Name Good Intent

GOOD INTENT LO136 is a 36ft Thames bawley built in 1860 at Shrubsall's barge yard, Milton Creek, Sittingbourne, Kent.

She was built as a fishing boat for owners in Harwich and worked under sail for 67 years. She was constructed of larch on oak, of clinker construction, and rigged as a gaff cutter with a loose-footed mainsail, as was usual for bawleys.

She fished the Thames estuary for shrimp, boiling them aboard so they were ready for market on landing.

Thames bawleys also dredged for oysters, and in the winter months "stow boated" for white fish. She was built with a wet well so fish could be kept alive until they reached market.

She fished until 1927 and was then rescued from a mud berth in 1930 by Mr Puttifer, who converted her to a yacht in 1936. During the Second World War, GOOD INTENT remained hidden on the backwaters at Walton-on-the-Naze and was used as an arms cache. She was then sold to Mr P. Conly of Essex and used as a private yacht until 1988. At that time she was bought by Mr F. Knight, a well-respected shipwright of Woodbridge, Suffolk, for one pound, on the condition that she was restored.

Between 1988 and 1992, work continued slowly in between customers. Originally built using clinker construction, she was reframed and replanked using the carvel method.

In 1992, she was bought by her new owner, G. Olink, known as "Hys," who completed the work in 1994. From 1994 she sailed privately and was used as a charter vessel, attending many historic vessel regattas on both sides of the English Channel. In Hys' hands she was also regularly raced and was known as a fast vessel.

Unfortunately, she fell into disrepair again, and was laid up at Melton Boatyard, Woodbridge. Here she was seen by her current owner, R. Sargent, co-founder of Raybel Charters CIC, who were restoring the Thames barge RAYBEL on Milton Creek, where GOOD INTENT was built 100 years previously and just a stone's throw from Shrubsall's barge yard. GOOD INTENT was loaded onto a trailer and sited at Lloyd Wharf, but no progress was made there, so she was moved to Iron Wharf Boatyard, Faversham, Kent.

Work began re-decking her and replacing her stem and stern post, until funds were exhausted.

As of 2026, restoration work has resumed under shipwright Morgan Lewis. Around the same time, the Whitstable smack GAMECOCK arrived in the yard alongside GOOD INTENT, with Morgan also restoring her.

The plan at this stage was to double GOOD INTENT's original floors and replace her keel, with suitable timber for the keel being sought.

Once restoration is complete, it is hoped she will join the fleet of sail cargo vessels operating and servicing the Thames estuary, and attending historic maritime events in the UK and Europe.