Essex working boats have a long and colourful history that is greatly intertwined with the riverside communities that flank the Essex Coastline of the Thames Estuary.

Vessels that were built in the Coastal Communities of Essex for a variety of Maritime Commercial Activities. Each type of vessel containing unique design traits making them indicative of not only their requirements to work in a geographically location but of the wider standing within a social context of a time period.

In recording and documenting the history of the already identified 130 remaining active vessels we can begin to make social history links with the communities