Lines

[Cyruscosmo]

Hey DCSmith

A porfolio! LOL yes... My liking for that shape came long ago when I first got the bug and tried to build a sailboat. The shop I was going to use belonged to my little brother. Unfortunately he passed away in a car accident and that pretty much was it for sailboat plans. My sister in law is a pane in the *'s. Anyway I am in a position now with a house and shop to have a nice little boat of my own.

Thank Ya for the input!

Cheers,Scott

[barts]

What kinda draft do you think would be ideal? There are a lot of islands in the sound with no docks. Nosing into the shore is what I was hoping for rather than hauling a dinghy about. But if the dinghy is the way I have to go then so be it.

You'll need sufficient draft to cover the prop at rest, and provide a skeg for protection.. The draft in front will be much less, otherwise our displacement will go through the roof. 7000 lbs is only about 110 cubic feet of water; since we're talking 30' x 8' parts of the boat will just be touching the water. This is good; we'll have lots of reserve buoyancy for taking an extra 10 people around the harbor at a steamboat meet.

There are some places with nothing but rocky beaches or with a scary approach; rowing in to see what your options are sure beats repairing things. I'll definitely carry a dingy when cruising; we'll build one to fit the roof of the cabin. Some beaches shoal very slowly and keep a boat with 3' draft 100 yards offshore at medium tide; the beach closest to our property on Lopez Island (Swift's Bay) is like that.

My brother designs boats (among other things; you can see some of his work here: http://smaalders.net/yacht_design/

Here's a lines sketch of what the hull of our big boat might look like:



- Bart

[Lopez Mike]

My little 24' x 6' launch has an 18" wheel, draws about two feet aft and six inches forward. I find that taking along a pair of rubber knee boots takes care of my dingy needs. A bronze or stainless protective strip at the knuckle will ease your mind about beaching. My condenser is on one side of my keel and when beaching beam on, I make sure that the keel is on the deeper side. I have a strap under the prop leading to the bottom rudder bearing thus little chance of wheel damage.

I find myself becoming quite fearless about shallow waters. In clear water it always looks thinner than it is. Mud is more of a barrier than rocks or sand. It's so soft that you don't realize you are stuck until you are REALLY stuck. So far I've wiggled off with nothing more than a muddy canoe paddle for my errors. With hard bottoms it always sounds like the end of the world. Later on the trailer I cannot find a mark.

Mike

[barts]

My little 24' x 6' launch has an 18" wheel, draws about two feet aft and six inches forward. I find that taking along a pair of rubber knee boots takes care of my dingy needs. A bronze or stainless protective strip at the knuckle will ease your mind about beaching. My condenser is on one side of my keel and when beaching beam on, I make sure that the keel is on the deeper side. I have a strap under the prop leading to the bottom rudder bearing thus little chance of wheel damage.

I find myself becoming quite fearless about shallow waters. In clear water it always looks thinner than it is. Mud is more of a barrier than rocks or sand. It's so soft that you don't realize you are stuck until you are REALLY stuck. So far I've wiggled off with nothing more than a muddy canoe paddle for my errors. With hard bottoms it always sounds like the end of the world. Later on the trailer I cannot find a mark.

Mike

I've run into invisible submerged pilings - fortunately slowly and head-on.... no damage. Getting stuck in the mud _is_ a real PITA... I've waded for many yards, pushing the boat through stinking anaerobic mud to get back into the (unmarked) channel with passengers aboard. But Otter is a small boat; perhaps 2000 lbs completely loaded. Larger boats reward a more cautious approach. I remember watching the original Mosquito racing for the launch ramp, pumps working. She'd spent a night sitting on the hard getting patched after stoving in her planking on a hidden submerged piling in the Snohomish River basin.

- Bart

[Cyruscosmo]

Umm Bart...

You'll need sufficient draft to cover the prop at rest, and provide a skeg for protection.. The draft in front will be much less, otherwise our displacement will go through the roof. 7000 lbs is only about 110 cubic feet of water; since we're talking 30' x 8' parts of the boat will just be touching the water. This is good; we'll have lots of reserve buoyancy for taking an extra 10 people around the harbor at a steamboat meet.

