New kid on the block

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csonics
Anne from Little Britan
Anne from Little Britan
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New kid on the block

Post by csonics » Wed Nov 18, 2009 1:48 am

Posted on behalf of oldiron:

oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:22 pm Post subject: New kid on the block
Hello:
I've just joined this forum and I thought I'd introduce myself. I'm located in Ontario, Canada. I've been involved in all things steamy for most of my life, in fact my trade is in steam.
My involvement has included steam railway locomotives, steam traction engines and steam boats. I was engineer for a number of years on the Wanda III in Gravenhurst. I'm currently involved as engineer on the Bigwin in Dorset. This vessel is undergoing restoration and will be in the water again next year.
I'm looking forward to looking and learning from others on this forum.

John
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Edward
Lighting the Boiler


Joined: 01 Oct 2007
Posts: 39
Location: Ambleside, Cumbria, UK
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 5:28 pm Post subject:
Hello John ,

Nice to have you on ? in ? the forum .
I think , after reading your CV , that we'll be the ones who learn .

All the best Edward.
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:09 pm Post subject:
Edward wrote:
Hello John ,

Nice to have you on ? in ? the forum .
I think , after reading your CV , that we'll be the ones who learn .

All the best Edward.


Edward:

Thanks very much. If there's one thing I've learned in life its got to be "the more you think you learn, the less you know". More knowledge leads to more questions.
That said, I'll certainly help where I can.

all the best
John
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csonics
Lighting the Boiler


Joined: 16 Oct 2009
Posts: 42

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 7:40 pm Post subject:
Welcome John! I too am a new and MUCH less experienced member! I look forward to picking your brain in the future! That's a beautiful boat on your avatar picture! What's her name and where is she located?

-Mike
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 9:32 pm Post subject:
csonics wrote:
Welcome John! I too am a new and MUCH less experienced member! I look forward to picking your brain in the future! That's a beautiful boat on your avatar picture! What's her name and where is she located?

-Mike


Thanks for the welcome. The vessel is the Wanda III. I was her engineer for several years. She's located in Gravenhurst, Ontario. She's powered by a Polson Iron Works triple expansion engine, has a four foot prop with a six foot pitch. She's a real rocket. She comes in at 94 feet wit a 12 foot beam.
She was original built in 1915 for the Eaton family and used as the family taxi to get from their cottage to the train station at Bala. Must be nice to have that kind of money.
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DetroiTug
Warming the Engine


Joined: 19 Jul 2009
Posts: 72
Location: Outside Detroit
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 10:02 pm Post subject:
Hi OldRon, From another OldRon, Welcome

-Ron
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87gn@tahoe
Full Ahead


Joined: 23 Feb 2009
Posts: 148
Location: South Lake Tahoe, CA
Posted: Thu Nov 05, 2009 10:16 pm Post subject:
Welcome John!

I LOVE the Muskoka lakes area.. Especially the Segwun and the Wanda III.

My uncle's family has a very large property in Bala... "the Jacksons".. right on the water.

Were you engineer on the Wanda before they replaced the boiler?.. The new boiler looked awfully small fo the engine.. was there any noticable difference in performance? Why didn't they just re-tube the old boiler?

Do you have any more pictures of the Wanda III?

wes
_________________
Wesley Harcourt
-S.L. Wayward Belle (Mr. Grosjean was/is a genius.)
-S.L. George H. Sandin (Father's boat. Cut my teeth on that one.)
-'64 Buick Riviera
-'65 Buick Special WAGON
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:43 am Post subject:
87gn@tahoe wrote:
Welcome John!

I LOVE the Muskoka lakes area.. Especially the Segwun and the Wanda III.

My uncle's family has a very large property in Bala... "the Jacksons".. right on the water.

Were you engineer on the Wanda before they replaced the boiler?.. The new boiler looked awfully small fo the engine.. was there any noticable difference in performance? Why didn't they just re-tube the old boiler?

