Hi David and Brett,

many thanks for the warm welcome and for the support.

I've started to comb through the archives and there's a wealth of great
information so thank you and all the members for contributing so
actively.

As to paddler activity in NZ? I see the Spirit of Waikato has featured a
few times - kia ora Leighton - the Whanganui River had a variety of
paddlers operating, and my home town Auckland has a rich history of
double ended paddle ferries, from the mid nineteenth century well into
the early twentieth.

Once I get organised (yeah right!) I have some interesting photos of
these vessels to post to the group photo library. One of these ferries
in particular features on my long-term project wish-list. Britannia
operated around the turn of the century and was a grandly appointed
double deck double ended side paddler, built almost entirely from one
giant kauri tree (we grow trees really big here!). But I suspect that
she will have a lot of windage and could potentially be a very top heavy
for a side paddler at a manageable 1:32 scale, particularly if I add the
100 or so passenger figures needed to add realism to the model - Preiser
has some great 1:32 1900's style plastic figures which would keep the
added weight down, nevertheless every extra figures adds weight up top!

But first things first - PT Resolve is my immediate priority.

Hope to keep you all posted as progress occurs.

Kind regards
Tony