Rough cost of a small steamboat

[stevey_frac]

Hi guys!

I was wondering what the cost of a small steam boat would be, in your opinion to have made.

I'm thinking 15' ish, 5 hp non-compounding, nothing fancy.

Thanks,
Steve

[Edward]

Dear stevey_frac ,

I'm tempted to ask how long is a piece of string because the answer is so variable depending on what you want , where you are , how much you want to do yourself and if you are prepared to do some of the work , where your particular skills lie , ie mechanical/metal work/ machining/ welding/carpentry etc .
In the UK it used to be said that the cost of a new boat was roughly £1000.00 per foot . I think that this is now a little bit on the low side but a huge amount depends on whether you want a GRP or wooden hull , if wooden what type of wood ? (Teak is likely to cost MUCH more than Red Cedar.) Wood is likely to cost more than GRP , but here again there are variables as it will depend if you are looking at an off- the-shelf design or a one-off (one-off wood is likely to be cheaper than one-off GRP because GRP needs to have a mould built)
The choice of engine will also have a considerable effect on the price :Cheapest will be a non condensing single simple , next a condensing single , next a non condensing twin high etc etc : If you are paying someone to make an engine for you the materials (although a consideration) are not as costly as the labour . So the number and complexity of the components is what costs .
If you want a painted hull and interior this will be a relatively cheap option . If however you want a shiny varnished wooden hull and interior it will cost . One person I know reckons that "..varnish costs £200.00 per litre..." The material cost is about £15.00 , the rest is applying about six coats and rubbing down between each coat , so as always it is the labour that costs most .

So you see your simple question can have many answers depending on what your requirements are .
I think you must tell us where you would be expecting to buy your boat and whether you would just wish to tell a commercial builder to get on with it , hull , engine , boiler and all ; whether you would want or be able to do any of the work (including possibly finding second hand components etc ) yourself ; and whether you want a shiny varnished replica of a vintage boat or a less flashy , but no less loveable , every day boat .

I would also strongly advise you to look around and see what is available second hand as , if something meets your requirements , it is likely to be MUCH cheaper than having it made specially .

Best Regards Edward .

PS I would also say that for a 15' ish boat I think you only need 1 1/2 to 2 hp

[farmerden]

Here in USA and Canada you can buy a fiberglass hull shell for around $6000 add a deck a little more add a wood deck a lot more! A boiler let's say $5-8000 an engine a similar amount .Then we get into the hardware-prop shaft,prop ,rudder,steering and miss. parts you never dreamed of! I don't think you can buy the pieces for a boat for under $30000 US Then you have to assemble it all. If you are bound and determined to do it yourself buy it a part at a time- When I installed a geothermal heat system in my house the costs just kept increasing and increasing ,when I complained the guy said "If I'd told you what it would really cost ,you wouldn't have done it!" same goes with boats! By the way I 'm glad I did the heat system and I'm glad I have a boat! Now here's another way,I was looking for a specific fibreglass hull-It would have cost $5700 Almost at the same time an estate sale came up,the same hull ,Semple 354 engine ,Hobby boiler, and absolutely everything to complete the boat all new -some assembly required! I paid what they wanted.And yes I did try to dicker! $10000 Buying second hand sometimes works.And then there are little boats tucked away gathering dust-ready to go.Look at some of our old club papers most of those boats are still out there-you just have to dig a little.Here's a shot of the boat I picked up last year,the boiler and engine are in the back of the truck.I could put no more in the truck,the passenger side of the cab was filled with ,I think,every steam book ever printed! Start looking .By the way the boat will be called "Dreamer" and I am just keeping the dream alive Den
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[stevey_frac]

That's a nice looking hull you have there Farmer.

These are the costs i've worked out so far.

Tiny Power W-Center Crank (found here) for $3800. It's 5hp.

Uhm. Ya. That's pretty much it. LOL.

The hull, i've considered building, especially if i can get a design that is the plywood sheet type design. My father is a master craftsman in woodworking, so we could probably make up a fancy deck. The varnishing, and such, i don't mind doing.

I don't have the welding skills to make a boiler, and it's something that I feel i should buy, but I don't even know where I should be looking to get one. As for the steering, plumbing, condenser, etc... boiler feed pumps... I have no idea where to look either. For the feed pumps I was thinking having two injectors of different sizes and a hand pump would work fairly well, and i've seen traction engines with that configuration.

I was considering building the hull myself, and then getting Rappahannock Boat Works to do the rest.

