PV Sundowner Rebuild

[Roderick Smith]

I had my first cruise aboard today (Sun.3.10).  On Saturday night, Michael was crewing PS Alexander Arbuthnot for the sailpast and fireworks.  There was no followon party cruise of private paddlers, so we headed to a pub thereafter.
Today we made a few test moves in the wet dock, and didn't venture into the river.  The surprise for me, having seen the hull in the early stages, is how spacious the cabin is, even though it is not full length.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[michael]

Few photo's out and about on a high river at Echuca

[Roderick Smith]

I won't try to translate John Masefield's classic into a river vernacular:

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
All I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trip's over.

However, Michael's photos of a river which has not been as good for many years tempt me to start:
I must go launch at a ramp again...
Waterways which normally are empty are now so much in flood that the problem is vertical clearance under bridges, not draught to the snags on the bottom.  After years of drought, and finally a season promising a bumper harvest, the rain has destroyed millions of dollars of crops.
Another classic of Australian history, culture and humour: 'Said Hanrahan': www.middlemiss.org/lit/authors/obrienj/poetry/hanrahan.html

What was the footbridge in the folio?
Is the windmill on the aft deck helping propulsion?  Is  it being driven by your slipstream, just to pump cooling and drinking water aboard?

The prize has to go to the arty photo of a paddle in action.

Regards,
Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[michael]

With the Campaspe river in flood ( a triburtry river to the Murray at Echuca) and ideal cruising weather, what better way then to spend it taking your boat out. So PV Struggler departed Echuca wetdock mid Saturday morning, cruising downstream to the junction of the Murray and Campaspe, where there was a very strong flow coming down. We cruised on upstream of the campaspe, engine running pretty hard. Nearly made it to the first bridge 2-3km upstream before our first problem, the water pump for the heat exchanger wasn't pumping water thus, the engine got hot. Pulled up and investigated. In  the end it was discovered the pump couldn't pump water out of the river as the flow past the hull was soo great it was sucking it out of the line. It was decided to turn for home, using a bilge pump to pump water through the heat exchanger allowing the engine waster to be cooled till we reach home, where we relaxed for the rest of the day.
PV Struggler as Billy Tea went up the Campaspe two weeks ago on a lower river, no current and got alot futher untill time was against us. Hopefully in the next week or two we will venture up there again

[michael]

This coming Saturday 26th February is Struggler 1st Birthday and to celebrate we will be cruising to the launching site (Echuca East Boat Ramp) where the 2011 SummerFloat will be happening... www.summerfloat.org
It is a gathering of people floating down to the port of echuca to support Breast Cancer Awerness. PS Pevensey will also be participating and will be have PINK steam, was pink is the colour used for breast cancer.

[michael]

Finally manged to get a photo on her birthday. Sorry it took soo long

[kno3]

Aren't you going to put some side covers on the paddlewheel boxes?

[michael]

Had a little riverboat ramble today, headed upstream for a few hours with PS Ranger, BillyTea and Tooraloora for lunch at a sandbar, weather wasn't the best but great to do a group outing!

[Roderick Smith]

As I entered Echuca on Tuesday, I looked at Campaspe River and thought that I could get Jessie II the whole way to the steam rally site (ie above snags, but below two bridges).  I lacked the time.  Michael announced that, with a week off work, he was doing better: he was leaving on Wednesday to take PV Struggler up Goulburn River, possibly even to Shepparton: over snags, but under three bridges (with the main Murray Valley Hwy one being the lowest, and also the furthest upstream).  Current may be more of a problem.  He has loaded up with lots of auxiliary fuel tanks.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[michael]

Just to use you Roderick, I took off Wednesday morning from Echuca, arring at Stewarts Bridge on the Goulburn about 5pm after a few stops. Upon reaching the bridge it was found even Struggler wouldn't fit under! So I turned aroun, after tking the photo's to prove I ade it, and camped a few bend dow on a nice bend. Returning back to Echuca Thursday. Saturday I then ventured up the Campaspe, taking only 1hr to get from Wet Dock to Beechworth Bakery, picking up a friend we contiued up to Echuca Rotary Park, Steam Rally Site, anothr hour upstream, not hiting anything and only a couple of small branches to squeeze past, could of entured further but time was against us. Will pos photo's soon!!

