Nyitra I

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TahoeSteam
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by TahoeSteam » Tue Oct 03, 2017 8:17 pm

Nice run there CB. Good to get a last couple I'm before the weather changes on ya!
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cyberbadger
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by cyberbadger » Thu Oct 05, 2017 12:10 am

Speaking of which, Today Nyitra steamed one last time this season (at least in Chautauqua) to the Marina to be taken out of the water Just got back towing her 3 hours back to home in the Akron, OH area.

What a successful Debut Summer at Chautauqua!!

This Summer Nyitra ...
1) Helped teach my 12 year old nephew how to fire a boiler to cross the lake to get Ice Cream.
2) Met and played with a much bigger steam boat the Chautauqua Belle, steamed side by side several times and exchanging friendly whistle exchanges.
3) Had several group outings with as many as 5 passengers at once.
4) Steamed half way down the lake once for Lunch
5) Steamed many times to Mayville for Lunch.
6) Met lots of friendly boats and people.

and did not break down seriously enough to need a tow!

On the smiles/mile scale I think she has almost broken the gauge! :lol:

-CB
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cyberbadger
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by cyberbadger » Mon Apr 30, 2018 3:42 pm

Well I definately did not get as much done for this winter as planned, but I just completed a yearly hydro and a basic steam test (Safety valve, whistle, tricocks, gauge glass, injector functionality.)

Personally I am going on a once in lifetime opportunity and going on a multiweek sailing trip with my buddy on the Great Lakes in June. This will probably delay Nyitra from getting to Lake Chautauqua until after my trip.

-CB
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by Lionel Connell » Wed May 02, 2018 6:31 am

Did you get any further with your bow thruster ideas?
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cyberbadger
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by cyberbadger » Wed May 02, 2018 11:47 am

Lionel Connell wrote:Did you get any further with your bow thruster ideas?
I'm going to put a 90 degree on the one boiler drain that dips into the water and just give that a shot. It will be near the complete center, so not quite as effective as a bow or stern thruster. However It should give me an idea of what kind of thrust is possible. It's a 1" Pipe.

-CB
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by cyberbadger » Thu Jun 07, 2018 8:40 pm

Made my own personal signal, a sugarbeet over a smokestak.

The sugarbeet is because my great grandfather's Steam Launch Nyitra in 1913 which tugged barges of sugar beets from surrounding Gyo,Hungary to the sugar mill in Acs, Hungary.

I'm about to embark on a 2-3 week sailing (not steaming) trip on my friends Catalina 22 Circe this weekend!

I will be flying my new personal signal onboard Circe some of the timeso If you are on Lake Michigan, Huron, or Erie and see this flying on a 22 Catalina... :-P

-CB
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cyberbadger
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by cyberbadger » Mon Aug 26, 2019 2:50 am

Nyitra has undergone a lot of hidden upgrades, a 3/8" 40"x40" mild steel plate added ontop of the 3/4" marine ply for the engine and transmission shafting to bolt to, engine overhaul, etc.

I held a private race on Lake Chautauqua this weekend, what we call the "Fern Lodge 1890s Classic: Sail VS Steam" This year it was Nyitra vs a Sunfish sailboat. :)

The race was a winner takes all race with the course being from Point Chautauqua to the Chautauqua Institute Clock Tower and then the second leg ending at the Mayville Public Dock.

We recovering from two set backs during the leg from Point Chautauqua to the Chautauqua Institute Clock Tower: a broken steering linkage and the aft crank pin journal nut coming undone- good thing I was watching the engine. I cut steam with the 3/4" right angle Milwaukee Globe Valve in time for the journal insert to fall onto the deck! 8-)

Unfortunately, our stack blew off and Nyitra has joined the long list of Chautauqua Steamboats who have parts laying in the depths of Lake Chautauqua! :) This severely crippled the puffer arrangement and steady pressures between 150-200psi dropped quickly to 50psi, we had to stop a few times, and we finally had to get a short tow.

Noone received more then a few minor burns/scrapes and it was a good fair fight.

This was in actuality fairly historically accurate - steamboats did break down sometimes and sometimes Sail could be more reliable.

Congratulations to my good friend for a victory for team SAIL this year.

Happy Steaming - and don't forget to secure your stack! :)
-CB
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by cyberbadger » Tue Sep 10, 2019 3:06 am

Had some good performance testing and a first steaming with propane. I have to embrace more common fuels for a longer trip, as well as for making Nyitra more manageable single-handedly.

I have come to the consensus with my good friend that the upper speed limit on Nyitra is currently limited by the transmission.

The theory is at roughly 5mph the HTD Gates Powergrip belt and the propeller shaft htd toothed pulley are acting as a pump, and the water has nowhere to go so finally it pushes the belt outwards so much it skips a tooth because of the torque and hydraulic action.

This was mentioned as a possibility by the machinist I paid to machine the propeller shaft for me.

The solution is to drill out holes diagonally so the water can rush out the sides of the pulley.

This is perhaps easier said then done as the pulley is currently rusted to the shaft and the pulley is stainless steel.

I saw a nice saying recently - "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor." :)

Here is a quick clip at my friends pond:

** DISCLAIMER - This is testing, be glad enough that I'm sharing, nothing in the video is necessarily good practice **
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0fp0Ww_HsA

-CB
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by TahoeSteam » Thu Oct 03, 2019 3:42 am

It sounds like you had a very eventful season. Sorry uou weren't able to show sail who's boss. I'm rooting for you next year!
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Re: Nyitra I

Post by cyberbadger » Thu Oct 03, 2019 9:47 pm

Thanks Wes. Well I kind of wanted Sail to win this year, but not quite 3 big breakdowns big. :-P

Already rectifying the weak points...

I just am upgrading Nyitra to Hydraulic steering from a company called Hydrodrive. Their M75 kit is meant for an outboard to 75Hp. I adapted it for my Rudder. Now it's all new, and the steering links are all fairly tight and all _steel_ now (I was using these chain-link fence tops for under $1, but those are made of some zinc chinesium and they have broken several times at inopportune moments).

https://www.amazon.com/Hydrodrive-Outbo ... B07DNGS4GQ

Nyitra can now be fired with propane, I'm going to build a pot burner for kerosene/diesel. Trying to get Nyitra flexible with fuel and reliable enough for a long trip down the Ohio River.

-CB
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