust possibly?
![[Reupload]: A Decaying Viaduct High Above the Manchester Ship Canal](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/jHr2umGhVLA/mqdefault.jpg)
The oldest concrete boat was built by Joseph-Louis Lambot in Southern France in 1848. That first vessel hull was still good 150 years later. Concrete or Ferroconcrete was used for commercial vessel construction. Concrete is cheap and is an inexpensive material for a hull. Back in the 1960's there was a vogue for concrete sailing yachts typically 40 feet or longer made from a steel frame and chicken wire covered by concrete. Special teams were able to plaster the hull to quite a high standard. Home made hulls were often rubbish. Although the material was cheap the labour costs could be high removing one of the advantages. The hulls were very strong and surprisingly much lighter than you might have expected.
I know those concrete barges, I used to live in Lymm 50 years ago, I used to play on those barges
Hi Chris. Do you remember there being three in the bank as well as three that we can see today ?
@@jaalmemamaza I remember the ones that were in the water, there may have been others but I can’t recall seeing them
We played there too. There were three you could climb on easily, one from a tree. The best part was when the ships passing sucked the water out of the channel and then sent a wave back up.
The Thelwall viaduct was only a single bridge until they built the 2nd in the 90s.
A really interesting video Ollie. To think I drove over that for 6 years on the M6 on my way to the regional office in Eccles and had no idea what I was going over. Think I've got kayak envy!....great to hear my tune as well, thanks. 😉
Yeah cheers OS! Thanks for the tune - I don't think I could have found a better one. Glad you liked the video!
Great video Oli, had such a good day!
They are called Ferrocrete Boats, one still has the letters FCB13 painted on. Ferrocrete is concrete poured over a wire mesh. If you had gone a bit further south in the bay on the right there is another two full barges grounded in the woodland! One has a tree growing through the hull! But anyway - it was amazing to see the sunk sections in such detail! You captured them all perfectly! Another great clip! Bravo!
Interesting. My research says there are actually 6 - the three we can see and 3 more in the bank further in.
@@jaalmemamaza Correct! There is a submerged one further along.
@@nickbenke3306 Thanks for getting back to me. Above you mention that there are two more (and in fact, my information is that there are three more) but just now you imply there is (just) one more. Short of trying to persuade Time Team to come along with their geophysics bods, I need to plump for a number !. I will gladly use your information and quote you in my book, but is the number two or is it one ?? I am also trying to see if the Manchester Ship Canal Facebook group can confirm - there is one answer from a chap that was present when they were dumped and holes drilled in them, but even then that doesn't mean that what he remembers is the total. Elk for example was dumped by 1931 and the MSC Co. used the dead river arms to dump all sorts of stuff - such were the times !
We played there a lot in the early 70s and I recall 6 including the accessible ones at the bottom of the channel in the east bank. All the trees at the base were not there when we were kids it actually had a bit of a beach of oily sand.
During WWII concrete barges were used on the Danube too. When the river has low water levels one wreck can be seen even today.
Slightly off topic, but years ago I was told of a factory in Trafford Park making instrument cases for aircraft (part of what became GEC I think) who had a cunning plan for the rejects they made. They threw them in the canal at the back of the factory, until a barge grounded out there and they had to pay for the canal to be dredged. I was told there were at least 10 thousand rejected casings by the end of the performance. And we still won the war!
Nice day out Ollie, thanks for bringing us along, and thanks to Lewis too for some great drone shots. Stay happy and healthy!
You too Mike! Thanks!
Great Video..... can't get the 'Delverance Tune' out of my head now🤣.....
We also have an abandoned concrete boat...('Cretehawser') on the Banks of the River Wear in Sunderland....👍
I remember playing on these as a kid in the 60's. We also used to go swimming in the cut close by, obligingly moving to one side to let the ships go past. Health and safety non-existent.
I assume that was the Bridgewater canal for the swimming as the ship canal was filthy in the 60s and 70s. So much water in Lymm with the canals and the beautiful dam my mum insisted we all could swim by an early age.
@@LloydBrodrick-ne5eiShip Canal near Thelwall. Very popular. I don't recall anyone having their stomach pumped either.
My Mam walked us down to the concrete barges once. She lived in Thelwall as a child and used to play on them. Thelwall Viaduct was original just the one bridge completed in 1963. The second bridge was completed in 1996. The issue with the first bridge was found in 2002. So they were incredibly lucky in a way that the second one had been built. I think at one point the maintenance work had to be temporarily halted due to a Kestrel family nesting under the bridge. Which are protected by law.
