Canal Angels has now launched our Youtube Channel. Our first report summarizes the recent attempted narrowboat hull repair by Taylors Boatyard and Dry Docks in Chester, trading as J P Marine UK Ltd. There is commentary after 30secs or so, and we'll try and tidy the whole edit up soon!
It's worth noting that this video was filmed directly AFTER the vessel failed its weld test by independent professional marine surveyors. Taylors Boatyard then flooded the docks and pushed the boat into the canal system with all the defects evident in the film and the report still not rectified.
If you have an interesting repair video, why not send us a link?
Have you received substandard work to your canal narrowboat or other vessel? Would you like to commend someone for great workmanship?Contact Canal Angels
Let Canal Angels know and we'll post your reviews. Read other posts on this blog to discover some major pitfalls you could encounter as soon as your boat enters a dry dock. If you have a horror story similar in nature to the Chester couple's boat at Taylors Boatyard in Chester, share it here
CA are in receipt of a communication from British Waterways to a couple who received substandard work to their narrowboat vessel carried out by JP Marine "Surveyors" operating from Taylors Boatyard in Chester. Sarina Young of British Waterways states:
"BW does not have a copy of Pete Askey’s Marine Engineering Qualifications or those of his welder"
This rings alarm bells as British Waterways are effectively not vetting tenants of their leased dry docks and premises...possibly throughout the entire waterways system. The communication goes on to state:
"British Waterways’ relationship with Taylors Boatyard is solely as a landlord."
The couple paid JP Marine £6,000 cash and spent £12,000 renovating the interior
Surely BW have an obligation, at least a moral obligation, to ensure the safety of waterways' users utilising their premises, leased or otherwise. It is alarming to say the least they are willing to permit unqualified, un-vetted traders to operate from any of their premises and place waterways users in harms way.
British Waterways have been invited to respond...
The narrowboat concerned now lies at Swanley Bridge Marina in Nantwich where the couple in our long saga have now had a further survey by a qualified marine surveyor (independent from Swanley Bridge Marina). The survey results confirmed the poor standard of workmanship carried out by JP Marine UK Ltd who operate from Taylors Boatyard Chester
If you visit the "Taylors Boatyard" website (click here) you'll discover that not only does this operator fail to use it's own trading name at the head of the site, but relies on the historical reputation of a boatyard long since ceased trading.. it also fails to display it's own company name correctly which can be found (in very small print) at the bottom of their website. The site states "Copyright 2011 JP Marine" at the bottom, yet companies house records show JP Marine recently changed its name to JP Marine UK Ltd.
So is this the first time this operator has found itself in hot water?
Changing trading names and moving around the country seems to be a very
suspicious practice indeed. More alarmingly, despite our rigorous efforts to locate Peter Askey on any formally accredited register of Marine Surveyors, and requesting proof of the same from British Waterways, to date there is no evidence of this, yet the company website boldly claims otherwise. Read the other posts on this blog for some useful hints on performing background checks...
Taylor's boatyard was established in 1913 and moved to a site in the Dee
Basin slipway, Tower Wharf, in 1917. In the 1970s, the firm was taken
over by David Jones (Boatbuilders) Ltd. Most of the vessels built by
J.H. Taylor and Sons were canal craft, but the firm also built fishing
boats, including salmon boats for use in the Dee estuary. Unfortunately this solid reputation is now tarnished. Contact Canal Angels
Rt Hon Vince Cable, Secretary Of State received news of the behaviour and practices of cowboy boatyard operators JP Marine UK Ltd operating out of Taylors Boatyard in Chester. We will bring you the latest news as it unfolds.
Taylors Boatyard is the historical name of a once highly reputed boat yard in Chester in the Northwest UK. The boatyard and dry docks are presently leased by limited company JP Marine, who advertise themselves as "Marine Surveyors & Engineers" and perform welding to narrowboats and other vessels in the Chester area without any formal qualification or certification by any accredited professional marine body in the United Kingdom. Contact Canal Angels
MP Mark Tamim has represented the couple's plight to Parliament after they were left homeless outside Taylors Boatyard in Chester after their vessel was deemed un-insurable as a direct result of works carried out by JP Marine UK Ltd.
Taylors Boatyard is the historical name of a once highly reputed boat
yard in Chester in the Northwest UK. The boatyard and dry docks are
presently leased by limited company JP Marine, who advertise themselves
as "Marine Surveyors & Engineers" and perform welding to narrowboats
and other vessels in the Chester area without any formal qualification
or certification by any accredited professional marine body in the
United Kingdom. Contact Canal Angels
An ex-worker from Taylors Boatyard in Chester has stepped forward to lift the lid on JP Marine UK Ltd who lease the boatyard from British Waterways. The Chester City Council Health & Safety Executive has been notified (complaint 415192), as well as the manager of the Boat Safety Scheme, Graham Watts.
Canal Angels has just received news of a couple who are to lobby parliament for a change in law after an unscrupulous boatyard operator rendered them homeless and breached the Human Rights Act, they claim. After receiving sub-standard work to their narrowboat home, the couple tested the works conducted by JP Marine UK Ltd at Taylors Boatyard dry dock in Chester, which was verfiried as having "significant defects" by independent marine surveyors Inspection Consultants Ltd (Incon). They are now preparing to lobby parliament for a change in the law which fails to recognise their live-aboard narrowboat as a dwelling home affording them the same rights as bricks and mortar home owners and caravan owner-occupiers. A local MP is working with the couple in their plight to recover their home, and bring charges of alleged criminal damage against Taylors Boatyard operator JP Marine UK Ltd after they denied the couple access to their home and placed it in a state of peril. This was after the couple had paid the boatyard £6,000 for "works". In a statement by the couple:
"the consequences of the actions of Taylors Boatyard have far reaching consequences for the operator, as well as serious ramifications for all those who presently live on board a watercraft, be it a narrowboat, dutch barge or GRP cruiser. Boatyard operators in the UK have the power to take possession of your home without consent, evict you, impound it and deny access to all possessions...even your clothes, something even court appointed bailiffs cannot do. All this happened as the police stood by and watched, as it would appear they have no law to act upon and are powerless to prevent it....housing can affect a person's life, health and life chances, which is why the right to respect for a person's home is in the Human Rights Act ".
