Written by the team behind Puzzlify. Puzzlify is our product, so weigh what follows with that in mind. We've tried to make this useful even if you never use it. We're not affiliated with any heritage ferry, historic boat trust, steamboat society, passenger boat operator, pier or harbour trust, ferry company, maritime museum, coastguard, maritime authority, navigation authority, council, heritage body, heritage funder, sponsor, school or community organisation. Nothing here is legal, boating, navigation, licensing, passenger vessel, water safety, lifejacket, mooring, rope, gangway, engine room, steam, boiler, machinery, engineering, slipway, building or object conservation, health and safety, first aid, safeguarding, photography permission, employment or data protection advice; check your own group's guidance on gifts, photos, the boat, the pier, the water, children and people's details.
It's half past nine on a still, cold Saturday at the end of October, and a retired postman called Ken is walking down the old timber pier with a flask of tea in one hand and a bag of rope in the other. At the end of the pier, tied up with her fenders squeaking gently against the piles, is the reason he gets up early on Saturdays: a small passenger ferry built in 1924, with a varnished wooden wheelhouse, a white hull, a tall buff funnel and a brass bell by the wheel, that carried villagers, schoolchildren, bicycles and sheep across the water for fifty years before she was laid up, left to rot, and rescued by a group of people who couldn't bear to see her go.
Today is the last sailing day of the season. Ken signs in on the clipboard in the ticket hut, puts on his crew jumper and his lifejacket, and goes aboard to find the skipper, who is already in the wheelhouse checking the weather, the tide and the passenger numbers. The engineer has been in the engine room for an hour, and the old engine is ticking over with a steady, comfortable thump. In the ticket hut, two volunteers are setting out the float, and on the shore a woman called Margaret is chalking the day's sailing times on the board by the slipway, as she has done every weekend for twelve years.
Ken has been a deckhand for nine years. He came for a trip on his birthday, stood at the rail as the boat swung away from the pier, and asked the man coiling the ropes whether they needed anyone. There's a former harbour pilot who is now one of the volunteer skippers, holding the qualifications the boat's certificate demands; an engineer who has kept the engine going through three rebuilds; a team who spend every winter on the slipway scraping, caulking, painting and varnishing; a historian who has collected the old timetables, tickets and photographs; volunteers who run the ticket hut, the tea stall and the website; and a board of trustees who deal with the insurance, the inspections, the pier lease, the mooring fees and the grant applications.
By four o'clock the light will be going, the last passengers will have stepped ashore, the boat will be put to bed for the winter and the pier will be quiet. That's a good moment to think about how to say thank you.
Who we mean
All over the world, old passenger boats have been saved by people who love them: little ferries that once crossed a river or an estuary, lake steamers and launches, harbour ferries, paddle steamers, motor boats and water buses, some restored to carry passengers again under modern rules, some sailing a few weekends a year, some running a regular service on summer days. Many are run entirely, or almost entirely, by volunteers. When we say "heritage ferry volunteers", we mean people like:
- the skippers and masters, who hold the qualifications and licences that the boat and its passenger certificate require, and who are responsible for the boat, the crew and every passenger on board;
- the mates and deckhands, who are trained by the group to handle the ropes and the gangway, look after the passengers and keep a lookout;
- the engineers, who look after the engine, whether it's an old diesel, a petrol launch engine or a steam engine and boiler, and keep it running safely;
- the shore crew and pier volunteers, who sell the tickets, marshal the queue, take the ropes on the landing stage and keep everyone a safe distance from the edge;
- the restoration and maintenance volunteers, who spend the winters on the slipway or in the boatshed, scraping, caulking, painting, varnishing and rebuilding;
- the archive and history volunteers, who look after the old timetables, tickets, photographs and the stories of the crews and passengers who went before;
- the tea stall, shop, bookings, website and events volunteers, who keep the money coming in and the passengers coming back;
- the trustees and the committee, including the chair, the secretary, the treasurer and the people who look after the insurance, the certificates, the inspections and the lease on the pier;
- the founders, who went to the first meeting because they couldn't bear to see the old boat sink at her moorings.
