Thames Tug SUN XXI
The SUN XXI was built by Philip & Son Ltd at Dartmouth for W.H.J. Alexander Ltd in 1959. The tug is of 183 tons gross and measures 107x26x12 feet. The Mirlees 6 cylinder main diesel engine drives a single conventional propeller and has an output of 1400 BHP at 325 rpm. The free running maximum speed is 12 knots. The bollard pull is 18.5 tons. Employed for some time on the Thames in 1969 Transferred to London Tugs Ltd. In 1975 owners Alexandra Towing Co. Transferred in 1979 to Alexandra Towing Co. Ltd., Southampton. In 1981 transferred to A.T.C. [London] Ltd and in 1982 transferred to Alexandra Towing Co. Ltd., Gibraltar. 1993 Sold to Lionel Ferro, Gibraltar and renamed Nicky. 1999 Owners Straits Barge and Tug Co. Ltd., Gibraltar. 2003 Scrapped by Puerto Santa Maria, Cadiz, Spain.
The model was constructed from a kit supplied by Lesro of Bournemouth. The model has a glass fibre hull with the deck and superstructure of plywood. The model is propelled by a 545 electric motor connected to the propeller shaft by a 2.5 to 1 reduction belt drive. The motor is supplied by an Electronize electronic controller giving continuously variable drive both forward and reverse. The main battery is a 6 volt 10Ah lead acid battery. Like all my models the tug has a separate 4.8volt Nicad receive battery - I have never been too confident that a receive supply derived from the main battery provides reliability. The radio equipment is a Futaba Attack two channel 40Mhz AM system for motor and helm control.
On the water the tug looks very good and is has very nice smooth handling. On the down side the tug suffers like most single screw models from quite severe steering problems when going astern so not an ideal steering regatta boat. The drive arrangement gives quite a lively performance but the electric motor runs very hot but has survived 5 years of boating without failure so the design has proved durable. Dimensions are length 889mm x 240mm beam.
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