The end of another year’s boating for “Ernest Thomas II” after 130 plus trips for a whole range of people, from youth groups to the over 90s. We have carried over 1400 passengers in that time and have covered over a thousand miles, mainly on the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal with occasional outings on to the Shropshire Union Canal.

The year’s boating ended with a trip to Stourbridge for the SNT Annual Rally. This run, and the return journeys via Dudley, Tipton and Wolverhampton, were used as training runs for our would-be skippers, giving them the rare opportunity to venture on to “foreign” waters. For the others on board it was a chance to meet socially with other volunteers whom they would rarely see.
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The end of another season’s boating but not an end to work on the boat. After 18 years of almost continuous work our Russell Newbery DM2 is in need of a bit of TLC. So the engine is to be removed for a major strip down and rebuild to put it ready for another 18 years.

Whilst this work is being carried out the team will be doing the usual painting, cleaning and general overhaul ready for the start of next years tripping a little after Easter.
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SOMETHING TO DO BEFORE NEXT SEASON.

Following ‘the plea to all steerers’ article in the last Newsletter, we are pleased that most of the points raised have been addressed. We assume that as no phone calls or correspondence have been received, that everyone is happy.
The ‘Great Trip’ to Stourbridge and return via the B.C.N. proved both popular and incident free. On the third leg, it was suggested that we might organize a seminar for Steerers and Crew when we could have an open forum to discuss your hopes, aspirations, concerns, queries, wish lists etc, etc.
Maybe we could hold the meeting in February, at a room local to Castlecroft (the CeeDers can’t offer the right facilities), and let you all know the venue by letter in the New Year.
If anyone has any strong feelings on this subject, either way, let us know as soon as possible. Meanwhile we will search for a suitable venue, and start work on a presentation based on the ET II Operator’s Manual.
AWG, RMD, JB.