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Bowling and Clyde boats

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spacemutt View Drop Down
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    Posted: 05 September 2010 at 9:48pm
Ok..I was going to wait until I got some pictures to go with this, but that may not be until the middle of next week. So I shall post the facts now, and pics later.

After reading a lot of hearsay a rumours about boats from Bowling and the surrounding area, I thought I would set the record straight. I grew up in Bowling harbour, and was there in the days of the old soap-box boats, through to the post-refurbished harbour with shiny boats. I saw all the old boats get cleared out, and we even helped salvage some of the sunk boats. I shall list the boats in no particular order, and tell you all that I know about them.

Zakana. Zakana was a Whale Back MTB that was a residential boat in the upper basin at Bowling Harbour. She was grey, and had a roughly original shaped cabin, but I think this was a later replacement. Her original engines were gone, and she had a single old bus engine fitted. As with all these old boats, rot was well and truely present. Her deck had been concreted to stop the rain getting in. She was latterly abandoned, the owner living somewhere in the south. I used to explore the inside of her. I loved the feeling of being inside one of these boats.
When the harbour was cleared by British Waterways so they could drain and repair the harbour, she needed to be moved. We ended up owning her, as the owner couldn't do anything with her. We pulled her out to the outer harbour where we moored her on the mud until we could figure out what to do with her, or find someone who could save her. But wind blew her up onto the hard standing, and when she dried out at low tide, she healed over. When the tide came back in, the then open exhause ports submerged and she filled up with water. When the tide went out, the weight of the water inside was too much, and it ripped the starboard side of the boat out and broke her back. She was a total loss. The only thing worth saving were some port holes (I still have a couple). One of the other boat owners took the stainless shaft one night. She was later burned by someone. Her keel and lower hull is still just visible as far as I know. We were absolutely gutted about what happened to her. Cry

Luckey Dollar. Yes, it was spelled wrong. Luckey Dollar was, I believe, a 100 class air-sea rescue boat. But I heard she was a bit special too. I heard she was used for smuggling people across the channel during the war, and she was the only one with her original superstructure. I *think* she was a residential boat also. She had no engines (possibly 3 originally?) and was in a very poor state. She was derelict in the upper basin, opposite Zakana. She suffered fire damage, and sank in there. We raised her (twice I think...) for her new owner who had grand plans of repairing her, but as is so often the case, didn't have the financial backing needed for a project like that. She was towed from Bowling to the Cart river at Paisley. She sat on a mooring there for a while until he decided it was in too poor a state and destroyed her with a JCB. A sad loss to a rare boat.

Marlin. Marlin was a 40ft sea-plane tender (as designed by T. E. Lawrence) from the 1930s. Her original cabin and engines were gone. She had a superstructure which was removed and replaced with a different one before she was towed to Greenock to be lifted out of the water. She was found to be in a very poor state. She was offered to the maritine museums, but no-one took her and she was eventually destroyed.

Blue Fin. Blue Fin was, I think, a tordepo recovery craft from Loch Long, or Gare Loch. She had a blue hull and an orangy cabin. She sat quietly in the corner of the lower basin until the clear-out, and I think she went to the river Leven after that. Not sure what happened to her after that, or if she's still there.

Boat at Sandpoint. While we're in the Leven, I'll bring up the boat at Sandpoint boatyard, apparently being restored by the daughter of someone connected to the boat. This was not an air-sea rescue boat. It was a sea-plane tender, the same as Marlin. Perhaps she is being confused with Marlin (the rumour about coming from Bowling). But she was never in Bowling that I know of. I think she was the one moored in the Leven. I saw her in the poly-tunnel, just the hull remained, stripped to bare wood. She disappeared from there and I assume she was taken away by road as she couldn't have been put back together in such a short time.

Osprey. Osprey was bought in Gibraltar, and used as a dive carter boat. He removed her original engines and fitted two smaller ones. But personal problems brought the owner home to Scotland, and he brought Osprey back with him. She was moored in Holy Loch before being sold. She was lifted out of the water at Sandpoint and re-fitted. She was put up for sale again after re-launch. I'm not sure if she sold or what she's doing now.

