thameslaunch

Classic steam launches like this 1906 example, were once a common sight on the River Thames, where a few examples still survive today. This model design was based fairly closely on one such survivor, which bears the name Victoria, but as this isn’t an exact scale model, it has been re-named Duncan. The only significant deviation from scale has been an increase in the freeboard, though this is not really obvious on the finished model. Although electric power is equally suitable for this model, it was really designed to show off a suitable model steam plant to advantage, and units like Cheddar’s Puffin and Pintail are ideal. The elegant hull is moulded with a rounded scooped-out tunnel stern, a feature intended to reduce the draught of the full-size boat by raising the propeller arc, as well as the keel and rubbing strip around the deck edge. A full-length moulding for the canopy, as shown in the side-view drawing, is also available. In the first photo, the builder has used a horizontal boiler with the steam engine mounted forward of it, so that the prop shaft runs underneath the boiler. The second and third photos show quite superb models created by well-known UK modellers Gordon Libbey and John Cox respectively. The fourth photo shows an attractive all black model by Martin Feldman of Maine USA, like Gordon’s Duncan flying a red ensign. As can be seen, Gordon, John and Marty have all used Vertical boilers with their Cheddar Puffin steam plants, something that simplifies construction and operation considerably.