One of the traditional trades on the Tyne is that of Foy Boatman and despite the many changes that we have seen that employment continues to this day.
Foy Boats have been associated with the North East coast for at least 300 years and still exist on the Tyne, Blyth and Wear. Originally their main job was to assist sailing ships into and out of the rivers in periods of calm or when winds weren’t in the right direction. The Foy’s would tow the sailing ships for a fee which was where the name Foy comes from.
On the introduction of steam ships the Foy’s moved with the times and offered a service in mooring and unmooring vessels at their berths. This was carried out by Foy Boats which were sail and oar powered.
The Foy Boatmen now carry out the role of assisting vessels with their moorings, albeit now in Foy Boats which are powered by engines. However their boats still follow traditional lines with being of a narrow beam and heavily built to contend with the knocks that they take. Traditional painted black with a broken line of white paint at their ‘boot tops’.
Blyth Boatmen have a web site @ http://www.blythboatmen.co.uk/
These are photographs of a Foy Boatman arriving at Western Quay, North Shields on 13th July 2012 to assist with the mooring of HMS Tyne.