Peerless 1893 by Cathead - 1:87 - sternwheel Missouri River steamboat

[FriedClams]

Just catching up, Eric and the progress on Peerless looks very nice indeed.  Just as I knew it would.

 

Gary  

[Cathead]

I've started laying out the forms for the superstructure. Peerless, like many similar vessels, has a very simple deck layout: a solid engine room structure at the stern and a series of posts going forward. So I laid out the shape of the stern structures pretty easily, after some careful measurement and decision-making:

If you're wondering about the coloration in the middle of the forms...it's what you probably think it is. Like all the rest of my models, there's now a little bit of me in Peerless!

 

After this I started laying out where the posts would go. To do this, I cut a rectangle from a thin sheet of scrap wood in the exact internal dimensions I wanted, and laid it on the subdeck to mark out where posts would go. At this point, I also decided I would build the frame that rests on top of these posts, essentially the subdeck for the boiler deck (if you're confused, on Western river steamboats, the boiler deck was the deck above the boilers. No one knows why). Building this now would help ensure that I could lay a nice square structure on top the posts, rather than having to build it in place later. So here I'm laying out and cutting the longitudinal beams for this, again using my sheet wood as a guide:

And here I'm using my magnetic squaring jig to begin gluing up this sub-boiler-deck framing, again using the scrap sheet wood as a form (this will not be present in the finished model):

 

Once I have this sub-structure built, I'll lay it over the sub-deck to double-check my post locations, then it's time to start laying decking, being sure to leave holes for the posts.

 

Thanks for reading!

[Cathead]

Here's the completed boiler deck framing, first in the magnetic square, then two shots resting on the main deck.

I think the next step will be starting to lay the decking, for which I will be going back to homegrown wood, meaning I need to mill a whole bunch first. That means I probably won't make more progress until next weekend. But I do have a thinking-ahead question:

 

Where were the stairs between the main and boiler decks on this vessel? Many steamboats placed them near the bow, in front of the boilers. But most of the main reference photos I'm using (see first post of this log) show no stairs there. A few photos do show stairs at the bow, but they appear to be a later retrofit, and aren't relevant to the earlier version I'm building.

 

Here's a shot clearly showing no bow stairs:

Here's a later shot (when she was operating down at Vicksburg and had clearly been altered) showing bow stairs:

 

So where were the stairs in her Missouri River configuration? I've stared at all these photos over and over, and can't find any sign of a staircase. Anyone have insights into an alternate staircase location, based on actual practice in other vessels? There has to be a proper staircase, if nothing else because multiple photos clearly show crowds of ladies up on the boiler deck, and they sure didn't climb a ladder. And if it's not at the bow, it has to be much further back, because the boilers sit below the pilothouse and you couldn't put stairs there. That also forces passengers back into the engineering and cargo spaces, an odd choice; the value of bow stairs is that it kept passengers out of the crew's way. There's also no sign of stairs along the outer edges of the deck toward the stern, a location that would also keep the passengers out of the engine/cargo space. They almost have to be internal somewhere, but that seems really odd to me.

 

Here's an annotated drawing laying out the question:

 

Thoughts?

 

 

Edited August 8, 2023 by Cathead

[mbp521]

On 8/6/2023 at 8:35 PM, Cathead said:

Like all the rest of my models, there's now a little bit of me in Peerless!

No model is ever complete without a sampling of blood, sweat and tears. One down, two to go. 😁

 

36 minutes ago, Cathead said:

Where were the stairs between the main and boiler decks on this vessel?

Could it be possible that the stairs were just forward of the engine room and run perpendicular to the center line of the boat and come up to the boiler deck, just under the covered area of the boiler deck structure? Just a thought. It wouldn’t be the most ideal place but given the diminutive size of this boat, there’s not much room anywhere else. 
 

-Brian

[wefalck]

Aren't there stairs going right up the front of the deckhouse, under the searchlight and between the barrels?

[Cathead]

Wefalck, thanks for checking on that. The image you reposted shows a later retrofit to add those stairs; they're not there in the original configuration. See the image I posted above that for comparison (and the descriptive captions), or consult the array of images presented in the first post of this log. 

