Name Delhi

DELHI was part of an order placed in 1929 with WJ. Yarwood & Sons Ltd at Northwich for 16 all steel canal boats, 10 open and 6 with cabins. in 1930 she was launched, and delivered to the London, Midland and Scottish (LMS) Railway Company. Between 1930 and 1955 she operated in the Black Country railway interchange traffic, working between factories and railway interchange basins where cargoes would be transferred between boat and rail wagon. LMS. Railway interchange boats were generally horse drawn, and because of their trade they were often known as ‘Station Boats’. On nationalisation of the railways in 1948 her new owner became British Railways (London Midland Region). In 1955 she was sold to the British Transport Commission, BTC (British Transport Waterways).

In 1959 she was sold out of service and was cut in two at Gloucester, with the fore end converted into a 41 foot four berth hire cruiser with the name WATER VIPER. Plans to convert her stern to a pleasure boat were rejected by B.T.C. in 1961 due to the high cost of conversion. In 1965 major improvements were made to WATER VIPER. In 1968 she was sold to C.W. Huxley of Willenhall and renamed CHARIENE. In 1980/81 she was allocated British Waterways Board index number 79561. 

In 2001 she was sold to Jason McCabe and Carleen Carter of Pitstone, and in 2002 she was sold again, this time to John Sykes of Knutsford who re-named her DELHI. Around 2003 she underwent conversion to a 60ft counter-sterned pleasure boat, which was undertaken by the Stockton Dry Dock Company. Her wooden superstructure was replaced with steel. About 2005 she was issued with British Waterways Board/The Waterways Trust index number 513011. In 2019 she was sold to her current owners.