I live on the Firth of Clyde and the Waverley passes my house twice a day during the summer, plus it sales round the local lochs so when you are out and about you always catch glimpses of it. Part of it's charm and allure is that not only is it beautifully restored, but you can visit the engine room to see a traditional piston engine, and observe the paddles in the water as well - it's a gateway drug into engineering for many a child here. There is something magnificent about watching the Waverley catching and passing a Vanguard-class Trident submarine on it's way into or out of base. The paddle steamers certainly aren't slow - the Waverley is one of the fastest boats on the river - it's faster than the cross-clyde Ferries normally - I check them all using the magnificent Marine Traffic app! For anyone in London, it does a short Autumn season down there, sailing under Tower Bride and out to Southend for a trip round the big windfarm etc
show comments
willvarfar
Reminds me of the beautiful paddle steamers still running up and down Lake Zurich. It's hard to even glance up at the scenery rolling past the portholes when you can stare at the big gleaming brass and chrome engine in the well in the middle of the boat that you can completely watch working.
I skimmed through the blog post and also the Wikipedia entries about paddle steamers and paddlewheels, but I couldn't seem to find an answer to this question: why were people still building such ships well after the screw was invented? Ships with screw propulsion were already very commonplace by the time the Waverley was built (1946), so why was it built this way? Was there some advantage to paddle wheels?
show comments
ausaus
I grew up in Helensburgh, one of the Waverley's stops on the Clyde. Went on it many times including a memorable trip 'up the watter' to the Glasgow Garden Festival with the rest of my secondary school.
Had an impression on me when I first went on it and still does whenever I see it.
I live on the Firth of Clyde and the Waverley passes my house twice a day during the summer, plus it sales round the local lochs so when you are out and about you always catch glimpses of it. Part of it's charm and allure is that not only is it beautifully restored, but you can visit the engine room to see a traditional piston engine, and observe the paddles in the water as well - it's a gateway drug into engineering for many a child here. There is something magnificent about watching the Waverley catching and passing a Vanguard-class Trident submarine on it's way into or out of base. The paddle steamers certainly aren't slow - the Waverley is one of the fastest boats on the river - it's faster than the cross-clyde Ferries normally - I check them all using the magnificent Marine Traffic app! For anyone in London, it does a short Autumn season down there, sailing under Tower Bride and out to Southend for a trip round the big windfarm etc
Reminds me of the beautiful paddle steamers still running up and down Lake Zurich. It's hard to even glance up at the scenery rolling past the portholes when you can stare at the big gleaming brass and chrome engine in the well in the middle of the boat that you can completely watch working.
Add: first hit on youtube is nice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3okBYfi2lg
This is a great video about the Waverley: https://youtu.be/wuBbnIdwOHA?si=cw9P7wQQ7jf0krmf
I skimmed through the blog post and also the Wikipedia entries about paddle steamers and paddlewheels, but I couldn't seem to find an answer to this question: why were people still building such ships well after the screw was invented? Ships with screw propulsion were already very commonplace by the time the Waverley was built (1946), so why was it built this way? Was there some advantage to paddle wheels?
I grew up in Helensburgh, one of the Waverley's stops on the Clyde. Went on it many times including a memorable trip 'up the watter' to the Glasgow Garden Festival with the rest of my secondary school.
Had an impression on me when I first went on it and still does whenever I see it.