Chaperon by joep4567 - 1:48 - Sternwheeler

[joep4567]

Thanks for the encouragement . I've started milling the planking for the deck. 

[joep4567]

I got the deck planked and put on a little color along with some teak oil. I'm thinking I'd like to build some engines so I'm mocking up some possibilities. Any thoughts?

[Cathead]

Engines are a great detail, I'd just suggest studying some resources to get a good sense of what typical sternwheeler engines looked like. For example, here's a decent basic plan that you could work from (from this link):

 

 

And here are a few views of the simplified engines I built for my Bertrand, which were intended to convey the idea without getting bogged down in details:

 

 

 

Those may also give you a sense of one way to lay them out in the hull. Hope that's helpful.

[joep4567]

Thanks for the help . I think I was on the right track based on your photos i'll just have to keep refining the details.

[joep4567]

I'm getting the engines to look somewhat like engines so I'll continue to work on the slide pivots etc.

[Cathead]

Those look great!

[joep4567]

THANKS I keep plugging along. I see you've run into a few "snags"!

 

[joep4567]

I got the cross heads and stanchions built so the reach and pendulum rods are next.

[patrickmil]

Great looking engines! I might be "borrowing" some ideas.

 

Patrick

[joep4567]

Thanks. Help yourself to anything that catches your eye as I'll be doing the same as I'm watching your build.

[joep4567]

I'm working on the reach and pendulum rods for the first engine.

[joep4567]

I think I've finished the engines at least for now so I think the cranks and Pitman arms will be the next project.

[joep4567]

I've got the cranks done and painted and the Pitman arms finished. They will still need painting so when that is done I'm going to go back to detailing the boiler.

[joep4567]

I got the cranks and Pitman arms painted.

[joep4567]

   i made the water gauges and pressure relief valves for the boiler and got it mounted so I'll be starting on the engine room walls next.

[joep4567]

I've started building the engine room on the main deck and will be varying away from the original plan view to accommodate the engines and provide more visibility for them.

[Cathead]

If you're going to have a view into the engine room, a few more nice details would include a sturdy workbench and an anvil/forge, since these boats often had to be responsible for their own repairs (including metal work). Still looking great.

[allanyed]

Joe,

I am thoroughly enjoying your build.  Not something I ever thought to build myself, but your log has me thinking about the future 😀

Allan

[joep4567]

Thanks a lot for the encouragement! I'm presently working on the rudder steering gear so we'll see how that works out.  Eric how would you feel about my borrowing your ideas for the doctor and bilge pumps?

[Cathead]

Please do, we're all here to take ideas and inspiration from each other. I have several photos of the Arabia's original pumps if you want to work from them instead of the model version. There are a few in my planning thread, but I think I have other angles as well if you want them. Let me know if you want them posted here or shared with you privately to avoid clogging up the thread. I actually don't know what kinds of pumps Chaperon had or how they were arranged, given that she was built decades after Arabia and a lot had changed by then, but pumps are a fun detail. You could always ask someone like Kurt Van Dahm if you care.

[joep4567]

I built the rudder posts ,stern posts, tiller post and tiller and some associated mechanism which I dreamed up loosely based on the illustration in Alan Bates book. No firm pictures to work from so I guess you would call this a stylized representation.

[joep4567]

I never intended that this be an accurate representation of the Chaperon so I'm not that concerned about details I just want to keep things "in the ball park" and see what I can do. Eric please post me anything you have that you think might help. I don't care where. I'm going to finish horizontal shutters for the ER openings and build a door and do some painting before I start on them. THANKS

[Cathead]

I just compared my original photos with those I included in the link above, and there aren't any others that are remarkably different. Your rudder posts look nice.

[joep4567]

I got the shutters and door done to the engine room so I think I'll start on the pumps next.

[joep4567]

I've started working on the bilge pump. Without any  plan to work from I'm guessing at the scale. Here is what I've come up with to this point.

[Cathead]

Looks about right. One way to judge scale would be to create a rough human figure and see whether the arms are roughly at the right level for human use. Mine's too deep in the model to measure it, but I think it was 3-4' tall. As far as I know, these connected directly to the river and were used for two main purposes: to prime the doctor pump when steam wasn't available, and for light general hosing or any other use for riverwater. Note that the original has a line leading to the doctor and a connection on the front to attach a hose or pipe. I'm actually not sure how they dealt with water in the hold, as steamboats' flat bottom meant that there was no central bilge for water to collect in that could be reliably accessed by a pump. Maybe they ran a leather hose down there from one of the main pumps?

[joep4567]

Ok I got this as done as it is going to be. I've started to make the flywheel (I guess that is what it would be called in this instance).

[Cathead]

Yep, it's a flywheel. Looks nice so far, way better and more accurate than what I cobbled together.

[joep4567]

I've done some additional work on the doctor pump and waiting for the solvent to set completely. I started making a template to use in building the boiler deck and discovered ,in the process, that I have the stand pipes for the steam drum longer than they should probably be as the deck clears but barely so I'll shorten them.  How are people treating the surface of the boiler deck relative to realism?

[joep4567]

As I get to looking at previous builds it appears the boiler deck is the same as the main deck ie it is planked . It is the third level deck (hurricane?) that is painted after being weather proofed. So was the 3rd generally black or gray or?