Volume Eight - Pre-Victorian to the present day - more aspects - To dredge the River Ely - 1860's

The Cardiff Times ran the following report upon the launch of Mr. Mitchell's iron dredger in late March 1861.

An Iron Dredger - 'Amongst the various employments of handicraftsmen in the port of Cardiff, perhaps few persons are aware that there is an establishment at the extreme point of the town, between the Bute Docks and the Glamorganshire Canal, where engineering and machine-making is turned to such account as to produce an iron vessel for dredging purposes. It was only recently that we became aware of the fact, and thereupon paid a visit to Mr. R. H. Mitchell's very convenient yard we saw the vessel in course of completion, and we have now to record the fact that she has been so far finished as to be prepared for launching.

This vessel is made of iron, and is in form very much like a gunboat, or boat used for landing troops. She does not possess the "lines" of a clipper, and therefore has not the appearance of a ship destined "to walk the waters like a thing of life;" but she has proportions that bespeak an intelligent application of mechanical science, and will no doubt be a "handy boat" for the kind of work to which her construction has special reference.

The dimensions of this vessel are, these - length, 80 feet ; breath, 27 feet ; depth, 11 feet 6 inches. She is fitted with machinery of a powerful description, capable of working two sets of buckets, in a similar way to those which are at work at Liverpool Docks and on the Clyde. There is also a screw attached to the vessel, by which it will be propelled as occasion may require. This screw will be worked by the same engine as that which will work the dredging engine. The capacity of the engine is sixty horse-power. The great use of this vessel will be in her adaptability for transit to places where the hire of a dredger will be a desideration. The buckets, which will be worked on each side of the vessel, will be operative at a depth of 30 feet, and each bucket will bring up one-fifth of a cubic yard of material. The engine is fitted with all the newest appliances, and no doubt this craft will be of great service to those who may employ her.

The launch was to have taken place at eight o'clock yesterday (Thursday) morning. There were many people present, and the scene was one of considerable novelty, as this was the first time that such a launch has been witnessed at this port ; but we are sorry the spectators were disappointed of witnessing the launch.