Planet Earth
Issue 2 SPRING 2004 Words by Sheila Davenport and Andy Dukes. Photography by Harry Arnold and Waterway Images Every year, more than 10 million of us visit Britain's waterways to sail, canoe, fish, walk the towpath, observe wildlife, and enjoy the sheer splendour of the scenic surroundings and engineering of our canals and navigable rivers.
It may seem hard to believe that just a few years ago these exceptional places of peace and relaxation were nearly lost forever. But that's how it was. The 4,000 or so miles of canals that had been built by a generation of engineering visionaries (up to about 1850) were pretty much killed off by the arrival of the railways. The many thousands of horse-drawn boats that had carried coal and raw materials to the new manufacturing centres (and then took away the products they made) could not compete with the railways–which carried even larger loads, and did it faster.
Traffic on the waterways soon dwindled, navigation channels fell into disuse, boats were left to rot and by World War II, freight carrying on all but a few waterways had ended. Pleasure boating on canals was, of course, almost unheard of. However, so that canals might be of benefit to future generations and once again be recognised, the Inland Waterways Association (IWA) was formed in 1946 to fight for canals to be saved and revitalised.
Over the past 60 years the IWA has gradually changed the public perception of canals from that of a derelict eyesore to one where the historical, environmental and leisure benefits are appreciated. Many cities have now looked with renewed interest at canal-side development—notably Birmingham—where many schemes have shown the positive advantages of re-using older buildings and canals in the redevelopment of city centre sites. The success of these kind of schemes has led to similar developments all over the country, and a canal-side apartment is now a must-have for any city-dwelling, aspiring young professional.
Interestingly, half the population of the UK actually lives within five miles of a canal, or river, although the only time many of us actually notice them is when we're stuck in traffic jams and happen to notice an old bridge, a sequence of locks, or a beautiful stretch of secluded water that we've crossed many times without ever realising it. However, every year our inland waterways bring Britain over £1.5billion in visitor income and support 55,000 jobs. With the help from the IWA, many more miles of long-derelict canals are being brought back to life. To do so provides employment and wide-ranging leisure facilities as more and more people are realising that cruising along canals is the ultimate wind-down holiday. | 
Planet Earth charts the rise and rise of Isuzu Marine (HMI), who from humble beginnings in the UK market in 2000, have since become one of the major engine suppliers to canal boat hire fleets [especially Black Prince Holidays].. With Isuzu's range of industrial engines enjoying considerable success in a variety of different applications, HMI made what some would say was a risky decision to enter the UK marine engine market. Although Great Britain is an island, the sea-going leisure and fishing boat market was initially ignored because by far the biggest opportunities lay with the inland waterways sector, and in particular the canal boat market. To gain acceptance into such a strong field was something of a challenge (to say the least) so HMI decided to target its sales effort towards the volume-based hire market. It tried to persuade companies to trial one of its engines in the tough conditions faced by hire boats on any canal. Stroudwater Cruisers took up the challenge in early 2000 and agreed to try an Isuzu Marine engine—the IM 4LC38—a 1.7-litre, 41 bhp unit, marinised at HMI to the correct specification for Stroudwater's application. While the engine was still in its early days of testing. Black Prince Holidays (one of the largest hire fleet operators in the UK) also took an engine on trial and have never looked back. With a fleet of around 90 canal boats, and a policy to replace each boat after three years of use, Isuzu Marine engines now power over 90 per cent of its craft. According to Operations Manager John Lucas, it was reliability, ease of use, and comprehensive back-up that persuaded Black Prince to go with HMI: "We'd been using Kabota engines before and were reasonably happy with a them," said Lucas, "but the actual engine would arrive in a crate and would then need preparing. With Isuzu, the engine could just be dropped straight in and was ready to go. It's reliable and does everything we ask of it and we can't ask more than that for our fleet." This contract has paved the way for HMI to become one of the major engine suppliers of Britain's canal boat hire fleets - three out of the four major hire fleets (Black Prince Holidays, Alvechurch Boat Centres, and Anglowelsh) now use Isuzu Marine engines. | With such great success in the hire fleets, HMI has developed a dedicated Isuzu Marine dealer network to support the engines in the field and supply parts and service. Additionally, the company has gone on to supply numerous engines to the non-hire sector and many engines for re-powering existing narrowboats. One of HMI's largest customers is Liverpool Boats, which manufactures a range of narrowboats tailored to the customer's requirements. Potential purchasers can opt for many styles and prices, ranging from just a bare shell and engine, to a completely fitted-out narrowboat. These boats are then marketed and sold through The New Boat Co, which is based in Hanbury Wharf Canal Village near Droitwich.
According to Chris Hill, Managing Director of The New Boat Co., the decision to use Isuzu Marine engines in its boats wasn't based on price but on quality: "Changing over to the Isuzu Marine engine range has given us total reliability and back-up from HMI," he said. "We use the IM 4LB33 as the standard engine and give our customers the choice of upgrading to the IM 4LC38. These two, 4-cylinder engines are quiet, smooth and reliable and we are confident that when a customer takes the boat they will not be back with any problems. HMI's two-year warranty and service network are just part of the complete after-sales package that no other firm in the UK can currently match."
HMI also has the expertise and equipment necessary to engineer any of the accessories a customer may require. For example, when Phil Abbott of Wharf House Narrowboats required a large 24V I alternator on an engine to run a large inverter (to give the boat 240V power) HMI was able to comply with this request. The engine was then built with a UK- sourced alternator, engineered onto the engine by HMI and delivered on time. This is just one of the many reasons why Wharf House Narrowboats, who are one of the top canal boat builders in the UK, use Isuzu Marine engines.
The last word goes to Hedley Beavis, HMI's Marine Sales Manager, who believes that HMI's success story is quite simple—hard work, comprehensive support and back-up, and a good quality product.
"We've become well known within the UK canal boat network in a relatively short space of time, and we've already used our knowledge and experience to good effect elsewhere," he said. "Isuzu Marine engines are now available for small yachts, fishing boats and workboats, and all feature the reliability and durability we've gained a reputation for in the canal boat engine market. Each Isuzu Marine engine is built at HMI in Bridgwater, Somerset, where we undertake the marinisation to suit each individual customer and we make sure that engines are always in stock for immediate delivery This enables us to deliver on price, quality, and, of course, time!" Visit www.isuzuengines.co.uk for more details. |
