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83-563: The waterway provides a channel with a controlling depth of 12 ft (3.7 m), designed primarily for barge transportation. Although the U.S. government proposals for such a waterway were made in the early 19th century, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway was not completed until 1949. Locations along the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway are defined in terms of statute miles (as opposed to nautical miles , in which most marine routes are measured) east and west of Harvey Lock,

166-559: A navigation lock in the New Orleans area located at 29°54′32″N 90°05′02″W  /  29.909°N 90.084°W  / 29.909; -90.084 . The Hathaway Bridge in Panama City , Florida, for example, is at mile 284.6 EHL (East of Harvey Lock). The Queen Isabella Causeway Bridge at South Padre Island is at mile 665.1 WHL (West of Harvey Lock). The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway crosses or meets, and in some cases

249-424: A topsail above the huge mainsail and a large foresail . The mizzen was a much smaller mast on which was set a single sail whose main purpose was to aid steering when tacking. The rig also allowed a relatively large sail area on the upper part of the mast, to catch wind when moored ships, buildings or trees blocked wind on the water's surface. The topsail could remain set even when the mainsail had been brailed to

332-443: A transom , shaped like a section through a champagne glass, on which was hung a large rudder. The hull was mainly a hold with two small living areas in the bow and stern, and access was through two large hatchways, the smaller before the main mast and a much larger aperture behind. To prevent her unwanted (sideways) passage to the lee, are two massive pivoted leeboards . They were usually spritsail rigged on two masts . Most had

415-407: A British canal boat of traditional long, narrow design, steered with a tiller; spec. one not exceeding 7 feet (approx. 2.1 metres) in width or 72 feet (approx. 21.9 metres) in length The narrowboats were initially also known as barges, and the new canals were constructed with an adjacent towpath along which draft horses walked, towing the barges. These types of canal craft are so specific that on

498-481: A barge has given rise to the saying "I wouldn't touch that [subject/thing] with a barge pole." In the United States a barge was not a sailing vessel by the end of the 19th century. Indeed, barges were often created by cutting down ( razeeing ) sailing vessels. In New York this was an accepted meaning of the term barge. The somewhat smaller scow was built as such, but the scow also had its sailing counterpart

581-459: A barge yacht for the 1966, 1967 sailing races, her rig was similar to that in 1926. This was the classic spreetie rig. Early spritsail barges were rigged without a top mast: these were called stumpies , and they sailed as a separate class in the Thames barge race until 1890 which was won by Early Bird . The loose footed spritsail was suited to river work. The rig has the advantage of allowing

664-408: A boom. These were big barges that were built to finer lines often with a false clipper cutwater , and a rounded counter-stern . It had a standing bowsprit, and the mast was stepped on the keelson. It took four or five men to sail, took more space on the wharf and could not operate on its topsail alone, so it was more suited to longer sea journeys; the centre of gravity of the stowed sails was lower and

747-460: A crowded river. On the return run from London, the hold would be filled with dung, useful for farmers but a nuisance in London. Mirosa was once a stackie barge, built in 1892, extensively raced and chartered since c1970 she is one of the few remaining Thames sailing barges that has never had an engine fitted. Dawn built at Cooks Yard in 1897 was also a stackie. She has been restored and in 2017

830-483: A distinguishing feature of wherries and Thames barges. They are needed to prevent lateral movement in the absence of a keel. On the Kathleen they were made of 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick oak and strapped with seven iron straps. They weighed around 25 long hundredweight (1,300 kg) were 18 feet (5.5 m) long and had a 8 feet (2.4 m) fan, They were pivoted from the gunwale, and dropped 5 feet (1.5 m) below

913-447: A dumb barge. In Europe, a Dumb barge is: An inland waterway transport freight vessel designed to be towed which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion . In America, a barge is generally pushed. Barges are used today for transporting low-value bulk items, as the cost of hauling goods that way is very low and for larger project cargo, such as offshore wind turbine blades. Barges are also used for very heavy or bulky items;

