PS Duchess of Fife

[John]

Hi everyone im just starting to build a scale model of the
sidewheeler duchess of fife ive only started on the feathering
paddles at this point seems to me the most difficult part, I have
built a couple of scratch early american steam tugs which give me
great pleasure on saturday afternoons (see my profile) with a group
of modelers, the tugs are only 2 foot long so decided to go a bit
bigger with the paddlewheeler would realy appreciate any info on the
construction of this model or hear from someone who has built or in
the process of construction
Thanks
John

[Paulrjordan]

Hi John..and on behalf of the gang here ...welcome to Paddleducks.

Great to hear you've started of Duchess of Fife..and yes, the
feathering wheels are indeed a challenge. I've never thought they
really made much difference to the performance of model paddlers, but
I am assured by members who have far more experience with them than I
do, that feathering wheels DO make a difference. For those who don't
want to build their own feathering wheels, Mike Mayhew of Waverley
Models in the UK can supply sets.

http://www.waverleymodels.co.uk/

Which "Duchess of Fife" are you building? There were two. One built
in 1899 by Clydebank for the London Brighton & South Coast Railway Co
and scrapped in 1927 or the more famous one built by Fairfields in
1903.

Here's a nice picture of her paddle box (the Scottish one)
http://freespace.virgin.net/tom.lee/fifeboximg.htm

Whose plans are you using and in what scale? I have a set of plans
here which our good friend Ady Selway sent me while I was in
England. I've often admired them.

By the way, a 61" (probably 1:48 scale) static model of DOF came up
on Ebay a couple of weeks ago. A nice cased model although looked a
little tired in the pics. The asking bid was UK Pounds 495 to start,
but it never attracted any action probably because they had it listed
in the wrong category. This model also doesn't have feathering wheels.

Look for item 2581650231. It should still be active for a few weeks
yet. If you can't get to it, email me and I'll send you a clickable
link.

Do keep us informed of your progress and if you need encouragement,
advice etc, just holler..also please post photos to our photo album
section during construction.

Again ,welcome to Paddleducks and thanks for telling us about your
project.

PJ
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

[wsnowdon]

Hi John, two of my friends have built the Duchess and both sail
well. Neither have feathering paddles. Main thing is be carefull of
top weight as she is very narrow gutted! There is a sperb book which
may help you- Memories of the Clyde. Duchess of Fife Published by
Hart, Maclagan and Wills in1990 and still available. ISBN 0951614002.
A photo album of her complete life from laying the keel to scrapping.
Bags of detail and a good scale drawing. If you have difficulty
getting a copy, let me know. All the best Walter.

[wsnowdon]

Hi John, back again. A good plan of Duchess at 54 inches long is
MM528 from x list plans in UK. shows some construction details and
full details for making feathering paddles (these are the plans my
mates built from) see www.xlistplans.demon.co.uk/paddlers for
details. Cost £8.50 . Cheers, Walter.