soxstripy Joe 1954
The Cretehawser a concrete tug boat on the River Wear
Myths grew up ON Wednesday, July 30, a letter was printed asking for any information about the concrete boat. A few months ago, I was interested in finding some info about it myself. i found the following: In or around 1917, the Admiralty ordered 11 concrete boats to be constructed (due to the expensiveness of steel on account of the FirstWorld War). The boats were finally completed by Wear Concrete Building Co. in 1919 and worked as tugs in and around the Wear. After years of service, the Cretehawser was stripped and gutted and was to be used as an emergency breakwater to stop erosion on a pier. The plan never came into fruition and in 1942 she was badly damaged in a German bombing raid. As she was being towed further upstream to a safer area, she sank due to the damage sustained by the German raid. The wreckage of the Cretehawser has remained in the South Hylton stretch of the Wear since 1942. It is still very visible and looks great during low tide. I have several pictures from both sides of the river of the boat which i personally find a local symbol of Sunderland’s great shipbuilding past. The ship’s name Cretehawser is still clearly visible on the ship to this day. There have been many urban myths about the Cretehawser, the main one being that she was placed there to stop German U-boats from travelling up the Wear. Others include, the idea of a concrete boat came from shipbuilders in South Hylton in the late 1800s, but once the boat had been tested and launched, it sank due to the fact concrete wouldn’t float. These are all myths and I hope that I have helped the writer of the letter published in the Echo last month from Mandy Bate. Craig Wood
Read more at: www.sunderlandecho.com/news/concrete-boat-is-part-of-ship...
The Cretehawser a concrete tug boat on the River Wear
Myths grew up ON Wednesday, July 30, a letter was printed asking for any information about the concrete boat. A few months ago, I was interested in finding some info about it myself. i found the following: In or around 1917, the Admiralty ordered 11 concrete boats to be constructed (due to the expensiveness of steel on account of the FirstWorld War). The boats were finally completed by Wear Concrete Building Co. in 1919 and worked as tugs in and around the Wear. After years of service, the Cretehawser was stripped and gutted and was to be used as an emergency breakwater to stop erosion on a pier. The plan never came into fruition and in 1942 she was badly damaged in a German bombing raid. As she was being towed further upstream to a safer area, she sank due to the damage sustained by the German raid. The wreckage of the Cretehawser has remained in the South Hylton stretch of the Wear since 1942. It is still very visible and looks great during low tide. I have several pictures from both sides of the river of the boat which i personally find a local symbol of Sunderland’s great shipbuilding past. The ship’s name Cretehawser is still clearly visible on the ship to this day. There have been many urban myths about the Cretehawser, the main one being that she was placed there to stop German U-boats from travelling up the Wear. Others include, the idea of a concrete boat came from shipbuilders in South Hylton in the late 1800s, but once the boat had been tested and launched, it sank due to the fact concrete wouldn’t float. These are all myths and I hope that I have helped the writer of the letter published in the Echo last month from Mandy Bate. Craig Wood
Read more at: www.sunderlandecho.com/news/concrete-boat-is-part-of-ship...