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The Steamboat Association
of Great Britain

to foster and encourage steam boating and the building, development, preservation and restoration of steam boats and steam machinery

to stimulate public interest
in steam boats
and steam boating

to promote high standards
of workmanship,
safety and seamanship


Links

 


Associations


Forums/Blogs
Boats
Miscellaneous

 Last updated 23 January 2024

 
Finnish Steam Yacht Association - Another nicely designed site with a button for translation to English. Somewhat larger steam boats.

The German Steamboat Society - A rather less 'flash' site than the earlier offerings and wholly in German.  Boats very much like those in the SBA

Northwest Steam Society (USA) - The Society covers all forms of steam besides boats.

The Steamboat Association of Australia - This is the 'counterweight' organisation to the SBA that keeps the Earth in balance. A good listing of members boats with photos.  Also a good listing of ongoing projects.  Simpler style of website but easy to maintain.

The Steamboat Association of Sweden - Lots of larger steam boats but no option of English text so polish your Swedish first.

Swiss Steamboat Association  - Although headed in German, French and Italian the majority of the text is German,  There is no option to switch languages.

International Steamboat Flotilla 98 (Can) - A bit of history to remind us that Canada has an active steam boating culture too.

 


Associations

Forums/Blogs


Boats
Miscellaneous

 Last updated 5th April 2022

The Steamboating Forum - This is probably the best Steam boating Forum to be found in that it has regular postings and a small but loyal membership of highly qualified people who will happily answer any question.  Searching it for answers is useful too, but there is so much stuff that searching for (say) 'Hot Well' is likely to overwhelm the search engine. One can post queries to ask for pointers to what has been posted.  The site is run by an SBA member but surprisingly few SBA folk use it. However, very few SBA folk use the SBA's own forum so perhaps they may use other media to communicate.

Steamboat Blogs

SY Befur - This is the story of Malcolm & Louise Duckett's 26ft steam yacht that logs the plans and the actual outcomes.  The material was written as the planning and build developed so would be an interesting read for anybody planning to build a steamer from scratch.

Herreshoff Marine Museum - This is an interesting site which also includes a blog of building a Hereshoff steam launch.  An example of what can be done with lots of undercover space and, by the look of it, plenty of funds.  A beautiful boat in the making. 

We are happy to link to any interesting blogs that readers may know about.  Just send details to adverts@steamboatassociation.co.uk.






 


Associations
Forums/Blogs

Boats


Miscellaneous

Last updated 23 January 2024

UK Based Ships

SL Consuta - This site provides details of the Saunders built Umpire Launch of 1898.  Lots of history and also details of the current restoration and operation of the launch.

ST Daniel Adamson - This site details what the former steam tug now pleasure steamer is doing with cruise dates, volunteering opportunities, etc.

SN Emily Anne - This site provides plenty of information about this steam powered narrow boat and her activities over the years.

SY Gondola - Gondola is the fairly famous steam yacht that carries tourists on Coniston Water.  Full details of sailings etc. plus some history of the boat.

ST Hasty - Hasty is a replica tunnel tug narrow boat built in about 2011. This is a Facebook page so difficult get much information but plenty of pictures.

ST Kerne - This is the last naval steam tug that served in two World Wars and is in working order. She is based in the North West of England and has an enthusiastic band of volunteers who work hard to keep her sailing.

PS Kingswear Castle - Despite the name this is a tourist river steamer that has operated on the Thames and the Medway.  It is supported by another enthusiastic band of volunteers who are currently seeking funding for a major overhaul to the ship.

FV Lydia Eva - This is a site about the fishing heritage of East Anglia.  Lydia Eva is the last operational steam drifter in the world and runs trips to sea.  The other vessel in the collection is the Mincarlo which is the last Lowestoft built side winder trawler.  She is open to visitors but not currently sailing.  There is another set of enthusiastic volunteers keeping the two vessels afloat and seaworthy.

PS Maid of the Loch - The Maid was a tourist steamer on Loch Lomond for many years. She was Clyde built and has a classic Art Deco interior.  Phase one of the restoration programme has been to restore the ship cosmetically and to make sure she stays afloat.  Phase two is to bring her back into operational condition.  As might be expected the enthusiastic volunteers are keen to secure donations towards that objective.  She is open for visitors and can be hired for events such as weddings.

PS Medway Queen - Another passenger paddle steamer under preservation that was launched in 1924.  The Medway Queen Preservation Society have done amazing things including a complete hull re-build and are now on the way to getting the mechanicals in order. Based in Gillingham in Kent, the ship is open to visitors and the Society welcomes volunteers and donations towards the rebuild costs.

ST Portwey - Another classic steam tug but this time with twin screws which was built in 1927.  She is owned by the Portway Trust and is based in London at the South Quay of West India Docks.  The boat can be visited but the website is not clear about when.  There is a contact page for enquiries.

SN President - This is a steam narrow boat build in 1909 by the Fellows, Morten and Clayton company.  Now in the hands of the Black Country Museum.  This is a Facebook page so little information but a fair few pictures,  The link to the SN President website is dead.

HSL Puffin - Puffin is a privately owned 56ft ex admiralty Harbour Service Launch which still has almost all original plant and equipment.  The site provides much information about the boat and the owner is not averse to being contacted about the opportunity to see her.  Currently she is ashore having essential maintenance work done (March 2022).

SS Robin - This is the only Victorian coastal freighter (1890) still in existence with all her original equipment.  Due to her age and fragility she now resides on top of a pontoon in the London Royal Docks.  She is normally open to visitors but currently closed due to the Covid Pandemic (March 2022).

