Marine Steam

The Luscombe Valley Collection

This fine vessel built from the hull up by the very clever Mike Bell of Clevedon. 'Annabelle' is the replacement for Lady Constance but I must point out that it is only the vessel that is altering not the lady of the house!

She is 30 feet long 6 foot 10 inches in girth........... (again not Connie). This will enable me to take more people for trips around the bay and venture further afield.

She is coal fired with a locomotive style boiler and 8 HP twin simple steam engine built by the one and only Roger Mallinson.

The is the last engine he built himself. The design is now available from another manufacturer. This will push her along at 8 knots.

The marine steam collection's first steam launch is an Edwardian-style, gentleman's steam launch, based on a design from 1914.

The vessel is over 26 feet in length and can accommodate six passengers at a time.

In the models' section there is a 52 inch version of this steam launch, which is powered by gas.

The oldest model in the marine collection is a paddle steamer, which was built by a captain of industry as a freelance design.

She was recently re-engined with a proper, horizontal, twin cylinder steam engine supplied by a company in Japan.

Finally, there are several "Pop Pop" boats collected over the years.

This 52 inch model of an Edwardian steam launch came first. The model follows closely the lines of the full size boat.

It is powered by a gas fired boiler and twin cylinder steam plant all manufactured by the sadly defunct Cheddar Models, a company I admired although financially flawed. She is technically quite advanced and has automatic boiler filler through a mechanical pump and automated gas control valve which is operated through a pressure switch attached to the boiler. Radio contol allows long distance usage.