In 19 pictures: Sadness as historic Sussex fishing boat is demolished

The RX 134 Stacey Marie, was on display opposite the Dolphin pub in Rock-a-Nore Road, in Hastings Old Town, close to the fishing beach.

The clinker-built boat would have been used for trawling for plaice and Dover sole along Rye Bay.

Dee Day White, who along with Tush Hamilton, was involved in clearing the site, said: “In case you are wondering what has happened to the fishing boat opposite the Dolphin here is the explanation. After recent inspections of her by various carpenters, tradesmen and fishermen the conclusion was the same.“She unfortunately was rotting very badly from the inside out to the extent that the deck was moving under the weight of the wheelhouse pushing down through the deck timbers making her unsafe and dangerous. The risk of any children getting aboard her was an accident waiting to happen. A very dangerous situation.“Various parts of her have been saved for the Fishermen’s Museum including her propeller, name and number board. The site has been raked over and cleaned up.

Hastings historian and author of Fishermen of Hastings Steve Peak said: “She had already deteriorated beyond repair, and might soon become a public risk. She was built in the late 1940s. The Adams family had her a long time ago, then Rod Knight. I used to go to sea with him on her. She was most recently owned by Podgy Ball. In 1983, the then owner Rod Knight used RX134 to tow the Edward and Mary back from Eastbourne after I had saved her from being broken up.”Mark Little, landlord of the Dolphin pub, looked after the boat painting her and doing general maintenance, in memory of fisherman Jimmy ‘Toller’ Adams, who once owned the boat and drank in the Dolphin. He said he was sad to see her go but the wheel house was sinking and the mainframe had gone.

Have you read? Sussex pub grows bananas in its beer garden

Have you read? Kids go free at Sussex living history festival this weekend