History
Ebenezer II's shell, that's the hull and cabin top, was built in 2000 by Graham Edgson under the instruction of Mrs K Birkenshaw. It was fitted out by Ashby Boat Centre to Mrs Birkenshaw's exacting specification and delivered to her in 2001.
The shell was built by Norton Canes Boatbuilders at the Norton Canes Dock in Pelsall. This historic boatyard was set up in 1846 by Yates Brothers. The two brothers, James and Alex, and their father Machin James Yates of Yates Boat Yard built working boats and had a fleet of 400 of them. With some of the employees, unable to read or write, the three diamonds mark was used to symbolise the ‘Yates’s’ boats they built at Norton Canes Docks so that they could recognise them.
Yates Brothers eventually moved into road haulage following the closure of the Cannock Arm, and the resulting loss of business. However, the yard was eventually taken over by Malcolm Braine, who also ran a yard at Weston the the Trent and Mersey Canal and traded under the name of M.E. Braine Boatbuilders Limited. Graham was Malcolm's foreman for many years and upon Malcolm's retirement, Graham took over the business in the 1986 as Norton Canes Boatbuilders. He continued the tradition of building canal boats of fine lines, sweet curves and exquisite balance. With Graham's retirement, the business is now run by his daughter, Sarah.
So, Ebenezer was built in a yard with, at the time, over 150 years of boatbuilding excellence, and still carries the famous three diamonds.
With Malcolm having built almost a thousand boats by the time he retired, Graham decided to start numbering his boats from 1001. Hence Ebenezer is Graham's 77th boat. It was, and remains, his only "semi-tug" and, according to Sarah, it was his favourite boat.
Here's a picture of the bow of Ebenezer - we recognise the green box and Francis lamp - in amongst other Norton Canes boats on one of its visits to Pelsall. We don't know exactly when the picture was taken, but there are tell-tale signs that it was before 2008, when some modifications were made. Notice the Yates Brother's trademark three diamonds.
This site is currently under construction, so do come back later to see how we're progressing.