Some groups have one small boat and a handful of members. Others run several vessels and a timetable all summer long. Everything here works whatever the size.
Words first
The most important part of any thank-you is what you say. Heritage ferry volunteers often work out of sight. Passengers see a gleaming boat and a smiling deckhand, but they rarely see the engineer who spent a winter rebuilding a pump, the volunteer who scraped the hull on a freezing slipway, or the treasurer who found the money for the next inspection. So be specific:
- name the job: "every Saturday since 2017", "the rope you threw so neatly every single time", "the trip you took my mother on for her ninetieth birthday", "the day my son was allowed to ring the bell";
- name a moment: the first sailing after the restoration, the day she carried passengers across the water for the first time in forty years, the calm evening when the whole river turned gold behind her;
- name what it meant: the first time you understood how people used to cross the water, the history of a village you'd driven past all your life, the simple happiness of a short trip on an old boat;
- name the years: "twelve seasons on the pier" means more than "thank you for all you do".
If you're thanking a whole group, try to name the people who never get named. The treasurer, the person who keeps the safety records, the volunteer who answers the bookings email, the one who washes up at the tea stall and the one who scrubs the deck at the end of the day. They're the ones who keep a heritage ferry sailing.
A sentence like "she wouldn't still be sailing without you" can sound like a big claim, but for a volunteer-run boat it's often simply true. If it is, say it.
Who it suits
A photo jigsaw with a note works best for someone who:
- enjoys a small puzzle on a phone or tablet, or has grandchildren who'll help;
- has a strong feeling for a particular boat, a pier, a crossing or a stretch of water;
- is stepping down from the crew, retiring as a skipper or celebrating a long-service milestone;
- has finished a long restoration and would love to see the boat they rebuilt in a new way;
- has moved away and misses the boat, the water and the people;
- has a partner or family who'd like to say thank you for all the time they gave.
It's less suitable for someone who doesn't use a phone or a computer at all, in which case a printed card or a framed photo may be better, or someone who would feel uncomfortable being singled out. For them, a quiet word on the pier, once the boat is tied up and the passengers have gone, may be best.
The boat comes first
A few practical rules before you send anything:
- The skipper's word is final. On board, the skipper is responsible for everyone's safety. Follow every instruction from the skipper and the crew, the first time, without argument, whether it's about where to sit, when to stand, wearing a lifejacket or staying off the foredeck.
- Coming alongside is a working moment. When the boat is arriving, leaving, mooring or putting out the gangway, the crew are concentrating hard. Never distract them, even with a thank-you, and never stand in their way. Wait until the boat is tied up and the passengers are ashore, or leave a card in the ticket hut.
- Ropes and gangways are for the crew. Mooring ropes can be under huge strain, and a rope that slips or parts can injure someone badly. Never pick up, hold, step over or stand near a rope that's in use, and never try to help with the gangway unless the crew ask you to. Never jump the gap between the boat and the pier.
- The edge is dangerous. Piers, pontoons, slipways and quaysides can be slippery, uneven and unfenced, the water can be cold, deep and fast, and the tide can come in quickly. Keep children close, stay behind any line or barrier, and never lean out over the rail for a photo.
- The engine room is for the engineers. Engines, boilers, shafts and exhausts are hot, heavy and dangerous. Only go below if the crew invite you, and keep your hands to yourself.
- The rules aren't the crew's whim. Passenger boats sail under certificates, licences and inspections that set how many people can be carried, what the crew must be qualified for and when the boat may sail. If a trip is cancelled because of the wind, the fog, the tide or the river level, it's because the skipper decided it wasn't safe. Never pressure them to sail.
- The boat is a heritage object. Old boats, fittings, bells, wheels and tickets are often irreplaceable. Don't touch, lean on, scratch or take souvenirs of anything, and don't ring the bell unless you're invited.
