Pearl No.81

Wooden narrowboats are a rare beast these days due to the cost and difficulty of maintaining them in good order. Pearl was originally built for carrying gasworks by-products and gas oil around the West Midlands and from Ellesmere Port to Oldbury. Originally a horse boat built in 1935 it was converted to a motor boat in 1945. For a long time this boat was moored on the Trent & Mersey Canal at Wincham but fell on hard times and was seized by the Waterways people. Luckily it wasn't dragged out and left to rot on the bank and is now at the boatyard at Saul on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal. I do hope that someone will lavish some love and attention on this historic craft before it is too late.