About Me

My photo
At the moment I am caring full time for a family member and when the time comes I will be selling up and living on a narrowboat.I enjoy reading,especially about those living on narrowboats and their daily lives.The tug Nb Resolute in the above picture is NOT mine but is owned by Dave Moore and is something I would aspire to own one day although I am going to look at many boats before I make a decision on the style and interior.Tugs are looking good at the moment but have yet to look around one. My interest in narrowboats started some 47 years ago. As a lad I cycled from Luton to bridge 111 on the G.U.by the Globe to fish and watch the Morton and Clayton boats go by,full of coal with a family on board and always wondered how they kept their balance on the planks that ran above the coal and why the the dogs didnt jump in the canal.That fascination has stayed with me so when I am able I will be there on my narrowboat joining in the great community of boat owners. Find me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/brassiclint or listen to my music site.Use earphones or earplugs depending on your musical taste :) http://blip.fm/Dave_Winter

Twitter

Thursday, 6 January 2011

STREET ORGAN ON A NARROWBOAT

One of my future plans is to have a street organ on my narrowboat something like the one in the picture below.


This would enable me to raise money in donations for the waterways and be an attraction for another part of my plans which would hopefully enable me to make a small income to pay for diesel etc, more of that later.
A big thank you to Bernard for advising me on the suitability of street organs on a narrowboat.

2 comments:

  1. Bernard16 January 2011 at 11:13

    Hello Dave,
    You are more than welcome to any advice.
    That picture, is of course, of a John Smith Universal - from the same plans as mine. These are all built by amateurs. These use paper rolls to provide the music, and if you buy them, can put you back £50 a roll. (I punch my own).
    Now, paper does not like the damp and has to be kept dry at all times. So I was thinking that if you buying an organ, a better bet would be to get one that is driven by a small 'computer' and plays from MIDI files supplied on a chip, (memory- stick). The computer is really just a micro-processor that opens the valves - not a large PC. I use MIDI files to arrange my tunes on my PC, before transferring them to the punch.
    They may be a bit more expensive to start with, but the music can be free if you download it off the web.
    Cheers....Bernard

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dave Winter16 January 2011 at 15:08

    Hi Bernard,
    Thanks for that reply,I did wonder how paper rolls would stand up to the damp.
    I have found a site by Nick Williams at www.fairgroundorgans.com in which he sells just the type of organ you are refering to.I am waiting for a reply from him but believe he is at uni.As I have plenty of time I can wait.
    I know it's not a 'proper' organ but it would suit my plans for the future.
    Many thanks, Dave.

    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)