# Steam paddler



## Donald McGhee (Apr 5, 2005)

I recently volunteered my time as a deckhand on the coal fired paddle steamer "Waimarie", which is based in the town of Wanganui, NZ. As luck would have it I have only been able to get in two trips on this great old lady, but hopefully as retirement looms ever closer there will be many opportunities.
I would strongly recommend a trip on her to anyone visiting the shores of "Godzone".

She has an open bridge and is , to say the least, a wee bit of a handful to steer! river boats with shallow draft and currents and shoals to contend with, plus tidal flows are temperamantal and I found my shoulders aching after a spell at the big old wheel.
No silly wee joysticks on this one and reminiscent of the Vital Spark, where the skipper shouts down the stokehold below for whatever speed he wants. 

What an asset and a great adventure. I must be damn near the oldest dackhand afloat. Amazing how much you forget!!


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## Gulpers (Sep 8, 2005)

Hey Donald, that sounds fun, but hard work too. Good luck with your involvement with Waimarie. (Applause)
There is a small photograph of her and some background information in our Gallery *here*.
Any more photographs of her anyone? (?HUH)


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## billyboy (Jul 6, 2005)

Good for you Donald.
I did 2 weeks in the stokehold of the ps sussex queen back around 1961. (ex freshwater I believe) Great fun!


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## ben27 (Dec 27, 2012)

good morning donald mcghee.a very pleasant thread.i followed to gulpers thread.he has a great photo of the waimarie.i showed it to my wife.she said she would love to do a trip on the river,her grand parents had a farm there and she would go there with her mum and dad for holidays when she was a youngster.thank you for a pleasant and happy thread.ben27


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## Chris Wood (Jun 9, 2006)

I took a trip on her 5 or 6 years ago, She is a grand little river boat and the story of her rebuild by volunteers is impressive. I got talking to the skipper (as you do) and wound up taking the wheel for a section of the up river run, Donald is right about being a handful to steer though, and the shouting of engine orders down the top of the open engine room must be unique. Anyone from the maritime industry who is visiting N.Z. should put the Waimarie on there "to do" list
Chris


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## Donald McGhee (Apr 5, 2005)

Great to see such positive replies. Yes, she is a wee gem and well worth the time and effort of having a trip on her.
As luck would have it I got quite busy one way or another and my hopes of regular weekend days on her somewhat receded the busier I bacame.
never mind, as long as I am fit (ish) and able I will go down as often as possible and volunteer my services. She has a great crew aboard, mostly young folk and pretty well skilled. They are a credit to the ship and themselves and boy, do they make me feel old!.
The skipper is a great guy, even older than me, but what a stack of knowledge he has about the river and the ship. These folk, plus the engineers and stokesr are just such a pleasure to be around.


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