Steam Tug Canning

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Dedicated to restoring to working order, the 1954 steam tug Canning, moored in Swansea Marina

24/10/2026

Despite the “changeable” weather over the last few weeks, we’ve been onboard Canning as usual.

The breaks in the rain gave us a chance to finish off the wheelhouse roof edging, which should stop the wind ripping up the new rubber underneath.

The funnel deck hatches have had some attention, with a new coat of paint, and some fine work repainting the lettering on diesel tank valves.

The forward hatch above the boiler required a bit more than a chipping hammer to get back to a paintable surface, so the pneumatic chisel was broken out for a bit more persuasion…

We also got our first glimpse into the steam chest and cylinders on the anchor windlass. Much better than we were expecting, thanks to someone who knew how to use an oil can many years ago!

Also, a thank you from us for the donations of tools and funds over the last few weeks. We can always use tools if you’re having a clear out and put them to good use. We are always grateful for any funds too, it helps us keep going every week, rain or shine.

If you are able to spare a few pounds, our GoFundMe page can be found here;

https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-restore-the-historic-steam-tug-canning

Thanks all,

The Steam Tug Canning Team

26/09/2026

We've been pretty lucky with the weather over the last couple of weeks, which has allowed us to continue our quest to make Canning as watertight as possible over the winter.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves, but more paint, more prep for varnishing and plenty of temporary flashbanding to help keep the rainwater at bay. Plus a bit of home comforts for the galley...

Mike has been hard at it, making a template for a funnel cover. The bulk of the water is getting in through the original weather cap, which has seen better days, and running in through holes here and there. The funnel is such an irregular shape, it takes sheer determination to make an accurate mock up!

The anchor windlass on the bow has also received some much needed attention this week. The timber that it sits on has long since rotted and is in need to removal and renewal. We also need to check what state the deck is in underneath it. We suspect the windlass itself has not moved for about 40 years but we got about a third of it moving or dismantled. Amazing what a bit of penetrating oil and persuasion will do!

As always, we are very grateful to those of you who have donated to the cause. It is not only monetary, we had a kind donation from a crew member of the Copper Jack this week, of two large, adjustable spanners. Please pop along and support them if you can, it's a great couple of hours!

So, if anyone is having a clearout and feel they might support us with a donation of tools or materials, we would be very grateful. We can find a use for most things!

Thanks all,
The Steam Tug Canning Team

06/09/2026

Work has continued over the last couple of weeks, even in that dreadful weather we had last Wednesday 🌧️

The wheelhouse has been cleaned of all debris and work begun dismantling the storage area at the rear. I’m sure you’ll agree, the chart table (2nd pic) has certainly seen better days!

Whilst the rain isn’t ideal, it does help us find leaks and in true Heath Robinson style, we rigged an old banner to channel the water into a bucket, rather than it go into the bilge. We can now see where the water is coming too.

Below decks, the crew had a good session cleaning up the Mate and 2nd engineers cabin, with a fresh coat of white gloss to follow.

As always folks, please like, follow and share. We’ve gained a fantastic following so far, let’s keep it going.

Thanks all,
The Steam Tug Canning Team

21/08/2026

Great to see some much needed paint being applied to Canning this week.

The lifeboat davits have been scraped down and one side has been painted in gleaming white, the other side to follow if the weather is kind to us next week. These davits are very well made and even after all these years of not being used, wind out faultlessly by hand with very little effort. A testament to old school engineering.

The next job was finishing off the scraping of the engine deckhead before the steel was treated to some anti-corrosive primer. The different colours will disappear when she has a top coat of light red on the sides and a dark, cherry red on the roof. All to come.

The door to the Master's cabin and stairwell was also given a coat of gleaming white, as well as the starboard side outer bridge wings and outer funnel deck.

The more protective coatings we manage to get on before autumn and winter, the better.

As always, if you're able to like, share and follow our page, it makes a big difference to attracting a like-minded audience to follow Canning's restoration.

We've been fortunate to have some very kind donations over the last couple of weeks and it is only right to publicly say a big Thank you. Your support means we can carry on doing what we do every week.

