Having grown up in the US, I did not know much about the British canals other than they existed. But ever since you started up your channel and I saw some of the initial videos, I've learned a surprising amount of the history that I would not have otherwise learned. Thank you for expanding my view of the world.

David, it’s as if you never left the life. I mean you ‘sold up’, but you didn’t ‘sell out’. I speak for everyone here when I say, ‘thanks for staying with us’…. Your video vlogs add to an already rich history of life on the system both past and present. David, thanks for the great work, valuable video documents like this are vital to keeping our incredible historical heritage alive. I sincerely thank you and look forward, as always, to the next vlog!👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Having her rebuilt also helps to keep the craft of making these sorts of boats alive and is just as important as maintaining her.

David: I love that you're back BEHIND the camera. Too many of your narrowboat KZfaq peers are simply talking heads. This makes your videos far better and far more interesting. Keep up the excellent work.

Perfect 'reportage' (BBC quality) about a nice example of industrial archeology and heritage preservation. With an English literature major under the belt I also enjoyed the nice little pun referring to one of my favourite William Golding novels.

I salute the charity and the volunteers who restored this fascinating piece of history and now keep her afloat and busy for the benefit of everybody else.

The way things are going I think we'll be needing this form of transport again quite soon!

That really brings to life the whole logistical system of the industrial age. I had no idea such things existed. :)

Wonderful how you keep coming with ever more of these lovely little gems. Keep up the good work.

I'm always glad to see that you haven't abandonned your love for the boats, and that you"re still finding interesting subjects to show us. Excellent work David, keep them coming 👍👍👍

I wionder if they also turned up whenever you're trying to get some sleep or are on the loo, and then just leave the parcel in the porch anyway - just like modern parcel services! Lovel video, David.

It is interesting seeing the history of the old boats on the canals.

Good episode (and I liked the chickens)

What a fascinating and worthwhile piece of canal history. Thank you so much for posting.

Honestly, replacing wood and repainting is kind of what everybody has to do to keep a wooden boat going; what I would consider more important to "originality" was getting the specs correct. Of course, preserving what could be preserved (like the iron bits) is wonderful too. And I am always soooo happy when I come across a group like this one, that is working to preserve some unique bit of the past for future understanding; it's one of the reasons I worked at a living history museum before starting a family. How much easier it is to understand something about the past and how it worked when you can reach out and touch it and see it being used, rather than simply reading about it or seeing a bit of it in a glass case! So thank you for this wonderful video, highlighting so well (as you always do) this group's good work. I enjoyed watching it, and I'll check out their website.

Authentic build, preservation and propagation of history, and a nice story. No quibbling about 'original'. Thanks for sharing.

Another wonderful video. Thank you for highlighting these heroes of historical preservation.

You have become an Ambassador for narrow boating. Always entertaining and educational.

Like the woodsman's axe that was just like new after only three new heads and seven new handles!

Many hours of dedication went into restoring that boat. Congratulations to all the volunteers for a job well done. Excellent vlog, thank you. Cheers,

I'd love to volunteer but living here in Australia makes it a tad difficult to get there on weekends :) , so very important to keep history and heritage alive, hats off to all the volunteers keeping these boats alive and thank you David for educating us all on this topic.

Superbly filmed. No shake rattle or wind noise !! I makes such a change. Thank you.

Sooooo Grateful she's still around, Many Thanks to Keepers of her !!!!! Magnificent!!!!

David, another wonderful story told. Thanks.

Interesting episode ... loving the "Trigger's Broom" ! Probably find some of the parts of that "heritage' boat are only a few weeks old and fresh paint without a molecule of lead. Everything wears out eventually ... I speak from experience ...

A fascinating and informative video. Much appreciated. Thanks for sharing. Be well and stay safe.

I had no idea I wanted a fluffy grey chicken. You learn something new every day! Fascinating episode - I'm glad they were able to preserve the iron framing, what a wonderful rebuild, and a very beautiful vessel. Thank you, as usual, for a very informative vlog!

Nicely done chap ... you always have the perfect way of putting history and other peoples passion across.

