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Bertha


Bertha

Bertha - a 1834 Steam powered puddled iron Drag Dredger, by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, seen here at the top end of Eyemouth Harbour (Scotland) - 23rd May 2007

Information from the Historic Ships web site@
http://www.nhsc.org....tVessel/vref/17

'BERTHA is the oldest working steamboat in existence. She is thought to have been designed by I K Brunel and built in the 1840s. She is similar in layout and construction to the Bristol Docks drag boat BD6, which was certainly designed by Brunel, but Bertha is a little smaller overall. She saw service in the Bridgwater Docks, which were opened in 1841, first on behalf of the Great Western Railway Company and later for British Rail. The end of her working life came in 1968 with the closure of the docks to commercial traffic and their purchase by Somerset County Council, whose intention was to restore the area and reopen the docks -for small pleasure craft. In 1970, Bertha was presented to the Exeter Maritime Museum by British Rail. She now forms part of the ISCA collection in Eyemouth.'

Builder: 1844, G Lunnel & Co, Bristol., Bristol
Length on the Waterline:14.02 metres (45.96 feet)
Length Overall:15.24 metres (49.96 feet)
Gross Tonnage: 60.00
Draught: 1.22 metres (4.00 feet)
Maximum Breadth: 4.11 metres (13.48 feet)