b'SL Hussar - a steam launchLOA 27ft. Beam 6ft 8ins. Draft 2ft.Built circa 1880. Carvel Teak planking on Oak. Teak and Spruce fit-out. Rebuilt 1991. Further rebuild work 2011.Genuine and original steam launches such as Hussar are very rare. Those that have survived into the 21st century are usually planked in Teak, which is almost the perfect boatbuilding timber as it is very beautiful and extraordinarily durable. About the same time as Hussar came to the boatyard to be re-built I bought some huge baulks of Teak that had been salvaged from the wreck of a cargo ship torpedoed in the First World War. This beautiful timber was perfect for the project.With any steam launch project a very important element is the quality and ability of the steam engineer. Hussar was a joint project with Ken Woodham who built the engine and installed the steam plant with a skill and sensitivity that complemented the boatbuilding. Machinery and pipe work can be elegant and stylish and a good partnership between the craftsman and engineer will ensure that it blends beautifully with the woodwork.44'