The Evolution af the Sailing Barge Hull

The Thames sailing barge hull form evolved from early box like craft that were used as lighters in the early part of the ninteenth century. These early barges had swim heads and buget sterns. The rounded bow first started to appear on the Thames sailing barges in about 1840 with the now familiar transom being added in about 1860.

Each builder had their own slightly different transom shape (with differing painted scrolls too) in a similar way to the builders of inland narrow beam barges

The sailing barge matches were intorduced in 1863 and these races gave builders an incentive to improve hull lines, Piper of Greenwich built the famous Giralda thought by many to be the fastest barge ever. Other barges from the Piper yard were Surf, Surge, James Piper, Ernest Piper, Haughty Belle and Leonard Piper