Regular and unmissable exhibitors at the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition are The Steam Boat Association of Great Britain. A steam launch and engine examples attract visitors who can find out all about the joys of boat owning, building and maintenance.

Photographed here is the delightful  Zara Finn.

The Association was formed in 1971 to promote the enjoyment of steam boats and to represent the interests of steam boat owners. In the summer of that year 15 boats from 14 to 60 feet in length attended a steam boat regatta on the Beaulieu River in Hampshire, cruising in company the bends and reaches of that delightful river. The smallest boat went much further, and steamed across the Solent to Cowes and back.

During that regatta the Steam Boat Association was formed.  Its aim was to bring together all those whose interest lay in small steamers, from 10 to 100 feet in length. It now has regattas and cruises each season in locations up and down Great Britain and Ireland.

It publishes an online register of known steam boats and launches world wide and has an extensive archive on steam boats and steam boat builders.

The Association has grown considerably since its early days and now has a world-wide membership of around 900, with 750 in the UK.