S.L. Dolly, 1850
Steam Launch Dolly is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the oldest mechanically powered boat in the world! She was salvaged from the bottom of Ullswater in 1962, after laying there for 65 years. Dolly’s name was unknown until a man recalled his grandmother tell him how, whilst giving birth in Ullswater Village, a boat had sunk on the lake – this information enabled the boat to be identified and dated.

T.S.S.Y Esperance, 1869
Esperance is the oldest boat on Lloyds’ Yacht register and was probably the first twin-screw yacht to be built in Britain. Commissioned by H.W. Schneider, the ‘Iron Man’ who made his fortune in iron ore in West Cumbria, she was made from his finest grade iron. Schneider travelled on Esperance each day travelling from his home in Bowness to Lakeside, where he would take the steam train to work. Esperance later became the model for Captain Flint’s houseboat in Arthur Ransome’s Swallows and Amazons’ stories.

S.S. Raven, 1871
Raven is the only vessel in the collection created for work and not pleasure. Raven was built by the Furness Railway Company to supply goods to small villages around the lake, particularly on the west side, which were not easily accessible by car. She was named after the ravens that fed Elijah when he was in the wilderness in the Bible, and is the oldest vessel on the Lloyds’ Register of Yachts with her original machinery.

S.L. Branksome, 1896
Branksome is probably the most opulent survivor of the Victorian Steam Launch era. Built from 50’ long lengths of teak, rather than planks, and fitted with Parisian carpets and upholstery, she was built to impress. She is complete today with upholstery, monogrammed tablecloths, maids’ aprons and coffee set, solid marble sink, and was described as the fines steam launch in Europe and America.

S.L. Otto, 1896
Otto was built in the same year as Branksome but for speed rather than comfort. A powerful boat with a slender, sleek hull, she is capable of steaming at 18mph and had an unusual end-opening boiler, allowing frenetic stoking of coal to power her high speed trips. She also has an innovatively designed stepped propeller which was positioned in front of the rudder to increase the speed further.

Canfly, 1922
Canfly was built in Bowness to make use of a Rolls Royce engine designed to power a Royal Naval Airship. There was a fashion after the First World War to buy powerful military surplus engines and use them for racing, and this was the purpose of Canfly, who had a top speed of 30mph, but no rudder or gearbox! Canfly is a rare survivor of this craze as, predictably, many of the over-powered craft met violent ends.

Jane, 1938
Chris Craft Jane was bought as the ‘motor boat of the year’ at the 1938 Motor Boat Show and came to Windermere shortly after. She is built from mahogany and typifies the style and quality for which this USA firm became famous. The year after coming to Windermere, Britain entered the war, and Jane was used by the home guard to patrol the lake.

Miss Windermere IV, 1958
Miss Windermere IV was built from mahogany by Borwicks of Windermere and demonstrates how Windermere was once a centre for speed records. Norman Buckley achieved four world records in this boat, which was powered by Jaguar engines of increasing power, between 1959 and 1973. In 1971 she took the World R5 3-5 litre class record on the lake, travelling at up to 114.9 miles per hour.

Margaret, 1780
Sailing Yacht Margaret was built in Whitehaven for the Curwen family who lived on Belle Isle (the private island on Lake Windermere). This is the oldest yacht in the United Kingdom demonstrating the craftsmanship of the Cumbrian boat builders at the time; yachts like these were often sailed in the great lake regattas which were seen by the likes of Wordsworth and Coleridge. Abbot Hall Art Gallery also holds a painting by De Loutherbourg (1786) depicting a lake scene showing an almost identical craft.