Fantastic video many thanks 👍
The French Navy used concrete supply ships. One, the Crocodile, was bought by a chap called Georges de Caluwe in 1962 and he converted it into an Offshore Radio ship. He renamed it Uilenspiegel (which translates to Owl Mirror, a legendary Flemish folk hero) and once fitted out, it was sailed out to international waters off of Zeebrugge in October 1962, broadcasting as Radio Antwerpen. On the night of 15th/16th December 1962, Uilenspiegel dragged her anchor in a storm and after the crew were taken off by lifeboat, she ran aground at Cadzand. There the UIlenspiegel lay until 1971 when the Dutch authorities blew her up as she was considered dangerous.
Le Crocodile was launched 1920 so not a WW2 barge
Thanks for sharing! Something else I have seen where I wouldnt dare go!
Love videos like this Ollie. The waterway is amazing to see with the overbridges - a totally different perspective to what one would ever know about, with being on the water, and in such isolated places. Who would ever know about those concrete barges stuck in a disused part of the Mersey, too. Thanks very much for doing this film, it's so interesting.
Great video as ever Ollie, and really pleasantly surprised to see something like this so close to home. Easy to forget how much history there is on the doorstep. Just a little addendum re Thelwall Viaduct, what is now the northbound viaduct was opened in 1963 to accommodate both north and southbound traffic. What is the southbound viaduct wasn’t opened until 1995, and even then it had to carry the northbound traffic in addition, for a little while whilst the old one was getting repaired… until the bearing situation about 10 years later.
Ah good knowledge there. I had no idea. Thanks mate!
Nice video, different view of the Thelwall viaduct that most of us usually see!
Not a thing is taught about any of this or the local infrastructure in local schools. Absolutely shocking indictment and evidence they don't want people feeling attachment to where they are from or their ancestors. Warrington is a stones throw but I mean Newton le Willows is the epicentre of the intersection of the first canal, the first railway and the first railway viaduct with the Vulcan Foundry being at it's heart and ask a local kid what they know from school, the answer is nil. Best place to learn about it is the Wetherspoons named after the viaduct with the information put up inside celebrating it. That should tell you enough.
I've always wanted to see a map of the area before they built the Manchester Ship Canal to see what the Mersey and Irwell were up to. Great you found one as I haven't yet!
Warrington used to have a pretty large shipyard at one point. One ship built there is described as "Warringtons Titanic" which, iirc, sank off the coast of Ireland.
Nice to see these 2 back together again- there always happy together - when you have find some one ☝️ and you have this type of loving bond / never let go
The sensors may actually for water level monitoring. The Mersey is tidal and floods so they monitor the water level all along the river and canals to issue timely warnings of potential flooding to locals.
I remember there use to be a concrete barge tied up at Battersea Bridge (London) "Back in the day".
A new Bee Here Now video---A great day. "Deliverance," Some friends and I years back when we were little kids watched that as a late night movie, bad idea. What a enjoyable watch, Thanks. It is sad to see some of the tools, "the concrete boats," of WWII just sinking in the mud unseen and long forgotten. Thanks to Ollie for another fine video.....
Thanks Mike. Yeah I watched that film too young as well!
@@BeeHereNowuk It was a "strange" movie to say the least. Your videos have really come along, narration content and back stories. You are among three youtubers I watch for Manchester and the surrounding area. Thanks again.
Cool idea using the river to share a whole new outlook. Interesting and enlightening content as usual plus great cinematography. Keep it up!
Cheers thank you!!
There are concrete barges where I live
Purton, a lot of them were manufactured locally and were beached 60- 70 years ago to stop erosion from the river Severn
The Purton FCBs were built in Barrow-in-Furness, allocated to Bristol Docks and then transferred to the Gloucester & Sharpness Canal. Beached in the first half of the 1960s. One was refloated 1990 and taken to Gloucester Waterways Museum. Moved about 2005 and then allowed to sink in the canal. Still there.
The drone video shows a lot!
Grew up in wazza yards from the ship canal, had no idea they existed. Amazing bit of local history.
Interesting video about the Manchester Ship Canal and the history of how it was first built. Awesome. 👍😄
Another really enjoyable video, It's great to see you exploring old relics of the past from the railway and canal age. I look forward to seeing some more content soon.
Gorgeous day you picked for it. Great video, really interesting to see a close up perspective of the river and ship canal. Nice one!
Ah the Thelwall Viaduct. Around 2005-08 we used to drive up to Glasgow from Bristol in the school holidays and there was always traffic at Thelwall 😂
Fascinating didn't know these existed at all
Brilliant to see you do a video with Lewis, both great channels
Thanks! Yeah he's a top guy
Always worthwhile being taken down the byways of history. Very interesting vid.
