Here is another model built with nineteen thirties vintage blue/gold parts. The Giant Swing Boat first made its first appearance in the 1937 Number 7/8 manual and in Post War manuals until 1953.  I have made a lot of changes from the original instructions, the "A" frames that support the Swing Boat are vertical and not canted, this was a strange idea as the motor was mounted at the same angle making an impossible path for the chain drive. The left hand illustration in the original instructions show the motor upright, the right hand picture is very confusing and looks badly re-touched. I made the swing boat itself shorter and lower with curved ends, I  thought it looked better that way. The model is driven by a 1930's No.1a Clockwork motor connected to the gear box by a belt drive, instead of the sprocket chain shown in the instructions. I decided the jerking connecting rod assembly that rock the boat would throw too much stress on a chain drive. The dampers on the linkage rods effectively absorb most of their intermittent movement but here is some movement from the drive unit. The clockwork motor gives it a nice feel like a classic vintage toy. Click on the YouTube logo to see it operating,  not sure I would like to be a passenger on this ride though! The Meccano model is probably based on a type fairground ride called a Steam Yacht built by Savage Brothers of Kings Lynn,Norfolk in England. The only know working example is operated by Carter's Steam Fair you can see this in the picture Ion the right I took when the Fair visited Maldon click here to see more of my pictures of Carters Steam Fair.

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Page created November 19 2022