Canal boat record shop Rubber Ducky Records sinks in West Yorkshire
Founder Myles Greenwood has launched a fundraiser after 1000 records, plus music equipment, were destroyed
An independent record store situated on a canal boat in West Yorkshire, Rubber Ducky Records, has sunk.
The unique store was docked on a canal in the town of Sowerby Bridge in West Yorkshire, and was heading towards Manchester before the boat’s propellor was caught on a “rug or mattress”. The stern gland was then broken, sinking the boat.
Rubber Ducky Records founder Myles Greenwood confirmed the news on Friday, April 21, with photos of the boat submerged in water. Only “three or four” boxes of vinyl were saved, according to Greenwood.
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“This is still very surreal - Sadly heading into Manchester my propellor got caught on a rug / mattress and it broke my stern gland sinking the boat,” he said on Instagram on Friday. “Managed to save 3/4 boxes of records but the rest of stock & equipment was submerged.”
A fundraiser has now been launched to help support the record store, which suffered a lot of damage and lost around 1000 records and equipment including turntables and amplifiers in the process. A £15,000 goal has been set to get the boat back on water.
The damage was “pretty bad”, according to Rubber Ducky’s founder, despite a rescue mission to drain the canal and retrieve the boat. “I’m determined to turn the disaster into a positive,” Greenwood tells Mixmag.
“We got her back floating and with the kindness of friends and strangers pulled her by rope a few locks down the canal to saftey,” Greenwood added.
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Rubber Ducky Records was due to run a stall at The Pickle Factory's new vinyl fair on the first Saturday of every month, but will likely no longer go ahead.
The boat took over a year and a half of renovation work to get up and running, and was first opened last October housing over 1000 records.
“The plan was to relocate to the great musical city of Manchester where I would set up shop again bringing the positive spirit of Rubber Ducky Records with it,” Greenwood’s GoFundMe reads.
Support Rubber Ducky Records by donating to the store’s GoFundMe here.
Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter