There are super fans waiting outside the hotels and backstage doors for their favorite actors, singers and celebrities.

There are also super fans who will spend thousands of pounds to see their favorite star up close.

Then there’s Tony Vaughan, 64. The retired engineer decided to create a canal boat dedicated to the famously funny TV show Only Fools and Horses.

READ MORE: What happened to Del Boy’s yellow tricycle in Only Fools and Horses

Tony spent years converting the 53ft narrowboat into a replica of the classic canary Reliant Regal van Del Boy and Rodney drove around Peckham doing dodgy deals in the 1980s and 90s.

Tony was inspired by a friend in the pub and after four pints of Guinness, he got straight to work.

“It’s an idea I came up with after a few pints of Guinness in my local pub one winter’s evening with some friends. It seemed like a good idea at the time.” He told The Mirror in 2018.



A front view of Tony's practical work

“I did it for something else. To give people a laugh and a smile. When I bought the boat it was already called ‘Trotters Independent’ and we had so many comments that I decided to keep the name of the boat.

“When my mate suggested I put a car on it after I’d had four pints of Guinness, I thought it wasn’t a terrible idea.

“Two months later I had started looking for a car to put on the back of my boat.”

Father-of-four Tony bought the boat for £30,000 and spent a further £30,000 repairing and modernizing it.

He then spent £4,000 converting his narrowboat into Del Boy’s iconic Reliant Regal from the hit series.



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The boat has been steered around the Grand Union canal and you could very well see Tony floating around London if he decides to follow the canal route, he noted that this is in his plans.

Building his boat, Tony was helped at weekends by the boat builder’s stepson Richard Pemberton, 36, who was with him eight hours a day helping to refurbish the boat.

He continued, saying: “Making this Only Fools boat has been a blast for me, I’ve absolutely loved it.

“I love seeing the smiles on people’s faces when they see my boat come through. If you watch an episode of the show and then watch it a couple of weeks after you see something you’ve missed.”

“There’s always something new to discover – the one liners are so cleverly written and I just love it.”

Tony can be seen showing off his boat here.

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