Modern Steam Yachts

Vital Spark

Vital Spark (Photo from MacFarlane collection.)

Some yachtsmen have managed to capture the experience of marine steam power by installing small modern engines or even ancient antiques. Most use propane for fuel but a few burn wood or other fuels. The Vital Spark was owned by Don Thompson of Victoria BC (he was the Master of the Thermopylae Club). The best place to see these magnificent yachts is at summer boat festivals and shows - where the owners are often pleased to put them on display.

Small steam yacht

Small steam yacht gathers a crowd at Cowichan Bay BC. (Photo from MacFarlane collection.)

Small steam engine

A beautiful small steam engine. (Photo from MacFarlane collection.)

Admiring fans

Admiring fans. (Photo from MacFarlane collection.)

Nauticapedia

Site News: March 24, 2024

The vessel database has been updated and is now holding 91,427 vessel histories (with 15,578 images and 12,853 records of ship wrecks and marine disasters). The mariner and naval biography database has also been updated and now contains 58,612 entries (with 4,007 images).

In 2023 the Nauticapedia celebrated the 50th Anniversary of it’s original inception in 1973 (initially it was on 3" x 5" file cards). It has developed, expanded, digitized and enlarged in those ensuing years to what it is now online. If it was printed out it would fill more than 300,000 pages!

My special thanks to our volunteer IT adviser, John Eyre, who (since 2021) has modernized, simplified and improved the update process for the databases into semi–automated processes. His participation has been vital to keeping the Nauticapedia available to our netizens.

Also my special thanks to my volunteer content checker, John Spivey of Irvine CA USA, who has proofread thousands of Nauticapedia vessel histories and provided input to improve more than 10,000 entries. His attention to detail has been a huge unexpected bonus in improving and updating the vessel detail content.


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