- Paid staff. Some groups have paid skippers, engineers, managers or staff, and their employers may have rules about gifts. Keep anything for paid staff small and personal, and check with the volunteer coordinator if you're not sure.
- The group's money is the group's. If you'd like to support the boat, donate directly, sponsor a plank or a winter refit, or become a member. Don't use the group's funds for a personal thank-you to a single volunteer unless the trustees agree. A personal gift from you is a different thing, and a modest one is fine.
- Children and young crew. Many heritage boats welcome families, school groups, Scouts and sea cadets, and some have young volunteers. Don't photograph children or single them out publicly without their parents' and the group's agreement.
- Cash and people's details. Keep the passenger list, the crew rota, the safety log, the crew certificates, the bookings, the cash box, the keys and anyone's phone number out of everything you photograph or send.
When to send it
Good moments to thank a heritage ferry volunteer:
- at the end of the sailing season, when the boat is put to bed for the winter or hauled out on the slipway;
- after a busy summer, a regatta, a festival or a special anniversary sailing;
- when a restoration is finished and the boat carries passengers again;
- on an anniversary of the boat's launch, her first crossing or the day the group saved her;
- when a volunteer qualifies as a skipper or an engineer, or steps down after many years;
- at the group's annual general meeting, when everyone in the room is thanked;
- at the first sailing of next season, when the boat comes back into service;
- in memory of a volunteer who has died, with their family's agreement.
There's no wrong time to say thank you, but late October is a good one. The clocks go back this Sunday in the UK, Ireland and much of Europe, many heritage boats are finishing their season, and the long winter of scraping, painting and varnishing on a cold slipway is about to begin.
Why a jigsaw can fit
A boat looks like one thing, but she's hundreds of pieces: planks and frames, rivets and plates, the keel and the stem, the wheelhouse and the funnel, the engine and the propeller, the ropes and the fenders, the bell and the brass, and coat after coat of paint and varnish. Many heritage boats were rescued half sunk and rebuilt by volunteers one piece at a time over many years. A heritage ferry group is pieces too: the skippers, the deckhands, the engineers, the pier crew, the slipway team, the trustees. A jigsaw of the boat, with a note that appears when the last piece goes in, echoes that.
It's private, it's small, and it doesn't add to the clutter in someone's house, which, if they're a boat person, is probably already full of rope, tide tables and tins of varnish. And unlike a framed print, it can be sent from anywhere: from the family who took a trip once and never forgot it, from the volunteer who moved away, from the granddaughter of a ferryman who lives on the other side of the world and found his photograph in the group's archive.
For the skippers
The skippers carry the weight. They hold the qualifications and the responsibility, they read the weather, the tide and the river every morning, they decide whether the boat sails, and they bring her alongside, time after time, in wind and current, with a boat full of people who have no idea how hard that is. A note to a skipper might mention a crossing in tricky weather when they made it look easy, the day they gave your child a turn at the wheel with their hand on it too, or simply the years they've given. A photo of the boat's wheelhouse or the wheel and the brass bell, taken with permission, suits them.
For the mates and deckhands
The deckhands are the people passengers remember. They throw the ropes, put out the gangway, help everyone aboard, tell the stories of the boat, sell the tickets, count the passengers and keep a lookout, and they do it all with a smile, in the rain if necessary. A note might mention the help they gave your father up the gangway, the story they told about the boat's war years, or the neat way they coiled the ropes. A photo of a coiled rope on the deck, or the boat at the pier with her gangway out, suits them.
For the engineers
The engineers live with the engine. They know every sound it makes, they spend the winters taking it apart and putting it back together, they make parts that can no longer be bought, and on sailing days they sit in a hot, noisy engine room where nobody sees them. A note might mention the first time the engine ran after its rebuild, the steady thump you could feel through the deck, or the winters they've given. A photo of the engine room, gleaming and still, taken with permission once the boat is tied up, suits them.