 

Brian, I thought about that, too, as it seems the next most logical place. The problem is that I don't see any sign of railings protecting a stairway under that covered "awning". There also appears to be a door at the rear of the boiler deck cabin, right on the center line. For example:

Funny, as I was writing and posting that, I suddenly saw that bottom-most photo in a different way. Is what I took for a large crate actually a solid-walled enclosure for a staircase, leading up perpendicular to the hull, starting near centerline in front of the engine room and coming out on the starboard side of the boiler deck? If so, that's why you don't see an enclosure in the photo at upper right, because the man standing within the red circle is standing in front of the opening down to the stairs, not alongside stairs running fore and aft. Here's a closer closeup:

[Keith Black]

 The Vicksburg bow stairway reconfiguration speaks volumes about the inconvenient/inadequate (for passengers) stairs in her previous Missouri River configuration. If the original stairs had been adequate then the Vicksburg reconfiguration would not have been unnecessary. 

 

 In the below images the second photo is an enlargement of the first in an area directly below the upper deck port and starboard doors. IMHO I think this is a ship's ladder with open risers, horizontal treads, and an iron handrail commonly seen on ships and boats allowing access from lower to upper decks.  Also a black square can be seen directly above what I think is a ship's ladder. 

 

 The Peerless was originally a working boat with few passengers and a ship's ladder would have been more than adequate. When Peerless increased passenger excursions a ship's ladder would have proved both inconvenient and inadequate and particularly for the increasing numbers of women passengers and their long dresses. I'm sure many a woman complained about having to go up and down a ship's ladder with open risers hence the Vicksburg reconfiguration. 

 

 

I think this is a ship's ladder with open risers, horizontal treads, and an iron handrail commonly seen on ships and boats allowing access from lower to upper decks.  Also a black square (opening) can be seen directly above. 

 

 With a ship's ladder in this location access would have been immediate to the upper deck through the port and starboard doors and wheelhouse access would have been close through a door as indicated.  Once the Vicksburg bow stairway reconfiguration took place that opening above would have been floored over and would have made for more passenger room. The area enlarged completely changes after the bow stairway reconfiguration. 

 

 Building from photographs is a challenge and requires much speculation. Thank God for our iMac 27!

Edited August 9, 2023 by Keith Black

[wefalck]

Apologies, Eric, for not looking/reading carefully ... What actually puzzled me on this photo with all the ladies on the boiler deck is that they are all rather precariously perched there with no rails around the deck. I am aware that risk awareness dramatically changed over the centuries, but when the boat is moving, the boiler deck may have not been a very stable and safe place. Perhaps the ladies and others just posed there for the picture, but would not normally be admitted there - hence, some simple ladder or the like for the crew may have been sufficient at the time of this picture.

[mbp521]

4 hours ago, Cathead said:

Is what I took for a large crate actually a solid-walled enclosure for a staircase, leading up perpendicular to the hull, starting near centerline in front of the engine room and coming out on the starboard side of the boiler deck? If so, that's why you don't see an enclosure in the photo at upper right, because the man standing within the red circle is standing in front of the opening down to the stairs, not alongside stairs running fore and aft.

I think you may be on to something here. It’s is a strong possibility that this could be where the stairs are/were located. The walled area you circled seems like the typical construction of the day to surround stairwells and would be a prime location for them.
 

From past experience of staring at old black and white photos it’s sometimes hard to get a good perspective of where details are located. I find my brain tends to put things that are not there in places where I think they should be.

 

-Brian 
 

 

[Roger Pellett]

Eric,  some random thoughts:  A problem for me at least, is determining the age of people in old photos, particularly women.  Looking at your photos, it’s possible that the women standing on the forward edge are quite young and wouldn’t have minded the daring for them act of climbing a ladder to get their picture taken.

 

During the 1940’s a sidewheel passenger steamer named  the Island Queen hauled passengers from Cincinnati to the Coney Island Amusement Park on the Ohio River upstream.  A feature of the trip was that passengers were allowed in the engine room!  I made the trip when very young and still remember the huge cranks turning the paddlewheels.  It may seem unlikely but it’s possible that your stairwell extended into this space.

 

If all else fails, build yourself a cardboard staircase and see where it fits in.  Building standards for stairwell rise cannot have changed that much over the years.  Form follows function.

