The larger the prop diameter, the lower the slip... ideally, for a displacement hull you'd like about 1:1 ratio of diameter to pitch, since that ratio is most efficient. This is hard to fit under a lot of hulls as the pitch is more or less determined by RPM; most steamboats end up running a lot more...

Hello all,I Is anyone running a clutch set up on their boat. It would seem like a good idea. Instead of having to keep the prop turning or blowing the relief valve at the dock you could just let the engine turn. There's one boat with a clutch, since its monotube boiler needs engine-driven auxiliari...

Has anyone ever had some experience with this setup? Yup... this is exactly how I start the Otter's boiler from cold. Most folks w/ steam atomizing burners use a wood fire to start and as a target for their oil burner so as to keep it lit. I decided to approach the problem a little differently, sin...

Thanks, should i cut two grooves? one for each ring, or two rings in one groove? I used two separate grooves on Otter's engine, which seems to work just fine. Make sure to check end gap on the rings by sliding the rings down (square w/) the bore using the piston.... if it's too tight, things may br...

Most steamboats out this way definitely don't have Code boilers... Scotch boilers have fusible plugs. A monotube boiler built along the "flash overfeed principle" has been successfully used in steamboat w/ fancy controls.... http://www.thesteamboatingforum.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=237 - Bart

Bart, Beautiful engine in Otter. The green hulled boat, is that a steel hull? If so, any info on it around? -Ron Thanks.... it's still in progress; I bought it as a box of parts a few years ago. I made a new piston, piston rod, piston valve, valve rod, and misc. pieces for the valve gear; the flywh...

You can see a bunch of our pictures from the B & W meet here:

http://www.smaalders.net/barbie/Travels ... index.html

sample is attached....

= Bart

The price of Code boilers is such that many of us could not justify or even afford the hobby if they were required. I've got a couple of degrees in Mechanical Engineering, and felt comfortable designing and building Otter's new boiler myself in 1996, using commercial components (end caps, reducers, ...

I like the safety aspect of the water tubes. They also seem within the realm of home built if I borrow some favors from some talented welders. I assume that if I plan to run at 100 psi and run the hydro at 200 for 2 hours and it holds that it will be ok in service. I am more concened with getting t...

Can you point me in the direction of plans a 35 to 40 sq ft water tube boiler ? I would like to set it up to burn both wood and oil like you are doing. I'm afraid I don't have plans for such. I've built one boiler, and just designed it from scratch. I'd chat with someone who's built either a Robert...