Good memories Christine ....... !!
I found this on Wiki Trish ... any good ?? - though it's probably exactly the same as what Dave and Grahame said !!
Vulcan (barge)
The Vulcan, launched in 1819, was the first iron-hulled vessel (boat) to be built.
It was designed as a horse-drawn passenger barge for use on the Scottish canals..In 1816, the Forth and Clyde Canal Company, which had earlier successfully adapted new technology to shipbuilding with the Charlotte Dundas, authorized the development of an all-iron ship. In 1818, Thomas Wilson (1781–1873), was hired as the shipwright. The barge was to be 20 meters (66.5 ft.) long and narrow enough for the canal. The design called for iron sectionals to be riveted together with covering plates. Two blacksmiths were hired to construct the parts. The plating had to be hammered out of puddled iron as no iron rolling mills existed at the time. The iron was supplied by the Monklands Steel Company. The Vulcan was built outside of Glasgow, in Faskine near Coatbridge, on the bank of the Monkland Canal.
The Vulcan was launched in May 1819 and carried passengers between Edinburgh and Glasgow. Later it was converted to a cargo handler and was sold for scrap in 1873.