 

Roger

 

 

[gak1965]

4 hours ago, wefalck said:

I am aware that risk awareness dramatically changed over the centuries, but when the boat is moving, the boiler deck may have not been a very stable and safe place. Perhaps the ladies and others just posed there for the picture, but would not normally be admitted there - hence, some simple ladder or the like for the crew may have been sufficient at the time of this picture

I think the bigger issue would be standing next to the stacks. Those things must have been hotter than Hades,  bump into them and get a real burn, not to mention the general heat.

[wefalck]

Were these stacks simple pipes ? At that time double-walled stacks were common, as they improved the draft (because they stayed hot inside) and reduced the fire-hazard to adjacent supersctructures.

[Roger Pellett]

Wefalck,

 

A great question!  That appears to be a detail that is surprisingly hard to pin down.  I recently bought a copy of Marine Steam published in 1916 by boiler manufacturer Babcock & Wilcox to answer that very question for my current Great Lakes Steamship project.  Nothing about smoke stacks.

 

By the early 1900’s, later than this model, marine engineers clearly understood how to maximize thermal efficiency by capturing waste heat.  There were feedwater and combustion air heaters that were heated by stack gas, but the power plants for these boats were assembled by backwoods mechanics, not Scottish marine engineers.  Also, American fuel was cheap and this boat did not usually make long voyages, so I would suggest that these tall stacks were single pipes.  These boats often had an air gap between the stack and wooden decking.  This was covered by a metal jacket similar to the canvas boots around the bases of masts for sailing ships.

 

I recently read a memoir by a Great Lakes Ship Captain.  The stack on his ship would sometimes get red hot.  When that happened, he could signal the Engineer by whistle.  He, the Engineer, would hose down the stack.

 

The Ladies?  I suspect that the photo was taken with the plant cold.

 

Roger

Edited August 9, 2023 by Roger Pellett

[wefalck]

Engineering textbooks on seagoing ships from around the 1860s onwards usually show double-walled stacks. If there were several boilers, the outer pipe would enclose the smoke pipes of up to four boilers.

 

I gather these river craft were constructed as simple and cheaply as possible. The draft then was ensured by the very high stacks.

 

A bit off the actual topic, but as smoke stacks became very hot, the stacks could not be painted directly in the colours of the line, the paints of the day would not survive the heat. Therefore, a separate sleeve for that was often attached with some distance from the actual stack.

[Roger Pellett]

These river boats were often decorated by various devices suspended between the stacks.  Now it all makes sense.  The stacks were too hot to paint.  That brings up another interesting question.  The stacks of Civil War River Gunboats were painted with identifying colored bands.  Were these separate, offset from the actual stacks?

 

Roger

[mbp521]

8 hours ago, Roger Pellett said:

The stacks of Civil War River Gunboats were painted with identifying colored bands.  Were these separate, offset from the actual stacks?

Roger, another great question. When researching the City Class boats all the references that I found referred to a painted band as an identifier for which boat it was. Not once did I run across anything that stated whether or not the band was painted directly on the stack, or a separate band. I never even gave any thought to the fact that the heat could burn the paint off, also the boats very rarely had any down time and had to be ready to go in a moments notice, so the boilers were constantly stoked.

 

I did go back and review some of the old photos that I had from my research and from what I can tell, it looks like the bands were painted directly on the stacks.

Nothing that I can see shows that the stacks were any wider where the bands are that would indicate they were double walled in this area, and unfortunately neither of the stacks of the Cairo were recovered (they were knocked down by one of the other boats on patrol with her that fateful day to hide her location) and they may have rusted away over the 100 years she sat on the bottom of the river. So my guess is that they had some good paint that held up to the heat, or they kept a good supply of paint on board for touch ups. 
 

-Brian

Edited August 10, 2023 by mbp521

[Roger Pellett]

The stacks of Passaic Class monitors were also painted with identifying colored bands.

[Cathead]

My goodness, that question sparked quite a discussion! Unfortunately that kicked off right when I went into a really busy stretch and couldn't keep up. Let's see if I can unpack it all.