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996-428: A high stack of deck cargo. The entire sail can be quickly brailed to the mast, allowing unimpeded access to the deck and hold when loading and unloading. Barges are un ballasted and, if overpressed, will heel excessively and must be pulled to wind. As the sheet is eased, the aft end of a boom would drag in the water, making the rudder ineffective and a capsize inevitable. In contrast, the sheet of loose-footed mainsail

1079-440: A ledge on which the 8 by 8 inches (20 by 20 cm) curved beams of the deck, and the carlings rested. The two large holds made it impossible to use deckbeams alone. There were 3 beams afore the forehold, three beams under the mast-case between the holds, 2 between the mainhold and the companionway to the cabin, two supporting the transom. On the Kathleen, the port and starboard decks were of differing widths. The leeboards are

1162-428: A major saving in labour and time. The predominant rig was spritsail, though there were some that were sloop rigged with a gaff and an overhanging boom, and some that were ketch rigged. Mulies were rigged spritsail on the main and gaff rigged on the mizzen. The dandy rig had spritsail on the main and a lugsail on the mizzen. The hull evolved: firstly decks were fitted around 1810, the round bow started to supersede

1245-519: A river or creek on bargeblocks- a series of trestles raised about a metre from the compacted ground, that allowed working access above and below. The smallest barges were the river barges of 100 ton capacity, the estuary barges were generally heavier 120 -140 tons and the coasters reaching 160-180 tons. At 280 ton, the four Everards barges built in Great Yarmouth and the R & W Pauls, Brightlingsea built barges Barbara Jean and Aidie were

1328-431: A single mast with sails. Barge and lighter were used indiscriminately. A local distinction was that any flat that was not propelled by steam was a barge, although it might be a sailing flat. The term Dumb barge was probably taken into use to end the confusion. The term Dumb barge surfaced in the early nineteenth century. It first denoted the use of a barge as a mooring platform in a fixed place. As it went up and down with

1411-497: A smaller crew. With a shallow draught, they could penetrate deep into the back waters. Not needing ballast reduced their turn-round time. Where fitted, the bowsprit could also be "topped up" - raised, to allow it to use a shorter wharf. In good conditions, sailing barges could attain speeds of over 12 knots (22 km/h; 14 mph), and their leeboards allowed them to be highly effective windward performers. The unusual spritsail rig allowed any combination of sails to be set: often

1494-551: A square sloping stern (budgett stern). There is a print in the Guildhall Library dating from 1764, showing a 1697 built, round bowed barge with a spritsail rig – but with no mizzen . The spritsail and the leeboards are both of Dutch origin and can be traced back to 1416 and can be seen on the London River by 1600. Mizzenless barges, known as luff barges, were smaller and more streamlined: they principally worked

1577-411: A tarpaulin, secured with the hatch covers and roped down. The mainsail had to be smaller to clear this stack (this could be achieved by reefing ), and the foresail would be sheeted to a temporary wire horse. Often the stack would also overlap the sides of the vessel, and in all cases it obscured the view from the helm requiring excellent communication between master and mate sailing such an awkward load in

1660-454: A typical American barge measures 195 by 35 feet (59.4 m × 10.7 m), and can carry up to about 1,500 short tons (1,400 t) of cargo. The most common European barges measure 251 by 37 feet (76.5 m × 11.4 m) and can carry up to about 2,450 tonnes (2,700 short tons). As an example, on June 26, 2006, in the US a 565-short-ton (513 t) catalytic cracking unit reactor

1743-561: Is confluent with, numerous other navigable rivers and waterways. They include: Many of the busiest ports in the United States in terms of tons of cargo are located on or near the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway . Notable ports on or near the waterway include: Florida Alabama Mississippi Louisiana Texas Barge Barge typically refers to a flat-bottomed vessel which does not have its own means of mechanical propulsion. Original use

