Just a footnote for those who may not be aware, the sisterships, Delta Queen and Delta King , were originally built for and operated for the scheduled passenger run between San Francisco and Sacramento, California, on SF Bay and the Sacramento River. The "delta" in their names referred to the Califo...

Loved the videos. She's a real gem!

You know what they say... "Big whistle, small...."

Beautiful engine, Wes! Looks like a watch. Is she more of a model, given the size vs. complexity? I'm assuming you're looking for a draftsman who is fluent in current CAD drafting, right? There aren't too many real master draftsmen out there who do manual drafting like they used to in the old days w...

Repitching a prop is something I've considered in much the same way the guy is doing it the video. As fast as these props turn on our Steamers, slight irregularities in pitch would be negligible. Balance would be somewhat critical. There is a local steamer that makes props out of a piece of tube fo...

Must-reading: http://www.northweststeamsociety.org/Pages/NWSSsafety.htm and http://www.northweststeamsociety.org/Pages/GOSH-FINAL.pdf These provide a good overview (but not a comprehensive everything-you-ever-needed-to-know treatment) of safety procedures and standards generally and do-it-yourself b...

The discussion of boiler feed auxiliary hand pump capacity reminds me of an observation made under similar circumstances with respect to bilge pumps: "Never underestimate the capacity of a desperate man with a bucket!"

I'm not a member of any of the organizations. I monitor this forum regularly to learn about the technology. It's been a great resource in that regard.

Looking at the hull, unless she has/had a centerboard trunk, which I don't see, I'd say she was originally a launch. Not necessarily steam (which is often betrayed by evidence of all the machinery that would have been attached here and there), but perhaps gasoline. The propeller is larger than you m...

While most all are long gone now, it has been my impression that when steam was supplanted by infernal combustion around the turn of the last century (or the one before that, actually!) some fantail launch hulls were indeed converted to sailing boats.