‘Pirate boat’ stranded in UK city centre canal after it drains for SECOND time in months

Army veteran Dave Marshall woke up on Wednesday morning to find his decorated canal boat grounded after a stretch of the Rochdale Canal at New Islington Marina suddenly drained for the second time in six months

The owner of a ‘pirate boat’ has described how his barge has been left stranded after a stretch of canal suddenly emptied for the second time in six months.

Army veteran Dave Marshall, 53, awoke on board his canal boat — known locally as the Manchester Pirate Boat due to its distinctive decoration — puzzled as to why he found himself pushed up against the wall on Wednesday morning. When he peered outside, the reason became immediately apparent; a stretch of the Rochdale Canal beside New Islington Marina had almost completely drained.

It marks the second occasion the canal has emptied in the past six months, raising serious concerns amongst a small community of boat owners at New Islington Marina.

David, a self-confessed eccentric, waded through the shallow waters searching for a wallet his friend had misplaced. He came up empty-handed on the wallet front, but did manage to retrieve two iPhones and a pair of false teeth.

He said: “When I woke up I thought ‘why the hell am I pinned against the wall?’ I looked outside and I could see there was no water again. I was like ‘Jesus’. I was supposed to be taking my boat into dry dock to have it pressure-washed, for resin treating and painting.” He described the sudden draining of the canal as ‘dangerous’. He added: “I’ve seen three people fall in here. If you fall in this, what are you going to hit and how far are you going to fall?”

The location draws visitors to nearby cafés but the emptied canal is now generating significant interest, reports the Manchester Evening News. A twice married, twice divorced father-of-nine, originally from Leicester, Dave has become a familiar face in this part of the former Ancoats, settling onto his boat on the marina 15 years ago and adorning it with whatever he could source, including two skeletons and a bike. Actually named Galderela, it’s now referred to as the ‘Manchester Pirate Boat’ by locals in the neighbourhood.

Dave served as an infantryman in Northern Ireland in the Royal Anglian Regiment until he was struck by an armoured personnel carrier during training in Paderborn, Germany. He regained consciousness three weeks later in a military hospital with a severely damaged knee. He was medically retired in 1998 but subsequently worked in various roles including mechanic, hairdresser and childminder.

He and fellow boat owners said last September’s sudden draining of the canal was caused by a leak while he attributes the latest incident to a botched repair at a nearby culvert. Boat owners raised concerns back in September that the debris lining the marina bed could puncture the hulls of wide-bottomed vessels.

Meanwhile, those with v-shaped hulls feared their floating homes were at risk of toppling over once they made contact with the solid ground beneath. Many residents lodged complaints with the Canal and River Trust at the time.

The charity, which is responsible for maintaining the canal, pointed to a nationwide water shortage triggered by an exceptionally dry spring and summer the previous year.

Water levels at Islington Marina remained low on Monday afternoon, though no boats had run aground as yet.