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1826-434: Is just released and control is immediately regained. As there is no boom to project outboard. the vessel can pass through a narrow gap between moored vessels. Loose-footed sails do suffer from sail twist , which reduces their aerodynamic efficiency when sailing off the wind, which usually is not a commercial issue. Vangs control the head of the mainsail and act a sheets for the topsail, which can be set so as to make use of

1909-614: Is sailing again. Stackies have been popular with model-makers , and two are regularly displayed at the Thames sailing barge pop-up museum. They are Venta and British King . The smallest river barges were designed to trade up the Regent's and Surrey canals as well. They had a capacity of 70-80 tons, and a beam of only 14 feet (4.3 m). They were stumpies with a high peaked mainsail. They had little sheer as they had to pass under very low bridges. They stowed their leeboard and lowered their gear flat on deck, so their highest point would be

1992-709: Is the Bibby Stockholm . Thames sailing barge A Thames sailing barge is a type of commercial sailing boat once common on the River Thames in London . The flat-bottomed barges , with a shallow draught and leeboards , were perfectly adapted to the Thames Estuary , with its shallow waters and narrow tributary rivers. The larger barges were seaworthy vessels, and were the largest sailing vessel to be handled by just two men. The average size

2075-455: The America's Cup . The vast majority of barges were wooden hulled (although a significant number of later barges were also built in steel ), between 80–90 ft (24–27 m) long with a beam of around 20 ft (6.1 m). The hull form was as distinctive as their rig, being flat-bottomed with no external keel. There is a degree of flare to the sides and plumb ends. The stern was

2158-589: The Regent's and Surrey canals . The larger estuary barges were seaworthy craft working the Kent and Essex coasts while coasters also traded much further afield, to the north of England , the South Coast, the Bristol Channel and to continental European ports. Cargoes varied enormously: bricks , cement , hay , rubbish , sand , coal , grain and gunpowder . Timber, bricks and hay were stacked on

2241-724: The River Irwell there was reference to barges passing below Barton Aqueduct with their mast and sails standing. Early barges on the Thames were called west country barges. In the United Kingdom the word barge had many meanings by the 1890s, and these varied locally. On the Mersey a barge was called a 'Flat', on the Thames a Lighter or barge, and on the Humber a 'Keel'. A Lighter had neither mast nor rigging. A keel did have

2324-487: The anchor windlass is used to lower and raise the gear via triple blocks. This takes considerable effort and to aid in the process 'hufflers' were often used. They would come on board to help with lowering and raising the gear (for a fee). The bowsprit where fitted could be 'topped', helping where space was limited. The river barges worked the London River and the Port of London. Cut barges were smaller so they could pass into

2407-602: The folk song collector Captain A. W. (Bob) Roberts . Cambria ' s last mate was Dick Durham from Leigh-on-Sea , Essex, with whom Bob carried the last freight under sail alone: 100 tons of cattle cake from Tilbury Docks to Ipswich in October 1970. Dick wrote Bob Roberts's biography: The Last Sailorman . Following the Second World War , the coastal barge trade diminished as the nation became more mechanised. Cargoes went by road instead of by sea, squeezing

2490-500: The narrowboat , which usually had a beam a couple of inches less to allow for clearance e.g. 6 feet 10 inches (2.08 m) . It was soon realized that the narrow locks were too limiting, and later locks were therefore doubled in width to 14 feet (4.3 m). This led to the development of the widebeam canal boat. The narrowboat (one word) definition in the Oxford English Dictionary is: Narrowboat:

2573-410: The shipwright approved the lines. Ribbands were temporarily nailed to the outside of the frames to hold this position. The inner angle between the floor and the futtocks were stiffened by inner chines or chine keelsons, made of a single piece of 12 by 6 inches (30 by 15 cm) pitch pine This was bolted to each floor and futtock. Above it was a 12 by 3 inches (30.5 by 7.6 cm) oak stringer that

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2656-469: The British canal system the term 'barge' is no longer used to describe narrowboats and widebeams . Narrowboats and widebeams are still seen on canals, mostly for leisure cruising, and now engine-powered. The people who moved barges were known as lightermen . Poles are used on barges to fend off other nearby vessels or a wharf. These are often called 'pike poles'. The long pole used to maneuver or propel

