25' Fantail Steam Launch Beverley
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Design Number 131
1975 |
The 25' Fantail is a launch only slightly smaller than the one made famous as the African Queen.
This one has some extra touches that lend an air of greater elegance. These range from the graceful fantail
stern to the elliptical coaming and the fringed canopy overhead.
There is plenty of seating for day cruises, with storage under the end decks and under the seats.
A modified version has been built as a diesel launch with a 23' 6" waterline and 2' 0" draft. Her construction
was cold-molded over strip-planking. Both versions are shown on the drawings in this design package.
We'd originally thought of doing her as an Airex® cored fiberglass hull, and she would be suitable for this
and other one-off 'glass techniques.
We received the following kind letter, with a number of lovely photos enclosed, from an owner:
Dear Mr. Benford,
What do the African Queen and the Benford Design 25' steam launch have in common? A double acting
compound steam engine! Both engines were made by the same company, Langley Engineering in Sussex, England.
On launching day January 25, 1992, several reporters attended. One wrote up the launching in the
Newport Pilot newspaper, and the other, from what I hear, will have an article in the next issue
of WoodenBoat. She is the only operating steam launch on Balboa Bay and Newport Harbor, and, as you
can imagine, she attracts a lot of attention.
She was built of laminated wood construction by MacMillan Yachts in Suffolk, England. Her bottom is
fiberglass. She has teak decks and Honduran mahogany trim.
The propeller is 22" in diameter and has a 36" pitch. The engine turns 400 to 500 RPMs. The engine is from
15 to 19 horsepower. The boiler is of a fire tube type, with 87 square feet of surface area.
It took about three years to complete the boat and engine. Actually, the boat took only about six months,
but construction of the steam engine took a long period of time because of interruptions and the financial
conditions of the builder.
The boat is fast, very comfortable, and is enjoyable to be aboard. Her graceful lines remind one of a beauty
contestant and one's eyes are drawn to her.
She uses either wood or coal for fuel and has a Windermere teakettle, which will boil in about seven seconds
with steam heating. I believe she will do over 8 knots. I am very pleased with the boat. It will be an
honor to have the steam launch, which is named Beverley, mentioned in your publication.
Sincerely,
Carl B. Ziesmer, M.D.
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| Particulars: | Imperial | Metric |
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| Length overall | 25'-0" | 7.62 m |
| Length designed waterline | 22'-6" | 6.86 m |
| Beam | 7'-0" | 2.13 m |
| Draft | 3'-3" | 0.99 m |
| Freeboard: | Forward | 3'-0" | 0.91 m |
| Least | 1'-6" | 0.46 m |
| Aft | 2'-0" | 0.61 m |
| Displacement, cruising trim | 5,585 lbs. | 2,533 kg. |
| Displacement-length ratio | 219 | |
| Prismatic coefficient | .593 | |
| Pounds per inch immersion | 528 | 239 kg/cm |
| Entrance half-angle | 21º | |
*CAUTION: The displacement quoted here is for the boat in cruising trim. That is, with
the fuel and water tanks filled, the crew on board, as well as the crews' gear and stores in the
lockers. This should not be confused with the "shipping weight" often quoted as "displacement" by
some manufacturers. This should be taken into account when comparing figures and ratios between this
and other designs.
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