GARLIC BREAD?!?! it's a taste sensation
Fascinating stuff, a bit of history, i didn't know that i knew nothing about it.
Warrington, God’s country. So many industrial firsts in the world.
Great video, thanks for sharing.
Pretty sure there is a concrete boat in the Boat Museum Ellesmere Port. Great video, thank you.
There sure is, bottom basin holiday inn side, it’s recently been moved and is tucked down the side in a small Chanel
FB18, the only surviving floating example of the 32 FCBs allocated to MSCCo.
Fascinating.
I told my mate I was thinking of buying a 'concrete' boat (ferrocement) and he laughed so hard, he thought I was pulling his leg.
Plenty of ocean-going yachts are made of ferro-cement, Ollie!
It doesn't corrode like steel (except if the reinforcing gets damaged and is nowhere near as toxic to work as glass or carbon-fibre reinforced plastics...
Yes I'm learning fast about boats and ships with this channel 😁
Another really great video Ollie. I'd never heard of them barges - really interesting and quite an adventure there mate !
Cheers thanks very much
Very interesting. Good to see people getting out on local waterways too.
Nice day out & plenty of cardio.
More fantastic content, thanks for the videos, I really do enjoy them.
Seeing ringway Manchester here is awesome
:)
There is a ferrocreate boat/barge at the National waterways museum, Ellesmere Port.
good vid as always very interesting
Charts than you!
There were a number of these barges just off Gainbourough Rd before that part of the canal/river was filled in, now under the car park near the old brewery.
Nice one Ollie! Remember me telling you about these ages ago? Thanks for being first (that I've seen) As usual you went that extra mile and chose a great method of accessing the barges. They are the wrong side of a golf course? BTW if you'd gone about 1/4 mile further toward Latchford Locks on the way back, the Mersey is about twenty yards the other side of the bank, you'd have saved yourself 80 per cent of the journey back! Thanks for making my day Ollie! Great work mate!
@Jacqueline Filby Hindsight is a beautiful gift. Fair play to Ollie for going the whole hog!
Cheers Jimmy. Yeah I remember you telling me. Bloody great idea for a video.
Yeah it never occurred to me to go to that narrow point! What an idiot!
@@BeeHereNowuk It's easy for me to say that I grew up round there. At least you got to see some beautiful countryside from the river. And all thirty minutes walk from Warrington town centre.
I remember in the 80s Thames barges made in concrete They were selling them for 400£ They were 1892 when made still fine They make them upside down then flip them Concrete under water becomes stronger over time
A chap near us In North Wales built s ferro crmr tbys by snd set sail yo hi round the world but hit bar weather off Lands and foundered but I think they were all saved. Doesn't t fill you with confidence, concrete, does it?
@@hefinhughes7263 I did consider having one but I ended up with a steel Dutch barge But it's around 2000 just to have her craned out for it to be blackened Concrete would be ok on the river
There were lots of Swim-head Thames barges, built by Wates in WWII. They were craned off the dockside by Mammoth. The upside down build was unique as far as I am aware to some of the first building in Norway in 1917
Great entertaining story, well done Ollie!
Cheers thank you!
Excellent that I’ll have to go up there exploring
We lived in Satham, Lymm and played there all the time. We called it Old River and we’re aware it was part of the Mersey before the Ship Canal was cut. You can drive down the lanes before a short walk to get to it. In the 70s when the big Manchester Liners ploughed the canal their draft would draw all of the water out of there and then return it in a big wave. We could also get under the viaduct and walk across to Wollston on the cat walk. Good days those!
Great video guys x
That’s bizarre to think they were made out of concrete. And that they are still here after all these years. I have lived in Manchester area for 50 years and never heard of these. Cool video dude
Thanks very much!
Amazing and something I'd love to see x.
Great video 👍🏻😀
Great video very interesting and surprising how many boats have concrete in them for Ballast.
Great video! There’s a similar concrete barge near Newark in Nottinghamshire on the banks of a lake next to the river Trent. I think there’s quite a few of them knocking about and as you said they can’t be scrapped, so they are just left to gradually just…. sit there forever.
Top work on the videos, really enjoy them.
Winthorpe Lake - the ones on the MSC were built at Barrow-in-Furness whereas the one at Winthorpe Lake was built by Tarrans in Hull
Brilliant.
Thanks! Very interesting!!
Cool video, looks like you had fun!
Re concrete boats: I think there was a competition between the civil engineering departments of some German universities on building and racing concrete kayaks....
