Lula by Keith Black - 1:120 Scale - 1870s Sternwheeler Supply Boat for Floating Pile Driver

[petervisser]

A really interesting subject Keith and at such a small scale. You're a braver man than I. It sure is starting to come to life!

Peter

[Keith Black]

7 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

That is looking so good, Keith!

 Thank you, John.

 

5 hours ago, petervisser said:

A really interesting subject Keith and at such a small scale. You're a braver man than I. It sure is starting to come to life!

 Thank you, Peter. 

[FriedClams]

Very nice work on those steam engines, Keith. That’s difficult modeling- putting two things side-by-side and making them look the same. 
 

Good to hear you’re putting a dredger on the to-do list!

 

Gary

[lraymo]

Wow, you've completed alot since I last saw this, and it's gorgeous!

[Keith Black]

On 2/9/2025 at 10:58 PM, FriedClams said:

Very nice work on those steam engines, Keith. That’s difficult modeling- putting two things side-by-side and making them look the same. 
 

Good to hear you’re putting a dredger on the to-do list!

 Thank you, Gary. I wish I'd done a dredger first and used that build as a learning experience before starting Lula as Lula is much more important to me than a dredger.  

 

16 hours ago, lraymo said:

Wow, you've completed alot since I last saw this, and it's gorgeous!

 Thank you, Lynn. Glad to see you had a good time in Florida, good to see you're safely home. 

[Keith Black]

 Thank you kind folks for your support with your kind comments and likes. 

 

 Lula's finally getting some structure added. I've gotten the engine room and head made. Nothing is glued down yet as I still need to add trim, ceiling/ floor joist, the step down deck for the ship's boat storage, and paint.

 

 Typical marine engine room, engines shoehorned into half the space of what's actually needed. 

 

 The engine room is so cramped I've added maintenance doors on both the starboard and port side outer walls. 

 

 It seems like it has taken forever to get to the point. I think it's because the pile driver's build went so fast I got spoiled. 

 

 Once the ceiling and the step down deck is added, very little of the engines will be seen. 

 

 I'm considering this option for placing the pump. 

 

 It doesn't give me that much extra space fore to aft but it does increase the space available to either side. 

 

 And that's needed as I need to run the stairways to the pilothouse up in front of the short walls on either side of the opening to the engine room.  Unfortunately I won't be able to run the stairways as they are in the photo of Lula. Because of the added steam engines I had to increase the engine room width from 16 feet to 18 feet and there's no way staircases will fit on the engine room's outside walls. Adding the fire bucket boxes is gonna be sketchy as is.    

 

 I'm pretty disappointed about not being able to run the stairs as in Lula's photo, I think they're a large part of Lula's charm. 

 

 A huge thank you to everyone for being part of the journey.

 

   Keith

[wefalck]

Are the engine service-doors already glued in? Otherwise you could leave them open to give a glimpse of the engines ...

[Paul Le Wol]

Hi Keith, really enjoying your planning and decision making. Would it be an option if you mounted the steps as in the photo of Lula but extended the upper platform forward a couple of feet so that you are able to walk under them?

[Paul Le Wol]

I guess I should have said extend the upper platform to the front of the building.

[Cathead]

Keith, great to see you getting "a head" on this model...

 

Question about the engine maintenance doors: I'm curious why you chose vertical ones rather than the horizontal hatches common on many steamboats (since they provide full lengthwise access along the engines' horizontal extent in tight spaces). Not implying you should re-do it, just legitimately interested in the design discussion. See below drawing of Bertrand for an example of what I mean.

 

And it just occurred to me that you could still add a version of these forward of each vertical door, if you wanted. Would add even more visual interest to the engine room walls.

 

[Keith Black]

4 hours ago, wefalck said:

Are the engine service-doors already glued in? Otherwise you could leave them open to give a glimpse of the engines ...

 The doors are glued in, Eberhard. I thought about leaving them totally open or partially open but in the end decided that leaving them shut told a better story. 

 

1 hour ago, Paul Le Wol said:

i Keith, really enjoying your planning and decision making. Would it be an option if you mounted the steps as in the photo of Lula but extended the upper platform forward a couple of feet so that you are able to walk under them?

1 hour ago, Paul Le Wol said:

I guess I should have said extend the upper platform to the front of the building.

 Thank you, Paul. In essence I'm doing as you suggested. The stairways will now be forward of the pilothouse leading up to the walkway instead of the originally planned aft of the pilothouse adjacent to the walkway. 

 

[Keith Black]

22 minutes ago, Cathead said:

Keith, great to see you getting "a head" on this model...

 

Question about the engine maintenance doors: I'm curious why you chose vertical ones rather than the horizontal hatches common on many steamboats (since they provide full lengthwise access along the engines' horizontal extent in tight spaces). Not implying you should re-do it, just legitimately interested in the design discussion. See below drawing of Bertrand for an example of what I mean.

 

And it just occurred to me that you could still add a version of these forward of each vertical door, if you wanted. Would add even more visual interest to the engine room walls.

 Thank you, Eric.   

 

 I knew the vertical doors was an option but I'm trying to stay as close to the photo of Lula as possible. From the moment I first saw the photo of Lula I fell in love with her. Remember my excitement when I sent you a PM of her photo? Vertical doors wouldn't look like Lula plus it would make it almost impossible to display the fire bucket boxes. Other than white there's very little color on Lula. The red fire buckets is a much needed splash along with the port and starboard running light boards. The original Lula doesn't show running lights but I'll add them forward of the pilothouse on the ship's boat deck. 

[KeithAug]

On 1/20/2025 at 4:52 PM, Keith Black said:

I was in recovery when yesterday I slipped on the icy back steps taking out the trash.

Oh dear, you do need to take care. We young things bounce quite well but at your age it pays to be super safe. 🙂

I have enjoyed catching up, you have been such a busy boy. All looking rather magnificent. 

[Cathead]

Great answer, Keith, that's exactly why I phrased it as a design question rather than a "you did it wrong" question. And I had entirely forgotten about those boxes along the walls. Thanks for indulging me.

[Jim Lad]

Whatever your final decisions, she's a real little gem!

 

John

[Keith Black]

1 hour ago, KeithAug said:

Oh dear, you do need to take care. We young things bounce quite well but at your age it pays to be super safe. 🙂

I have enjoyed catching up, you have been such a busy boy. All looking rather magnificent. 

 Thank you, Keith.

 

 I think I quit bouncing about the time I turned 70. The couple of times I've fallen this past year I've been in so much pain on impact that had I been within reach of a phone I would have called an ambulance needlessly.  

 

 

13 minutes ago, Cathead said:

Great answer, Keith, that's exactly why I phrased it as a design question rather than a "you did it wrong" question. And I had entirely forgotten about those boxes along the walls. Thanks for indulging me.

 Thank you, Eric and thank you for indulging ME! Like Lucy my modeling bipedalism is somewhat erratic.   

[Keith Black]

5 minutes ago, Jim Lad said:

Whatever your final decisions, she's a real little gem!

 Thank you, John. How was the crowd today?