[michael]

Here are photo's of up the the goulburn river junction, the goulburn river, stewarts bridges, camping spot.
Campaspe River, tied up at Beechworth Bakery, Ogolive Ave Bridge, and at the Steam Rally site.
Cheers

[Roderick Smith]

I am completely jealous, and am looking at my calendar to see if I can squeeze in a 2-day midwinter voyage, launching at Echuca East.
That is quite an achievement, and must have involved some careful tiptoeing.
I am a local, and can understand the geography.  I enclose a Google Earth view to make it clearer for a world audience.  To maximise screen use, I have turned it with north to the left (and hence NSW), and east to the top.
The main Murray shows clearly, as does the much smaller Campaspe.
Hopwood had his punt (and later his floating bridge) at the point where the Campaspe gets so close to the main Murray; he also had a bridge over the Campaspe, and tolled the lot.  The original Echuca developed there.  When the railway came (horizontal towards the top of this view), the town development moved to the railway as its focus.
That is why so much early fabric remained, and forms the core of the Echuca tourist precinct today.
Most short cruises from Echuca go down the Murray to the Campaspe junction, then return.
The three Campaspe bridges show fairly clearly: the straight roads stand out in this view.
The left hand one is mainly for town traffic; I have had Jessie II that far before.
The middle one must be the footbridge in Michael's photos, although it is not shown in the map in the VicRoads directory.
The right-hand one is Murray Valley Hwy, known locally as Ogilvie Ave, and is the one where Michael pictured Struggler passing underneath.
The steam-rally park shows as a circle nearly to the right of frame (between a church and a 'pine tree' emblem.
My memory is that there was a collapsed weir between the bridge and the site.  There must have been sufficient water for Michael to float above it.

Campaspe River itself rises on the northern flanks of Great Dividing Range, between Woodend and the tourist town of Daylesford.  It crosses under the main Bendigo railway and highway, and flows off the flanks via the town of Redesdale.  It was tamed by a dam to form Lake Eppalock, supplying water to Bendigo (the state's fourth-largest population centre) and a popular boating lake.  As it continues over the plains, there is a further dam at Rochester.  During floods earlier this year, Lake Eppalock gained boatable water for the first time in a decade, and Rochester was flooded.
The Bendigo - Echuca railway, dating from 1864, crosses the Campaspe at Rochester.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Campaspe_River
Victorian Railways named its special carriages after Victorian rivers.  Campaspe was a c1910 dining car.  Sleeping car Coliban (from the same era) was named after the major tributary.
When local government went through a stage of forced amalgamation, City of Echuca merged with local shires to become Shire of Campaspe.
In the view, the convergence of the railways from Bendigo and from Seymour shows top right.  To the right of that, I have cropped Echuca airport.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[kno3]

Nice pictures.
Michael, what are your plans for the paddlewheeler? Are you going to cover the wheelboxes somehow?

[Roderick Smith]

Post edited on Tuesday to get the facts straight.

As I crossed McCoys Bridge (Goulburn River, Murray Valley Hwy) on Sun.27.11, I had the car windows open and my deckie leaning out with a camera in case Michael was passing below on his aim to reach Shepparton.  Too soon: the river was at just the right level to voyage in comfort, and yet get under the bridges, but PV Struggler had not yet got this far.  Perhaps Michael will achieve Shepparton to Goulburn Weir too?
I haven't the time to launch and set out in chase.
When the railway came to Shepparton (1880s), that became the limit of paddlesteamer operation.
The building of Goulburn Weir further upstream sealed the fate, although one paddlesteamer was kept on Lake Nagambie to bring logs in from forest to sawmill.

Roderick B Smith
Rail News Victoria Editor

[michael]

Your abit ahead of yourself there Rod! Murray Valley Hwy bridge is McCoys Bridge, haven't got that far, but not far from it. I am halfway between Stewarts and Yambuna bridges, achieving this In just one day, 8hrs cruising, when I thought it would have taken two!
Photo 1, Passing underneath Stewarts Bridge with ease
Photo 2, Tied up opposite RiverBend Caravan Park