Boats

In the years following World War II there was a growing public demand for outdoor leisure pursuits, including boating. By utilising wood and adhesive technology developed during the War boat…

What you are looking at is cutting edge 1930s technology: a Hudson Folding Dinghy, an unusual collapsible dinghy designed and made by R J Hudson (Dick) between the late 1920s…

  The origins of the International 14 class can be traced back to the early part of the 20th century, when the wealthy owners of steam yachts would race each…

Different designs of traditional Thames rowing boats have different functions.  The Thames skiff, the wherry and the gig are all closely related to each other. The Thames wherry was the…

Waterlily  is a steam launch designed, built and used by the Thornycroft family. It then remained in use on the Thames until after World War II and took part in…

“In fourteen hundred and ninety two,Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” So run the opening lines of a piece of doggerel, the origins of which are uncertain. At least five hundred…

Drawing by “Rob Roy” McGregor Modern day enthusiasts of kayaking probably do not describe their on-water activity as ‘canoodling’, yet that was the term employed 150 years ago by John…

There is nothing new about the idea of a folding boat. Some of the Titanic’s lifeboats were folding boats and were successfully launched before the ship sank, but any lifeboat…

By the late 19th century boating and picnics on the River Thames were gaining in popularity:  social events such as the Henley Regatta saw large gatherings of pleasure boats. The…