On the water
The fleet
Eleven boats, each painted at the wharf, each with an opinion about the locks.
Constancy II
The flagship, painted to the 1902 Martha pattern. Carries the Kennel Lane coal, as its grandfather did.
1931, rebuilt 1998Crimson & ochrePatience
The passage boat. Cratch board seating for twelve and a tea urn installed in 1991, replaced never.
1954Duck-egg & mossPerseverance
The workhorse of the timber runs from the Felly woods. Widest load bed on the fleet.
1961Moss & crimsonThrift
The small cargo boat that out-earns the big ones every quarter, for reasons nobody can explain.
1948Ochre & duck-eggCharity
Runs the evening lantern passage in summer. Named for the fourth boat ever owned, not the virtue.
1958Crimson & duck-eggHope III
The youngest passage boat, often found ahead of schedule, to the crew's genuine embarrassment.
1972Duck-egg & ochreSteadfast
The dock's own boat, used for hull inspections. Never painted twice the same year, per yard tradition.
1939Moss & ochreKindly
Where new crew learn the locks. The tiller has a groove worn by five generations of the same family.
1968Ochre & crimsonBridgmoor Belle
The charter boat for weddings and work parties. Painted in whatever scheme the charterer chooses, once.
1952Charterer's choiceNell & Ivy
The surviving horse-drawn pair, worked by Islay's descendants on festival weekends only.
1902Original 1902 patternThe Biscuit Tin
A small steel punt, named for the enamel orders tin. Painted in every spare colour at the end of each season.
1977Everything at once| Boat | Trade | Built | Livery bands | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Constancy II | Coal & timber | 1931 | Crimson & ochre | 70 ft |
| Patience | Passages | 1954 | Duck-egg & moss | 62 ft |
| Perseverance | Freight | 1961 | Moss & crimson | 71 ft |
| Thrift | Freight | 1948 | Ochre & duck-egg | 45 ft |
| Charity | Passages | 1958 | Crimson & duck-egg | 62 ft |
| Hope III | Passages | 1972 | Duck-egg & ochre | 58 ft |
| Steadfast | Yard boat | 1939 | Moss & ochre | 40 ft |
| Kindly | Passage & training | 1968 | Ochre & crimson | 62 ft |
| Bridgmoor Belle | Charter | 1952 | Charterer's choice | 66 ft |
| Nell & Ivy | Pair, historic | 1902 | Original 1902 pattern | 68 ft (pair) |
| The Biscuit Tin | Towyard tender | 1977 | Everything at once | 22 ft |
All eleven are fictional, as is the yard clerk, who nonetheless insists the register is accurate.