​Canal boat record store Rubber Ducky Records is back afloat

Canal boat record store Rubber Ducky Records is back on the water after it sank last April, ruining over 1,000 vinyl records and a stow of music equipment stored on board.

The boat announced its reopening on December 23, and is now available again for bookings with thousands of new records in store to listen to and buy.

"I can finally say the sentence RUBBER DUCKY RECORDS IS OPEN AGAIN! What a crazy journey,” the store’s owner, Myles Greenwood, said on Instagram last week.

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"I am so unbelievable thankful for all the support and generosity since the sinking whether it was a message, a GoFundMe donation or a hug thank you so so much humanity really is incredible," he added.

Rubber Ducky Records was docked 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.

Greenwood confirmed the news via photos of the boat submerged in water. Only “three or four” boxes of vinyl were saved, and music equipment including turntables and amplifiers also proved unsalvageable.

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A GoFundMe was launched following the boat’s capsize aiming to raise £15,000 to get back on the water. “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 read.

The boat took over a year and a half of renovation work to get up and running and was first opened in October 2022 housing over 1,000 records.

Rubber Ducky Records now stores more than 3,000 records as it reopens, spanning everything from electro to acid, minimal to drum ‘n’ bass. Find out more about the boat’s reopening here.

Gemma Ross is Mixmag's Assistant Editor, follow her on Twitter