Dreaming and planning

[old.bodger]

I’m sure we all have these projects in the long term planning. Lots never happen, but some of the interest is in the long term thought and planning.

A long term interest in steam boats, impending retirement, recent shed rebuild etc just might make doing something more likely.

I have booked myself a taster day later in the year.

Obviously a potentially expensive hobby and very time consuming to build a full hull as well as steam plant. I do have the skills to tackle it ….but do I have the time?

I do have an old Enterprise hull, and considered using this. Not sure it has the displacement for all the plant to leave a useful passenger margin.

I squirreled this picture away some time in the past….not sure of it’s origin…..but a steam outboard is a fun idea.

I have a couple of old British Seagull outboards who might offer up the ‘leg’ and prop. Some Stuart Turner Castings might work? But the boiler is beyond my experience. Realising that it needs certification etc so not likely a job for me…..does anyone have any wisdom on what is in the picture?

I have mill / lathe etc.

Thoughts welcome! Particularly on what that boiler is. Should I go everything conventional and inboard. Likely displacement issues? Or consider outboard?

Steam outboard

IMG_0582.jpeg (192.27 KiB) Viewed 4096 times

[barts]

For the issues involved w/ traversing the legal obstacles w/ boilers in GB, you'll want to talk to someone there locally. Those of us in the USA have a patchwork of state-specific regulations; the (national) Coast Guard regulations requiring ASME Code boilers, licensed steam engineers, etc. only apply for boats over about 40' LOA.

One can spend an amazing amount of time and money on a steamboat - or one can build one pretty cheaply w/ a bit of luck and of course bodging.

A steam outboard involves some significant engineering challenges in terms of space and weight. For an initial effort, I'd suggest an inboard. An inboard boiler with an outboard steam engine is also quite workable; there's one operating locally that uses a canoe. There are lots of boats to ogle in the SBA Steamboat Registery...

Displacement hulls are forgiving, especially in calm waters.

Some options you may wish to consider, in order of increasing complexity:

1. Buy an existing steamboat. This gives you a chance to gain operating experience, and will help you focus on your needs. There are always boats for sail in the Funnel, of course.
2. Buy a boiler, install in a small used sailboat hull, buy or build a small engine. I built a small engine by converting a refrigeration compressor to a steam engine.
3. Build everything.... even for retired folks, this is a multi-year effort, of course.

Regarding those Seagull outboards, remember that traditional steam engines are best off spinning at lower RPMs than 2-stroke gas engines; from what I remember those Seagull engines spun at 4000 rpm or so and used a reduction gear in the lower unit to match engine RPM with the prop. Step up drives are possible, but there's always a power loss.

[Lopez Mike]

I concur with Bart on all aspects of this often encountered issue of which route to a steam launch. I would add that installing a shaft log is a minor project compared to dealing with the weight of a boiler hanging off of the back and swinging back and forth when encountering boat wakes.

I bought my boat out of storage unit with nearly new boiler and engine for less than a third of the cost of said machinery because the hull was so incredibly crude. I used it for a few years (often wishing that I had a bag over my head!) and them built myself a new hull. The old hull is doing yeoman duty at a nearby dairy farm hauling cow poop.

Granted, one inherits the errors of previous owners but careful examination often yields the judgement that these problems are fixable.

Mike

[PeteThePen1]

Hi Old Bodger

Some excellent advice from Bart & Mike but can I throw in a little more?

The Enterprise was the dreamboat of my youth but funds and time to build were never acquired although my Mum did buy me a set of plans. Anyway, in that context, why not work out, or search out, the design displacement of the hull? Weigh the boat and then you will have the allowance for how much weight you can add. Deduct the weight of the passenger(s) and the final figure is the all up weight of your plant and fuel. I have done that for the Fairlight Canoe on the website {https://mono-tube.org.uk/] if you want to see how it is done. A sailing dinghy hull can make an excellent steamer and a good enxample is the launch built by Russ Noe of which there are plenty of pictures on this site.

Following on from that it was clear that a mono-tube boiler was necessary for lightness and low cost building for the Fairlight. That might also be true for the Enterprise. Whilst you will still need a Boiler Cert, the SBA rules for mono-tubes are not that daunting. You could mate that with an ST5 Cygnet or standard ST5 which are still around and offered for sale at roughly £2k (GBP) for a good one. Other similar single cylinder engines are around for much less but can work just as well.

Another point to think about, which is the trap into which I fell, is what is the opinion of your nearest and dearest to this idea of steamboating? If they are 'on board' and want to come too then buying a second hand boat and getting onto the water fast is a good idea. Currently the SBA website lists a lot of nice boats although the less expensive one do move faster. If the 'family' are not that keen and it looks as if steamboating is going to be a solo activity, go for a smaller boat that you can manhandle and launch solo. My first steam launch was very much a 'concept' boat but was essentially too large for an old bloke to manhandle on the trailer and launch single handed. Storage was also an issue and was the reason that it had to go.

I do hope that you have joined the SBA as that is a useful organisation for information, lists of suppliers, and a nice body of people who are interested in the hobby.

Good luck with the project asnd we look forward to hearing about how you are getting along with it.

Regards

Pete