National Small Boat Collection

This coracle-like craft is an Iraqi “guffa”, a traditional form of craft used for both cargo and passenger transport on the rivers of Iraq, notably the Tigris, for millennia: the first reference is in the writings of the Greek historian Herodotus in the fourth century B.C. Photographs of Iraq from a century ago show the…

Cosi fan tutte is the newest of three Flying Dutchman dinghies in the museum’s collection. Dutch Courage (BAE0006) is an early example from the 1950’s, whilst Rodney Pattison’s Superdocious (BAE 0022), from 1968, may be regarded as representing the zenith of wooden construction. The first plastic boats came into the class in around 1960 but…