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A large ride, it required a good deal of manpower and lifting gear - all manually powered in those days - to erect once on site. It comprised a pair of yachts, suspended from an A-frame, with an engine positioned between the two. The engine, drawing much of its design from contemporary portable engines, featured an ingenious trip gear, swinging the yacht back and forth by means of chains running over quadrants.

This is a finely detailed 2 inch scale model, featuring the centre engine along with A-frame gantry and one yacht, painstakingly researched, drawn and built by a man with equal facility in wood and metal work.

His interests ranged from small scale stationary engines up to full size steam - he owned and restored, at various times, a Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies 2 1/2nhp portable engine and a Merryweather horse-drawn fire engine, as well as building the fine 2 inch scale Robinson & Auden portable engine we currently have in stock.

Like the full-size ride, built-up it is an imposing machine, its footprint around five by five feet; the A-frame stands 36 inches high, the yacht is around three feet long by a foot wide.

Built as a fine-scale display model, it could conceivably be converted to run - either under its own steam (which would likely require a new boiler) or, more practically, on compressed air piped to the cylinder block from beneath.

A magnificent example of a rarely modelled prototype, it has tremendous presence when set up, the one time it was ever shown at an exhibition arousing great interest.

Complete with books used as reference for the build, including "The Harry Lee story" (a good read whether or not you're interested in steam yachts - a well-told story of an interesting life), "Steam Yachts" and "Fairground Architecture".