Dude that 7000# figure was for both; I will make sure that I leave the trailer at the boat launch.
The specs say she displaces 4410#, now I am not sure that is the figure for the 30’ x 8’ variant of the build plans but is probably close. The draft is listed as 24” according to Paul at Selway Fisher I can swing a 20” prop without any problems.

There are some places with nothing but rocky beaches or with a scary approach; rowing in to see what your options are sure beats repairing things. I'll definitely carry a dingy when cruising; we'll build one to fit the roof of the cabin. Some beaches shoal very slowly and keep a boat with 3' draft 100 yards offshore at medium tide; the beach closest to our property on Lopez Island (Swift's Bay) is like that.

You know A small dinghy up on top the cabin is not something I had thought of. I will have to mull that on over.

I've run into invisible submerged pilings - fortunately slowly and head-on.... no damage. Getting stuck in the mud _is_ a real PITA... I've waded for many yards, pushing the boat through stinking anaerobic mud to get back into the (unmarked) channel with passengers aboard.

Getting stuck in the mud brings to mind a system my sailboat architect told me about that he had seen in South America on a riverboat. My interpretation of his description is as follows.
It consisted of a set of bronze eyelets mounted on the gunwale, two, port and starboard quarter and two, port and starboard bow. They used the eyelets to hold two poles about 2.5” by 10’ or so and had a fixed pulley on one end of each pole. A single sheave pulley with an eye was shackled to the bronze eyelet and a line was run from the pulley eye then up and over the end of each pole then down to and through the pulley. The end of the rope was then wrapped through a winch. When used the pole would push down through the bronze eye, which would lift the boat a bit and push backward at the same time. They were used to back off mud banks and such when they got stuck or after the boat was loaded and they needed a bit of a push off the shore.
I have never seen them in use but the reason he related the story to me is I had asked about parking my sailboat on a beach and letting the tide go out without it. I wanted to make sure she would sit on her keel with no problems and a similar pole arrangement was suggested to be used simply as braces.

I remember watching the original Mosquito racing for the launch ramp, pumps working. She'd spent a night sitting on the hard getting patched after stoving in her planking on a hidden submerged piling in the Snohomish River basin.

ACK!!! Now ya got me nervous... I wonder if they make a small forward seeking sonar system? It would probably be more expensive than the whole boat huh?

Cheers,
Scott

[Cyruscosmo]

Hey Mike

I find myself becoming quite fearless about shallow waters. In clear water it always looks thinner than it is. Mud is more of a barrier than rocks or sand. It's so soft that you don't realize you are stuck until you are REALLY stuck. So far I've wiggled off with nothing more than a muddy canoe paddle for my errors. With hard bottoms it always sounds like the end of the world. Later on the trailer I cannot find a mark.

As far as a keel mounted condenser goes at the moment I am still leaning towards an inboard unit. The reason being is having the unit inboard makes it easier to adjust the temperature of the condenser. I know this means I need a pump, but it occurs to me that the engines speed is a direct result of the heat in the steam used, which means I will need more condenser the faster I go. Also being able to adjust for external water temperature will help the condenser function closer to what is needed for a given situation.
I have found a lot of information wandering around in the archive outlining methods of insulation, heat recovery and the importance of balance in the system. I am thinking I will build the engine/boiler assembly on a frame as a unit. I have seen a few examples of this in pictures I have found. It would make removing the unit much easier for service and layup would be a snap, I could park the whole thing in a corner in the shop next to the heater unit. I am still working on that idea as of yet but I really like modular assemblies.

I have a strap under the prop leading to the bottom rudder bearing thus little chance of wheel damage.

Do you know if anyone has built a replica of this little gem from 1860?http://www.gutenberg.org/files/11344/11 ... 1344-h.htmThen scroll down too: A NEW STEAMER PROPELLED BY HYDRAULIC REACTION. I had no idea that idea was so old!

Cheers,
Scott