Tugboats - Great Britain: Illustrated History Books & Guides

Tugs and Towing Around Britain

Tugboats first appeared in the early nineteenth century, when enclosed docks were built and sea-going vessels became larger and more powerful. They were needed to guide ships safely into narrow waterways and docking areas.
Tugs are designed to tow or push vessels and must be strong and highly manoeuvrable. The first known tug, the "Charlotte Dundas", was powered by a Watt steam engine and towed barges on the Forth and Clyde Canal in Scotland in 1802. Early tugs used paddle wheels, later replaced by propellers.

In this book, Ian Collard presents a wide range of tugs that have operated around the British Isles, assisting many types of ships in both large and small ports. The volume includes many photographs from the author's private collection, published here for the first time, each accompanied by clear and informative captions.

Product details

Author:	Ian Collard
Details:	96 pages, 9.25 x 6.5 x 0.43 in (23.5 x 16.5 x 1.1 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	180 color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Amberley Publishing (GB, 2024)
ISBN:	9781398116542

Thames Tugs in Colour

This Tugs pictorial album contains a selection of stunning colour photographs of Thames tugs. Each photograph is accompanied by an informative caption

Andrew Wiltshire acquired in 2001 a superb collection of colour transparencies of shipping from C.C. Beazley who lived in Dagenham, Essex, and who sadly passed away in 2012. The slides comprised many ships both large and small taken along the River Thames.
One of his favourite areas appeared to be the Royal Docks in the years 1968 to 1972. Needless to say there were some splendid shots of tugs, many of which are included in this book.

Initially the book takes a look at smaller lighterage tugs, many of which are performing the role for which they were originally built. Later on the book concentrates on tugs involved with ship-handling on the River Thames and within the various dock systems from the early 1960s right up until 2016.

Full colour, large, high quality images. 80 pages.

Product details

Author:	Andrew Wiltshire
Details:	80 pages, 6.1 x 9.25 x 0.2 in (15.5 x 23.5 x 0.5 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	80+ color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Bernard McCall (GB, 2017)
ISBN:	9781902953823

Bristol Tugs in Colour (Volume 2)

This latest Tugs pictorial album Volume 2, documents some of the smaller tugs that used to be seen in Bristol City Docks plus some of the rarer and larger tugs that have paid only one or two visits to the port in recent years.
Each photograph is accompanied by an informative caption.

Product details

Author:	Bernard McCall
Details:	64 pages, 6.1 x 9.25 x 0.2 in (15.5 x 23.5 x 0.5 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	60+ color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	(, 2016)
ISBN:	9781902953779

Mersey Tugs Through Time

The main role of the tug is to assist vessels in the river or within the dock system by moving them by pushing or towing. They are also used to tow barges or platforms which have no engines or methods of propulsion. Tugs are designed to be highly manoeuvrable and powerful as they normally work with large vessels in restricted spaces.
The main towing companies operating on the Mersey in the twentieth century were J. & J. H. Rea Limited, Liverpool Screw Towing Company and the Alexandra Towing Company Limited.

Mersey tugs were employed to work with passenger liners, cargo vessels, oil tankers and other vessels working on the river. The modern tug is equipped with azimuthing thrusters or Voith Schneider Vertical propellers which enable them to generate the thrust required for towing the larger vessels which are now being built.

In this book, Ian Collard charts the development of the Mersey tug from the late nineteenth century to the present day.

Product details

Author:	Ian Collard
Details:	96 pages, 9.25 x 6.5 in (23.5 x 16.5 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	180 b&w and color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Amberley Publishing (GB, 2016)
ISBN:	9781445654102

Tugs in Colour - British Built

This book is a sequel to Andrew Wiltshire's first book on tugs Looking Back at British Tugs. This time he concentrates on examples that were completed in British Shipyards. He has always been fascinated by the number of small shipyards that once existed around the UK, and often by the location of these yards.
Many of these yards specialised in building tugs large and small for the homemarket as well as for customers overseas, and not just in the British colonies.

Such was the quality of British-built tugs, that some went onto give many years of service. In 2016 a surprising number that have exceeded their 50th birthday can be found hard at work at locations around the world.

This book covers tugs built at 46 different UK shipyards.

Product details

Author:	Andrew Wiltshire
Details:	80 pages, 7.7 x 9.7 in (19.5 x 24.5 cm), hardback
Illustrations:	100+ color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	(, 2016)
ISBN:	9781902953809

Bristol Tugs in Colour (Volume 1)

This latest Tugs pictorial album contains a selection of stunning colour photographs of tugs that have visited ports in the Bristol area over the last fifty years.
Volume 1 includes tugs used for ship handling and in the fleets of C J King and Cory / Wijsmuller / Svitzer. Each photograph is accompanied by an informative caption.

Product details

Author:	Bernard McCall
Details:	64 pages, 6.3 x 9.25 x 0.28 in (16 x 23.5 x 0.7 cm), paperback
Illustrations:	many color photos
Language:	English
Publisher:	Bernard McCall (GB, 2015)
ISBN:	9781902953700