Hardy was the last wooden narrowboat to be built by Nurser Brothers of Braunston in September 1940 for Samuel Barlow Coal Company and carried coal to the wharf in Banbury (where the bus station is now) until the late 1950s. In 1962, HARDY was sold to the Blue Line Carriers in Braunston and some time before 1971, she was sold into private ownership and converted to a pleasure boat.
In 2018 Tooley’s Boatyard raised her in Braunston and brought her to Banbury with a view to saving this historic vessel. We’ve managed to keep her from further deterioration mostly by keeping her sunk so that her timbers don’t dry out and fall apart!
Supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, over the canal weekend in October 2022 we asked 100’s of people what they thought the future of Hardy should be. The overwhelming response was that it should be restored to a functioning boat.
But… restoring an old boat is a lot of work and is very expensive! In order to keep costs down we will use volunteers who can learn a lot from expert craftsmen for much of the restoration work. So if you would like to be involved in the work please get in touch with boatyard.
We are currently asking for volunteers. Please contact us via 01295 272917 if you can help.
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Latest on Hardy:
Hardy 30-11-24
Hardy’s Bilge Pump: Now that winter is upon us we have a weekly checklist to keep Hardy safe and well till spring. Bilge pumps and mud were the key topic on Saturday! Here’s one of our volunteers, Chloie Green, who has a lot of boat working experience running through the workings of the main pump and why we need to keep it clear of mud.
Hardy Prize Draw
Our Hardy prize draw closed this afternoon. We raised £434, 73% of our target of £600.
BUT… actually we reached both our target of £600 AND our stretch target of £800 because we have received £70 in cash donations at the boatyard and a very special offer of help worth £375! So, a total of £881.65 after fees and VAT deducted.
Hardy 9-11-24
We’ve reached the half-way mark with our crowdfunding prize draw to support the restoration of Hardy. And to cheer you on, here is a short video made for us by the talented Ollie of Banbury BID with incidental music by Dom Prag.
Hardy 2-11-24
The team hunting down a possibly leak: we’re really looking forward to buying those power tools and being able to start replacing planks! And we might need a few more brooms as well.
Hardy 2-11-24a
Please take a look at our prize draw fundraiser, enter to win a forge experience and share the Hardy love (and possibly the mud).
Hardy 24-10-24
Rounding off our videos of hemp rolling and caulking at canal weekend – Nathan and Jacob weighing with the (yes we know it’s not a caulking…) hammer and caulking iron!