This photo was recently taken in Richmond, England, near London.
The gondola is in the process of restoration, hopefully being prepared to take passengers there in the spring.
In the past, the gondola was owned by a cafe on a lake in a small park in London.
The folks restoring the boat are working on getting a new ferro for her.
They opted to carve their own forcola rather than buy one from a remer in Venice - certainly a cost-saving move, in a year or two they'll know if it was worth it.
As for me, I'd sooner fabricate the whole boat than go with a non-Venetian forcola.
I checked with Nick Birch who operates his own gondola in Stratford, England. Nick tells me that the lake this gondola was on previously was in Battersea Park.
I've heard from a number of people that she was in derelict condition before the current owners got ahold of her, and that they've done a good job with her so far.
I love to see restorations like this.
My compliments to the new owners on their efforts.
I encourage them to see things through.
Maybe when I finally get out to London, I'll try out that forcola myself.
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