Mayflower

Mayflower is a steam tug built in Bristol in 1861 and now preserved by Bristol Museums Galleries & Archives. She is based in Bristol Harbour at M Shed (formerly Bristol Industrial Museum). She is the oldest Bristol-built ship afloat, and is believed to be the oldest surviving tug in the world. Building Mayflower was built by GK Stothert & Co, who were connected with the Bath-based engineering company Stothert & Pitt. A branch of the family came to Bristol to build railway locomotives (later to become the Avonside Engine Company). After 1852, a separate shipbuilding company was established which survived in business until the 1930s. The tug has an iron hull. She is long, her beam is , her depth is and her tonnage is . Her United Kingdom official number is 105412. Service Mayflower was built to work on the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal and in the River Severn, one of three tugs ordered after trials had shown they were much more efficient than horse-drawn boats. Altogether they cost £3,000.