A Brief History of the Cratch
It’s the shed of the modern narrowboat world – but what was the cratch originally for? Chris Deuchar finds out…
Painted and canvas-covered deckboards, and accompanying decorative ropework.Chris Deuchar
The cratch is the small triangular ‘shed’ that first appeared at the fore-end of the hold on working narrowboats. It’s still a familiar feature of modern boats – but it has evolved greatly. So what was a cratch originally?
The horse connection
The word ‘cratch’ apparently derives in turn from the middle English ‘cracche’, and thence from the 13th century French ‘creche’. Leaving aside the modern use of the latter term as a holding area for small children, it originally meant “a rack or holder for animal fodder”. In fact, this was also its original purpose on narrowboats – and so in just the last 50 years, we have seen the modern uses of this word overturn that of the previous seven centuries. Quite a feat!
In those 50 years, the last regular horse-boat traffic has disappeared, and with it the need to keep animal feed in the same way. The original form of the cratch was probably similar to that used on the Thomas Clayton tar tankers up until the late 1960s. The boat Gifford, for example, has a small triangular tent-shaped structure on a wooden frame on the decked area of the hold near the mast. Here it was relatively accessible whilst still being kept dry.
This ex-Claytons horse-boat shows the cratch in more or less its first form, just a triangular construction for keeping horse feed. Note its position aft of the mast so that it does not obstruct the towline.
Prior to this, early drawings of narrowboats show them with a single upright board at the front of the hold around which tarpaulins were stretched. They did not resemble the straight, tidy, almost regimented ‘clothing up’ of holds we have to come to accept over the last century.
Animal feed was probably just kept in an area of the hold under cover – or may have been purchased on demand. It would have been obtainable at boat stables throughout the land whilst the widespread use of horses was still normal. It may be that the need to develop the cratch for horse feed only arose as facilities elsewhere dwindled.
Keeping water out
Another important function of the cratch is to deflect water from the front deck away from the hold area. The single post, such as used on some Clayton’s boats, would not be adequate to do this – though in their special case, water cascading over the tanker decking would not matter. (In hot weather it could even be seen as an advantage, to stop the timber from drying out and shrinking!)
In conventional carrying boats, the triangular deckboard evolved. Today this is often, wrongly, called a ‘cratch board’. Language development is not static, but it does seem unjust that the original term is so rarely used now. Making the deckboard triangular, rather than cabin shaped, means that the steerer has less to worry about when going under low bridges. This is especially true when steering a boat that is unladen, because the bows can be three or more feet higher than when laden.
On the left and right are simple covers over the forward well – designed to keep out the weather when not boating. In the middle is an open deck which relies on scuppers in the hull sides for drainage.
Traditional construction
For this same reason, the cratch needs to be easily dismantled for low bridges or tunnels. In the latter days of working boats, therefore, the typical cratch evolved to make this easier.
There is the large triangular deckboard, where the front deck meets the hold. This fits vertically or leans slightly forward. It is retained by two flat strips of metal which slot into U-shaped brackets on the deck beam at the front of the hold.
The undressed cratch here shows the construction of the false cratch and other timber work.
Two to three feet aft of this is an A-frame, called a ‘false cratch’, which simply rests on the gunnels – although these may be notched to help position it. e top of the false cratch has a recess to support the front top-plank, which reaches all the way from the deckboard to the mast. This front plank (sometimes called the cratch plank) has a square notch to locate it at the mast end, but is dovetailed into the rear of the deckboard stiffening framework to help prevent the latter moving forwards.
Down either side of the top plank, spanning the gap between deckboard and false cratch, are three or four short horizontal boards. These are also dovetailed at either end so that the cratch becomes a rigid structure, held together only by gravity and the quality of the dovetails! At this point in construction it should be safe to walk along the top plank. No nails, screws or bolts need be used!
Finally, the whole structure is covered by the side and top cloths which keep the weather out the hold.
Incidentally, the top planks used on working boats are substantial pieces of timber, typically 10in wide and 2in thick.
Many modern designs have comparatively feeble planks which are wholly inadequate. It is essential that, whatever the layout and use, it should be able to be walked on – if only to allow for emergencies.
Decoration
At one time, the deckboard was commonly covered in canvas too, maybe with some decorative ropework. Sometimes a curvaceous ash frame was added, or alternatively created using straw, and then covered with canvas to form a bustle-like construction known as ‘bulk’.
This modern version of the deckboard fulills the original purpose in keeping out the water in locks, but also gives the current crew somewhere to sit and also permits anyone in the cabin to see forwards.
In modern times the painted, and decorated, deckboard is the most common treatment. Some cruising boats have glazed panels in a triangular wooden frame. Some even have these panels opening as windows, or containing clever hinge arrangements to allow the deckboard to fold down – to double up as a table in the well at the front of the cabin.
All these versions of the cratch have their place. Nevertheless, it is fascinating to see how this humble construction has changed from an animal feed store, to tools and anchor storage, to an ‘outside toilet’, to a coal store – and latterly to a dining area in a conservatory!
Waterways World October 2010
