Floating Paddler Church

[Bierjunge]

Ever heard of a paddler acting as floating church?
Look here: http://www.shipmodels.ru/model/eng/69/

Beautiful model of a very strange prototype...

[derekwarner_decoy]

Hi PD's....Moritz...she has little draft & TOO much freeboard..I would not dare walk on board for the fear she may turn turkey  .......

[Hankwilliams]

Hello,

very beautiful ship - it touches not only ship history - even history of art.
Where the model can be seen? Is it possible ti#o get plans?

Greetings

Thomas

[mjt60a]

Ever heard of a paddler acting as floating church? ...

Errr.....how about Etona?
That model does look a little strange (re. the displacement/draft) could it be a 'waterline' model mounted on a stand?

[Roderick Smith]

I had a frustruating time searching on PS Etona, as it didn't bring up the post with my photo.
Etona has many references and photos in various places in Paddleducks.  The main ones are:
APAM-DC, page 4: Sean's original article, with two photos.
APAM-LOPM&R, page 10: My article, to which I have just added a plan of the chapel (in the aft saloon) from the book by Fenton & Williams.  It wasn't large.  For major ceremonies, the ceremony would be in the chapel, but the audience would be on the bank.
In the Books thread, there is an APAM entry.  James posted a scan of the cover of this book, which was a photo taken when the restored vessel was used in its original role for the miniseries 'All the rivers run'.  I suspect that setting up on the foredeck was director's licence, and not what happed 'back in the days'.  The book also has three photos of the chapel interior c1907, but they are not obviously taken inside a boat, and I didn't consider them worth scanning.
PS Etona was included in Alastair's book, not because it conveys commercial passengers (it doesn't), but because it would be familiar to many purchasers of the book through its appearance in the series.

There was a floating chaplain on Lake Eildon (Victoria), using a modern houseboat (not paddle).
AFAIK there is one on the Gold Coast waterways (Qld) or Hawkesbury River (NSW), but not paddle.
I didn't photograph a floating church in Cambodia (not paddle), but did photograph the adjacent floating basketball court, floating school and floating police station (everything else floated, but wasn't photographed).  This is on Tonle Sap, which has huge seasonal variations in level, at the touristy Siem Reap end.

There may well have been other floating churches (but not necessarily paddle) on the other long rivers through remote areas: More in Russia, the Amazon, the Nile.  There may have been floating chaplains on lots more waterways, eg the Sepik (Niugini). 
In the construction thread, there are several entries on a small paddlesteamer 'Melissa', used as a mission launch in India.  Most of the thread was devoted to the model.  IIRC there was a link to a photo of the original.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor
 

[thewharfonline]

The one in QLD is on the Gold Coast on the Broadwater and is literally a chapel. It looks like a small church on some pontoons.

It's based on a church up in the mountains or something.

Don't think I have a photo of it from my trip.

Sean