Heroine 1838 by ggrieco - FINISHED - Scale 1:24 - Western River Steamboat as she appeared before hitting a snag in the Red River

[druxey]

Sweet! I missed my little 'fix' last Saturday, but figured you folks were having a holiday weekend south of the border.

[ggrieco]

Thanks everybody,

 

Greg, I've never tried this before and hope it works. It helps that I don't have any crown to the deck to deal with and Heroine had no hogging trusses that would have made alignment very difficult. The shear is minimal and the two decks run parallel with a nine foot separation. I have selected a couple of post locations that I consider crucial and have worked in a slight fore and aft allowance for the rest to adjust them as needed. It all seems to work well in AutoCAD, I just hope there are no surprises.

[Cathead]

Wow, I'm jealous. Bertrand had hog trusses, sheer, AND camber to her main & boiler decks. I eliminated the camber on the boiler deck for sanity's sake, but still felt I had to build it in place. I cannot wait to see how your deck drops in. Having the CAD skills is a really nice piece of your toolkit. Good luck, if that's the right phrase!

[Omega1234]

Staggeringly good, Glenn!!

[BANYAN]

I really look forward to your updates and missed last week's contribution but, this has more than made up for it.  Ditto Greg's remarks.

 

cheers

 

Pat

[ggrieco]

Thanks Patrick and Pat,

 

Cathead, yes the trusses and camber would have made things a lot more difficult. I wonder how much problem Heroine would have had with water on deck with the flat beams. Although, we have evidence that her beam ends were sagging outboard -- would have shed a little water. I'm also amazed at how her upper structure was supported only by rows of 5 or 6 inch square posts. I can't wait to put them in place. It is going to look like it is supported with toothpicks. Thanks for the good luck wishes!

[tadheus]

Beautiful work, Glenn.

 

 

 

Paul

[albert]

Hi Glenn your work is very very nice.

[captainbob]

What, no hog chains?  What kept the ends from sagging?  This must have been one of the boats that made them realize that the bracing was necessary.

 

Bob

[Cathead]

Yeah, hog chains didn't come along until later.

[ggrieco]

This week I was finally able to finish the last major piece of the machinery.  With the paddle wheel clutch mechanism in place I can drop the boiler deck in place.  I will miss all the metalwork but, I'm really looking forward to the woodwork.

 

Heroine's port throw out lever.  roughly forged from  3/8 inch strap.  The handle is roughly octagonal at the strap and tapers to round.

 

 

 

The pins that engage the bearing are about one inch in diameter with a two inch head.  Inserted through holes in the strap, the protruding ends were then hammered flat.  The pins show a lot of wear from rubbing against the bearing.

 

 

Straps fresh from the mill.

 

Soldering the handles and pins to the straps.

 

 

 

Finished throw out parts.

 

Clutch mechanism installed.  I decided to show the starboard side with the bearing engaged and the port side disengaged.

 

 

 

On to the boiler deck.

 

I have temporarily installed the boiler deck on poplar posts in about half of the post holes.  Next week I'll replace them one by one with boxwood posts, aligning and plumbing them as necessary. 

 

 

 

[Mahuna]

Beautiful, Glenn.  I'm constantly amazed by your work.

[Omega1234]

Absolutely amazing, Glenn!

 

Cheers

 

Patrick

[Mirabell61]

Beautiful work Glenn,

 

it looks wonderful

 

Nils

[ndeconte]

Amazing workmanship! I am so impressed with this!

[kurtvd19]

Glenn:

Your calculations were right (of course) on the fitting of the boiler deck.  Building off the model sure saved a lot of time - and surely made the work go easier.  Very impressive.  thanks for sharing.

Kurt

[captainbob]

She was a lovely hull and machinery, Now with the boiler deck she's beginning to look like a boat.  Beautiful job.

 

Bob

[druxey]

Brilliant, as usual. Your throw-out levers look nicer than the originals! Thanks for my Saturday 'fix'.

[Gerhardvienna]

Hi Glenn

Great work as usual! Did they need the forks for steering in close turns?

 

Regards

Gerhard

[mtaylor]

Beautiful work, Glenn.   Sorry that the metalwork is over for now.   Everything is very crisp and clean and well fitted.  Ah..well worth the wait for the weekly update.  

[gjdale]

Fabulous work, as always, Glenn. Thanks for the weekend "fix"!

[dvm27]

Once again awestruck by your work, Glen. You should do this for a living...oh wait, you already do! 

[BANYAN]

Well, you didn't disappoint with this week's instalment Glenn; once again up to your very high standards.  Nice to have some of the original pieces available to model from which adds a lot to the authenticity - but, you still need the skills to execute it.

 

regards

 

Pat 

[Jim Lad]

What can I say except, up to your usual standard. Glenn!

 

John

[ggrieco]

Thanks Frank, Patrick, Nils, Neal, Kurt, Bob, Druxey, Gerhard, Mark, Grant, Greg, Pat and John for your comments and everyone else for your likes. Your comments and feedback are the most rewarding part of this project.

 

I've been away in Houston all day and haven't had a chance yet to catch up on everyone else's builds but, I look forward to catching up today and tomorrow.

 

Gerhard, good question about steering in close turns. Few contemporary accounts of the operation of early western river machinery exist and I have never seen a good description of the possible different uses of the clutch mechanism. It does seem that engaging only one paddle wheel would work very effectively for turning the vessel. I would love to know if it was possible to engage a paddle wheel while the main shaft is already in motion or if the forces involved would damage the mechanism. It seems that the wheels could be disengaged while in motion but could only be engaged when the main shaft was stationary. I would really be interested if anyone has any information on the subject.

Edited June 12, 2016 by ggrieco

[Cathead]

Glenn,

 

Louis C. Hunter's Steamboats on the Western Rivers discusses to the superior maneuverability of side-wheelers over sternwheelers, in part, by referring to "The ability to stop one of the wheels independently of the other and, on two-engine boats, to run the two paddle wheels in opposite directions..." which implies what you suggest, that wheels can be stopped while in motion but not re-engaged. Also, obviously, Heroine couldn't have run her wheels in opposing fashion unlike later boats, so some of the turning ability is negated. Certainly, this makes mechanical sense to me, I don't see any way you could safely or practically slip that clutch into place while the shaft is turning, especially with water pressure holding the wheel in place. And the implicit reference to single-engine boats strongly implies that this all applies to Heroine, since two-engine boats became the standard not long after her time.

[ggrieco]

Thanks Cathead,

 

Wonderful reference! These really were interesting vessels. I'm so happy that you have started a discussion about them.

[chborgm]

Sounds like a great practical engineering problem. To bad we don't have all the numbers. Was the wheel stopped, slowing down, building up. At what point would it break. But if this could not be done until both were at the same sspeed and direction why have it. I ordered the book and will read up. 

 

What a great thread.

[druxey]

I think that the answer to the question is in the name of the mechanism: throw-out lever. It was not a throw-in one! As mentioned, something would probably break if one tried to engage a stationary paddlewheel with the engine shaft turning.

[cog]

I am a tad on the late side, but she is coming together beautifully. As Mark wrote: "A pity the metal work is over", although, I think a little bit will be left, maybe not so imposing as the engine and the propulsion ... I am looking forward to see your wood skills displayed on the remaining details of the Heroine ...