About Me
Nick Pritchard M.I.Mar.EST, ABSSE
I am a qualified Boat Safety Scheme Examiner and I carry out examinations for the Canal & River Trust's scheme in Leicestershire, Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and the West Midlands.
I've been involved in boating and canal boats from the age of six when my parents caught 'the bug' and bought a boat after visiting the reopening of the Stratford Canal in 1964.
In 1972 the family set up Clifton Cruisers Ltd. near Rugby and ran a Restaurant Boat, 'Windlass' on the site for many years.
I completed an engineering apprenticeship with British Waterways Board and after a few years building and maintaining Mineral Exploration Drilling Equipment I formed Boatserve in 1984 to coincide with the IWA National Rally at Coventry initially offering servicing and repair services to diesel engined boats. By 1987 I had begun marinising Mitsubishi engines and developing high quality installations.
In 1987 I secured the rights to marinise the Mitsubishi K and L series engine alongside Thornycroft in the UK and Vetus.
I supplied high quality two, three and four cylinder Mitsubishi based engines to top boat builders such as Peter Nicholl's Steel Boats. Installing the engines and ancillaries to a high standard was a vital benchmark for a small business, to give customer's security in knowing the engine wasn't built down to a cost but up to a quality.
In 2020 I was asked to service the very first engine produced and installed in 1987 which was still in excellent condition and running well after 33 years!
Custom Instrument Panels
From this.....
To This!
Supplied and installed in 2021