Great video, never knew concrete barges existed! Was surprised to see Lewis face on this video, I'm subbed to his channel too. Did he make you use a walkie talkie 😁 Wonderful to see under thelwall I used to drive over that and back each day for many years.
Haha no he didn't but we could have really used walkie talkies at one point cos my phone got wet and stopped working!
@@BeeHereNowuk I was going to bring some radios for us to keep in touch!!
Fun Video.
A boat made of steel!!! It will never float!
Great video, there is one of these converted to a house boat in shoreham.
Aquarius is that houseboat. I have tracked FCB 25 houseboats so far, there's 4 at Burnham-on-Crouch but also as far afield as Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Norway
I thought it was banned for kayaking on the Manchester ship canal.. not far from the bridgewater canal
I've seen a few Ferro cement yachts sailing around. They built them into the 70's, I'm not sure if you cant still buy them. There really easy to repair.
I remember many magazine articles talking about making concrete boats back then.
@@grahvis I think there greener than all the plastic boats we have now. And easy to repair too.
We have quite a few of those down South,mostly ones that didn't get to be part of the Mulberry Harbours for the Normandy landings.I hope you'll be appearing on Lewis' channel now,helping him adjust his SWR or something like that!🤗
Yeah don't have many up north. Yeah, if Lewis ever does a video called 'The Idiots Guide to radio' I'll be there!
@@BeeHereNowuk now there’s an idea!
None of them were ever part of Mulberry, they are barges, not harbours. Mulberry = Spud Pierheads, Intermediate pontoons, Bombardons, Gooseberries, Beetles and Whales (with possibly a bit of Swiss Roll for personnel). Interestingly, the FCBs were tested in Garlieston in 1943 as a possible means to carry Whale bridge spans, but performed badly (as did Hippo and Swiss Roll). Beetles, some steel but most concrete, were selected as the bridge span carrying pontoons.
Absolutely no question by the way, the Petrol Barges (201 of them) were built in London by Wates for the Army, overseen by the Admiralty and Ministry of War Transport, with a view to transporting petrol to support the D-Day invasion. However, they never went. Exercise Jantzen in summer 1943 was an operational trial, 4 petrol barges went, they broke their backs and pissed petrol all over the beach. I have read the Overlord papers, the Petrol Barges were not on the roster for towing, tugs being in great shortage and high demand. Petrol was provided in jerry cans, Y tankers and Chants until PLUTO kicked in during September . . .There are at least 80 surviving in Kent, 40 in Essex. The reason that there aren't so many in the North West is that Mersey Docks & Harbour Board scuttled all of theirs, many 70 ish, off Rhyl. There's 7 that came from Barrow at Purton.
Back at Thelwall, just round the corner from me! It's a shame you couldn't get Martin Zero there as well!
Haha one day I'm sure!
Nip down to dockyard road Ellesmere Port. CH654EF. & you will find 5 of these boats. In 2 stacks. Sunk by the ship canal company to stop Cleanaway ever using the berth there to import waste. Only the top 3 are ever visible unless the canal has really low water. I worked there for over 20 years & only ever saw all of the boats on one occasion
Very interesting. I was led to understand that there were 6 in two stacks of three? I don’t suppose you ever took a photo?
My research concluded that they were located here 53°17'11"N 2°52'57"W. Is this correct ?
@@jaalmemamaza according to one of the old hands- Barry McVeigh- there are only 5 boats. & I have only ever seen 5. At an extremely low water event.
maps.app.goo.gl/QoGi9sTjXwTMbjMfA?g_st=ic
Hi. So I have a map and photos of 6 FCBs that were taken in the 1960s and appear in Philip Simons’ World Ship Society publication on the topic. Personally, I found 5 but not the 6th…
There was a concrete barge at the Boat Museum, Ellesmere Port.
I'm surprised Lewis hadn't brought walkie talkies instead of shouting from boat to boat :-)
There is, it is FB18
Very interesting, one of those finds that is there and you think should be preserved but there is probably no way they could be. And so they rot!
I see you got a drone. Nice one! 👍
I am from Stroud and the wrecks are near the Barkley canal.
Can you do one on the ships made from ice and sawdust from WW2? I hear they're hard to find. Thanks again for the documentary.
Yeah I've heard of that material but never realised they'd actually made any shots from them. Hmmm. Interesting!!
In Canada there's remnants of the prototype underwater,, they had to run refrigeration to keep it frozen. Torpedoes wouldn't do much damage. I made the mix myself and tried smashing it with a sledgehammer and couldn't do anything to get it to break apart.
