G.H. Riddalls and Sons was a
passenger boat
A passenger ship is a merchant ship whose primary function is to carry passengers on the sea. The category does not include cargo vessels which have accommodations for limited numbers of passengers, such as the ubiquitous twelve-passenger freig ...
operator on the
River Dart, in
South Devon, England. It operated on the route from
Dartmouth Dartmouth may refer to:
Places
* Dartmouth, Devon, England
** Dartmouth Harbour
* Dartmouth, Massachusetts, United States
* Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada
* Dartmouth, Victoria, Australia
Institutions
* Dartmouth College, Ivy League university i ...
to
Totnes, on circular cruises from Dartmouth and also ran the ferry service from Dartmouth to
Dittisham
Dittisham is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of the English county of Devon. It is situated on the west bank of the tidal River Dart, some upstream of Dartmouth.
The Greenway Ferry carries pedestrians across the ri ...
. The boats were painted with red hulls and white superstructures, and were marketed as the "Red Cruisers".
[The Red Cruisers 1998 Brochure]
In 2000 the company was acquired by Dart Valley Railway plc, operators of the
Dartmouth Steam Railway, who already owned Riddalls main competitor,
Dart Pleasure Craft
River Link is a ferry, cruise boat, and bus operator, based in Devon, England. The company is owned by Dart Valley Railway plc, who also own and operate the Dartmouth Steam Railway.
Services
River Link operates the Dartmouth Passenger Ferry, ...
. Riddalls newer vessels were merged into the Dart Pleasure Craft fleet, and painted in "River Link" colours, dark blue hulls and white superstructures, whilst the older vessels of both fleets were sold.
[''Boats and Yachts for Sale'', Magazine, January 2000 Edition, Freedom House] The Dittisham ferry service was not included in the deal, and was run for several years by David A Riddalls Trading (D.A.R.T), until it too was taken over by Dart Pleasure Craft in 2008.
Fleet List
[Boyle, I, http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/Riddells, Referred 2009][Clammer, R & Kittrage, A. ''Passenger Steamers of the River Dart & Kingsbridge Estuary'', Twelveheads Press, 1987]
References
{{River Dart Water Transport
Ferry transport in England
Transport in Devon
Ferry companies of England
River Dart