Originality in restoration is always an interesting topic. I feel there is a wide range of acceptable solutions depending on the condition of what you are faced with. Full marks to the Saturn project for replacing all that was necessary whilst still keeping the small amount of original possible and, of course, being faithful to the design. My late father in law used to boast of his old faithful hammer - he would cheerfully tell you he had replaced the handle three times and replaced the head twice, but for sixty years he had used the very same hammer! Hmmm. Thanks for another great video!

I recall the last of the proper working narrow boats on the Grand Union canal through Hertfordshire. Coal for boilers in factories and Rose's lime juice to the factory in Hemel Hempstead. Some had been horse drawn but had small outboard motors fitted on their riders for propulsion.

Very nice boat. I especially like that her name has been engraved into her hull. Thanks for sharing. 👍

Thanks for this David. I remember a Morse story about a murder on a Fly Boat and always wondered what their exact purpose was.

Greetings from Lake Atitlan in the western highlands of Guatemala. I can see you doing an episode here piloting one of the many boats.

A tip of the Stetson sir, another fascinating video and the dedication of those who keep the spirit of the past alive. Thank you, David.

a labor of love for those volunteers

Now, that one looked really well maintained!

My Grandad was a Bargee. He had a horse, a dog and a bull whip !! Dog on one side of the cut , horse on the other, whip in his hand defending his coal cargo during the 1930s. Cant wait to show this video to my Mum..... great video Sir. Tardebigge and Droitwich days

Loved the Trigger's broom analogy, another cracking video. As was said a floating museum and we don't just need to keep Saturn, we need to keep the skills in restoring her too!!

David, thank you so very much for the new CTC videos. The wooden boat videos are fascinating and informative.

Always look forward to your videos….great job

Great video, the volunteers are a lovely bunch aren't they. The lady with the white hair spoke very well and I learnt a bit of canal history today. You also spoke well as per usual.

Keeping the memories alive. That is a very noble thing to do !!

Love these little snippets of history. Thank You! 🇨🇦

Thanks, David, for another very interesting, informative, and well-done mini-doc about an important piece of canal history.

It's great to see these old working boat, not rotten away . Thank you David

The iron sets the form, so this should be called a legitimate restoration, consistent with most other museum ships, even with replaced wood. If the work was incorrect, the new wood wouldn't fit the iron frames. Nearly all wooden museum ships have very little of the original wood left, but like Saturn, the iron can often be reused, if not rusted away. Lovely boat!

Beautiful video! Nice to be able to take part in the boat's history like this! 😃👍❤

I was very disappointed when you first sold your boat as I have always enjoyed your videos, but you still seem to have an interesting story to tell, so please carry on 🍻

Flyboats were the the express transport of their day and had priority over other traffic. Some even had cutting blades attached to the stem to cut the tow rope of any boat which did not give way.

the "Simulated old footage!" gave me a laugh thank you 😃

Same with HMS Victory. Very little original left, but the spirit lives on in spades. But thinking on, many naval ships undergo extensive refits and can end up looking like different vessels at the end of their lives.

Another great vlog David, every day is a school day, as they say. Thank you so much.

Great story. . Thanks for sharing, keep the videos coming and safe travels 🙏

I expect Theseus was happy to get a lot more use out of his ship after each of the rebuilds!

Another great vlog David.

That's quite the restoration effort. If only I were a tad closer, so many skills (of both the shipwright and woodworker sort) to learn! Great video, thanks.

As a student in Huddersfield in the late 70s we used to go to the Flyboat Pub on the canal. I now know what a flyboat is after all these years. Thanks for completing my education!

What a beautiful historical vessel. I love to see this sort of passion project efforts to keep things going and around.

Marvellous video about this historical boat. I always wondered how smaller consignments were handled on the canals. Now I know. Thank you.

Such a beautiful old vessel. If I was in the UK and wasn't busy, I would certainly help out.

Impressive restoration.

Another great project. Thanks for sharing David.

We were lucky to have a walk onboard viewing of Saturn this summer when she was moored in Ellesmere on the Llangollen. So very interesting, thanks David

So very interesting as always! You never disappoint!😍 Thankyou! I was impressed at the very small living space..🤔

Interesting to hear that the original wooden boats were just built to last 25 years, I would expect that they would have to last as long as a boat company and the crew would be in business with it. Even back in time when work was quite cheap, a new made boat must have cost a small fortune that you will have to earn back over it's lifetime... 💸 Thx a lot for the vid! 👍👍👍

Must be tens of thousands of man hrs into Saturn.....and I was amazed at the maintenance you put in on a steel boat.

