Trow

A trow was a type of cargo boat found in the past on the rivers Severn and Wye in Great Britain and used to transport goods.

Despite their flat-bottomed hull form which made volume available for their load and permitted drying out on muddy banks in the tidal area where they operated, Trows were seaworthy.

A document originally published in 1940 about such vessels states that the term trow is "believed to have been derived from the same root as the word 'trough'".

A replica Wye trow, named Hereford Bull, was constructed in 2012 to participate in the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant.

A reliable source states that "she was originally sloop rigged, with a jib, staysail, topsail and gaff main," as well as a mast believed to have been fixed.

Unlike the River Severn version the Fleet variant is only ever towed, rowed or punted and has no mast or sail.