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An Itchen Ferry is a type of small 
The
Nellie
The Itchen Ferry Society
gaff rig
Gaff rig is a sailing rig (configuration of sails, mast and stays) in which the sail is four-cornered, fore-and-aft rigged, controlled at its peak and, usually, its entire head by a spar (pole) called the ''gaff''. Because of the size and shap ...
cutter that was originally used for fishing in the Solent
The Solent ( ) is a strait between the Isle of Wight and Great Britain. It is about long and varies in width between , although the Hurst Spit which projects into the Solent narrows the sea crossing between Hurst Castle and Colwell Bay t ...
and surrounding waters and often raced in town regattas. Whilst there is no evidence to suggest one way or another, it has been said that the boats were also used to carry passengers across the River Itchen between Woolston
Woolston may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Woolston, Cheshire, a village and civil parish in Warrington
* Woolston, Devon, on the list of United Kingdom locations: Woof-Wy near Kingsbridge, Devon
* Woolston, Southampton, a city suburb in Ham ...
and Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
, prior to 1836.Images of Southampton. Southampton City Council.
The hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
where the fishing boats originated was also named Itchen Ferry village
Itchen Ferry village was a small hamlet on the East bank of the River Itchen in Hampshire. The village took its name from the small fishing boats that were also used to ferry foot passengers across the river. An Ordnance Survey map of 1911 (NC/0 ...
.
The term "Itchen ferry" was also used to describe the Floating Bridge when it was introduced in 1836, to meet greater demand as Woolston expanded and became busier with the coming of the railways. The new type of Itchen ferry made the old boats redundant. Though they continued to be used for fishing, they were no longer required for ferrying passengers.
The hull design of the original Itchen Ferry boats was used by Drummond Bayne (Marine) Ltd, Southampton, to produce popular small yachts (approximately 22 and 25 feet overall) also known as an Itchen Ferry. Although production of these boats appears limited to the 1970s several of these practical craft remain in use.
Original boats still afloat
Nellie
References
The Itchen Ferry Society