Swing boat
{{Short description|Amusement park ride}}
Image:Carter's Steam Fair, Prospect Park - geograph.org.uk - 1002180.jpg
A swing boat, colloquially known as a "shuggy boat" in Northern England, is a fairground ride in which pairs of riders pull ropes to swing back and forth.{{cite web |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/arts/yourvideo/media/pages/michael_harris_01.shtml |title= All the Fun of the Fair |publisher= BBC Cymru |access-date=22 April 2011}} A similar ride called a pirate ship swings in a similar motion but without the rider pulling on ropes.
Swing boats were one of the earliest fairground rides, common in the Victorian era.[http://www.visit.carters-steamfair.co.uk/rides/swingboats/swingboats.html Carters Steam Fair: Swingboats] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121113152008/http://www.visit.carters-steamfair.co.uk/rides/swingboats/swingboats.html |date=2012-11-13 }}. Accessed 8 January 2014[https://books.google.com/books?id=B03RPuL7MhcC&dq=swing+boats+victorian+ride&pg=PA68 Ruth Goodman, Victorian Farm], Pavilion Books, 2009. {{ISBN|978-1-86205-871-2}}. p 68. Accessed 8 January 2014 The Beamish open-air museum features an example from the 1830s, named "Skylark". The boats were originally powered by hand, but steam-driven versions began to be introduced in the 1880s.[http://fairground-heritage.org.uk/learning/swings-and-roundabouts/ Dingles Fairground Heritage Centre - Swings and Roundabouts]. Accessed 8 January 2014
Examples of Victorian-style manually-operated swing boats are still popular and are generally seen in traveling "period" fairs.[http://www1.bridgend.gov.uk/media-centre/2013/16-12-2013-success-for-bryngarws-victorian-christmas-weekend.aspx Bridgend County Borough Council, "Families enjoy Bryngarw's Victorian Christmas weekend", 16 Dec 2013] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108191618/http://www1.bridgend.gov.uk/media-centre/2013/16-12-2013-success-for-bryngarws-victorian-christmas-weekend.aspx |date=8 January 2014 }}. Accessed 8 January 2014