For the pier and shore crew
The pier crew are the first and last people every passenger meets. They sell the tickets, run the queue, take the ropes on the landing stage, answer the same questions ("how long is the trip?", "can we take the dog?") with endless patience and keep everyone back from the edge. A note might mention the welcome you got, the cup of tea while you waited for the fog to lift, or the chalk board with the sailing times. A photo of the old pier or the ticket hut, with no people in it, suits them.
For the slipway and restoration team
The restoration team do the work nobody sees. Every winter they scrape and sand, caulk and paint, varnish and polish, often outside in the cold, so that the boat looks like new when she goes back into the water in spring. Some have spent decades rebuilding a boat that was found half sunk in a creek. A note might mention the plank they replaced, the coats of varnish they gave the wheelhouse, or the day she slid back down the slipway into the water. A photo of the boat's varnished wheelhouse catching the light, or a careful before-and-after pair, suits them.
For the archive and history volunteers
The archive volunteers know when the boat was built, who built her, where she sailed and who crewed her. They've gathered old timetables, tickets, photographs and memories, and helped families find a ferryman in the records. A note might mention the photograph they found for you, the talk you went to or the family history they helped you piece together. A photo of an old timetable or a photograph of the boat in her working days, with permission, suits them.
For the trustees and the founders
The trustees carry the responsibility: the ownership of the boat, the insurance, the certificates and inspections, the safety management, the crew training, the lease on the pier, the moorings, the grants, the volunteers, the accounts and the long negotiations with harbour, navigation and heritage authorities. The founders went to the first meeting and wouldn't give up, even when the boat was lying on the mud with a hole in her hull. If the boat is sailing because of them, say so. A photo of the boat as she is now, or a carefully chosen then-and-now pair, suits them.
If you live with a heritage ferry volunteer
Partners and families give up a lot: the Saturdays, the early starts, the wet jumpers in the hallway, the smell of varnish on their hands, the committee meetings and the holidays planned around the sailing season. If you live with a heritage ferry volunteer, a jigsaw from you can say something they might not hear from anyone else: "Thank you for all the time you give. I know what that old boat means to you, and I'm proud of you." A photo of the boat they crew, coming in to the pier in the evening light, suits this.
When a long-serving volunteer steps down
When someone leaves after many years, the group often gives them a card, a framed photograph or a small piece of the boat's history, such as an old ticket, a piece of brass or a print of the boat. A jigsaw from the group can sit alongside that. Pick a photo that sums up their years: the boat at the pier, the wheel they held, the engine they kept running, the pier they ran. Ask everyone to add a line to the note, or keep it short and let the card carry the longer messages.
In memory of a volunteer
Some groups name a bench on the pier or a part of the boat after a volunteer who has died, and some scatter flowers on the water. If a volunteer has died, a jigsaw can be a gentle way for their family or the group to remember them, but only with the family's agreement. Choose a photo they loved, avoid anything that might upset, leave the leaderboard off, and keep the note simple: "In memory of Ken, who threw the first rope every Saturday for nine years."
For heritage ferry volunteers elsewhere
What we've written applies in many places where old passenger boats are cared for by volunteers:
- in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, where heritage ferries, launches, steamers and passenger boats sail on rivers, lakes, lochs and estuaries, many run by volunteer trusts;
- in Ireland, where heritage groups care for old boats and the history of river and lake crossings;
- in the United States, where volunteer crews and preservation groups keep historic ferries, steamboats and launches sailing on rivers, lakes and harbours;
- in Canada, where lake steamers, launches and historic ferries are kept going by volunteers and heritage societies;
- in Australia and New Zealand, where volunteers crew and restore heritage ferries, harbour boats, paddle steamers and steam launches on rivers, lakes and harbours;
- across Europe, where volunteer crews keep historic passenger boats, steamers and ferries sailing in the Netherlands, Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland and elsewhere.
The rules about crew qualifications, passenger certificates, gifts, photos and safety vary from place to place. Check your own group's guidance, and keep the thank-you personal and modest.
