St Katharine Docks Marina has welcomed back its seasonal ‘Royal’ resident. Her Majesty The Queen’s Royal Row Barge, Gloriana, arrived back at the Docks in March after its annual winter refit and repose. Described as a showcase of traditional British boatbuilding, the 92-foot decorative barge was built to mark The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 and is cared for by a charitable trust.

Gloriana is the first Royal barge to be built for over 250 years. The 18-oared row barge is inspired by Thames ceremonial row barges from the 18th century. It has a salon, or coach, and fine Regency-style decoration fully gilded in gold leaf and includes 16 crests representing the Realms of the Commonwealth. Gloriana has a clinker hull and is an all-wood structure, using British oak, iroko, sweet chestnut and full Lloyd’s Register marine plywood. Modern techniques have been used for durability and low maintenance. Its electric propulsion system consists of 16 x 24V 100Ah Lithium batteries wired in series and parallel to give a total stored energy of 40kWh at 52V, giving approximately 6 hours of cruising.

Gloriana will be berthed in the Docks, in the West Basin, for the season, so do come and have a look at this most splendid vessel.

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