Alternate power sourse for Spirit of Wakatoa

[Paulrjordan]

Hi Leighton....

If ever you "run out of steam" with your sternwheeler, here's a novel
back up power plant and drive train!

http://hometown.aol.com/polysail/HTML/showboat.htm

Look at the "Inboard Profile and Cabin Framing Plans" of the
little "Showboat"... you might even two of those "engines" in tandem
as primary power! Economical and fun for the whole family! However,
be warned, I don't think the "full astern" characteristics of the
ship would be up to much.

PJ

[Leighton]

PJ! The cheek of it, suggesting THAT alternative source of power.
I'd need 2 wide and about 16 frames long coupled up, to give enough
power just to move the Spirit of Waikato against the currant.
Thanks for the thought though, we may buid one for a small harbour
that we have over on our east coast. At high tide it is only about
2'-6" deep (has silted up badly, used to be 80' deep in the 1800's)
This would be ideal to wander around the place in.
Leighton

[dragoncity]

Leighton,

being a WindowScreen Wiper Motor enthusiast myself I figured ( on a beer mat)
that if 2 Wipers can power a 4' model , ( P.S. Industry) then surely a few more can power a
100' "model" !!

eg"
100' / 4' = 25 X 2(motors) = 50 motors MUST be able to power
a mere 100 foot boat with ease :-))

Mind you you will need rather a lot of sealed lead acid batteries as well.

=========================================
Seriously , I was at Echuca recently where the group restoring the
P.S HERO ( 28.1 M x 5.2 x 1.9m ) SIDE Paddler had their NEW BOILER on display,
what a beautiful piece of engineering. An interesting feature was a GROOVE across the
smoke box ( just behind the chimney) where the paddle shaft passed across the boiler.

I have photos but no access to a scanner at the moment.

As this group are working on a fullsized restoration, they may have members that can advise you
if they know any person/company that may know something about funnels / smoke-stacks /
chimneys. I understand the new boiler was made from original plans, and the same factory that
made original boiler made this one -- if so, there's a piece of continuous history.

try getting in touch via the Port of Echuca web site, they MUST know who's working on the HERO
as you can see her below the shop! a little up river along the wharf.

Best of luck with your project , sounds great.
Cheers,
Brett

[Leighton]

Hi Brett,
It's amazing what you can do with a windscreen wiper motor! About 5
years ago my son was in the 4th form at High School and wanted to
enter the Science fair. All the High Schools in each Region enter
and the best go to the Nationals. His Science Teacher suggested
perhaps someone should test condoms as an entry. Of course you know
who put his hand up as well as two girls. The three of them decided
to see what they could do. Sooooo........ We built a condom testing
machine using a wiper motor which gave us the action and the family
planning clinic which gave the required items as well as some
chemists. The results were amazing from 2.5 seconds to 2.5 minutes!
The local paper got hold of the storey and the kids and their
machine were photographed and published.
It was a great hit at the Fair with all the teenagers, and they got
a highly commended with recommendations to go to the Nationals.
So you can see there are lots you can do with a windscreen wiper
motor!

I'll see what I can find out about the Hero Brett. thanks for the
info.
Regards
Leighton