A REAL paddler, not a model!

[thewharfonline]

yes it's not a model but today I finalised plans for making my very own real steamer to drive around on my lake with!

It's only a small paddler about 3 metres in length and maybe 2m in width but its just enough for what I need it to do.

And if you thought that challenge was big enough I'm gojng to make it all by myself (except for financial help which shall come from the parentals) Oh I'm 15 for anyone who's wondering why that would be hard!

Hopefully I'll start building in a few weeks and have it running by the end of the year and on these boards I'll post photos and news on the building. it's going to be a sidewheeler too!

Well I can't wait to start and tell you more about the project as I go!

[thewharfonline]

Well here is my first update, the original plans I've done for the steamer, they're pretty scketchy I spose!

Dad says that the plan I'm doing is supposedly a "duck" boat with paddle wheels...I nodded and said yes it has paddle wheels. Well here is the first plan of the steamer!

[towboatjoe]

Here's a link you may find useful.

http://www.usawaterways.com/cgi-bin/netforum/sternwheel/a/1

[thewharfonline]

Thanks for the link, does anyone know what kind of wood I should use. It needs to be as cheap as possible and preferably not marine ply because I can't afford it!

Also on the topic of wood, would any wood work as long as I cover it properly with tar or fibre glass? and I'm sure Balsa wood is out of the deal lol!

Financial issues are big for me at the moment so thats why I want the wood to be the cheapest possible!

One good thing, I have a funnel, which technically will just be for decoration, but its free so its a bonus

[mjt60a]

Sounds interesting....I imagine the basic 'problems' of building this boat will be much like those of building a model (ie. make the cabin light enough that it remains stable, engine low in the hull etc. As for the wood to use, I'd have no idea but I built a shed two years ago and thought I'd butted the pine planks tightly together. They now have half inch gaps between many of them! Still, there are probably forums for boat owner/builders around (like the previous link, for an example?) could always ask how others made their hull.  
I'd love to try something like this but would have nowhere to sail it...

....the plan I'm doing is supposedly a "duck" boat with paddle wheels....

...a Paddle Duck?

[towboatjoe]

Your drawing kinda reminds me of the flatboats my ancestor used to build here on the Ohio River. The way they were built was from white oak and the hulls were filled with water for a few weeks. The oak would swell and create a watertight hull. The water was drained out then a cabin built on it. After they got where they were going the  flatboat was disassembled and the wood either sold or used to build a house.

With today's cost, marine plywood is the cheapest way to go. Most other woods shrink too much to be able to get a good seal. You would end up having to pack more caulking into the joints every few monts to try to stop leaks. You run a chance of cracking a fiberglass coating with all the shrinkage of the lumber, besides you'll probably find that much fiberglassing and labor to be very expensive.

[thewharfonline]

" The way they were built was from white oak and the hulls were filled with water for a few weeks. "

Hmmm is White Oak still available and expensive....I think I need to get a job!

[derekwarner_decoy]

hi PD's - somewhere there has to be a cut off point & I certainly don't know the answer, but sometimes I think it would be less expensive to build the hull of a real 6 metre vessel than a 1/3 size 2 metre model  :?: - Derek

[thewharfonline]

hehehehe looks like my main plan may be out the window for a more affordable approache! A small boat that will require very little cuts and wood...4 pieces of Ply a saw some glue some nails, and some paddles...can hold seven people! Sounds interesting and affordable! Will get back to you soon

And six metres is out of the question...the lake isn't that big!

[mjt60a]

Would it be possible to get a complete hull from somewhere? I've sometimes thought it'd be fun to try building a paddler (for private lake use only) out of something like a norfolk broads/thames holiday cruiser - though I'd have to win the lottery first!
...something like this;

...I've no idea how difficult that'd be (if even possible!) but I wouldn't want to wreck a perfectly good cruiser, just a hull and running gear would do to start with...

[Eddy Matthews]

Very neat Mick - I wish I had time to learn how to morph photos like that!

[mjt60a]

It's not too difficult really, could be done in microsoft paint I'd think, though I used paintshop Pro, it has a 'clone' feature which allows the background to be sampled and painted over parts of the original picture - I first 'removed' the wheelhouse and passengers - then you just paint as if you were using a brush and canvas. (it helps to magnify the image while painting so you can see the details better)
Actually, the end result reminds me a bit of the 'Monarch' I've seen in paddlewheels recently...

[mjt60a]

...or how about this? see if you can find one of these - http://www.skegtransport.com/van-new3.jpg - in a junk yard and use the top (usually fibreglass, sometimes aluminium) as a hull (you have to seal off a rectangular hole at the back where the doors were) I've seen that done on TV (scrapheap challenge/junkyard wars) and it worked surprisingly well - just  make sure it has no windows or vents in the top!

[towboatjoe]

Here's a houseboat I used to live on when i was young. It originally had a huge 454cid Chrysler engine and dad and I built a stern wheel for it and powered it with a 4-cylinder engine from a Mercury Capri.

[thewharfonline]

My parents have asked why don't I just buy a hull and add wheels, but heres the deal!

I want to make a paddler all by myself so i get the pleasure in saying "I did that all by myself!" I've never done something so ambitious not to mention I wasn't that good at woodwork in school (stupid blunt tools) But this is soemthing I have to be able to do all by myself!

I have a plan now for a basic "least cuts possible" boat and I'm going to make that then add paddle wheels on the side and make it work by "peddle power" like the ones on park lakes....except mine won't be bright colours and it will look more like a boat!

Hopefully though (one day) I can build something more like what i originally anticipated and be able to travel up and down the Murray on it like a little houseboat!