The Mary Gordon Boat
The Mary Gordon electronic river boat in the oldest electrically powered river boat still in existence. Having been saved many times from destruction she is now been restored to carry passengers the Fossdyke in Lincoln. The Mary Gordon was brought to Lincoln from Wakefield in 1943 by Frank Baines, Esmond Bates and Mark Woodcock, in a journey that took five days.
It was still missing widows and doors, which along with a new deck canopy were added by Frank Baines. A new engine was fitted which ran on petrol, and was later modified to run on paraffin. A second engine was fitted and wings were added by Baines so the Mary Grodon could work on the tidal River Trent. However, eventually the tides took their toll on the prop shaft and she was restricted to trips on the Fossdyke canal with one engine.
In 1948 the Mary Gordon was sold to legendary William "Skipper" Ross Hendry. It is during this period of 20 years that many people remember the boat, taking thousands of Lincoln people between the Brayford Pool and Pyewipe Inn or Saxilby. Many people would recall stories of the Skipper still drinking in the Pyewipe Inn while the passengers were waiting to depart.
In 1969 the Mary Gordon was sold to Tony Ellis who continued to run trips from the Brayford for a short while, but then sold her to a local consortium who planned to take her by water to London. She never made it further than Nottingham. Abandoned and sinking she lost most of her original features.
Then came the restoration process. After a short stay in Hartlepool, where British Shipbuilding Apprentices restored part of her she was again abandoned. Eventually she was rescued by Graham Mackereth who took her back to his boatyard in Preston Brook Cheshire. In May 1999, Mackereth offered the boat back to the people of Lincoln and was bought for the nominal sum of £1. Funds for her restoration are still been raised, meanwhile she is been stored in a unit based on Brayford Pools and is been looked after on a day-to-day basis by the Lincoln Sea Cadets.