 

Stairs vs. ladders

 

My strong impression, from extensive reading/research, is that between-deck ladders were rarely used on Western river steamboats. I can't recall seeing a photo with a ladder and every photo or plan I can recall has stairways between decks. I skimmed various references I have on hand and found nothing to counter this. Keith, thanks for your detailed thoughts, but I can't convince myself of the ladder you suggest in that photo. Moreover, the location of the man & child standing in front of the potential ladder strikes me as much farther forward than you indicate; to me they're standing directly under or just fore of the pilot house. That would be a very inconvenient place for it; emerging under the pilot house is impossible, and just forward of the pilot house there's no sign of any protection around the "hatch" that would be necessary. My personal opinion is that a stairway is far more likely and that I need to determine where it was. I continue to lean toward the location I identified at the end of my post and plan to build a cardboard mockup to test out the idea.

 

I don't know why Peerless wasn't constructed with a forward stairway in the first place, like most steamboats, but one possibility is that she was built to be a cargo-only boat. By the late 1890s passenger river travel would have declined quite severely, and Peerless was likely initially intended to be that era's equivalent of a local towboat, handling local bulk cargo for areas not yet served by railroad but not really set up for long-distance passengers. As noted above, the boiler deck is where passengers would be carried, but (a) her cabin looks too small to accommodate more than a handful of passengers, (b) she has no outhouse hanging off the stern end (above the wheel) where passengers' needs would normally be accommodated, and (c) there are no railings along the boiler deck as in any boat I know of that carried passengers. And if she was designed for freight only, then there would be little reason to have a passenger-convenient forward stairway right in the way, when you could just tuck a crew-only stairway somewhere back in the engineering spaces.

 

We do have photos of her hosting jaunty outings in this era, and it's possible a decline in freight due to the building of the MK&T railroad along the north shore of the river pushed her owners to diversify, but such outings would have occurred when she wasn't carrying freight, so passengers could remain on the main deck while the vessel was in motion. As someone noted above, the only photos we have of people crowding the boiler deck are taken when the vessel is clearly stopped and staging a photo shoot. 

 

Chimneys (stacks)

 

To the best of my knowledge, based on references such as Alan Bates and various plans, steamboat chimneys had heat shielding jackets placed around them from the boilers as far up as passengers were likely to encounter them. For example, here are two different plans for Bertrand, both of which show heat shielding around the chimneys as far back as her 1856 construction date.

Note that these extend through the boiler deck (one above the main) to the roof of the hurricane deck (two above the main). The boiler deck was the main passenger area so the shielding was certainly relevant there. Passengers would normally not be allowed on the hurricane deck, so there the shielding ends as soon as the chimneys pass through the deck (also because above that the hot chimneys don't encounter anything flammable).

 

In addition, Model Expo's Chaperon (1884) kit also clearly includes heat shields around the chimneys, with the instructions stating "There are two 1" diameter dowels, 2-5/8" long in your kit. These are the smoke stack covers. They were sheet metal cylinders that surrounded the smoke stacks to prevent the crew from coming into contact with the hot stacks." See quote on page 8 (link above) and accompanying Photo 12. Kurt Van Dahm's detailed publication on building Chaperon also clearly documents this heat shielding.

 

So I think it's pretty conclusive that chimneys had heat shielding on their lower stretches, usually until they'd passed through the final deck. Above that they came into contact with nothing but guy wires and nobody but crew, who had to take their chances. No doubt it was still a hot place to stand during operation, but it clearly wasn't too much of a problem since standard steamboat design had the shielded chimneys passing right through what must have otherwise been the most popular outdoor passenger location (view forward, access to whatever breeze was available).

 

Chimney painting

 

This is a fun question that I had not thought about before. My initial reaction was the same as Brian's, that the identifying bands of city-class gunboats were painted directly on the chimney, not on any special heat shielding. All photos I can find seem to bear this out. My guess is that, by the time hot gases had made it that far up the chimney, they (and the surrounding metal) were cool enough not to blister paint off. Steamboats had very long chimneys to increase the draft of their boilers, and it seems to me that intense heat would bleed off quickly with height. But you'll notice that all the identifying bands of city-class gunboats were painted very high up the stacks; I'd always assume this was simply for visibility, but there's likely a convenient coincidence that this also minimized any heat-related degredation of the paint. A very neat insight if true!

 

Wow that was a lot to think and write about. Further thoughts? 

