Hero (pinnace)
Encyclopedia
Hero is a steam
-powered pinnace
, a small boat of the type used, for example, as a tender
to larger vessels, believed to have been built as an electric
launch
, by Andrews of Maidenhead, England in 1895, with the name Avondale.
She is made from teak
on steamed oak
ribs laid in the carvel style
, with a clipper bow
, counter stern
and a wooden canopy on 10 brass stanchion
s. Her overall length is 35 feet (10.7 m), beam 5 in 8 in (1.73 m) and draft 2 foot (0.6096 m).
The vessel reportedly attended the Cookham
regatta in 1901 and was known to be electrically powered in 1912. She was converted to run on petrol by the late 1960s, after which, she was again converted, to run on steam, with a Merryweather
boiler. It was in this state that she was acquired by John Player & Sons
, who used her for promotional purposes, and lent her to the producers of the television series The Onedin Line
, in which she was featured. She also appeared in the series Edward the Seventh.
Players also installed an oil fired scotch dry back boiler. The vessel was acquired by its current owner Nigel Thomson in 1996, who again replaced the boiler, with one built 1998 by D.& S. Steam Engineering Ltd of Raunds, Northamptonshire.
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
-powered pinnace
Pinnace (ship's boat)
As a ship's boat the pinnace is a light boat, propelled by sails or oars, formerly used as a "tender" for guiding merchant and war vessels. In modern parlance, pinnace has come to mean a boat associated with some kind of larger vessel, that doesn't fit under the launch or lifeboat definitions...
, a small boat of the type used, for example, as a tender
Ship's tender
A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service a ship, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship...
to larger vessels, believed to have been built as an electric
Electric boat
While a significant majority of water vessels are powered by diesel engines, with sail power and gasoline engines also remaining popular, boats powered by electricity have been used for over 120 years. Electric boats were very popular from the 1880s until the 1920s, when the internal combustion...
launch
Launch (boat)
A launch in contemporary usage refers to a large motorboat. The name originally referred to the largest boat carried by a warship. The etymology of the word is given as Portuguese lancha "barge", from Malay lancha, lancharan, "boat," from lanchar "velocity without effort," "action of gliding...
, by Andrews of Maidenhead, England in 1895, with the name Avondale.
She is made from teak
Teak
Teak is the common name for the tropical hardwood tree species Tectona grandis and its wood products. Tectona grandis is native to south and southeast Asia, mainly India, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Burma, but is naturalized and cultivated in many countries, including those in Africa and the...
on steamed oak
Oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus Quercus , of which about 600 species exist. "Oak" may also appear in the names of species in related genera, notably Lithocarpus...
ribs laid in the carvel style
Carvel (boat building)
In boat building, carvel built or carvel planking is a method of constructing wooden boats and tall ships by fixing planks to a frame so that the planks butt up against each other, edge to edge, gaining support from the frame and forming a smooth hull...
, with a clipper bow
Bow (ship)
The bow is a nautical term that refers to the forward part of the hull of a ship or boat, the point that is most forward when the vessel is underway. Both of the adjectives fore and forward mean towards the bow...
, counter stern
Stern
The stern is the rear or aft-most part of a ship or boat, technically defined as the area built up over the sternpost, extending upwards from the counter rail to the taffrail. The stern lies opposite of the bow, the foremost part of a ship. Originally, the term only referred to the aft port section...
and a wooden canopy on 10 brass stanchion
Stanchion
A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often providing support for some other object.* An architectural term applied to the upright iron bars in windows that pass through the eyes of the saddle bars or horizontal irons to steady the leadlight. A stanchion is an upright bar or post, often...
s. Her overall length is 35 feet (10.7 m), beam 5 in 8 in (1.73 m) and draft 2 foot (0.6096 m).
The vessel reportedly attended the Cookham
Cookham
Cookham is a village and civil parish in the north-easternmost corner of Berkshire in England, on the River Thames, notable as the home of the artist Stanley Spencer. It lies north of Maidenhead close to the border with Buckinghamshire...
regatta in 1901 and was known to be electrically powered in 1912. She was converted to run on petrol by the late 1960s, after which, she was again converted, to run on steam, with a Merryweather
Merryweather & Sons
Merryweather & Sons of Clapham, later Greenwich, London, were builders of steam fire engines and steam tram engines.The founder was Moses Merryweather of Clapham, who was joined by his son Richard Moses .-Fire appliances:...
boiler. It was in this state that she was acquired by John Player & Sons
John Player & Sons
John Player & Sons, known simply as Player's, was a tobacco and cigarette manufacturer based in Nottingham, England. It is today a part of the Imperial Tobacco Group.-History:...
, who used her for promotional purposes, and lent her to the producers of the television series The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line
The Onedin Line is a BBC television drama series which ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham.The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and deals with the rise of a shipping line, the Onedin Line, named after its owner James Onedin...
, in which she was featured. She also appeared in the series Edward the Seventh.
Players also installed an oil fired scotch dry back boiler. The vessel was acquired by its current owner Nigel Thomson in 1996, who again replaced the boiler, with one built 1998 by D.& S. Steam Engineering Ltd of Raunds, Northamptonshire.