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Jim Lad

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Everything posted by Jim Lad

  1. Hello and welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'. John
  2. Hello Picard, and another warm welcome to MSW from 'Down Under'. John
  3. Hello LG, and another warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'. John
  4. Hello Scott, and a warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'. John
  5. For both our Australian and American members - P.S. 'Captain Sturt'. The 'Captain Sturt' was one of the very few stern wheelers to ever ply the Murray River. She was designed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and built in 1915 by Charles Barnes Company of Cincinnati and then disassembled and shipped out to Australia in pieces where she was rebuilt at on the banks of the Murray at Mannum, South Australia. Stern wheelers were generally considered unsuitable for Australia's narrow, winding rivers, however the 'Captain Sturt' was intended for construction work on the new river lock system and not for general trading. She was owned and operated by the River Murray Commission and proved ideal for her work on lock construction along the river. She was abandoned at Goolwa near the mouth of the river after the lock system was completed in 1935 and was used as a houseboat for a while before being allowed to quietly rot away on the river bank. A photo held by the State Library of South Australia showing the 'Captain Sturt' in her prime. The sad remains of the 'Captain Sturt' incorporated into a marina at Goolwa. photo taken in November of this year. John
  6. Almost looks like something built by Heath-Robinson. I think I'll stick with my Bynes machines, too! John
  7. Thanks, mate! I'm looking forward to getting a bit more done on the 'Meteor'. John
  8. I don't want to make this an argument, but the steering rods were very commonly above the level of the deck - they wouldn't interfere with the scupper. A mate of mine was (long ago) third mate on a ship with rod and chain steering. He told me of the time when they got into terrible trouble because the running end of a derrick guy was washed under the steering rod covers in heavy seas and completely jammed the steering. Ilhan, the actual position of the rods and chains varied enormously and depended on what was most convenient for the run of the rods - the convenience or safety of the crew didn't really matter. Looking at your drawing, I'd say that the rods ran just inboard of the awning stanchions. John
  9. Ilhan, I haven't been able to find any photos of the cover plates over rod and chain steering, however they were very similar to the cover plates that were placed over steam pipes on deck - just a bit lower as the rods and chains were just above the deck. The phot below is from Alan Villiers 'Last of the Windships' and shows crew members on the right standing on the steam pipe covers. This might at least give you a starting point. John
  10. Welcome back, Glen! John
  11. Very nice pumps, Pat. I think the handles look fine as they are. John
  12. Thanks Pat, and a Merry Christmas to you and yours! John
  13. Cheers, mate! All systems go from here on in. John
  14. Thanks, Michael - I'm looking forward to a bit more progress on as weel! John
  15. Sjors, you may have to hire an armed guard to protect this one! John
  16. What? Not sailing to Tassie on Boxing Day, Mark? John
  17. Wow! She's certainly gone ahead since my last visit, Popeye. Progress on Progress is progressing progressively. John
  18. Hello Mike, and another warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'. John
  19. Perhaps one especially for our Australian members. This is one of the bower anchors from Matthew Flinders' 'Investigator'. It's on display at the South Australian Maritime Museum. On his circumnavigation of Australia in 1803, Flinders anchored off Middle Island, to the east of Esperance, to gather wood and seal oil and to hunt geese. When the wind blew up as he was preparing to leave, he was forced to cut his anchor cables and sail out to avoid the risk of being driven ashore. The anchors were recovered in 1973. John
  20. Hello Dan, and a warm welcome to the forum from 'Down Under'. John
  21. Thank you one and all for your encouragement! Hopefully updates will be more regular from now on. John
  22. Another update - at last!! Thank you all for your good wishes. The treatment went well and I am currently 'all clear' with my next check in April next year. Following the good news we took off for a holiday in South Australia - looking at the sights; checking out the maritime scene and photographing birds. We had a really great time and arrived home very relaxed and ready for whatever the world decides to throw at us next! My time in the museum since we got back has been limited, and even when I've been in I've been diverted by other things, so the 'Meteor' has only progressed by the addition of a couple more frames down aft. This is by far the slowest build I've ever been involved with and the slow progress is beginning to frustrate me. I'll bring the hull home next week to do a bit of serious fairing. Too much fine sawdust being sucked into to ventilation system isn't good for the museum, but I'm reluctant to bring the model home as carrying a delicate model back and forth on Sydney's peak hour trains isn't good for the mental equilibrium! This time of year is good as the trains are far less crowded over the holiday period. Here are a few photos of the tiny amount of extra work done. John
  23. Hello Sea Hoss, and another warm welcome from 'Down Under'. John
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