Tub boat facts for kids
A tub boat was a special kind of boat used a long time ago on canals in England and Germany. These boats did not have engines. Instead, they were pulled by horses or other boats. Tub boats were designed to carry goods and materials. They were like small, floating containers.
Most English tub boats were about 6 meters (20 feet) long. They were also about 2 meters (6.5 feet) wide. They could carry between 3 to 5 tons of cargo. Some deeper ones could even hold up to 8 tons. People also called them compartment boats or container boats.
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What Made Tub Boats Special?
Tub boats were very useful because they were flexible. They could be linked together in a line, like a train. These "boat trains" could have 3 to 10 or more boats. Horses would pull them along the canal. Later, steam tugs (small powerful boats) took over this job. The number of boats in a train could change depending on how much cargo needed to be moved.
Lifting Boats Instead of Locks
One great thing about tub boats was how easily they could be lifted. Canals often use canal locks to move boats up or down hills. But for tub boats, special lifts and inclined planes were built. These were often found near mines or factories.
At a lift, the boat train could be easily split apart. Each tub boat could then be lifted one by one. After being lifted, the boats would be put back together to form a train again. Sometimes, these boats even had inner containers that fit snugly inside. These inner containers could be lifted out even more easily.
Smaller Canals, Lower Costs
Because tub boats were small, the canals built for them could also be smaller. This saved a lot of money when building the canals. It made it easier to connect different places for trade and transport.
Where Were Tub Boats Used?
The very first tub boats in England were used on the Bridgewater Canal. Other important canals that used them included the Shropshire Union Canal and the Bude Canal.
A Tub Boat in a Museum
Today, you can see one preserved tub boat at the Blists Hill Victorian Town museum. This boat was found on a farm in 1972. It was being used as a water tank! Before this discovery, people thought all tub boats on the Shropshire Canal were made of wood. But this one proved that some were built differently.
Bigger Tub Boats Later On
Over time, bigger versions of tub boats were developed. Examples include the Tom Pudding and the Hargreave barge. Both of these were used on the Aire and Calder Canal.
List of Tub Boat Canals
- Bude Canal, Cornwall
- Chard Canal, Somerset
- Cyfarthfa Canal, Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
- Donnington Wood Canal, East Shropshire
- Dukart's Canal, Tyrone, Northern Ireland
- Grand Western Canal, Devon
- Ketley Canal, East Shropshire
- Lydney Canal, Gloucestershire
- Shropshire Canal, East Shropshire
- Torrington Canal, Devon
- Wombridge Canal, East Shropshire
