The Steamboating Forum

Well, there I was, going preparations for building a steamboat, when someone (who shall be nameless) suggested I might like to buy this one. She's a fairly well known boat, and some of you may know her, and her delightful previous owner, who sadly has severe health problems now.







I bought her with her varnish stripped off, and all the deck metal work off too, and it's taken several weeks to do a complete re-varnish, re-paint, and put all the fittings back. She's probably about as smart as she'll be for quite a while now!

The boiler is still in over-wintering condition still, and I haven't tried to run the oil fuel system or the burner, but as far as I know everything is OK and just needs the usual start-of-season things doing.

Really nice. I like that hull, good flow to the sheer and a plum bow.

-Ron

Great canopy. Any more detail pictures of it will be gratefully poured over. Like how the support columns attach at the tops and bottoms.

_________________
Galileo - Great mind.
Newton - Genius mind.
Einstein - Extraordinary mind
Me - Never mind.

Your wish is my command (up to a point)....

The canopy frame was (I suspect) constructed by the previous owner from stock aluminium extrusions: tee section frames athwartships, 1" x 5/16" flat bent to follow the edges of the canopy, and 3/8" rods fore-and-aft to link the frames and give more support. The support pillars are stainless tube, and the base supports brass. The whole thing is screwed together - no welding, and everything "do-able" in a reasonable home workshop. The discolouration on the aluminium is some sort of algal growth, and wipes off.



Top of support tube. Plain aluminium block tapped and screwed to the aluminium canopy frame members.



Canopy base bracket for support pillars. These look like brass castings, but in fact are fabricated from 1/4" brass sheet and 1.5" brass bar, screwed together - presumably rounded with the aid of a rotary table and milling machine: maybe party free-hand + file.



The driver's seat has a back rest which folds out of the way against the side of the boat, and I realised that it uses an almost identical bracket to the canopy support ones, with cut-outs so that it locks into the folded and in-use positions.



"Spare" canopy support poles have been used as removable guides to get the boat positioned centrally on the trailer. I've not used them yet, but they look handy.


Trailer fitting which the guide poles slip onto. The red dust is from sanding off old bottom paint, proving that the trailer has been under cover since the re-paint.

Thank you!

Algal growth in the East of England? Say it isn't so (grin).

Further questions:

What are those straps hanging down all about? What holds the canvas (I assume it's canvas) on to the frame? Looks like strips of Velcro?

I have guides like that on my trailer and I find them essential to centering the boat especially when working alone. Mine are a closer fit and are made such that they can roll along the side of the hull. A sleeve made of plastic pipe. But then they chafe when motoring down the road. Needs more thought.

Another thing that has transformed the retrieval of my boat is a pair of padded guides that contact the sheer perhaps a foot aft of the bow. I steam slowly into their welcoming embrace and leave the engine ticking over as I stroll forward to clip the winch cable to the bow eye. All very low key and dignified except for the one time I fell overboard in a foot of water. Terrible loss of dignity.

_________________
Galileo - Great mind.
Newton - Genius mind.
Einstein - Extraordinary mind
Me - Never mind.

Mike,
Well algal growth would be rare here close to the East coast, but the boat comes from a fair bit south and west where it's warmer and damper.

The canopy cover is indeed canvas, and is held on by some velcro, some turn-buttons, and the occasional bit of lacing. The side panels are quite new, but the canopy roof is getting a bit elderly and will need replacing next year, or maybe the year after.

The straps hanging down should be loops, but have broken, and are intended for the canopy side panels to hang in rolled up. I haven't put them up there myself yet, but they were rolled up and in the canopy roof when I first saw the boat, and they weren't obtrusive. There are plenty of lockers under the seats etc, but you know what happens with lockers. (some of what I found in the bilges was quite drinkable...)

The diagonal bits of thin rope are bracing for the canopy, which may have been unnecessary, but were put on to stiffen-up the framework for the long road journey at relatively high speeds. We're allowed up to 60 mph on Motorways, but I didn't actually go above about 55 mph, and while the weight was noticeable going up the steeper hills, she actually tows very nicely behind a fairly ordinary car.

There is a rubber-padded vee at the front of the trailer which will guide the bow to dead centre with the engine running slow ahead. I suppose I could add some pipe lagging or something over the vertical guides to give a tighter fit if need be, and of course the whole lot slips off for towing.

Dignity? I'm not sure I do dignity.

I had one of those V shaped rubber blocks but these pads are much larger vertically and are far enough apart that I don't need to do a very exact job of aiming the boat at all. They guide the boat in unless I'm way off in my alignment. No hanging over the front of the boat getting the stem into the V and no chance of marring the hull by hitting things wrong.

_________________
Galileo - Great mind.
Newton - Genius mind.
Einstein - Extraordinary mind
Me - Never mind.