Introduction

Read this first then introduce yourself here.
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Lopez Mike
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Re: Introduction

Post by Lopez Mike » Thu May 17, 2018 2:42 pm

O.K., Ron. Finley will now slit his wrists discovering that he has tapped into not only a rowdy bunch of steam nuts but also the lowest of the low, WRITERS!

I was all fired up about writing long ago and then discovered a small book about C.S. Forester, the author of The African Queen as well as all of the Hornblower tales. They reproduced a photocopy of a page of the first and only draft of a famous story about central america. A whole page of hand written prose with perhaps two small corrections. The horror! The horror! How could I ever consider following in such footsteps?

Finley,

Needless to say, everyone here is ready to buy a first edition of your new book. When will it be out?
If you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping with a mosquito.
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DetroiTug
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Re: Introduction

Post by DetroiTug » Thu May 17, 2018 5:23 pm

Quote: "discovered a small book about C.S. Forester"

There is or was a YouTube video with C.S. Forester of all places on the Groucho "You bet your life" show.

What a classy, delightful and intelligent man C.S. Forester was.

I liked the book ending of African Queen much better, it was far more believable as was the whole book vs the movie. The Movie was essentially funded by the actors and director, everyone else pulled out. Kate Hepburn wrote a book about the making of the movie and set/living conditions. Everyone but Bogart and John Huston got very ill while there. Bogie and Huston were both heavy drinkers and didn't drink the water.

One of my favorite gaffs in the movie other than the electrical tape on the steam line and the Stephenson link in middle position all the time, was at the end when they were going to be hung on the Louisa as spies. The home made torpedo hit and as the boat rolled over and the rope nooses seem to defy gravity and stay at a right angle to the deck. :lol: It was actually a very low budget movie, but it is undoubtedly one of the top 5 movies in popularity today.



-Ron
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Lopez Mike
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Re: Introduction

Post by Lopez Mike » Thu May 17, 2018 6:30 pm

I agree about the book ending being better. And it sort of followed what I suspect was the original purpose of the Queen and it's sister ships. Second hand information has it that five boats were built and shipped to East Africa and moved by train and then steam traction engine towed sledges to the lake. There is a hell of a story right there!

The most surprising fact of all to me is that the original steam cargo boat, the Louisa, used in the movie, was indeed in service by the Germans during WW1. When the British approached overland, the Germans greased the machinery and scuttled it. The English raised it and put it back in service. Upon independence, the africans kept it in service up to the present day. It is still cruising back and forth on the lake. The steam plant finally wore out and was replaced relatively recently with I.C. equipment.

The Louisa was built in Germany and launched and tested and then disassembled and shipped to Africa and put in service.

I have Hepburn's book about the making of the movie. As it turned out the real reason that everyone but the two of them were sick was that the bottled water was polluted!

There has been some information that the original engine and power plant was so far gone that the scenes showing them underway were done by towing the Queen with a submerged line.

I see that the original hull has settled down in Florida. I'm fairly sure that it has sort of like the quip about George Washington's axe. All original except for having gone through three heads and several handles. From the pictures I've seen the boat does not have any of the original equipment.

I found it very interesting that they built at least two other hulls for the movie. One of them only a half hull for getting the cameral angles right. It is obvious that while the original hull was steel or iron, the mockup hull(s) were carvel built.

To the dismay of many of my steaming friends, I am somewhat of a devotee of the African Queen school of thought where things are kept as simple as possible with the focus being on daily operation.
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Re: Introduction

Post by DetroiTug » Thu May 17, 2018 7:24 pm

Quote: "I see that the original hull has settled down in Florida. I'm fairly sure that it has sort of like the quip about George Washington's axe. "

I recall reading that on a website a while back that none of the original hull survives, we discussed it on here a long time ago. It is a shame that the Queen was not put in a museum. It's essentially gone. I recall listening to the car radio back in around 79, that the studio sold it at auction for 62,000 dollars. That is what I remember anyway.

Oh yeah, it was the bottled water, I forgot about that. I gotta dig that out and read it again one of these days.

Quote: "I am somewhat of a devotee of the African Queen school of thought where things are kept as simple as possible"

I really wanted to do that too, my plan was an engine and boiler with a hank of copper in between, BUT, I tend to daydream too much and foolishly act on those ideas. To each his own.

-Ron
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Re: Introduction

Post by Finley » Thu May 17, 2018 9:07 pm

Thanks very much everybody! It's all great material and plenty for starters. I'll be back with more questions, but that gets me on my way.
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Re: Introduction

Post by Finley » Thu May 17, 2018 9:14 pm

Oh, I just saw Ron's question about the trajectory of the book. I'd say I've got a good six months before I'd dare to call it finished. As to when a person could get a copy--could be a while . . ..
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