The Steam Boat Association of Great Britain
The Steam Boat Association of Great Britain
| Owner: N.D. Thomson. (SBA member - Thames Region) Area: Rivers Wey & Thames (UK). Website: www.slhero.co.uk/ | |
| HULL | Open launch Built 1895? by Andrews? at Maidenhead. LOA: 35', LWL: 27', Beam: 5' 8", Draft: 2'. Carvel teak on steamed oak ribs Clipper bow, counter stern, varnished with gold line, marine ply and mahogany canopy on 10 brass stanchions. |
| ENGINE | Compound, 2¼" + 4¾" x 3½". Built c1900 by Liquid Fuel Engineering Co. Ltd.. Design: LIFU, 10 hp. Valve(s): pv, Gear: SLRG, Pumps: Buffalo injector and feed pump driven from end of crank via three to one reduction gear. Air pump of Simpson Strickland type driven from cross head on low-pressure cylinder.. 2 tfc, cbs, Kcond. Fitted 1970. Flywheel removed 2000. |
| BOILER | Locomotive type. Built 1998 by D.& S. Steam Engineering Ltd. at Raunds, Northants. Fuel: coal, Pressure: 200 psi, Grate: 1.6 sqft. Side fired. Similar to boiler designed by Brian Smith for "Arlette" boiler barrel 16" diameter, 25 off 1" id boiler tubes 17" long. Overall length 36". Keel c. Blower only used occasionally. |
| PROP | 3 blades, 20" x 28". Shaft: 1" SS bolted straight onto crank, thrust bearing attached to hull. |
| HISTORY | First named Avondale and probably built as an electric launch at the end of the 19th century by Andrews of Maidenhead. She is reported to have been at the Cookham regatta in 1901 and was definitely propelled by electricity in 1912. By 1969 she had been converted to a petrol engine and was purchased by C.J.Sterling and restored with the help of Tom Trevethick and converted to steam using a Merryweather boiler, in this form she appeared in The Onedin Line and King Edward VII television series. Mr Sterling sold the launch to John Players ltd who replaced the Merryweather boiler with an oil fired scotch dry back boiler of considerable complexity it even had an ignition key. John Players used SL Hero for advertising purposes visiting regattas all over the country. SL Hero was obtained by Nigel Thomson and his late wife Anna in 1996; the boiler was replaced with a side fired loco boiler designed by Brian Smith. |
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