Registration number 370
Status Archived
adminnhs
Ruskin - port side
Ruskin - Starboard profile
Ruskin - port bow
Ruskin - bow view
Ruskin - stern view
Ruskin - bow view
Ruskin - aft seating area

Previous names

  • 1922 - 1939 Raglan II
  • 1939 - 1946 HMS "Aerial"
  • 1946 - 1992 Raglan II

Details

Function Passenger Vessel
Subfunction Launch
Location NONE
Archive reason Disposed
Current use None
Available to hire No
Available for excursions No

Construction

Builder Chester Boat Company, Chester
Built in 1922
Hull material Wood
Rig None
Number of decks 1
Propulsion Motor
Number of engines 1
Primary engine type Solar electric
Boiler type None
Boilermaker None

Dimensions

Breadth: Beam
9.25 feet (2.82m)
Depth
3.00 feet (0.92m)
Length: Overall
40.00 feet (12.20m)

History

Built in 1922 by the Chester Boat Company, RUSKIN is a passenger vessel with the capacity for 50 passengers. Previously named RAGLAN, she was built of mahogany on oak frames and is of carvel construction. Between 1922 and 1939 she operated as a trip boat on the River Dee at Chester. On the outbreak of World War II she was seconded as a minesweeper and then as an air sea rescue boat. Released from war service in 1946 she returned to her previous work at Chester until 1992.

She was bought by Coniston Launch in 1992, converted into a traditional Lakeland Launch and renamed RUSKIN.  She was diesel-powered until 2005 when solar panels and an electric motor were installed. Her engine is a Solomon Technologies ST74 electric motor of 12 hp which is powered from a 144dc battery bank.  After the 2011 season, she was withdrawn and laid up at Pier Cottage. In 2013, she was sold to Pennine Cruisers of Skipton who restored her, fitting more than 50 new ribs in the hull. 

Vessel reported broken up in 2024. 

Sources

Hamer, Geoffrey, Trip Out 1995/6 - A Guide to the Passenger Boat Services of the British Isles, G P Hamer, 1995
Classic Boat: Quiet Revolution, June 2005

Own this vessel?

If you are the owner of this vessel and would like to provide more details or updated information, please contact info@nationalhistoricships.org.uk