It followed me home... can I keep it??

[TahoeSteam]

My father and I visited an old friend, John York, yesterday and this followed us home... The "Ben My Cheree," a 30' steel Panatela with original Don Mentizer watertube boiler;











John's collection of calipers:



Here she is under "Hicks" power at the 2015 Great Delta Steamboat Meet:

[Akitene]

This is a lovely hull, for sure.

What about the engine?

[TahoeSteam]

Thank you.

Working on deciding the engine at the moment.. We have several options in hand such as a Bumaris compound, a Scripps compound, a Herreshoff (maybe?) single, and a very large French "Claparede" compound... Ideally I'd like to put another York compound in her as that's what she was originally powered with when John York built her.

[barts]

I remember riding in the front of this boat back in in the late 80s while she was still in steam.... we were on Clear Lake in a thunderstorm, and the waves were very short and steep as one might expect in a shallow lake. The route back to the dock had us heading directly into the waves, and the boat just cut through them ice-breaker style. The waves broke heavily on the foredeck, hitting the boiler behind us and raising clouds of steam; we used the throwable cushions to try and keep some of the green ones out of the boat.

- Bart

[Bob Cleek]

Wesley, it's just not fair! You and your dad have entirely too many steam toys.

She looks to be a really good boat. John York is up in Napa County, isn't he? Is he still building steam engines?

[TahoeSteam]

Bart,

I don't remember that meet but have heard many a story about it. I guess my family as on the "indian" when Joe Butterman owned it. We took shelter in the slough that the Pickersgills used to live on.

Bob,

Haha This will be the last boat I think... Or at least until I build a warehouse...

The hull is VERY well built, by the Millerick Bro's in Sebastopol. The same shop that built the Tule Princess. She has at least 1 sister that I know of that was built by them and copied from her.

John still lives in St. Helena, though he sold his machine shop a few years ago and is retired now. He has a very well equipped shop at home (19" Le Blond, etc...). I don't know if he's doing much outside work anymore.

[PeteThePen1]

What a lovely boat! And green too, the colour of my envy.

Hope you get her steaming soon.

Best wishes

Pete