Monday 5 April 2010

GALLIONS REACH

Ship No 229

Was an order for a Steam Hopper ordered by Tilbury Contracting & Dredging Co. She was 796 tons with a length overall of 178 feet and a beam of 34 feet, with a draught of 17 feet 6 inches.
Powered by a 3cylinder Triple Expansion Engine, 15.5"x26"x42" 30" stroke 200psi steam engine by C. D. Holmes, Hull. ON164719.
She was launched from the yard 20th August 1936.

She, like so many other small vessels played her part in service to her country during World War II.
In 1940, She was called upon to help the evacuation of the remains of the British Army from the beaches at Dunkirk, where she transported 123 troops home from Dunkirk during the evacuation. Later sold to Port of London Authority and converted to Grab Dredger.
07-10-1971 Sank in Furness Basin, River Tees after settling on submerged object.
She was salved but her further history is not known at this time.

General info on Dredging.
A hopper barge worked in conjunction with dredgers. The dredger would remove spoil from the sea bed and dump it via chutes into the hold of the hopper. When full the hopper would proceed to sea where it would dump its load. In the bottom of the hopper barge where a series of doors built into the bottom hull,which were opened to allow the mud to fall out. This mud was obviously replaced by sea water which flooded in. This was not pumped out, the doors being closed and the hopper proceeding back to the dredger. When the next load of spoil, was placed in the hopper the sea water simply overflowed onto the deck and back into the sea.

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