Pensioner converts canal barge into U-Boat
Posted: Thu Oct 07, 2010 7:24 pm
SourceA retired fisherman has spent £50,000 turning a canal barge into a replica of a German U-boat.
It looks just like one of the feared attack vessels that sank 3,000 Allied ships during the Second World War.
Cyril Howarth kitted it out with with torpedo tubes and a periscope and launched it on the Leeds-Liverpool canal at Botany Bay in Lancashire.
Half the money was enough to buy a narrowboat, before the rest went on transforming it to resemble the deadly submarine.
Replica U-boat
Flabbergasted anglers have been falling over their fishing rods as the 70ft vessel bobs past them.
But they need not worry about manning the machineguns - although it looks mean, the vessel is still a narrowboat.
Inside the replica U-boat
£50,000 was spent transforming a run-of-the-mill barge. Photo: Warren Smith
Its top speed is 3mph and the only way it would be able to dive is by springing a hole in the side.
Cyril, 78, from Chorley, said: "'It is the culmination of a 12-month dream. I have always studied naval history, in particular the role of the submarine.
"You should have seen the faces of the locals when they woke up and found a battleship-grey German navy U-boat in their midst."
Speaking from beside the craft, Sky's Tessa Chapman said: "We've seen a number of narrowboats going past with their cameras out taking a look at this new tourist attraction."
Onlookers have been reacting with a mixture of shock and awe to the incongruous sight.
A German u-boat
An original German u-boat captured in 1941
Tom Martin, who walks his dog by the canal every day, told Sky News: "It's most unusual, I was quite surprised.
"I hear the chap who owns it always wanted a submarine."
Bradley Crapton, a narrowboat owner, added: "I've never seen anything like it - except in war films of course."
Another dog walker, who did not want to be named, said: "Good luck to him, he's done a remarkable job."
However, although Cyril may not have to contend with Allied hunter-killers, he could yet face a broadside from British Waterways.
A spokesman has confirmed the craft needs a licence and will be checked to ensure it won't sink other boats by mistake.
Follow the link for the pictures, the thing really has to be seen.
I like little stories like this amongst all the shit we see in the news.
