A slipper launch is a traditional
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the second-longest in the United Kingdom, after the R ...
pleasure boat, normally of wooden construction, to seat between four and eight passengers. The term 'slipper launch' derives from the distinctive sloping shape of the stern. The very flat underwater run aft is intended to minimise wash.
The original builder of these craft was Andrews Boathouses of Bourne End with the 1913 prototype 'Merk' being designed to be as much like a car as possible (and was named after a Mercedes car). She was designed to be a 'motorists boat' with straight stem, flat sides and flat bottom all designed to minimise wash and to look like the racing cars of the day. This boat, now in the collection of the
National Maritime Museum, Cornwall, was owned at one time by
Arthur Whitten Brown
Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Arthur Whitten Brown, (23 July 1886 – 4 October 1948) was a British military officer and aviator who flew as navigator of the first successful non-stop transatlantic flight with pilot John Alcock in June 1919.
Biogr ...
, famous, with
John Alcock, for the
first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1919.
The main changes to the design known best today came through from Andrews in the 1930s when the virtually flat-bottomed design was changed to a hard chine with a deep 'V' bow section and typically built to 25 or 30ft, although there were some 50ft slippers built. These launches were marketed by Andrews as Greyhound Launches and were typically powered by Ford Watermota or Morris/BMC Vedette engines. Andrews also exhibited at the National Boat Show regularly, including the first boat show in 1954 where they exhibited a 25ft greyhound launch 'M.L. Greyhound'.
Around the 1930s Meakes of Marlow started also producing slipper launches, recognisable by the bow section being almost perpendicular to the water, as seen in the photos of Mayflower below.
In the 1960s and 1970s, launches were also built by Alf Parrott at
Henley-on-Thames. Alf Parrott slipper launches were initially built in
marine ply, then later in
fibreglass
Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass (Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...
, in length, with
Stuart Turner single-cylinder petrol engines. Peter Freebody and Co. in Hurley, Berkshire still make slipper launches from scratch using traditional methods and materials although often with electric propulsion.
Whilst slipper launches used to be a much more common sight (and used to be available for hire from Andrews), Alf Parrott, Meakes and Andrews launches can all still be seen on the River Thames, most often (though not exclusively) in the middle Thames between Windsor and Reading. Most slipper launches are now privately owned, but some may be hired for a day through skippered charter.
Slipper launches have been owned by many famous names, including one by the British 1950s singing trio, the Beverley Sisters, Keith Moon, and another by
Louis Renault, of
car company fame.
Construction and hull architecture
During a renovation project the hull shape and construction can be viewed along with the rarely seen framing of the slipper stern.
The hull boards and stringers sealing the gap between covering each plank are made from
mahogany. Lateral frames spaced at approximately one metre centres are formed from
oak
An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ''L ...
. The deck over is constructed of
afromosia
''Afromosia barkemeyeri'' is a species of robber fly (family Asilidae
The Asilidae are the robber fly family, also called assassin flies. They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a short, stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking hypop ...
with multiple layers of
varnish providing a furniture-like finish.
Image:Meakes-Mayflower1.jpg, ''Mayflower'' - a 1934 Meakes launch reputedly once owned by Keith Moon
Image:Meakes-Mayflower2.jpg, ''Mayflower'' - a view of the slipper stern
References
External links
* http://www.slipperlaunch.com/ The Slipper Launch Collection
Peter Freebody & Cobuilders & restorers of slipper stern launches
* https://nmmc.co.uk/object/boats/slipper-launch-merk-from-1912/ The National Maritime Museum - Merk
Motorboats
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