Do you have any more pictures of the Wanda III?

wes


Thanks for the welcome.
Yes, I was the engineer when the old boiler failed. We were setting up to go out on a charter. The fireman had pressure up and I was doing my final checks when I noticed steam coming from under the decking on the starboard side of the boiler. To make a long story short we found it was coming from the riveted seam along the side of the mud drum on the side. ( this was a Mosher three drum boiler). A boiler company came in with Xray equipment and found micro cracking connecting various corrosion pockets in the drum and cracking around the rivet holes in the area of the steam leak.
These were the original 1915 drums. The tubes had been replaced in the nineties. I left after that incident (but came back a few years later) so wasn't directly party to the new boiler acquisition. I don't think much consideration was given to the selection of an appropriate replacement boiler. Rather it was a case of what was the most financially expedient.
The new boiler was an off the shelf package item that relied on electronics to run it. Since all we had was a steam driven generator on board (that worked very well), it was deemed necessary to put in a small diesel generator set to reliably supply power for the new boiler. Consequently the original steam gen set was removed.
The new boiler had its problems, however, when sorted out it worked as designed for its intended purpose, but that wasn't to be in a boat. The engine, and auxiliaries drew more steam than the boiler was adequately prepared to produce, so the engine ended up being rather lethargic after that. Too bad, its a very good engine and performed beautifully.
She's not in operation now largely because of Ministry of Transport regulation changes and requirements. One of the big concerns on the ministry's side was the hull beam to length ratio. She is very long and slender, and cuts the water like a knife. However, the regulations require something more beamy now and you can't increase her beam very well to meet the regs. Now she sits as a visual (static?) museum.

John
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 9:44 am Post subject:
87gn@tahoe wrote:
Welcome John!



Do you have any more pictures of the Wanda III?

wes


Yes, I've got quite a few pictures of her. I just have to figure out how to post them on this site.

John
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Maltelec
Site Admin


Joined: 23 Sep 2007
Posts: 156
Location: Cumbria, UK
Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 11:31 am Post subject:
Hi there John, nice to have you here on the forum.
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I've got the vehicle , just need the boat.
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87gn@tahoe
Full Ahead


Joined: 23 Feb 2009
Posts: 148
Location: South Lake Tahoe, CA
Posted: Fri Nov 06, 2009 8:03 pm Post subject:
oldiron wrote:
87gn@tahoe wrote:
Welcome John!



Do you have any more pictures of the Wanda III?

wes


Yes, I've got quite a few pictures of her. I just have to figure out how to post them on this site.

John
You can upload them to www.photobucket.com then post the supplied link for the photos... It's all free.

That's a shame about the Wanda III.. It's too bad someone couldn't take it on as a "private" venture and give rides for "donations". I imagne the ministry couldn't have a say in it then.

wes
_________________
Wesley Harcourt
-S.L. Wayward Belle (Mr. Grosjean was/is a genius.)
-S.L. George H. Sandin (Father's boat. Cut my teeth on that one.)
-'64 Buick Riviera
-'65 Buick Special WAGON
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:14 am Post subject:
87gn@tahoe wrote:
oldiron wrote:
87gn@tahoe wrote:
Welcome John!



Do you have any more pictures of the Wanda III?

wes


Yes, I've got quite a few pictures of her. I just have to figure out how to post them on this site.

John
You can upload them to www.photobucket.com then post the supplied link for the photos... It's all free.

That's a shame about the Wanda III.. It's too bad someone couldn't take it on as a "private" venture and give rides for "donations". I imagne the ministry couldn't have a say in it then.

wes


Wes:

You're right. I guess there has to be the will. Its even more alarming when you consider the vessel is already owned by a preservation group. The Bigwin in Dorset is being treated as you suggest. It'll be in the water in the spring. The engine goes in, in a few weeks.

I'll get set up with photo bucket

John
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 5:51 am Post subject: Attempting pictures
Here's an attempt to try and post some pictures on here through Photo Bucket. Its additional pictures of the Wanda.

John Image
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 6:06 am Post subject: Wanda pictures
Lets try this again:

http://s615.photobucket.com/albums/tt23 ... =slideshow

John
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DetroiTug
Warming the Engine


Joined: 19 Jul 2009
Posts: 72
Location: Outside Detroit
Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 11:19 am Post subject:
John,

Beautiful boat.

-Ron


(I thought your name was "Oldron" not "Oldiron" why my last post. I need to start wearing my glasses at the PC:)

oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Sun Nov 08, 2009 12:55 pm Post subject:
DetroiTug wrote:
John,

Beautiful boat.

