Norton Canes Boat Services

Norton Canes Boat Services Norton Canes Boatbuilders at Glascote Basin is a centre for narrowboat excellence, including boat building, boat fitting, maintenance, repairs, and brokerage.

You can find us on the Coventry Canal, at the heart of the Midlands canal network. Norton Canes Boatbuilders were established in 1986 when proprietor Graham Edgson took over the business from Malcolm Braine. Malcolm began building boats in 1966 and acquired a reputation for producing fine looking craft often with steel hulls and wooden cabins. Whilst working for Malcolm, Graham progressed with the

addition of steel superstructures and was working as Malcolm's foreman up until the opportunity arose to run the operation himself due to Malcolm's retirement. For the last 30 years Graham and his team have applied their engineering and fabrication skills to produce traditionally styled canal boats of fine lines, sweet curves and exquisite balance. In 2015 we moved the business to Glascote Basin on the Coventry Canal nr. Tamworth, although we still retain the moorings site at Norton Canes Docks.

The weather has certainly tested our patience this week when it comes to outdoor projects, so we’ve been making the most...
10/06/2026

The weather has certainly tested our patience this week when it comes to outdoor projects, so we’ve been making the most of the time by focusing on indoor work and dodging the showers where we can!

One of the projects currently in the workshop is this cabin top repaint. As you can see from the before photo, it was in pretty poor condition, but after plenty of preparation and hard work, it’s been completely transformed. The finish is now looking fantastic and is ready for the fixtures and fittings to be reinstalled.

We’re looking forward to seeing the finished result!

Kiehtan is a 50ft Traditional Stern Narrowboat built in 2004 by Simpson Boats and is powered by a Barrus Shire 40hp dies...
04/06/2026

Kiehtan is a 50ft Traditional Stern Narrowboat built in 2004 by Simpson Boats and is powered by a Barrus Shire 40hp diesel engine.

At 50ft, she is a practical and easy-to-handle size, whilst her well-designed layout makes efficient use of the available space and creates a surprisingly spacious interior.

£44,950

https://www.norton-canes.co.uk/boat-sales-brokerage/kiehtan/

A lovely example of a used Norton Canes boat has come up for sale — a chance to own one of our builds.
01/06/2026

A lovely example of a used Norton Canes boat has come up for sale — a chance to own one of our builds.

29/05/2026

Last week’s dry docking project was this lovely Roger Fuller boat, Gibraltar, which came to us for blacking and to investigate a long-standing issue with the rudder.

It was clear the rudder had taken a knock at some point, leaving it jammed into the top bearing, with the pintle no longer sitting correctly in the cup.

We freed everything off, built up the top bearing with weld so it sat securely in the rudder tube, greased all components, and reassembled it with a new top washer fitted.

Now everything is back together and working exactly as it should.

26/05/2026

Due to the extreme heat this week, our operating hours will temporarily change to 7:00am–3:00pm from tomorrow until Friday. Thank you for your understanding.

24/05/2026
24/05/2026

Great day yesterday at Crick with the historic boats.

As a small bespoke builder, we don’t have a boat at the right stage of build to exhibit at Crick this year. However, we’...
23/05/2026

As a small bespoke builder, we don’t have a boat at the right stage of build to exhibit at Crick this year. However, we’re pleased to once again support the historic boat display, organised by Sarah and committee members of the Historic Narrow Boat Club.

Sarah will be at Crick over the weekend with historic narrowboat Lamprey alongside 10 other historic boats, a record number for Crick, with an incredible 997 years of canal boating history on display.

Busy one in the yard this week.Kiehtan is up on the dock and being prepared for sale — we’ll be sharing more soon, so wa...
19/05/2026

Busy one in the yard this week.

Kiehtan is up on the dock and being prepared for sale — we’ll be sharing more soon, so watch this space 👀

There’s plenty else going on too, with a range of projects keeping the team busy across the yard.

We’re also well underway with preparations for the Crick Boat Show display, which we help put together each year with the wonderful Historic Narrow Boat Club.

And yes — Lamprey will be there too… although she may be looking a little different this year 🎬🤫

Merlin X returned to the water today following completion of planned works.Scope of works included:• Grit blasting and f...
12/05/2026

Merlin X returned to the water today following completion of planned works.

Scope of works included:
• Grit blasting and full 2-pack coating application
• Hempel Multicoat applied above the top guard
• New counter bands painted
• Stern tube seal kit renewed
• Custom-machined rudder cup manufactured and installed
• New top bearing fitted

Address

Glascote Basin, Basin Lane
Tamworth
B772AH

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

Telephone

+441827311317

Website

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