2739-589: The British river system and larger waterways, the Thames sailing barge , and Dutch barge and unspecified other styles of barge, are still known as barges. The term Dutch barge is nowadays often used to refer to an accommodation ship, but originally refers to the slightly larger Dutch version of the Thames sailing barge. During the Industrial Revolution , a substantial network of canals was developed in Great Britain from 1750 onward. Whilst

2822-669: The Essex barges found beneficial doing the long run along the Swin (Thames) . The main trade was trans-shipping grain unloaded from large vessels from the colonies, and taking it from the London ports out to the mills or maltings at the head of the many tidal creeks on the East coast and around the Thames estuary, though also grain was transhipped into London mills further upstream such as the City Flour Mills at Puddle Dock reputed to be

2905-404: The London River. The North Sea was important. Coals were brought from Newcastle, to the shallow estuary ports along the London River. These essentially were schooner rigged with the flat barge hull. After the second world war, coal was still delivered to the gasworks at Margate by SB  Will Everard from Goole . During the first world war, they carried coal between Goole and Calais; this

2988-580: The Medway and Thames. The 109th Medway barge race took place on Saturday 3 June 2017. The course was 29 miles (47 km) from Gillingham Pier , following the channel to the Medway buoy east of the Nore in the Thames and back to Gillingham. The 110th was scheduled for 19 May 2018. Thirty barges were part of the fleet of ' Little Ships ' that rescued soldiers of the retreating British Expeditionary Force from

3071-404: The air above the wind-shadow of moored ships, warehouses and local features. Sail could be shortened rapidly by the two-man crew in the most difficult seas. The topsail was on hoops, so the halyard was let go and the sail rucked (dropped) to the hounds. The mainsail was pulled tightly to the mast by brails. The vangs were slackened, the sheet released and the sail brailed up by the mate using

3154-466: The beaches of Dunkerque . The flat-bottomed barges could reach the beaches, and take off the troops, ferrying them to the larger vessels waiting off shore. These would make the Channel crossing. Twelve barges were sunk, but eighteen vessels returned: one of these, SB  Pudge , was harmed by a mine but has been fixed up and is still used on the rivers today; another, Ena , had her crew taken off and

3237-406: The brailing winch. The mate let go the foresail halyards and it dropped to the deck. If she was beaching, the crab winches were manned and the leeboards hoisted to stop them bumping. The anchor was let go. She could be unloaded onto the sand when the tide had dropped. The sails were secured and the spreet was fixed and warps and fenders made fast. In narrow channels, and in the lee of tall buildings

3320-611: The craft's highly efficient final form. They were begun in 1863 by a wealthy owner called Henry Dodd. Dodd was a plough boy from Hackney , London , who made his fortune carrying the city's waste to the country on the barges. He may well have been the model for Charles Dickens 's character the Golden Dustman in Our Mutual Friend . On his death in 1881, Dodd left £5000 for future match prizes. The Thames and Medway barge matches were temporarily discontinued in 1963. In

3403-452: The deck, while cement and grain was carried loose in the hold. They could sail low in the water, even with their gunwales beneath the surface. They sailed the Medway and Thames in a ponderous way for two hundred years; then in the 1860s a series of barge races were started, and the barges' design improved as vessels were built with better lines in order to win. The Thames barge races are the world's second oldest sailing competition, second to

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3486-562: The estuary before the Thames sailing barge became ubiquitous. Each port had a hoy company that would run weekly forays into London to deliver or collect goods. They got their names from the hoy , an open square-sail barge. Typically they would run into London laden on a Monday, discharge and return the Thursday with a new cargo to arrive home to spend the Sunday with their families. By the 1880s they were competing for trade with steam engines on

