Aside: Does paypal work in the U.K.? They would do well to set that up...

- Bart

Painted rope works well enough to keep me from getting burned, and there's something about a steam line with Turk's heads at the ends, all spiffy and white.... Barbie (my wife) does all the knot work on Otter. Around here, woven fiberglass tape for insulation is a little more difficult to find, and ...

For non-superheated steam pipes - cotton rope, painted with travel trailer roofing goo (a white rubbery compound). For manifold and weldments to complex to cover w/ rope, I use a moldable paste insulation and cover it after it dries with fabric strips soaked in lagging adhesive or that roofing patch...

That's a nice engine and some interesting machining techniques. I note that Al is using aluminium pistons. This will keep the reciprocating weight down, but somehow I had a notion that iron should be used with steam. Anyone? John Aluminum works fine for steam engine pistons at traditional pressures...

On a larger boat, an evaporator is simple enough to rig... you can heat it via a steam coil. Rig a
modified pressure regular to keep from exceeding 30 psi in the evaporator; otherwise the salts
form a hard crust.

- Bart

Hmmm my experience sailing in the San Juans is that the winds are far more fickle than my boiler & power plant :lol: The design trade-offs (space, shape of hull, etc) needed for successful sail propulsion are substantial... you're better off squirreling a small outboard in a locker and using that if...

You left out a very handy option for smaller boats - the push-pull tiller, as you would see on a sailing dingy.... mine is a tapered 3' piece of oak fastened with a shop made bronze & stainless swivel to a lever arm on the rudder shaft: inexpensive & simple, doesn't whack people upside the head. Thi...

I have a copy of David Gerr's Propeller Handbook - it is indeed excellent. Some rules of thumb for steam boat designs from various places (displacement hulls, low power): 1) Use the largest possible propeller diameter that will fit the hull. 2) try for a 1:1 diameter pitch ratio if possible - it's t...

Sorry to hear this...

His obituary:

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps ... Selected=5

- Bart

Well, I finally ran a quart of water plus 2T of cylinder oil in the crankcase of that old compressor; it leaked so much that I didn't want more oil in the bilge or in the exhaust.... Anyway, I use something like one of these: http://www.nexflowair.com/images/air_amp/adjustable_air_amplifier1.jpg htt...