SLShamrock  - Shamrock is one of the last classic Windermere private steam yachts and was built in 1906 for a wealthy Manchester merchant.  The Shamrock Trust has now taken on ownership and the task of maintaining and operating the vessel as it is significant historical artifact.  She is to be seen quite regularly on Windermere especially at SBA events, but is not open to the public.  However, interested parties can join the Friends of Shamrock and probably participate in some of the steamings.

SS Shieldhall - Shieldhall is the largest active steamship in the UK.  She was built in 1955 but to very conservative engineering standards that would have been common in the 1920s.  She is now in the hands of an enthusiastic group of volunteers based in Southampton.  The ship is open to visit and also operates cruises.

PS Sir Walter Scott - This is really the website promoting Loch Katrine in Scotland.  This has been served by the screw passenger steamer Sir Walter Scott that was built by William Denny & Brothers in 1900.  Currently the ship is being restored by a team of enthusiastic volunteers and should be back in service in August 2022.  Lake cruises are still available but in much smaller 'plastic' boats.

ST TID172 - An admiralty 'Tug, Inshore Duties' no 172 seems to be rather at risk of being lost to scrap merchants.  However this Facebook page shows lots of picture but gives not real information about the current fate of the ship.  She was offered for sale as a houseboat at one point.

SS VIC32 - This is a 'traditional' Clyde Puffer built for the war effort in 1943.  Happily she was bought and turned into a tourist cruise boat by Rachel and Nick Walker.  She still continues in that role but is in the hands of a preservation trust that is happy to add volunteers keen to keep the ship in operation.

SS VIC56 - This is another Clyde Puffer, but one of the larger 84ft models.  It is based at Portmouth naval dockyard in Boathouse 4.  The website has lots of interesting information but apparently no information about visiting the ship.  However the Dockyard is open to visitors throughout the year.

Clyde Puffers - This is a site for those who wish to know more about the Clyde puffers and their various incarnations.

PS Waverley - As the last sea going paddle steamer Waverly is very well known.  Built to replace a paddle steamer of the same name lost at Dunkirk, the ship initially worked the Clyde routes.  When finally retired she was sold to the Paddle Steamer Preservation Society who set up a charitable company to run and restore the vessel. She runs voyages all around the UK every year and details are on the site.

UK Based Launches

SL Elpenor - This site is fairly small and consists of photos and videos of the launch which is somewhat unusual in its design.

SL Senta - This is the site of SBA member Roger Calvert recording the history and activities of their family steam launch.


Australian Boats

Murray River Paddle Boats (Aus) - This is a marketing site dedicated to selling the Murray River steamboat flotilla to tourists.  Gives a good idea of what to see, where to stay, etc.

Canadian Boats

ST Master (Can) - This website celebrates the wooden steam tug Master that was rescued by a small group of enthusiasts and restored to full working order.  It is based in Vancouver.  The website is slightly odd having scattered links to 'presumably' dodgy websites.  Perhaps the site has been hacked and not recovered by the ship's restoration group.

SL Phoebe (Can) - This is a website for the 1914 steam launch Phoebe which is a Canadian version of Shamrock (above).  The boat is based at Kingston, Ontario and lives in an open sided wooden shed at the Pump House Steam Museum. There are viewing platforms to enable visitors to inspect the restored interior. It looks as if the vessel is steamed but the website gives no details of any trips.

Swiss Boats

SL Étoile Arcture (CH) - This is a site about a large British built launch that has passed through a number of owners before settling in Switzerland.  Beautifully maintained by the look of it and lots of classic photos of the area and the boat. (Text in French)

SL Isle of Jura (CH) - This site is dedicated to a steam launch built in German speaking Switzerland.  Why the name 'Isle of Jura'? The answer may be on the site but it was not obvious (Text in German)

PS Liberty Belle (CH) - This site is all about the 24ft Glyn Lancaster Jones Minerva class paddle steamer which, after various owners, is now billed as being the smallest paddle steamer in Switzerland. Lots of information to be had,  The main site is in German but there is a sub-site in English.

SL St Urs (CH) DB Valhalla (CH) -

Balson AG (CH) -

DF Calypso (D) -

DB Emma - Rainer Radow (D) -

DS Lagavulin (D) -

DB Petit Four (D) -

Oriane (F) -

SL Silencio (F) -

SL Suzanne (F) -

Bjorklund Steam (Fi) -

HMS Elfin (NL) -

SL Ilse Louise (NL) -

SL Phoenix (NL) -

SS Ejdern (S) -

SL A Boy's Will (USA) -

SL Adelaide (USA) -

SL African Queen (USA) -

SL Artemis (USA) -

SL Aurora Borealis (USA) -

ST Baltimore (USA) -

SL Captain Bell (USA) -

SB Delta Queen (USA) -

SB Minnehaha (USA) -

SC No Rush (USA) -

SL Norman D (USA) -

SL Oly (USA) -

SL Otter (USA) -

SL Pegasus (USA) -

Great Northern Steam Co. Ltd. -

Henwood & Dean

Light Steam and Power

Selway Fisher Designs

The Traditional Boat Shop

Elliott Bay Triple Engine -

Beckmann Boatshop (USA) -

Devlin Boat Co (USA) -

Elliott Bay Steam Launches (USA) -

Rappahannock Boatworks & Tiny Power (USA) -

Reliable Steam Engine Co (USA) -

Stanley Steamers - Steamboats (USA) -

 


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