3569-502: The final port to the refinery. The Transportation Institute at Texas A&M found that inland barge transportation in the US produces far fewer emissions of carbon dioxide for each ton of cargo moved compared to transport by truck or rail. According to the study, transporting cargo by barge produces 43% less greenhouse gas emissions than rail and more than 800% less than trucks. Environmentalists claim that in areas where barges, tugboats and towboats idle may produce more emissions like in

3652-409: The floors to give shape at the bow and the sweep to the fashion timbers of the transom . Across the keel and deadwood were laid the floors , these were 8 by 6 inches (20 by 15 cm) oak timbers at 20 inches (51 cm) centres. The length of each floor would be taken of a half hull model , most would be 19.7 feet (6.0 m) long, the same length as her beam. On top of the floors, on top of

3735-476: The help of 'hufflers' (spare strong blokes), so they could pass under to wharfs in the Pool of London or further upstream to Westminster or beyond. At the wharf the load was removed by horse and cart – the cart could carry one and a half tons over the un- metalled roads . The barge could carry 80 to 150 tons, although 120 was the most common tonnage. There was a well established trading network along both sides of

3818-516: The hull. They were raised by means of two crab winches . Partially raised leeboards could be used as a means of steering, and in shallow waters, the barge could be pivoted on a leeboard that was being dragged in the mud. The rudder was attached to a 12 inches (30 cm) square 11 feet (3.4 m) oak rudderpost. The blade of the rudder was 7 feet 4 inches (2.24 m) wide made up of boards tapering from 12 inches (0.30 m) to 6 inches (0.15 m). On older smaller vessels, there

3901-632: The improved techniques learnt, to win the next year's race. The Medway races started in 1880. Their heyday came at the turn of the 20th century when over 2000 were on the registry. That century saw a steady decline in their numbers. The last wooden built barge SB Cabby , was built by Gill, at the LRTC yard in Frindsbury in 1928. The last Thames barge to trade entirely under sail was the Everard-built SB ; Cambria in 1970, owned by

3984-419: The keel, on earlier barges was bolted a massive Oregon pine 14 by 14 inches (36 by 36 cm) keelson . This used 1 inch (2.5 cm) iron bolts. On Kathleen the keelson was a made of a 49 feet (15 m) steel section, in profile similar to railway line (6 by 11 inches (15 by 28 cm)): it was cheaper but could distort. The keelson would be scarfed into the apron and deadwood and would be shorter than

4067-419: The keel. There were equivalent stemsons and sternsons . The futtocks (side-frames) were dovetailed onto the end of each floor and every other joint was strengthened with an iron angle plate. The futtocks were of 8 by 6 inches (20 by 15 cm) oak and of varying length averaging 6 feet (1.8 m). Temporary cross-poles were used to hold the ends of the futtocks in place. The barge was now in frame , and

4150-537: The largest in the world when built in the early 1850s. Grain could be carried loose in the hold or bagged. Those delivering grain out of London would then seek a suitable cargo back into London to avoid returning light. A particularly well recorded example of a grain barge is the SB ; Kathleen , which was a 59-ton barge built by Glover at Gravesend, Kent in 1901, and registered in Rochester . Her official number

4233-414: The largest of these could accommodate ocean-going vessels e.g the later Manchester Ship Canal , a complex network of smaller canals was also developed. These smaller canals had locks, bridges and tunnels that were at minimum only 7 feet (2.1 m) wide at the waterline . On wider sections, standard barges and other vessels could trade, but full access to the network necessitated the parallel development of

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4316-419: The largest. Barges were built exclusively of wood until 1900, when the first steel barges appeared. During its active life it could be doubled or boxed- that is a second shell of planking would be fixed over the first. Kathleen was a typical grain barge built at Gravesend in 1901. She became notable by featuring in two reference books, where her measurements were published in great detail. Over time her rig

4399-586: The locks and dams of the Mississippi River. Self-propelled barges may be used for traveling downstream or upstream in placid waters; they are operated as an unpowered barge, with the assistance of a tugboat, when traveling upstream in faster waters. Canal barges are usually made for the particular canal in which they will operate. Unpowered vessels—barges—may be used for other purposes, such as large accommodation vessels , towed to where they are needed and stationed there as long as necessary. An example