Just outside warrington u got in the Merseyside near woolston wier which is definitely warrington mate
Both of you should use radio,if you don't have one just borrow from Lewis haha
Imagine the last person who left the barge's he may long gone now
Concrete Barges... Gahlic bred?? 😂😂 Stop it. Its 3am I need to sleep this is far too entertaining. 3rd video in now these are SO interesting thank you.
We have one or two in Sunderland, must be loads,why don't someone reflect one.
Fascinating. And did you have a nice day or what? I am curious to know at what point in the Manchester Ship Canal does the water go from fresh water to brackish to salt?
Yeah a great day out. Just exhausted by the end! I'm not sure about the water
Haha never knew M3HHY Lewis also in this video
Also one partly sunk on the river weaver not too far from the Anderton lift.
There is, it used to be at Weston Point Docks and was owned by the River Weaver Trustees. Winnington.
Channel crossover; like seeing Obi Wan in Star Trek!
Loads of fishing boats are made in concrete which I have sailed in.
they used to build concrete barages at Fiddlers Ferry near the marina
World War 1 - Concrete Seacraft Limited was founded on 26th January 1918 by H. C. Ritchie and W. Black. Mr. Harry Ritchie was an inventor and concrete innovator, patenting the ‘Ritchie Unit System’ and between himself and Mr W. Black, they held a number of patents.
Concrete Seacraft Ltd established their shipyard at Fiddler’s Ferry, along the banks of the River Mersey. Today, the company that Ritchie and Black founded in 1918 is still going strong as Williams Tarr Construction and uniquely, the company recognises its heritage as a builder of ferro-concrete ships
Make a good house boat ,of floating office or workshop boat maintenance
My thoughts exactly.
There are many examples but if you Google 'Brain of Brian, Penryn ' you'll find THE best office and at Burnham on Crouch there are 4 houseboats built on WWII FCBs. Probably the best houseboat is a luxury conversion known as Lady of the Twizzle...Walton-on-the-Naze....
Are you 100% certain that it is a dead arm of the River Mersey ? I see it elsewhere called the River Lymm ? The wooden vessel is the 'Elk'. It is believed that she was originally a three-deck frigate, built in 1851. She apparently served in the Crimean War (1854-56). Converted to a dumb hopper by the Dundee Harbour Trust and then went to Penarth before coming to the Ship Canal in its construction days. She was fitted with a Priestner grab in 1899. She is therefore, a truly historic vessel, apparently dumped in 1931. There are allegedly 6 WWII FCBs where you were, the others have disappeared into the bank, further down the river arm. Nick Benke below referee to two of them. Enjoyed the video.
That's some great information, thanks for sharing. I didn't find anything about the Elk so thanks for letting me know! Yes I'm 100% it's the old Mersey riverbed. I can't find anything about a River Lymm and the Mersey meandered a lot before the Ship Canal was knocked through there. Thank you 👍
The three mid channel were there in the late 60s and had been there some time. I remember being frustrated we could not reach them without a boat and even with a boat it would have been risky due to the ships passing and the tsunami sent up channel. Those wooden wrecks were more prominent then and nothing looked big enough to have been a frigate. They looked like wide shallow draft barges. When the massive Manchester Liners went passed the water was drawn out of the channel exposing the wrecks. The wooden wrecks also impede passage down the channel so the concrete barges must have been scuttled earlier.
😊👍👍
Something that might interest you if you go on the river Hamble in Hampshire there is Boat chandlery and it was actually in One of these concrete barges and it is so used every day it’s got a top wheels on it but it is what you’re on about just thought I’d let you know Michael
That's interesting. Where on the River Hamble is this. I have them located in Portsmouth, Dibden Bay but nothing on the River Hamble
I found them. There is one at Elephant Boatyard that is used to store masts and three at Foulkes & Sons (Chandlery, a houseboat and one that is to be converted into a cafe)..
The Brisgewater and the Manchester ship canal belongs to Peel holding
The infrared detectors on the bridge might be instruments to measure the level of the water.
Where the barges were located what was that bit used for?
Yeah that's what Lewis thought too.
The barges are on the old mersey river bed that's mostly filled in.
@@BeeHereNowuk they might not be able to use the bridge if the level is above a certain setpoint or it could be collecting data for the environment agency / rivers trust possibly?
Could have got in near Warburton Bridge, would have saved you a mile
Could have driven to Statham and walked, we played their in the 60s and 70s.
Long time, no hear..... How are things?
They use floating concrete pontoons for houuses today, search for 'concrete floating house'
Ooh not heard of that before thanks!
The material a boat is made of depends on the displacement blance that can be achieved. Simple physics - !
Got one in sunderland
That's Cretehawser, a World War I concrete tug built on the Wear
Ammunition carrying or storage barges