A few members have asked me to post details of the 150 year old steam yacht I have the pleasure of being a part of the crew of.
Her spec;
LOA- 86ft
Beam- 15ft
Draft- 4ft
Powered by- Twin cylinder high pressure V-twin 90deg.- 80hp@ 220rpm using steam from a Locomotive type boiler @150psi fired on 'Blazer Logs'- compressed sawdust logs.
Passenger Capacity- 86 passengers (250 when launched) 3 crew
1st & 2nd class saloons, engineroom and bridge.
Mechanical steering on qaudrant rudder stock.
She was designed by Sir James Ramsden, chief engineer of the Furness Railway and built by Mssrs. Jones & Quiggin boatbuilders Liverpool, constructed then deconstructed, shipped to Barrow-In-Furness then horse and carted to Coniston in three sections.
She was wrecked in the 40's and layed half-covered by the lake until the 70's when a group of National Trust employees who saw the plight of the beautiful boat and raised funds to get the ship surveyed by Vickers in Barrow, who could only put about 2% of the ship in serviceable condition.
Funds were heroiclly accrued, with help from the NT, Vickers, who built her as an apprentice training excersize and Crown paints who donated the paint to finish her off.
She is now owned by the National Trust as one of their enterprises and operates 11am-5pm 7 days a week from easter to the end of October, including 'Explorer cruises' at certain times of the week where she travels to the south end of the lake, recreating her old journeys in her Furness Railway days, with a humorous and informal commentary.
Well worth a trip, and a truly unique vessel.
A few pics to show her off...
Greg