When we think of our seagoing past, it tends to be about the harbours, docks, and quaysides through which trade passed, or the famous ships such as the Grand Fleet of the Royal Navy, and the great liners that graced the oceans up to the end of the twentieth century. However, our story is expressed as much in the smaller vessels that plied our coasts and rivers as it is through ships such as HMS Victory or SS Great Britain. Most of these smaller vessels are listed in the National Register of Historic Ships and many can be visited or sailed on today. Paul Brown has taken the story of the smaller vessels, which comprise over 90 per cent of the vessels on the register and the accompanying National Archive and Overseas Watch List held by National Historic Ships, and, through this book, paints a picture of the variety and richness of these survivors.

The vessels in this book cover all the activities of a thriving maritime society, from workaday ships such as tugs, cargo, fishing and service vessels, through the smaller but vital naval vessels of the Royal Navy and exquisite, elegant steam yachts, to pleasure boats carrying thousands of passengers around our coasts and on our lakes, lochs, canals and rivers.