4482-409: The mainsail and mizzen are brailed and the bowsprit topped up, and she sails on topsail and foresail alone. A gaff rig was more suitable for heavy weather and long sea passages, but when a gaff rigged boomie takes in the mainsail, she cannot set the topsail. A boomie is a flat-bottomed ketch-barge, ketch rigged on the main and the mizzen; the sprit was replaced by a gaff , and the foot was tied to

4565-416: The mast. Sail areas varied from 3,000–5,600 square feet (280–520 m ) depending on the size of the barge. The typical, rusty-red colour of the flax sails was due to the dressing used to treat the sails that were permanently aloft (traditionally made from red ochre, cod oil, urine and seawater). The red ochre was there to block the ultra-violet in the sunlight from degrading the sails (much as lamp-black

4648-420: The matches that year, Spinaway C (skippered by George Morgan) won the Thames race and came second in the Medway. Memory came second in the Thames (skippered by Hedley Farrington) and first in the Medway (skippered by "Dick" Springett). These two were the very last of the restricted staysail barges to win the old classic races. The matches have ceased and been reinstituted several times, and are now considered

4731-614: The modern meaning arose around 1480. Bark "small ship" is attested from 1420, from Old French barque , from Vulgar Latin barca (400 AD). The more precise meaning of Barque as "three-masted sailing vessel" arose in the 17th century, and often takes the French spelling for disambiguation. Both are probably derived from the Latin barica , from Greek baris "Egyptian boat", from Coptic bari "small boat", hieroglyphic Egyptian and similar ba-y-r for "basket-shaped boat". By extension,

4814-478: The purses of the barge owners, until most of the once-handsome barges were given motors and relegated to short, lightering passages within the Thames Estuary. Many cargos were brought by barge into London such as building material. Bricks came from Essex and Kent, cement from Kent and sand was dug by the bargees from the estuary sandbanks. When the barges reached London Bridge , the mast was lowered with

4897-468: The railways, but could offer rates four or five times cheaper. All transport in London was horse-drawn. The horses needed vast quantities of hay and straw , and they produced a vast quantity of dung. The 'Stackie' was a special type of barge designed for the hay and dung trade. The hold would be loaded with fodder root crops and hay would be loaded on the deck, in an inwardly sloping stack eight bales 12 feet (3.7 m) high. This would be covered with

4980-525: The sailing scow. The innovation that led to the modern barge was the use of iron barges towed by a steam tugboat. These were first used to transport grain and other bulk products. From about 1840 to 1870 the towed iron barge was quickly introduced on the Rhine, Danube, Don, Dniester , and rivers in Egypt, India and Australia. Many of these barges were built in Great Britain. Nowadays 'barge' generally refers to

5063-518: The surviving sailing barges both Mirosa and Edme have never had engines. The mast was mounted in a mast case , or "tabernacle", at deck level and could be dropped and raised while under way, enabled the barge to "shoot bridges"-pass under bridges, on the Thames and Medway without losing headway. When no wharf was available, the barge could use the ebbing tide to stand on the mud, close to shore and offload its goods onto carts. A barge with no topsail – or top mast sailing stumpy-rigged required

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5146-554: The swim-head about 1840, and became a straight stem by 1900, the transom stern replaced the budget stern about 1860. 1863, 1864 and 1865 saw the first Thames Barge Races. These continued unbroken until 1938. The aim of the founder William Henry Dodd , "The Golden Dustman", was to raise the status of the bargemen, and to improve the performance of the barges. There were two classes, one for stumpies (under 80 tons) and one for heavier (under 100 tons) topsail barges. These were fiercely competitive – and soon new barges were being built, using

5229-569: The term "embark" literally means to board the kind of boat called a "barque". In Great Britain a merchant barge was originally a flat bottomed merchant vessel for use on navigable rivers. Most of these barges had sails. For traffic on the River Severn the barge was described thus: "The lesser sort are called barges and frigates, being from forty to sixty feet in length, having a single mast and square sail, and carrying from twenty to forty tons burthen." The larger vessels were called trows. On

