DEANS MARINE WACHT AM RHEIN

Описание: Hi
Another refurb of the older models in the showroom, this one is approx 16 years old.
Old 27mg radio changed to 2.4ghz bobs boards and motor left as original stripped out and new Nimh batteries, original kondor motors..
We spent a lot of time getting the balance spot on and motors fitted in cradles with foam pads to insulate from the hull, Double couplings, Tested on a cold day, hope for the sun to come out but stayed misty she handled a treat just as the sun was setting.
Model is 1/35th scale, length 965mm beam 180mm running on 2 falcon 5 motor on 6 volt batteries.

HISTORY
WACHT AM RHEIN
A Brief History
In 1848 around twenty-five tugs were operational on the river Rhein. At that time these were all side-wheelers with a draught of around two metres. Because of the shallows in the middle Rhein it was impossible to use ships of a deeper draught. Rhein tugs were therefore lengthened to create more space for longer steam boilers, bigger engines, bunker and crew accommodation. The side-wheelers however, never totally disappeared and survived for a long time, especially in Germany. Anyone wanting to see a side-wheeler tug now has to go to Germany where the museum ship ‘Oscar Huber’ is moored in the Deisburg-Ruhrort Museum.
The Tug
Round about 1880 the first propeller driven tugs appeared on the Rhein, which developed more speed and needed less crew.
The ‘Wacht am Rhein VIII’ was built in 1893 as a Rhein tug by the P Boele Shipyard at Slikkerveer in Holland. In 1894 the ship was taken into service under the name ‘Wacht am Rhein VIII’ by J Huttner in Wesel-Buderich. This company was established at an outstanding location on a bend of the Rhein where, in addition to towage, they ran a hotel/restaurant. To date [1993] this hotel/restaurant was still managed by the Huttner family although the shipping operation was sold off many years ago.
Around the turn of the century the ship came under the control of the Johann Knipscheer Shipping Company who were the first firm who dared to attempt to tow a ship upstream to Basel on the Swiss border. The ship was renamed ‘Direktor Johann Knipscheer’. In 1919 she was renamed ‘Speculant’.
She was a medium sized tug powered by a coal-fired boiler with a compound engine. This developed 300 IHP and was designed specifically for the middle part of the river Rhein that has lots of bends and very strong currents. Her hull design is long and narrow to suit these conditions. The steering and control gear behind the funnel giving very little view forward but a much better view of the ships that she tows. Between 1924 and 1957 a number of major alterations were made to her power plant and superstructure.