Photo ideas and consent
The best photos for a heritage ferry thank-you are often the simple ones, taken from the pier, the shore or a public place, or from on board with permission. Some ideas:
- the old boat coming in to the pier in the evening light, with her wake spreading behind her;
- the boat at her moorings at dawn, with mist on the water;
- the funnel against a blue sky;
- the varnished wheelhouse, the wheel and the brass bell, close up, with permission;
- a coiled rope on a scrubbed wooden deck;
- the boat on the slipway in winter, ready for her refit, with permission;
- an old photograph of the boat in her working days, with permission.
Things never to photograph, or to keep out of the frame:
- the crew while they're coming alongside, handling ropes or working the gangway, and never in a way that distracts them;
- passengers, at any time, unless they've clearly agreed;
- children and young people, including school groups, sea cadets and young crew, without their parents' and the group's agreement;
- the passenger list, the crew rota, the safety log, the crew certificates and any page with names or signatures;
- the keys, key safes, padlocks, door codes, alarms and any security features;
- houseboats and liveaboard boats, which are people's homes, and private homes, gardens and boats along the water;
- names on memorial benches or plaques, unless they're your own family's or the families have agreed;
- anything that means leaning over the rail, standing at the edge of a pier or going where the crew have asked you not to.
If the photo has people in it, ask them first. A photo with no people at all, just the boat, the funnel, the bell or the pier, is often the easiest and best choice.
Getting the JPG right
Puzzlify works from a JPG. Most phone photos are already JPGs, or can be saved as one. A few practical tips:
- water and white paint are bright, so tap on the boat so the sky and the water don't make it go dark, or wait for softer light in the early morning or evening;
- varnish, brass and wet decks reflect everything, so try a slightly different angle if the wheelhouse or the bell is all glare;
- the boat and the water are both moving, so keep your phone steady against a post or a rail, and take a few shots to find the sharpest one;
- in the engine room, switch the flash off: it flattens the paint, bounces off the brass and can startle the engineer;
- keep the horizon level, because a tilted horizon on a photo of water is very noticeable in a jigsaw;
- landscape images usually make the most comfortable puzzles on a phone turned sideways;
- step back so the whole boat fits with a little space round it, rather than cutting off the bow or the stern;
- ropes, rivets, varnished wood, brass and reflections make wonderful puzzles, because every piece has a little detail;
- large areas of plain sky or plain grey water are tricky, so crop them or pick fewer pieces;
- if your phone saves photos in another format, such as HEIC, change the camera setting to "most compatible" or export a copy as JPG;
- remove location data from the photo before you upload it, especially if it was taken near someone's home or mooring. On most phones, you can switch it off in the share options or the camera settings.
Privacy and an optional PIN
The puzzle is private: it's shared as a link, not posted on a public board. You can add an optional PIN so that only someone who knows it can open the puzzle, which is useful if you're sending it to the group's volunteer email list. Even so, treat the photo as if it might be forwarded, and keep passengers, crew who are working, children, private homes and boats, security features and anyone's details out of it. Puzzlify doesn't use your photos to train AI or share them with third parties.
Say it's from you
Charities and their volunteers get a lot of unexpected messages, from fake invoices to "your registration is about to expire" scams, and volunteers are rightly wary of unexpected links. Say who it's from and what it is in the message itself: "This is a little jigsaw of the old boat you've crewed for nine years, with a note at the end. It's from me, and it's safe to open." For someone who doesn't use email much, print the link as a QR code inside a card.
Piece counts
| Pieces | Photo idea | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | the brass bell by the wheel, close up | a quick solve, or a first puzzle |
| 48 | the funnel against a blue sky, simple and bold | one clear subject, a relaxed solve |
| 80 | the old boat coming in to the pier in the evening light | a busier image with lots of detail |
| 130 | the varnished wheelhouse, with its brass and its windows | a detailed photo for a keen puzzler |
| 252 | the whole pier on a busy summer day, with the boat alongside and no faces readable | a long, slow solve for a long-serving volunteer |
If you're not sure, 48 or 80 pieces suits most people on a phone. Plain sky and plain water get tricky at high piece counts, so start lower if the image has large areas of one colour.