5312-455: The tidal waters without heeling over. This allowed them to visit the narrow tributaries and creeks of the Thames to load farm cargoes, or to dry out on the sand banks and mudflats to load materials for building and brickmaking (it was no coincidence that their use peaked while London was expanding rapidly). The main mast could be lowered to clear bridges. Furthermore, unlike most sailing craft, these barges could sail completely unballasted —

5395-578: The tides, it made a very convenient mooring place for steam vessels. Within a few decades, the term dumb barge evolved, and came to mean: 'a vessel propelled by oars only'. By the 1890s Dumb barge was still used only on the Thames. By 1880 barges on British rivers and canals were often towed by steam tugboats. On the Thames, many dumb barges still relied on their poles, oars and the tide. Others dumb barges made use of about 50 tugboats to tow them to their destinations. While many coal barges were towed, many dumb barges that handled single parcels were not. On

5478-420: The topsail on its own would be effective. The precursor to the square spritsail barge was the London lighter or dumb-barge. They flitted up and down the river delivering cargo, using the incoming tide to send them up river, and the ebbing tide for the return journey. They were manoeuvered by a pair of bargemen using long sweeps (oars). These barges had a flat box like bow (swim-headed) and a near flat stern, or

5561-492: The upper reaches of the Thames. In a 1752 engraving of the Chelsea Waterworks there is a stumpie with a transom stern. In the 1800s EW Cooke (1811–1880), made a series of engravings of barges on the river, leaving a record of most of the possible rigs. The flat-bottomed hull made these craft extremely versatile and economical. They could float in as little as 3 ft (0.91 m) of water and could dry out in

5644-480: The wheel from which spokes would be removed to gain a few extra inches. When light, the barge would be partially flooded to gain headroom for a bridge or tunnel. These were the Kentish Barges from along the Medway. Chalk was quarried between Aylesford and Strood , and the barges shot Rochester Bridge and took the chalk to the many cement works in the region, and then took the cement to London. There

5727-577: The world's second-oldest sailing race (after the America's Cup ). The course was originally from Erith upriver, but as of the early 20th century the start was moved to the Lower Hope downriver from Gravesend into the Estuary and back to Gravesend. 2013 was the 150th anniversary of the Thames Match – and to celebrate the finish line was at Erith. There was a full programme of races in 2017 on

5810-465: Was 113,708. She was built for capacity rather than speed.; 82.8 feet (25.2 m) long and had a beam of 19.7 feet (6.0 m). Light, she drew 30 inches (76 cm) of water, and laden 6 feet (1.8 m). Bricks were made using the heavy Essex clay, or clay deposits from along the Swale which was mixed with local chalk and breeze (town ash). The breeze was the ash screened from London rubbish. This

5893-446: Was a 12 feet (3.7 m) long tiller . On a few vessels, ropes/chains and pulleys were attached to the rudder post and these lines passed round a drum with a conventional ships wheel - on the vast majority of barges, the rudder was attached to the wheel by an intentionally loose fitting worm screw gear. Some barges had an all metal ships wheel: this was known as the chaff cutter after the similar-looking agricultural tool. When she

5976-405: Was about 120 tons and they carried 4,200 square feet (390 m ) of canvas sail in six working sails. The mainsail was loose-footed and set up with a sprit , and was brailed to the mast when not needed. It is sheeted to a horse , as is the foresail ; they require no attention when tacking . The foresail is often held back by the mate to help the vessel come about more swiftly. The topsail

6059-467: Was bolted to the futtocks and led out to stem and stern post. The ceilings were now laid on the floors. These would be pine planks 3 inches (7.6 cm) thick, and as wide as available. The height of the deck was marked on the frames – forming a beam-line, and a beam thickness beneath it, a 15 by 4 inches (38 by 10 cm) oak inwale was bolted to the futtocks. The inside of the hold was lined with 2 inches (5.1 cm) thick pine . The inwale formed