If you are able to support us in some way, we'd love to hear from you, or if you can give a donation, our Go Fund Me page can be found here;
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-restore-the-historic-steam-tug-canning

Thanks all,
The Steam Tug Canning Team.

09/08/2026

What a great weekend we’ve had at the Swansea Sea Festival.

A massive thank you to everyone who came along, chatted with us, bought merchandise and made donations. It truly makes a huge difference to us!

So many of you came along with stories of your relatives who were involved with Canning, tugs or anything maritime, all great to hear.

Something which really stood out for us was the amount of youngsters who were really interested in what we’re doing and how it all works. Definitely some future engineers in the making, which is brilliant to see!

Hope you all enjoyed as much as we did!

Thanks all,
The Steam Tug Canning Team

08/08/2026

We’re up and running on Museum Green and on the pontoon.

Come and see us today and tomorrow 10-5.

05/08/2026

New flag flying well in the breeze today

05/08/2026

A very productive day on Canning, the team excelled themselves!

Everyone put in a great shift to get Canning looking presentable for the festival this weekend.

The gunwales along the starboard side have had a coat of black and the yellow band has been given some attention, with Canning's name being repainted in that lovley, bright yellow on the starboard bow.

The funnel has also had some paint, with the white band painted last week and the lower half painted in as close a match to "Funnel Buff" as we could muster. These are the original colours of the Alexandra Towing Company.

We hope you can join us this weekend for Swansea Sea Festival, 10am to 5pm, Saturday and Sunday.

The Steam Boat Trust will have a stand on Museum Green and for our supporters, the chance to come down onto the pontoon to take a closer look at Canning. Our volunteers will be there to chat through her history and ongoing restoration.

Thanks all,
The Steam Tug Canning Team

04/08/2026

Good morning all,

We have some good news!

The Steam Boat Trust will have a stand at the Swansea Sea Festival on the 8th and 9th of August.

Please come along and see us on Museum Green where we’ll have some activities for youngsters and to have a catch up on our restorations.

We will have some merchandise on offer, including a chance to own your own piece of Steam Tug Canning!

And, we’re very happy to say that, in limited numbers, we will be able to welcome people onto the pontoon to get a closer view of Canning! This hasn’t happened in a very long time! Our volunteers will be there to chat to you about her history and the ongoing work to restore her.

So a big shoutout for everyone who is able to come along and support us. Every donation and purchase of merchandise will help us to push on, full steam ahead!

Thanks all,
The Steam Tug Canning Team.

22/07/2026

Some top work happening on Canning today, no pun intended...

A team effort was made to make the wheelhouse roof watertight in preparation for winter, with new 18mm marine ply cut to size and securely fastened down.

This will be overlaid with EPDM rubber roofing, which has a lifespan of up to 50 years and is very suitable for the marine environment. Hopefully it will keep the wheelhouse watertight well into the future.

From the photographs we have, Canning originally had a varnished wooden surround to the wheelhouse roof and we'll try and recreate this as accurately as we can.

Since our temporary repairs to the roof to stop the rainwater, combined with the very warm weather we've had this summer, the timbers that make up the window frames are no longer swollen. We managed to open all apart from one, which is a little worse for wear, but will be repaired in due course.

More work was going on to remove flaking paint on the starboard gunwales, taking advantage of our recent change of position. Normally, we can't reach that side easily.

We've also been trying to find a leak in the Master's cabin for the last few weeks and we seem to have found the likely culprit. Where the main bulkhead of the cabin meets the deck on the forecastle, unfortunately debris has been building up behind some steam pipes for a very long time and has entirely corroded about a two metre section of steel.

It looks pretty awful, but steel is a lot easier to replace than some things. Our biggest challenge will be rolling it into the correct curve.

One thing is for sure, we'll never be stuck for something to do.

Thank you to all of those who have donated to us lately, it provides us with not only funds but also a big boost to keep doing what we're going. If you are able to help us, our Go Fund Me page can be found here; https://gofund.me/2a16d6e2b

Thanks all,
The Steam Tug Canning Team

Address

Swansea Marina
Swansea

Website

http://thesteamboattrust.co.uk/

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