 

[Cathead]

One more question to address is that of stability, related to passengers moving around decks without railings. While as far as I know there were always railings around elevated passenger areas, it's also the case that these boats were pretty stable. It was routine to load Western river steamboats until their main decks were only a few inches above the river, telling you that they weren't expected to pitch or roll much. It's quite possible for strong winds to whip up waves (even whitecaps) on the Missouri River, and strong winds were the cause of quite a few steamboat wrecks, but the baseline operating conditions for these vessels were pretty stable compared to any open-water sailing. They had a low center of gravity and, especially by 1893, generations of knowledge regarding how to build stable vessels on the Missouri. Railings are sensible in any raised area where non-crew are present, but in this context probably more for general constraint than specifically for vessel motion.

[kurtvd19]

I agree 100% on the stability issue.  I have been on many a towboat where the barges acted as a sail catching the wind to cause steering issues but little to no rocking.  So low in the water and so much mass produces stability.  This was mostly on the IL River which isn't very wide, but Lake Peoria, a very wide spot in the river was avoided during high winds.  Boats and barges would tie up and not enter the lake with high winds.  Without the shielding of the river banks, trees, etc. it could be a handful to cross unless the boat had a lot of power.

[Roger Pellett]

More random thoughts:

 

Stability- Naval Architects separate this subject into two two topics; initial stability and range of stability.  For riverboats that sail in protected waters, the concern is initial stability.  This defines the “tippyness” of the hull.  Vessels with low initial stability do not necessarily capsize.  Instead, they heel to the point where forces realign.  If this causes openings in the hull to become exposed the vessel can then continue to heel and to ultimately capsize due to free surface water flooding the hull.  A classic but tragic example of this is the steamer Eastland that capsized while moored to her dock in the Chicago River.  Initial stability is highly dependent on hull form. A fine lined yacht can have relatively low initial stability even though it’s Center of Gravity is very low due to its heavy keel.  Vessels with wide shallow hulls like riverboats have high initial stability even though their towering upperworks make them appear to be unstable.  The same is true of those ugly cruise ships.

 

Passengers-  I agree that Peerless was not built to haul passengers.  She therefore had no need of grand staircases that took up valuable cargo space.  Riverboats were, however, chartered on occasion for outings.  On the Great Lakes, both steamships and sailing vessels carrying cargo did accept the occasional paying passenger.  This is documented by shipwreck accounts where one or two passengers are among the casualties.   I would assume that the same would be true of these small steamboats wanting to pick up extra revenue.

 

Chimneys-  Boats called Pool Boats were common on the Ohio River in later days.  These boats were fitted with folding chimneys that could be be lowered when passing under bridges.  The counterweighted hinge was located at the level of the pilot house roof.  The W. P. Snyder Jr, the only surviving example of a steam Stern wheel Towboat, has folding chimneys.  I am not suggesting that Peerless had folding stacks.  There are many pictures of the Snyder on the internet, some with her stacks folded.  These show straight pipes.  She also has what appears to be stand off heat shields on the backside of the stacks to protect crew working in the area.

 

Misc-  The Snyder is the centerpiece of a small Ohio River Museum located at Marietta, Ohio.  She enjoys National Historic Landmark Status, and is financially supported by the State of Ohio.  She was recently towed to Louisville, Ky to celebrate the 100 year Birthday of the Belle of Louisville.  She is worth a visit.

 

Roger

 

Edited August 11, 2023 by Roger Pellett

[Cathead]

Awesome insights, Roger. Your explanation of stability fits well with my intuition but I didn't have the background to understand or explain it properly. Thanks!

 

Also agreed that the photos we have of Peerless carrying passengers clearly look like charter events, not routine transportation. She almost certainly started doing this to make up for insufficient freighting as railroads took hold. This one is a great example (note the band):

 

I agree that I don't think Peerless had folding stacks even though she's from the era when they were in use. I think she's too small too need them; I suspect her full chimneys are still more than short enough to pass under bridges of the era. I mean, she's missing an entire deck compared to a "typical" Missouri River boat.

[Cathead]

Well, I was all set to get to work on planking when I realized there was another task to complete first. I'd completely forgotten about the extensions that support the paddle wheel. This is the problem with scratchbuilding; I can't rely on anyone else to have thought through a logical construction process!