6142-650: Was brick and cement activity along the Swale. At Teynham Charles Richardson produced stock bricks that were used in the viaduct that took the railway from Greenwich to London. Cement from his kilns in Conyer was exported from London to New Zealand. These barges were recognised by the covering of ash and cement dust, caused from lying to the lee of cement works. Additionally the Kentish creeks such as Conyer and Milton contained discolouring mud that would foul clean paintwork. Kentish barges had less need of bowsprits, that

6225-414: Was built, Kathleen had a bowsprit , main mast and a mizzen mast . She was rigged with spritsails on both masts and a topsail on the main. She was rerigged in 1926 without a bowsprit. In 1946 she lost her mizzen when an engine was added. In 1954 her rig was reduced to that of a motor barge, and from 1961 to 1965 she was used as a lighter , with engine and mast stripped away. When she was converted to

6308-463: Was changed to suit commercial conditions. The keel was a 12 by 4 inches (30 by 10 cm) piece of elm . It was broader than it was deep and 82.8 feet (25.2 m) long. At the bow the stempost was raised vertically and at the stern the sternpost , these were made from 6 feet (1.8 m) lengths of 12 by 9 inches (30 by 23 cm) English oak . The apron and the inner sternpost were strengthening timbers. The fore and aft deadwood would raise

6391-455: Was four days work- 200 tons at £6.00 a ton. The barges general were too shallow to activate the mines. Coastal barges made long passages, SB  Havelock of London built in 1858 used to trade regularly between Liverpool and Rotterdam . The barges' performance was perfected through the annual sailing matches, in which they competed for trophies and cash prizes. The matches are credited with encouraging improvements in design, leading to

6474-440: Was on inland waterways, while modern use is on both inland and marine water environments. The first modern barges were pulled by tugs , but on inland waterways, most are pushed by pusher boats , or other vessels. The term barge has a rich history, and therefore there are many types of barges. "Barge" is attested from 1300, from Old French barge , from Vulgar Latin barga . The word originally could refer to any small boat;

6557-671: Was shipped by barge from the Tulsa Port of Catoosa in Oklahoma to a refinery in Pascagoula, Mississippi . Extremely large objects are normally shipped in sections and assembled after delivery, but shipping an assembled unit reduces costs and avoids reliance on construction labor at the delivery site, which in the case of the reactor was still recovering from Hurricane Katrina . Of the reactor's 700-mile (1,100 km) journey, only about 40 miles (64 km) were traveled overland, from

6640-491: Was to be abandoned in France but was floated and sailed home by a group of soldiers with only holiday sailing experience. The oldest Little Ship still active is the barge Greta (built in 1892). Thames barges were built for strength. They had flat bottoms to allow them to be easily beached or lie on the river mud, and were rigged to allow them to be operated by two men and possibly a lad. They were built in bargeyards adjacent to

6723-537: Was transported by barge, to Teynham , Lower Halstow and Conyer and the finished Kentish yellow bricks went back to London. A sizeable barge building industry was created in Sittingbourne . These 100 ton capacity barges stowed 40,000 to 42,000 bricks and were box-like in section. Portland stone was brought from the quarries at Weymouth round the North Foreland, into the Thames estuary and up into

6806-531: Was used in the sail dressing for the Norfolk wherries ), but sails that were stowed away such as jibsails were usually left untreated. The barges required no ballast, and sailing in this condition with leeboards raised they typically draw only 3 foot; this has caught out a few modern yachtsmen who have run aground while attempting to follow them. No auxiliary power was used originally but many barges were fitted with engines in later years and most retain them, but among

6889-437: Was usually first sail on and last sail off, being fixed to the topmast by hoops. In the upper reaches of the rivers and constricted harbours it reached into the clear air, and when approaching a berth casting off the halliard would drop it immediately killing the forward drive. The mizzen boom in a mulie is sheeted down to the long shallow rudder. The masts are mounted in tabernacles so they can be lowered to pass under bridges;

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