How to send it
Upload the photo, pick a piece count, write your note and preview it. When you're happy, publish the link and send it by email or message, print the link or a QR code inside a card, or ask the volunteer coordinator or the group's secretary to pass it on. Start at Puzzlify's photo puzzle maker.
If you're sending one puzzle to a whole crew, the optional leaderboard lets everyone see who finished first. Some crews enjoy the rivalry, a little like the friendly argument about who throws the neatest rope; others would rather solve it quietly. For a puzzle sent to one person, or after a bereavement, leave it off.
Note examples
- "To Ken: nine years, hundreds of crossings, and never once a rope in the water. Thank you."
- "To the slipway team: three winters of scraping and varnishing, and now she shines like the day she was launched. Thank you."
- "To our skipper: thank you for bringing us home safely through the fog. You made it look easy."
- "To Margaret: twelve seasons of chalking the sailing times, and every one of them made someone's day. Thank you."
- "To my wife: thank you for the Saturdays, the wet jumpers in the hall and the proudest deckhand on the river."
(Change the names, and keep anything personal or identifying out of a puzzle that may be shared.)
Honest pricing
Making and previewing a puzzle is free in your browser. You only pay when you publish the link to send it: one credit is EUR 3.99, three credits are EUR 8.99, and Plus is EUR 14.99 a year for ten credits, which can make sense if you want to thank the skippers, the engineers and the pier crew separately. The person you send it to doesn't need an account or an app; they just open the link in a browser.
This is a digital jigsaw you play on a screen. It isn't a cardboard puzzle in the post, a printed product, a raffle prize or a public puzzle board, and it isn't connected to any ferry, boat trust, pier, harbour, navigation authority or heritage body. It's also not puzzlify.io (a chess site), Puzzlit, Puzzly or Puzzify, which are different things.
Ideas that are not a puzzle
Honestly, some of the best thank-yous for heritage ferry volunteers cost nothing at all:
- a handwritten card, left in the ticket hut to pass on;
- a thank-you in the group's newsletter, the local paper or the community magazine, naming the engineers, the slipway team, the pier crew, the tea stall volunteers and the treasurer as well as the skippers;
- nominating a volunteer or the group for a local volunteering or heritage award, if your area has one;
- joining the group, paying the membership, or sponsoring a plank, a tin of varnish or a winter refit;
- sharing family photographs, old tickets or memories of the crossing with the archive, if you have them and they'd be welcome;
- offering your time: a shift on the tea stall, help in the ticket hut or a day on the slipway, once you've joined properly and done any training the group needs;
- coming back next season, buying a ticket and bringing friends;
- a tin of good biscuits for the crew, handed over once the boat is tied up, which never fails.
If a photo puzzle feels right as well, choose the boat coming in to the pier, the funnel against the sky, the wheelhouse or the bell, take it from the pier, the shore or on board with permission, keep passengers, crew who are working, children, private homes and boats, security features and anyone's details out of the frame, pick a piece count that suits them, and write the note in your own words. You can make a free preview here and decide later whether to send it.
Whatever you send, the most important part is the sentence that sounds like you, written to the person who threw the first rope every Saturday, kept an old engine thumping steadily below the deck and spent the winters varnishing a wheelhouse until it glowed, so that next spring, when the first passengers walk down the old pier, the boat is waiting for them at the end of it, white and gleaming, with her bell ready to ring.
Written by the small team behind Puzzlify (info@puzzlify.app). Not legal, boating, navigation, licensing, passenger vessel, water safety, lifejacket, mooring, rope, gangway, engine room, steam, boiler, machinery, engineering, slipway, building or object conservation, health and safety, first aid, safeguarding, photography permission, employment or data protection advice. Check your own group's guidance on gifts, photos, the boat, the pier, the water, children and people's details.