-Ron


(I thought your name was "Oldron" not "Oldiron" why my last post. I need to start wearing my glasses at the PC:)


Ron:

She is quite nice isn't she.
I know what you mean about glasses, I've long since passed the point where my arms aren't long enough.
I've added another picture to that album. It shows the stern out of the water. Its an unusual design.

http://s615.photobucket.com/albums/tt23 ... 1257706040

The hull is a little different too in as much as its a composite construction. That is to say, the hull is steel from the water line up, but wood below the water line. Since the vessel was spending all its time on the Muskoka Lakes it was felt better to produce it this way. At the time of its construction, 1915, the Muskoka area was very much back woods. There weren't an abundance of metal workers in the area to repair steel hulls. However, there were a lot of excellent wood workers. Hence, in case the vessel got holed on one of the many underwater rocks, it was felt the vessel would be much more easily repaired if the lower side was wood, to take advantage of local skills.

John
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DetroiTug
Warming the Engine


Joined: 19 Jul 2009
Posts: 72
Location: Outside Detroit
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 2:32 pm Post subject:
I wish I was rich, I'd definitely love to buy and get her back in the water. That boat belongs in the water.

"Muskoka" area? I think I have a book here, you may know of it, "Northern steamboats" by Richard Tatley, that tells all about that area. What a fascinating read. Yeah, I just drug the book down. Yep, all about the Ontario back country for the last 200 or so years of steamboats. Timiskaming, Nipissing & Abitibi. What a fascinating read. If anyone else is reading this, grab a copy of this book, if you aren't hooked on steamboats, you will be. Lots of great stories and tidbits within, pulling logs, small tugs running up in backwaters snaking out stray logs. Carry folks to cottages, excursions Gives an accurate depiction of what life was like back then aboard a steamer. The heat, the bedbugs, the characters along the water. If I remember correctly the Wanda is mentioned in their too. Along with many many other boats. Lots of small lake tugs like I'm building.

I got this copy off of Ebay, Someone had a bunch of them, hardbound and cheap, like 10 dollars. Worth every penny.

Just looked, Ebay and Amazon both have them.

Thanks John...

-Ron R
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87gn@tahoe
Full Ahead


Joined: 23 Feb 2009
Posts: 148
Location: South Lake Tahoe, CA
Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 8:28 pm Post subject:
John,

great photos...

You can also copy and paste the "IMG Code" link for a given picture and the picture will come up in your post.

Example:

Image
_________________
Wesley Harcourt
-S.L. Wayward Belle (Mr. Grosjean was/is a genius.)
-S.L. George H. Sandin (Father's boat. Cut my teeth on that one.)
-'64 Buick Riviera
-'65 Buick Special WAGON
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csonics
Lighting the Boiler


Joined: 16 Oct 2009
Posts: 42

Posted: Mon Nov 09, 2009 9:48 pm Post subject:
Wow! What an amazing ship! I love that stern! Looks like it cuts through the water like a knife through butter. What was her top speed?

Ron,

Great call on that book! I just picked me up a copy on half.com for $10 with shipping an handling. Not bad!
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oldiron
Just Starting Out


Joined: 04 Nov 2009
Posts: 10

Posted: Mon Nov 16, 2009 11:24 am Post subject:
csonics wrote:
Wow! What an amazing ship! I love that stern! Looks like it cuts through the water like a knife through butter. What was her top speed?

Ron,

Great call on that book! I just picked me up a copy on half.com for $10 with shipping an handling. Not bad!


Ron:
Sorry to all about the delay in response. My computer has been in the shop for the past week. Just got it back.
Anyway, yes she does cut the water like a knife. She had a top speed of 25knots. Unfortunately, what made her cut the water nicely was also the reason for her being given a retirement. Her beam (12') is too narrow (for her length) to meet current coast guard safety standards. Options to add the disability they were looking for was investigated, however, they weren't too practical and would have been a significant detriment from her sleek lines.
Mention was made of the book on Steam Boats of Northern Ontario. It is an excellent book. Richard also wrote a two volume set on the Steam Boats of the Muskokas. A very excellent pair of volumes. I don't know if they're still available or not.

John
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