The Steamboating Forum

looking really good ,, cant wait to see the stack in place. then she will be a real tug

Here is the stack and hood. It will hinge back for transport. 54" tall, and 12" in diameter. The vent for the relief valve and whistle will be mounted in the couplers welded in to the hood. The hood will be removable for poking the tubes, the piping will have unions. The whistle valve will be before the union.

The liner inside the hood will be mounted in the roof opening permanently.

-Ron

Here is the stack set in place, still have to do the final mounting. It will have a cable stay port and starboard with a turnbuckle to pad eyes in the roof. The steering wheel is mounted and all hooked up to the rudder now. Fixed the manual feedpump last night and will re-install the engine this weekend. Getting close!

-Ron

Hi Ron,

That's a very neat funnel design, although I have to say I prefer it in the slighlty raked position that you are holding it in as far as aesthetics go.

Greg

Pulling the tools, painting floor boards and cleaning bilges, ready to dunk this girl.

The engine is back in and piped up.

Replaced the old 125 psi Kunkle Relief valve with a new 100 psi Kunkle Relief valve. Tested the boiler with compressed air to cycle the new safety. Works perfect. The boiler was hydro'd last summer to 300, and it hasn't been used.

Got rid of the knocking sound in the engine, Found out No.2 piston was slapping the bottom head under pressure only. Rotating it by hand, it had clearance. Simple adjustment. Engine is much quieter now. Installed the dual drip oiler for the crosshead, works great.

Roofs are painted with a non skid buckskin color.

There is still a whole list of things to do yet, but I can use it safely as is.

I'll post up some pics with the floor back in.

-Ron

Getting very close to sea trials. Should happen this week after registration and trailer plates.

Here are some pics of the interior.














-Ron

A real 'little ship' feel to it now, it's looking great.

One question- in the photo showing the funnel and smokehood there is a pipe that comes out of the top of the boiler without isolation, then goes up into what looks like a check valve, and then out of the removeable outer funnel base- it has me slightly bewildered...?

Greg

Hi Greg,

The pipe you mention is for the whistle. Should there be a valve (isolation)right at the boiler?

Also, on the two pipes that go through the roof, I ran schedule 80, 300 WSP pipe up to the valves. Out to the whistle and for the relief valve vent, I used schedule 40. Should be okay like that?

-Ron

DetroiTug wrote:Hi Greg,

The pipe you mention is for the whistle. Should there be a valve (isolation)right at the boiler?

Also, on the two pipes that go through the roof, I ran schedule 80, 300 WSP pipe up to the valves. Out to the whistle and for the relief valve vent, I used schedule 40. Should be okay like that?

-Ron

ALL connections to the boiler - except that going to the safety valve - should be secured with a stop valve ("ball" valve is OK - it's easy to tell if the valve is open - as long as it is rated by the manufacturer for steam service. It's the temperature, not the pressure) which is attached to the boiler by a short length (but not a "close" nipple) of schedule 80.

That means the pressure gauge, which should also have a "siphon" to prevent live steam from direct contact with the bourdon tube inside the gauge.

And if nowhere else - YOU MUST HAVE A FUNCTIONING MAIN STEAM STOP VALVE for the engine lest you suffer the fate of the old Chinese worker who climbed into the engine crackpit in the movie "Sand Pebbles".

To modify an old Vulcan proverb: "Live long and safely"!

Hi Ron,

I'll change it. That piping is difficult to do. It has to be the exact length and angles, no give on neither end. The schedule 40 is okay for vent pipe and from valve to whistle?

Thanks for the explanation on the siphon - it's to keep the steam temp away from the Bourdon tube. They should call it a trap

-Ron