Paddleducks
Old Yahoo Group => Yahoo Messages => Topic started by: Dallinson on June 15, 2005, 03:01:05 AM
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Hi there.
I have had a terrible time getting a new computer and then getting it
programmed in English, in a Spanish speaking country. However I am now back
on line and able to communicate with the world again.
However, every down side has an up side and I have been able to get quite a
lot of work done on my model of the 1850 tug Scotia. It is of clinker
construction and I have now completed all but two of the planks on each side
to reach deck level. I will then have to install the deck beams and the
bulwarks. They should be fairly easy after the steaming and twisting of the
planks, especially around the stern. I was going to make the counter stern
solid but in the end I have planked like the real one. I have found that I
cannot manage more than one plank on each side in day. Quite slow work. Very
soon the building board will be redundant and I shall have to build another
to hold it firmly in shape the right way up. I intend to give the inside a
thin layer of fibre glass and epoxy. This will hopefully water proof it and
give it some added strength. I have learnt a great deal and would do a
number of things differently, if I build another one. If anyone is
contemplating a similar clinker (shiplap) type construction, please feel
free to contact me.
I have decided to make the "engine room", drives, paddle shaft, bearings,
paddles boxes and paddles a complete lift out module. This unit will lift
out after the bridge and engine casing has been lifted off. It will normally
be screwed into the hull with 4 small screws. The hull is quite deep and
narrow and trying to fit all the machinery inside working from the top
seemed almost impossible. I have made a mock up and it all seems to go
together pretty well. The motors are some I found in an electronics magazine
and have an output speed of approx 200 rpm via 5mm shaft on 12 volts. ( They
can be run up to 16 volts) I am using a 5mm shaft for the paddles, so
browsing through the Graupner catalogue I was luckily able to located a
suitable toothed belt and associated pulleys with 5mm bores. The motors will
sit neatly under the shaft, with one motor driving each side. The output
shaft of the motor is well off-centre of the motor body, so belt tension can
be obtained by simply rotating the motor in its cradle before clamping.
Enough of my efforts.
I have recently bought a book from a second-hand dealer in England, that
anyone particularly interested in the early paddle ships that opened up the
Yukon and North West would surely find very interesting indeed. It is called
" Paddlers on the Frontier" subtitled "The story of British Columbia and
Yukon Sternwheel Steamers" It was published by the Superior Publishing
Company of Seattle, Washington in 1972. Library of Congress number is
72-78936. It really is a great read. The exploits of these early ships in
shooting the rapids, getting caught in ice, catching fire, blowing up etc
makes for some fascinating reading. There are a huge number of fantastic
pictures. There is a Scotia mentioned in the book, but obviously it is not
the same as mine.
To refer to a couple of points raised in recent correspondence.
The paddles were nearly always fixed to one shaft. A few tugs had a
separate engine to power each side. The problem arose if the ship rolled in
a seaway. The paddle out of the water would race and in many cases the
engine would fly to pieces. It is for this reason that all twin engine
paddlers had a means of locking the shaft solid, whenever they ventured out
of the dead smooth water of the harbour or river. If the ship rolled when
the shaft was locked then if one paddle was clear of the water, the other
would most likely be much deeper in the water, so absorb the power. It
should also be remembered that early paddle tugs mostly just towed sailing
ships in and out of port. They did not need to be as manoeuvrable as modern
tugs are. They did not do any pushing or have any contact the towed ship.
The early pictures almost never show much, if anything, in the way of
fendering at the bow and stern. It seems that they had only fenders at the
sides, for protecting themselves when tying alongside.
Regarding firefighting paddlers. At the moment, the only reference I can
find to one that was specially fitted out for fire fighting and salvage was
a tug called "AID". She was well known vessel, registered in London but
worked all her life out of Ramsgate. It is stated that she had a Worthington
pump that was used for both salvage and fire fighting. She is also
interesting in that she was fitted with a rudder in the bows as well at the
stern. I can provide more details if anyone would like them.
I think I have caught up on most things.
Happy Xmas and New Year to all from a very chilly and wintery Spain. (Minus
3 DegC this morning!!)
Regards
David
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Thanks David, as I have noted previously - your Scotia is our first
traditionally planked model, so maybe one hundred or so fellow paddlers
await your postings - best regards Derek