Superb filming and commentaries David as usual. Thanks for your time and efforts to produce your volgs for us all to see. Keep safe warm dry and virus free. How is your house purchase going ? Well I trust.

Saturn is a lovely boat and it's so cool that they take volunteers!

The "Fed X" delivery system of early UK on the canals. Thanks for the history. Good to hear form you David. Take care out there.

Each of your videos is like a little holiday from everyday life! Thank you very much! Greetings from Germany!

And just when I was despairing this Sunday, along came a new and much appreciated post from CTC. Great reveal of these bygone boats. Cheers.

Fascinating video David, thank you , and I love the chickens 🙂

Absorbingly, fascinatingly interesting. Marvellous work that these volunteers render. Sail on Blythe Spirit.

I don't comment on all your vlogs David But this touched my Heart! Aloha from Honolulu!

Another terrific video, thank you

Very interesting video. It's amazing to learn how the canals were used and to see the Amazon vans of the day.

Wow how wonderful that Saturn is still kept going by these fab people. Fab history, thank you 👍❤️

Short ans sweet 👍🏻✌🏻🇨🇦

Keep up teaching us, David. It's great to see the history of the canals through the great volunteers.

Lovely. Hope one of the old warehouses is still being preserved too. TFS

Fantastic. Great to acknowledge that history... and David is right, it is an important historical piece, even if it's just from 2002. It seems they made the right choice given the alternative would have been to haul her out of the water and park her -- yes, if they could have built an enclosure, this may have preserved more of the original but many fewer people would be able to interact with Saturn. As a historical piece meant to inspire the feeling of that time, it's hard to argue with the choice to rebuild. That said, look at that beautiful woodwork at 5:40 -- looks as if they carved in SATURN into the wood -- absolutely beautiful and touched by the craftsmen of the time. A bit sad losing that. Those little touches from the past really speak to me and connect me. Regardless, this new Saturn's purpose for community, education & a living boat in the here and now is far more impactful.

What a wonderful bit of history!

In Leicester the bloke next door had 4 boats at one time running a transport company Seymour Roseblade. One was called Neptune and another Starlight, this was in the 60's

another interesting glimpse into the past. It's good to see all this effort going into keeping awareness gong. many people don't even know what a canal is, where I come from.

always so interesting thank you david

What a delightful team of people.

Very interesting, I did not know about Fly Boats, makes perfect sense to have a need for them. Thanks for the education.

Cheers interesting had never heard of fly boats

Thanks for another great vlog David. 🍻

It's very encouraging to hear about folks giving their time to maintain old vessels like this. Thank you for sharing. Have a great day and stay safe.

Horsdriven "Flyboat". Times have changed a LOT. But we may consider that energyefficent way of moving things again in the future.

Nice!! Hope Saturn continues to attract volunteers and continue her job of education on the canals.

Great reference to triggers broom lol

You’re on a great roll! Very interesting content! 👍

Another great video David. This restoration where the ironwork is probably the only original parts is no different (for me) from many Spitfire/Hurricane rebuilds which have very little original parts to qualify them being certified as genuine. As I understand it!

Fantastic people. There would be no boats original or rebuilt without them 👍

What a great bunch of folks. Such a good cause.

I’m sure each of the horses had their own personalities and nuances. What a time to live in

An interesting subject David, but one of the clips made me think of another one which you may find even more interesting. When Saturn was being towed from Chester to Ellesmere Port it was shown going past Taylor’s old boatyard, the one with the cream painted trellis support for the roof. Between about 1956 to 1965 JH Taylor and sons built around 15 canal cruisers. These were all bespoke builds, usually constructed of solid mahogany on oak beams, some times clinker built often carvel. They were extremely expensive craft and I’ve heard them called the Rolls Royce of the canals in their time. It could be an interesting project to track the survivors down and to see what condition they’re in these days. To get an idea of what they looked like I believe there is one in Ellesmere Port boat museum. It’s called Amarylis I think, but that was a re name and she could have originally been called Sai Wen, but don’t hold me to that. They are truly beautiful boats and I’m sure would be a great subject for your channel.

I enjoyed the volunteers explaining all the ropes. Excuse the punt.