Touchstone | National Historic Ships

Registration number 2744

Status Registered

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Touchstone - Bow view 2, At London Boat Show 2014

Touchstone - Bow view, At London Boat Show 2014

Touchstone - Internal view, At London Boat Show, 2014

Details

Function Service Vessel

Subfunction Tug

Location Chatham Historic Dockyard

Vessel type Tug

Current use Ongoing conservation

Available to hire Yes

Available for excursions Yes

Construction

Builder Cook, James W, Wivenhoe

Built in 1962

Hull material Steel

Rig None

Propulsion Motor

Number of engines 1

Primary engine type Inboard diesel

Boiler type None

Boilermaker None

Dimensions

Length: Overall

69.29 feet (21.12m)

Breadth: Beam

18.64 feet (5.68m)

Depth

7.48 feet (2.28m)

Air Draft

13.12 feet (4.00m)

Tonnage: Gross

68.00

History

TOUCHSTONE is a tug of welded steel construction built by Cooks of Wivenhoe for the Cory Tank Lighterage Co. in 1963. Until the early 1980s she was mainly employed towing petrol lighters from Thames Haven to Aylesford on the River Medway. When this trade was discontinued she was assigned to the River Thames household rubbish trade running between City of London wharves and Cory's disposal/landfill site on the Mucking Flats marshes.

By the early 1990s she had become a standby tug at Gravesend. In 1999 TOUCHSTONE was sold out of service to Rob Chandler who endeavoured to maintain her as a working preserved craft and regularly attended festivals in South east England and Europe.

Update, July 2024: Vessel under new ownership. The tug has had an MCA survey ready to pass back into commercial service with no defects and only a few recommendations. She will remain locally operating on the Thames and Medway by a family run towing business