 

Since I don't have any really clear views of this area, just one blurry stern shot, I used modeler's license and came up with an approach that suited me. First, I made two L-shaped beams from scrap maple and carved/sanded them to a curved shape. Below left, a rough beam; below right, a finished one:

When I test-fit these on the hull, I discovered that their natural angle of rest didn't angle upward as much as I wanted; these should continue the natural rise of the stern but due to local irregularities in the hull, they laid almost flat. Like this:

So after composing some strong words for the designer of this kit, I set about fixing the problem by cutting and shaping very thin maple wedges that would elevate these beams juuuuust a little. Here's the result; much better:

 

Here are the wedges in place, from above:

And here are the wheel support beams in place, with suitable filler on either side:

With those in place, I really do think I can turn to deck planking. So I spent the rest of the evening cutting a large and chaotic pile of planks from scrap cherry, using my Byrnes saw and NRG thickness gauge (thanks, Kurt!).

 

Here's the hull with a tin of planking. This stuff isn't entirely consistent in thickness or width, and it's going to be an adventure laying out a nice deck. I cut it a bit thick, assuming that I'd want to sand it down even, so that's not too much of a worry. And as has already been said, these backwoods boats are allowed to be a little chaotic in their construction. So we'll see how this goes. 

 

Thanks for reading, and for any likes and comments you're generous enough to share. 

[kurtvd19]

I have paper/program I am working on called "Sequencing your scratch build project" so that the project can be planned out before any wood is cut.  Steve Wheeler and I used to say we built each model three times in our head before actually starting to cut wood.  Maybe the program when completed will maybe eliminate one of the "mind builds".  Of course anything concocted by the two of us rightfully is capable of scaring people if you ask Mary.

[Cathead]

10 hours ago, kurtvd19 said:

we built each model three times in our head before actually starting to cut wood

That's definitely true of me, the design is constantly playing in my head. I find, over and over, that I bog down if I try to draw complete plans and schedules. I seem to enjoy the fluidity of building as I go, even if it gets me into corners at times. I also seem to like the problem-solving when I actually have the wood/model in my hands, as opposed to when it's just on paper or pixel.

[leclaire]

Looks like a nice solution to your kit designer's "error". Better use the strong words sparingly or you will run out before the Peerless is afloat.

 

Bob

[Cathead]

Strong language is as renewable a resource as wood here! No chance of running out.

 

I did a quick experiment to test out the aft stairway concept. I built a small cardboard mockup of an enclosed stairwell, using a 60º angle that's fairly steep but well within nautical tolerance for something intended for crew but not regular passenger use. In the two photos below, the boiler deck framing is propped up on some bobbins that happen to be right about a scale 8' tall, near-perfect.

 

In the next two photos, I replaced the frame with a piece of cardboard with a "hatch" for the stairwell cut out, to better represent the solid deck. Recall that the framing on the main deck, aft of this, is where the solid engine room superstructure will be.

 

This seems to work. The stairwell accesses the main deck right at the centerline, a bit forward of the enclosed engine room, and accesses the boiler deck just aft of where the upper superstructure ends, as hinted at in the photo discussed above. This would be a sensible place for a crew stairway.

 

I think this would work, both on the model and in real life. Anyone see a reason otherwise?

 

 

[Keith Black]

 Eric, the only issue I see is by putting the ship's ladder there, where is/was the outhouse?

[Cathead]

On a "typical" sternwheelers, to the extent there was such a thing, the heads were hung off the very aft of the hull, where the waste was disposed of by the paddlewheel. This allowed easy passenger access from the boiler deck, the main passenger area. For example, see this drawing of Bertrand, where the heads are on the boiler deck overhanging the stern above the engine room.

 

But as I mentioned earlier, no photos of Peerless show such facilities. For example:

I don't know where her heads were, but a small stairway in the middle of the hull forward of the engine room doesn't preclude any number of other possibilities. The lack of "normal" heads is probably another line of evidence that she wasn't designed for carrying passengers. It's actually possible there's a small head on the main deck, hidden within the engineroom at the very back of the hull, which we can't see from external photos. That would be a logical location for a crew-only freight vessel, preserving the geometry of easy disposal without needing to build a separate structure up on the boiler deck. But again, that doesn't affect the location of the stairway further forward.

[Roger Pellett]

Bucket, over the side!