Welds up to five rows wide riddled with defects
According to Peter James Askey of JP Marine UK Ltd "steel narrowboats are not fabricated to the standards of coded welders". Well his certainly aren't. Full details soon.
Visible Holes in the botched welding which were painted over
Peter James Askey- Director JP Marine UK Ltd refutes the findings of tests carried out by Incon claiming "steel narrowboats are not fabricated to the standards of coded welders"
Another distressed customer at Taylors Boatyard Moorings and dry dock Chester leased by JP Marine has contacted us. We'll bring you full details shortly. In the meantime, another unhappy customer has just advised that Peter and Yvette Askey have unlawfully denied access to their narrowboat home and placed it beyond their reach last Friday. The customer is taking the matter to the criminal courts and seeking an injunction to prevent these rogue traders operating outside of the law. CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY
J P Marine: Unbelievable. Outrageous. Alleged Criminal Behaviour by Peter & Yvette Askey at Taylors Boatyard Chester
These are the only words we can articulate which demonstrate the actions taken by J P Marine today, according to news just in. Between 4pm and 5pm whilst an unhappy customer visited the launderette, Peter & Yvette Askey flooded the dry dock and pushed their boat out onto the canal AFTER the customer had provided conclusive proof from independent surveyors, Incon, that their welding was sub-standard and leaking. They have now denied the customer access to their home, leaving them without clothing, no access to medication, contact lenses, eye glasses and all other personal effects. Peter & Yvette Askey of JP Marine have rendered the customer homeless...on a Friday evening, with lawyers on the weekend break, and police who are powerless to intervene. We tried calling JP Marine to comment, but the phones were not being answered.
Our unhappy customer has reported to Canal Angels there is no sign of JP Marine UK Ltd....and they are no longer accepting calls from other potential customers either on their advertised landline or mobile
Holes clearly visible. The customer caught Peter Askey daubing red oxide paint on the welds to fill all the holes
Lights are now back on, and in the early hours this morning the unhappy customer finally received the hull survey they had paid JP Marine for 2 months ago. What is clear from the survey is Peter Askey placed an "urgent recommendation" to address the proximity of the well deck scuppers (deck drain) to the waterline. An "urgent recommendation" as defined by themselvesmust be done urgently, preferably before re-floating and certainly before any use is made of the vessel.
Why then would the same surveyor say he is refloating it before this is done, and why has he cut holes in the new steel in exactly the same location as the holes he states are below the minimum recommended level ??
The answer is obvious- he has a queue of narrowboats waiting to get in the dry dock to line his pocket and doesn't care that he may potentially flood and sink one customers' home in the process. Time to get the experts in to stop him!
Our unhappy customer now reports that Peter Askey has also now just put in writing he thinks the weed hatch is too low- even more reason not to float the boat !
Dodgy: One of the 9 purposely cut holes on the baseplate
Next Photo: The poor customers home when JPM floated it prematurely. Water was coming onboard so they drained the dock and it took 30 minutes for the water to stop gushing through all the holes in the baseplate and sides, and a full 2 days to stop dripping !
Floated prematurely and taking in water
note the (new) proximity of the gas locker drain to the waterline. You can just make out the deck drain hole which is now virtually on the waterline if you look closely- and this was with an empty water tank!
The next pic shows where it was before they started work:
After the vessel was lowered onto the new 6mm baseplate
Canal Angels are dedicated to reporting Rogue Boat Builders and exposing dodgy repair yards across the country. If you have a marine or boat of horrors story, get in touch with us and have your say. Your story may help others, and potentially save lives.
If ever you were thinking of renovating a canal narrowboat, overplating or welding a narrowboat hull, fitting anodes, blacking a boat (either bitumen or comastic), having a hull survey, having it tested (there are many tests available including dye penetrant testing, Magnetic Particle MPI testing, ultrasound testing)... then you really cannot afford to miss this blog.
Not only will you discover WHAT YOU MUST KNOW about overplating before entrusting your precious boat or live-aboard home to any marine contractor, you will also learn the pros and cons of pump out toilets (including what's involved in removing one), integral water tanks versus newer replacement water tanks now available for boats, installing a log burner or multifuel stove on your boat and much much more. By the way, If you're contemplating commissioning your own boat build, you simply CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY
JP Marine Director Peter Askey & the "welder" painting uncleaned new steel
It is now April 19th 2012, and my first unhappy customer has been in the dry dock at Taylors Boatyard Moorings and dry dock in Chester for approaching 2 months waiting completion of the hull, which is being overplated with 6mm on the bottom and 4mm on the sides. JP Marine (Pete Askey) has been contracted to perform this work and provide a BSS Certificate.
I will be writing the blog retrospectively, so that by the time our unhappy customer is out of the dry-dock at Taylors Boatyard you'll have the full picture. If anyone wants to come for a chat if you're local, feel free to call around. The 48ft boat is currently painted in red-oxide, and you can't miss it ! (Now located at Swanley Marina hardstanding) Contact Canal Angels
