Racing paddlers?

[Eddy Matthews]

As some of you will know, my other passion apart from paddlers, is fast racing craft and water speed record boats.... So since most things have been tried at one time or another, I wondered if anyone had actually built a paddlewheel powered raceboat?

So far I've been unable to find anything apart from one patent by William Henry Fauber - I don't even know if this boat was ever built! Does anyone know? Or are there any others? It would certainly make for a totally unique model  :lol:

Regards
Eddy

[mjt60a]

Many years ago I saw a model in 'Model Boats' magazine (I think it was, might have been 'Radio Control Boat Modeller'...) of a racing boat powered by steam using a 'flash' boiler, triple expansion engine and circulating pump driving a stern wheel. Stern wheel was all metal and had the same V-shape to the floats as the ones in those diagrams.
Unfortunately I no longer have the magazine  :x

[Khephre]

I'm not aware of the full size racing paddlers - fascinating thought - but have seen a six ft long outrigger hydroplane set up as a quarter-wheeler. The paddles were driven by a bundle of rubber bands - much like bungy cords.

The owner used a battery powered drill to wind up the 'engine' then let her loose. The rooster tail was about the height of a man and drenched everyone nearby - a bit slow in the first few seconds with but once inertia was overcome, the paddles really started to grip and she was off like the clappers! Went for miles too - or so it seemed at the time!

More gimmick than serious modelling, but very different!

Tony
Auckland, NZ

[Eddy Matthews]

Thanks for the replies Mick and Tony,

I've seen a couple of models that used a paddlewheel in a raceboat, but so far I've drawn a total blank in finding a full sized craft apart from the patent shown above.... I'm sure it must have been tried at some point, so I'll keep looking.

Regards
Eddy

[Waverley]

Slightly O/T but wasn't just about every Clyde paddle steamer built with the expectation that sooner or later she would be involved in a race? Certainly the histories are full of tales from the days of cut-throat competiton for traffic when the first boat to the pier got the passengers and some of the racing seems to have been quite hair-raising - sometimes even resulting in collisions.

Personally, I have been on Waverley twice when she raced - and beat - the theoretically faster turbine Queen Mary and car ferry Glen Sannox. On both occasions there were specific instructions to the engine room to go "flat out" - and on both occasions she gradually drew ahead of her opponent.  Exciting stuff for all concerned.

Regards

David - ex Clyde

[mjt60a]

I read somewhere once of a story that used to be told, that a company notice to steamer captains said something like "the master of any steamer caught racing would be fined a days pay - and the master of any steamer who allows his ship to be overtaken by a rival companys vessel would be fined two days pay..."
...don't know if that was true!

[thewharfonline]

The Murray River Trade was basically all racing...for some reason I just rememebred that!