View source for Mersey flat

[[File:Viaduct across the Sankey Valley, from Bury's Liverpool and Manchester Railway, 1831 - artfinder 122455.jpg|right|thumb|A Mersey flat on the [[Sankey Canal]], approaching the [[Sankey Viaduct]] (1831)]]{{Short description|Type of doubled-ended barge}}
A '''Mersey flat''' is a type of doubled-ended [[barge]], that were commonly used on the [[River Mersey]].

==Construction==

Traditionally, the hull was built of [[oak]] and the deck was [[pitch pine]]. Some had a single mast, with a [[fore-and-aft rig]], while some had an additional [[mizzen mast]]. Despite having a flat bottom and curved sides, they were quite stable.<ref name=hugh>''The Shell Book of Inland Waterways'', (1981), Hugh McKnight, David and Charles</ref> They were common from the 1730s to 1890s.<ref name=CHA>{{cite web|title=Mersey flats|url=http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.41|access-date=13 August 2009|publisher=E. Chambré Hardman Archive|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526161618/http://www.mersey-gateway.org/server.php?show=ConNarrative.41|archive-date=26 May 2011}}</ref>

The length of a flat was from {{convert|62|to|70|ft|m}} long, with a {{convert|6|ft|m|adj=on}} [[draft (hull)|draught]] and a beam of 14 feet 9 inches to 17 feet (4.5 to 5.2 m). They could carry up to 80 [[ton]]s of cargo,<ref name=pittdixon>{{cite web|title=Sankey Canal|url=http://www.pittdixon.go-plus.net/sankey/sankey.htm|access-date=13 August 2009}}</ref> and this size allowed them to work along the [[Bridgewater Canal]], the [[Sankey Canal]] and the northern parts of the [[Shropshire Union Canal]]. The Weaver flat was a larger version of the Mersey flat, measuring {{convert|90|by|21|ft|m}}. Its draught was {{convert|10.5|ft|m}} and when fully loaded, could carry 250 tons.<ref name=hugh/>

==Naming==

As the name suggests, these flats originated on the [[River Mersey]], but they were also used on the rivers [[River Irwell|Irwell]] and [[River Weaver|Weaver]].<ref name=canaljunction>{{cite web|title=Traditional Craft of the River Mersey & Related Waterways|url=http://www.canaljunction.com/craft/mersey.htm|access-date=13 August 2009|publisher=Canal Junction}}</ref>

==Usage==

Most Mersey flats had been converted to [[dumb barge]]s by the end of the 19th century, towed by horses or by steam tugs. The larger Weaver flats were fitted with steam engines, and later with diesel engines, although there were still around 20 working by sail in 1935.<ref name=hugh/> Both the Liverpool Maritime Museum and the [[National Waterways Museum, Ellesmere Port|Ellesmere Port Museum]] have a Mersey flat in their collections, neither of which actually worked under sail.<ref name=canaljunction/>

==See also==
*[[Thames sailing barge]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Sailing Vessels and Rigs}}

[[Category:Barges]]
[[Category:Sailing]]
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