Our society's
main asset is its supporters. Your participation is vital.
The W.C.B.S is current maintaining our collection of boats to preserve
them until we are able to do full restoration.
We are also working on the site of the new boatyard.
Much of our future success depends upon a constant effort to win grants,
and keep our aims in the public eye.
We need money, Support
Hazel , but people are more important.
Here is an idea of what we do, if you think you can help, or just want
a closer look get in touch.
Our Recycling Trips
Every month we take "Forget me Not" and "Lilith" for a short trip to Fairfield Junction in Droylsden Here we collect metal items, bric a brac and clothes from an established round of houses. The crew then has lunch on board the boats before returning them to Portland Basin. The materials collected are then sold on our market stall or to scrap merchants. A trip is normally on the 1st Sunday of each month, the only exception being when the 1st Sunday falls on a bank holiday weekend. We meet at Portland Basin at 9.30 A.M. and are usually finished about 3P.M. You are very welcome to come along.
Boat Trips
From time to time boats have to be moved around the canal system. This can be because they are going to attend a boat rally, delivering a load of scrap metal or changing moorings. Our boats are more difficult to handle than modern pleasure craft and relatively primitively equipped. However, travelling with them is a more authentic way to experience canal boating and we are using each trip to train more crew. If you would like to participate in this there will be a number of opportunities each year.
Boat Rallies
Every weekend during the summer months there are boat rallies around the waterway network. These vary considerably in character but all provide an opportunity to see the wide variety of craft that exist on the canals and get to know other people who are interested in boats and waterways. We attend as many of these events as we can in order to raise funds and promote the society. If you would like to help with one of our stalls that would be very helpful and enable you to get into the event for free.
Boat Sitting at the museum
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Our boats are currently kept at Portland basin museum The mooring is in the walled grounds of the museum, but we like to ensure a human presence on board, evenings and night times. A number of people help by "Boat Sitting" from time to time and enjoy spending the night on a boat in a pleasant setting. If this appeals to you there will be plenty of opportunities to boat sit.
Cabin Guides
We provide volunteers to show museum visitors round our boats, and particularly inside the back cabin of "Forget me Not". This is mainly at weekends, but we are also trying to arrange for guides on some weekday evenings for the crews of visiting boats. They often miss museum opening times but are usually interested in the boats.
Work on the boats,boatyard and market
Our normal weekday timetable is that there is a team of volunteers working
on the boatyard in Stalybridge on the third
Sunday of each month.
Tuesday is market day and (since the Market hall fire) we have a pitch outside McDonalds. We sometimes need assistance with running the stall but most need help with packing up at the end of the day ( from about 2 P.M.) also sorting and testing goods before they go on sale.
Friday is the main day for work on the boats, but a few people work on Wednesday as well.
We would really like to get some regular work going on at weekends. The problem is that we have a great shortage of skilled volunteers. We desperately need people who are willing to actually take responsibility for some small aspect of our work..
Jobs that need doing:-
Internet sales
We have many items, mainly books, that could be sold onEbay.
Could you take on the job of selling them ?
Tools Tsar- Someone to take charge of the large collection of hand and power tools that we have, keeping them properly maintained and findable.
Storekeeper- We have a huge collection of nuts bolts screws etc, most of which cannot be found when they are needed. They need sorting out and organising so that they are actually useful.
Boat Conservators- Each boat needs someone to look after it. This doesn't necessarily need boatbuilding skills, just common sense and the ability to use a paintbrush etc and keep things tidy.
Boat maintenance – The boats that have been restored need to be maintained using the correct materials and methods.Volunteers willing to learn these skills are needed to stop the boats deteriorating.
Gardener- We need to make the boatyard site at Knowl St in Stalybridge look as good as possible. This mostly involves putting plants in containers as there is very little space there that is not going to be disturbed by development work.
We could do with some nice container gardens on the unrestored boats as well.
Business Planning- We desperately need help from someone who can put together good business plans. These are essential to making funding applications for the boatyard, for the boats and for buying in the help that we need for the various projects. We have won large grants in the past, we need to build on those successes
Selling bric a brac etc- at car boots, flea markets etc at the weekend. Vehicle with tow bar required.
Selling larger items- such as washing machines, gates etc through free ads.
Organising our appearance and fundraising at boat
rallies and other events.
We do very well with tombola stalls using furry toys collected on our
recycling trips as prizes.
Engineering organiser- We have a number of engines and gearboxes that need sorting out as well as operating engines on “Forget me Not” and “Southam” which need someone to take overall charge of their maintenance. We have a planer thicknesser at Knowl St that will need to be set up.
Electrician- We need someone to take charge of the electrical systems on the boats as well as installing electrics at Knowl St and safety testing electrical goods that are donated.
Minutes Secretary-
If you can listen carefully, take good notes and type them up into clear,
concise and accurate records of Council of Management and General meetings
then there's an important job for you. Time commitment about two evenings
a month. We can supply a computer if you need one.
Recycling trip leaflet distributor-
About a week before each recycling trip, simple photocopied reminders
are put through the letterboxes of everyone on the recycling collection
area. Each month these have to be prepared, copied, cut to size and then
delivered. The time commitment is only about 4 hours per month,but reliability
is cricial.