The Steamboating Forum

I have purchased Artemis from the Hesston Steam Museum in LaPorte IN a few weeks ago. I thought I would share the news.

I moved her to Kalamazoo MI and she is in out of the weather in my heated shop for repairs. The longer term plan is to have her in my slip over in South Haven MI steaming on Lake MI.

I am still trying to put together all of her history but have found a lot through reading here, pictures she came with. (Ill post sometime) I gathered she was owned by Ron Fossum at one time. He has inadvertently left me a million little clues in this forum as he uses Artemis in may of his posts as an example. Everyday I have found some other few details from him by just reading through all his posts.

The hull is in rough shape but I feel savable with a lot of work. Thankfully the keel is sold. The planks are ok. Some are in rough shape and will be replaced. Many frames are either cracked from stress or rotted. The upper structure is mostly sound but does have some delamination on the roof. I have started in the aft section on the sternpost. Parts of it were completely rotted. Its going to be a huge project but it needed to happen. Someone put a lot of time an effort into converting this boat to what it is and what is here is repairable.

The machinery is mostly there but with a few missing pc. The boiler has a 12v beckett burner on it now. Not sure if it works. The boiler itself seems to be plumbed just as Ron described it throughout his posts. I have not hydro tested it so that is still an unknown. Someone has removed her gen set. It was a Stuart Sirus with an alternator. I will have to come up with something else as the beckett burner draws 12 amps and the circ pump right now for condenser is 12 volt. Or I have to do some rethinking on those systems. Not sure yet. The engine was really stiff at first but I have it rolling over well after oiling and working carefully. I am missing the back half of the air pump. I think it was removed for winterization but I cant find it anywhere in the things I got with her. Not sure if I can make something or I have to start over.

This is going to be an exciting project and I am looking forward to steaming her some day.
If anyone has any information on Artemis I would love to hear. I would also enjoy a chat with Ron Fossum if someone knows if he is still around and willing. I see on here he has not been active for some years now.

Thank you
Justin Steele

Here are a few more photos of the boat.

Some of the hull repairs started

Machinery and looking forward.

Wow I'm really happy she's gone to good home!

As far as electric pumps and such I'd work on having at least a mechanical option as backup in case you let the smoke out and the electrickery fails. Electric circulating pump would be useful while you were running steam auxiliaries into the condenser, but not the main engine with attached mechanical circulating pump.

Liberty ships had an onboard condenser just for auxiliaries. Mounted directly below it was a pump with a central steam cylinder, a condensate pump on one end, and a circulating pump on the other end. Pretty neat setup when one has as many auxiliaries as a liberty ship lol.

Cliff Blackstaffe wrote an article in Steamboats and Modern Steam Launches titled something like "The Pitfalls of Skeena" worth a read.

Wes
I have been admiring your Dad's boat for years watching your posts on YouTube. That is an awesome build. I wish I could see her in person.

I was thinking the same thing honestly about the pumps. I'd rather probably forget the 12 powered everything and just go all steam. I saw somewhere here that you had built a burner for your boat. Have you had good luck burning oil with it? I pondered just burning coal or wood but I can see it's disadvantages of carrying enough to go any distance.

I can carry enough wood under the wheelhouse floor for 30 mile range. Some on the aftdeck for 50. Coal takes up about half as much room for that much fuel.

Congratulations on your purchase, a fine steam plant you have there.

I just recently put together an oil fired steamboat, (my third steamboat so far) also with a Beckett burner. I bought an automotive alternator, but have yet to install it. I carry two Group 27 Lead acid 12 volt batteries (deep cycle marine, about $100 each), and they will run the burner for more than 10 hours without recharging. So I would suggest you install a similar setup until you get a generator, put that on the "later" list, when you can get a round tuit.

Best wishes for the new year

DetroiTug wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 4:39 am I can carry enough wood under the wheelhouse floor for 30 mile range. Some on the aftdeck for 50. Coal takes up about half as much room for that much fuel.

Rainbow will steam for 25+ hours (100+ nautical miles) on the wood she can carry under the raised foredeck. We use a 16" diameter bundle of 16" chunks of wood tied together w/ string, and coal would make an real mess and have handling issues. Since we have 10 acres of woodlot, harvesting trees that fall of their own accord (wind + root rot, typically) keeps us in firewood for the house and boat. Rainbow will carry a lot of weight; smaller low displacement hulls have definite issues carrying enough wood to steam long distances.

- Bart

JustinSteele wrote: ↑Wed Jan 05, 2022 12:54 am Wes
I have been admiring your Dad's boat for years watching your posts on YouTube. That is an awesome build. I wish I could see her in person.

I was thinking the same thing honestly about the pumps. I'd rather probably forget the 12 powered everything and just go all steam. I saw somewhere here that you had built a burner for your boat. Have you had good luck burning oil with it? I pondered just burning coal or wood but I can see it's disadvantages of carrying enough to go any distance.

Thank you for your kinds words. You, and anyone else on the forum for that matter, are welcome to come out on her if you find yourself in the Sacramento region.

The burner works very well. It is much more quiet and uses less steam than a Williams atomizing burner. Having said that I would prefer a burner that required no use of steam to operate, especially steaming about in muddy waters. I've been playing with the idea of a diesel injection pump and a few diesel injectors aimed in the firebox... I'm still in the daydreaming stage for that though.

Getting older I find myself leaning more and more towards the quiet of solid fuel firing. Even with the associated mess, pain in bunkering, etc. There is something magical about just hearing the water boil, the crackle of the fire, and the engine turning over.