I'm hoping that all said and done, I can keep the price under $25000.

[artemis]

...I don't have the welding skills to make a boiler, and it's something that I feel i should buy, but I don't even know where I should be looking to get one. As for the steering, plumbing, condenser, etc... boiler feed pumps... I have no idea where to look either. For the feed pumps I was thinking having two injectors of different sizes and a hand pump would work fairly well, and i've seen traction engines with that configuration...

Check out Beckmann Boatshop http://www.steamboating.net, located in Rhode Island. They have a number of boilers that would work for your engine. You might also talk to Ronnie at Rappahannock Boats Works. He now owns Tiny Power and may have someone who can build you a boiler to the 5HP.

You should have two DEPENDABLE ways to get water into a boiler. A hand pump of course - it also doubles as a good way to annually hydro test the boiler. Injectors are dependable if operating continuously as with railway locomotives, but not necessarily so with the intermittent use they get on hobby steamboats. A much better second way is an engine driven feedpump. And, as the pump supplies water proportional to the engine speed, it tends to be more self regulating. Ronnie should have an engine driven pump for the 5HP.

[Johnlanark]

Hi Steve. If you are considering building a plywood boat, there are plans available from Paul Fisher: Here:
http://www.selway-fisher.com/Steam.htm

Engines come up for sale from time to time on ebay and so on.
Boiler designs are available from the Steam Boat Association of GB (to members ). I'm about to start building the three drum watertube weldless design for my new 20 foot boat, and hope it is not too huge a job. Here:
http://www.steamboat.org.uk/sbas_boiler_designs.htm

John.

[Edward]

I spent hours typing this out , lost it once and had to start again only to find when I went to preview that I had been beaten to it ! But I'm damned if I'm going to let the effort go to waste , so here it is anyhow

Dear Stevey-frac

For your hull you might consider one of the Selway Fisher designs : http://www.selway-fisher.com/Steam.htm . They come in all shapes and sizes and I'm sure one of them would suit you . They do several designs for stitched plywood construction but also some for strip plank construction which can give a more vintage hull shape .

Don't be put off by strip planking , it is a fairly straightforward method to use and can give excellent results . ( Have a look at Johnlanark's posting " John's New Boat Progress " in the section "Members Websites and Boats." )

I'm sure with your fathers help you would have few problems .

Edward

[stevey_frac]

Well guys, so far you are batting 3 for 3.

There are two designs I love on the fisher-Selway page.
The Edwardian 19', and the Fanny the Fantail. Both could be very eloquently done.

If strip-planking is accessible to someone who's never built a boat, that'd be fairly awesome to build the Edwardian 19'.

Regarding the boiler, I checked out the site you guys linked. I'm somewhat torn. The Vertical Fire Tube is cheaper, and probably easier to run. But I think the water tube is inherently safer? Either way, that gives me a source for a boiler. He also sells feed pumps, and boiler accessories, and give me the option of doing the lagging myself. He also seems to sell the tiny power M with feed pump and vacuum pumps installed! Assuming I can make the steering work myself, I could probably make the rest work.

See, now ya'll get me excited ...

[Maltelec]

One phrase I have heard a few times is you makes an indentation in the water the shape of a hull and fill it with money.

The cost is largely down to your ability to spot a bargain.

Should you inherit an engine from someone, and find a propeller in the scrap yard which you swap for some scrap, and just happen to know of someone selling a perfectly good 2nd hand boiler, then know someone with an old boat who owes you a favour etc. Which will just leave the trailer.

You will find you can build a steamboat in a very much cost-effective way.

Alternatively, if you are wanting someone to make you an engine, that could be £6,000 easy. A hull nicely finished could be £12,000. A boiler could be £4000. Having someone spend a month fitting it together at £20 an hour would be £3000+ £1000 materials. You'd want a trailer at £2000.

So for £28,000 you could find someone to build you a complete steam boat.

The general rule of thumb is that to get people to do the work for you will cost a fortune. The more you can do yourself, the cheaper it will be.

The SBA have been running a project for making budget steam boats. The engine designed to be cost-effective is very simple to make (simpler to make = less time required). The full is fibreglass, you simply drop it out of the mould. That just leaves finishing off the hull, which anyone with DIY skills could do, and the boiler, pipe work.

[stevey_frac]

Do you have to be a member to access this budget steamboat project? And can you still get a shiny solid varnish color on it?

Thanks,
Steve