Aquilamaris. Aquilamaris was a target towing craft, and bought by a chap called Les. She had two big Volvo Penta engines and a hi-ab fitted. Les used her as a work/dive/charter boat for a number of years. He spent a lot of time and money on her. In fact, he once said that his wife got so fed up she said "it's me or the boat". So he went to live on the boat. LOL She was in and out of Bowling and Holy Loch. She wasn't used by the US Navy, though they may have employed Les to do work for them. She was badly damaged at one point. She had towed a boat to Ardrishaig at the Crinnan canal, and Les and his two crew tied up for the night and went to the pub. It turned out to be a rather long night at the pub... After staggering back to the boat at closing time, they turned in for the night. But one of the crew (I can't remember his name..) decided that he wanted to go home that night. So he started up, cast off, of headed straight out of the harbour. But he forgot that you need to turn to avoid the reef outside the harbour...and drove her straight up on the rocks! She was holed and in trouble. They quickly set all pumps running and as the tide came in, they re-floated her. They tied up at Ardrishaig again and sent for a tow and more pumps. I think she was towed back by Morag from Bowling, but not sure. She was kept afloat and taken into Sandpoint where Les and a friend re-built the hull.
He used to live on her and often wintered in Bowling. Once, one of my dogs decided to go pay him a visit...right after he painted the deck! Green paws and footprints everywhere...
He must have sold her as she is not laid up in Ireland. She has lost her hi-ab and the small storage/aft cabin to give her a flat deck.

Voyager. Not a powerboat, but Voyager was in Bowling lower basin for many years and was rumoured to be the Admiral's barge off HMS Hood. She was supposed to have been removed during a re-fit at John Brown's before she sank. Voyager in now at Irvine Maritin Museum.

Vello (P29). This was a bought by Rex Lyonns who brought her over from Holland. She sat in the outer harbour at Bowling for a while. I have heard talk of a German R Class boat being at Bowling, but this is what people are thinking of. She as dark grey (I originally thought green) and had "Vello" painted in yellow on the side. She was sold by Rex, not sure what happened to her after that, but I did hear a rumour she had problems in the Crinnan canal when concrete that had been used to repair holes in the hull fell out! Whether or not that's true I don't know. Vello is mentioned here.

River Leven boat yard. Not really a boat...but there is an entire boatyard on the shore of the Leven where they built MTBs during the war. And it's all still there....but...under the football pitches! During early ground radar testing on the football pitches next to Sandpoint, they kept finding lumps. Apparently, they are MTB engines! The whole yard was bulldozed and burried after the war. Not sure if anyone can confirm the yard was there?

When I get some pictures of these boats scanned I will post them for you. I hope this helps clear up a few mysteries and puts some rumours to rest. Smile
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spacemutt View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spacemutt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 September 2010 at 12:42am
Ok, I've kind of answered my own question. 62 Maintenance Unit (MU), Dumbarton, must be the now burried boat yard.

And is ST 1500 the boat from Sandpoint?
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marksaab View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote marksaab Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 September 2010 at 9:42am
Hello Spacemutt
Great write up!  First hand info is so important.

Look forward to the pics!

Mark

 
Only yield when you must, never "give up the ship," but fight on to the last "with a stiff upper lip!"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spacemutt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 September 2010 at 8:27pm
Ok, pictures. Smile Let's hope they're not all life-size!

Zakana, Luckey Dollar and Marlin.


Zakana in the right, Luckey Dollar at the back left, and Marlin is the blue hulled one just in front (not the blue and white one, I think that was an old landing craft that sank in the canal and was broken up).

Marlin.

Seen here with her later cabin.

Death of Zakana.






Blue Fin.

Just....she is there....in the background under the red tarp.

Osprey launch.
























Lots of pictures of Osprey, but I guess no-one here will mind. :)
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clive View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote clive Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 September 2010 at 9:37pm
fantastic pictures Spacemutt, thanks for sharing them
masbie something in the water.   www.freewebs.com/masb32/
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote marksaab Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 06 September 2010 at 11:05pm
Originally posted by clive clive wrote:

fantastic pictures Spacemutt, thanks for sharing them


+1 ! PricelessSmile  Great postClap
Only yield when you must, never "give up the ship," but fight on to the last "with a stiff upper lip!"
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Christian Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 September 2010 at 11:39am
+2!! SUPERB.
These may stir things up even more, as more questions are raised by them than answered;
 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote spacemutt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 07 September 2010 at 12:48pm
Oh wow, excellent pictures! And some lovely boats there. I spotted Zakana, Luckey Dollar and Marlin in there. Not sure about the other boats though. But I guess, most of those pictures were taken little more than 20 years after the war, but nearly 50 years ago! 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whitelady Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 September 2010 at 11:10pm
what about this one:

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/61959/title/bowling-wreck-15-/cat/505
You don't own a boat, a boat owns you.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Whitelady Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 09 September 2010 at 11:10pm
zakena:

http://www.shipsnostalgia.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/61961/title/bowling-harbour/cat/505
You don't own a boat, a boat owns you.
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