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[jpdenver]

Finally -

The hull is ready for building -
Meaning it is at the same place it would be
if it had been a GRP/Fiberglass hull to begin with.
Only took about six months to get here.Alright, there were some delays.But I now fully appreciate the pre-built hulls.
And I have much more respect for those that only build POF.
So - now that I have the hull finished, time to start on the
part of the build that makes my wife wonder why I did notbuild my girls doll houses.
Thanks for reading,More to come.Jim PopeDenver, COUSA
 

[Neil]

Makes a good bird feeder.

makes an even nicer steam launch!!

[jpdenver]

Moving on to prepping for the decks.
I fitted the stern deck and rudder tube. 
Then I started building the rudder.   
Milled out a groove.  Then I Roughed up a brass rodand epoxied it into the groove.  Once it cures I willsmooth it and add some banding.
The Lower end of the rudder is captured by a
piece of tube soldered to a band.
Thanks for reading.
Jim

 

[jpdenver]

Mounted
Now to start on the decks.

[southsteyne2]

Looking good so keep up the good work Cheers
John

[jpdenver]

Got back to work.
Starting on the decks. 

In the bow I packed in some foam.Then glued down the deck.

[jpdenver]

Then the Stern Deck area.
It has a removable section to
gain access to servos and the receiver.

I also had to re-plumb some pieces tokeep the important parts accessible.
I also had to anneal some of the tubing a couple of timesso I could re-bend the gas piping in order to get theregulator under the deck,
More to come.Jim

[jpdenver]

A closeup of the steam plant.

[derekwarner]

Hi Jim....all progressing well 


In today's postings, we see the gas regulator adjustment wheel [axis] re-positioned from both the vertical and the horizontal


Will you be able to remove the gas tank for each refilling?
What brand of manufacture is this regulator?...is it a Bix supply?


Will be very interested to find the regulation results.......


Derek

[rhavrane]

Bonjour James,
Sorry to repeat it, based on my experience, the oil lubricator is not in the steam flow and did not correctly lubricate my Microcosm machine (the same as you have which is installed in my tug "Vient de loin"). Thank you in advance to let us know if you note the same issue or not.

[JimG]

Got back to work.
Starting on the decks. 

In the bow I packed in some foam.Then glued down the deck.

Did you use open or closed cell foam for the packing?If it is open celled it will soak up any water that might get into the bows retaining dampness which is not good for a wooden hull.
Jim

[jpdenver]

Thank you everyone for your comments.
Derek,
In the vertical position, the future deck was impacted, so I rotated it 90 degrees.It is a BIX from Forest Classics - I have used one of theirs in each of my crafts.
The literature states that orientation is not a factor.

The tank stays in the boat.  OK, I KNOW SOME OF YOU WILL GIVE DIRE WARNINGS ABOUT EXPLOSIONS.however, even though there is a risk, once the deck and rigging is in place, I think I risk greater damage to having toput the tank in and out. 

The tank, like my boiler, came from Mike Abbott or Macsteam.  I think it is one of his last.  I have another from himin my other boat and it stays in as well.
So - in my own defense - I have procedures that mitigate the risks of gas accumulation in the hull. 
1. I fill the tank first, when I am servicing the boiler and engine.2. Then I fill the boiler, oil the engine cups, fill the lubricator, etc - all this takes 5-10 minutes.3. lastly I take a straw and blow air around the cockpit.
I still have my eyebrows 
Raphael -
I fully understand your concern.  I think it looks goofy also.BUT - I find water in the lubricator after running for 15 min.AND I find some oil in the exhaust condenser also.
I did have to open the valve about 2 full turns. 
But since the only source of oil is the lubricator,
it seems to be working. 


Jim -

It is CLOSED CELL.  I can see where putting a sponge up there
would not be high on a list of good ideas.

Thanks again to all for reading.
Regards,Jim PopeDenver, COUSA

[southsteyne2]

Hi Jim looking real good ,may I suggest you completely seal the bow section to stop water ingress or more important Gas accumulation ,keep up the good work bet you can't wait to fire it up also a little tip to work out the ballast ,just grab a set of bathroom scales and put the model in the water ,place the scales on the deck and push down to required water level and note the weight  Cheers
John

[rhavrane]

Bonjour,
Once again based on my experience, I would say to my own opinion of course that James's gas process is correct. If a gas circuit has to fail, it will do it during the first heating process of the boiler. Personally, I never take my tanks off the hulls but control everything with my lighter if there is a leak (*).


After ten years of navigations, I have known only two fires and they occured twice on the table. My last one occured a few weeks ago with one of my new boats, first test, and it was the RC safety gas valve which started leaking !!! Hopefully, I stopped easily the gas at the valve tank level.
The result : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DNTjVqbhezs


This is bad luck but besides this exception, I go on sharing that to y opinion a RC safety gas valve is mandatory, I have seen two boats
completely burning till the waterline in the middle of a pond because there was no one to stop the gas when smoke appeared. Sorry, no video this time.


(*) Please keep in mind that gas burns when mixed at 7 to 15 % with air and is heavier than air. It can possibly explode when confined in a close space, otherwise it just creat a large flame. As there are a lot of access to air even in a closed hull, thepossible risk is the fire, not the explosion.


When the tank is full, the excess is eliminated of the hull by blowing it. A major leak is quickly identified, the little ones always occur when everything is finally installed, generally identified during the first test in "real life", not on the bench. As there is generally no room for a soap test with bubbles eveywhere, and as if there is a leak, it is small, the ligher will light it without danger as soon as the control is repeated regularly after the boiler starts heating.
And when a gas circuit is correct, if no one touchs it, it does not fail later.

[Mark T]

Hi Jim - I have really been enjoying your build its coming on very nicely and everything seems laid out very well too.  I take Raphael's point about the gas valve and in many ways he is quite correct.  However another builder and friend of mine has never ever fitted a gas valve and has never had any issues either in very many years.  Gas accumulation is obviously very dangerous but as adults we must do what we feel is right for our own builds.  Who's right - well who knows; its down to experience and risk assessment but either way please keep the updates coming as its a very enjoyable build log.

[jpdenver]

Thanks for all the comments and encouragements.
I have had to move inside for the winter. 
Finally got back to the build.
First on my list was to add a layer of "diamond plate"under the engine to catch oil.

[jpdenver]

I also decided the entire rear deck should be removable.But not under normal use, only when fully stripping the boat down for maintenance.

[jpdenver]

Now to the main deck.
Started fitting the deck to the hull.I needed to cut away a little bit around the plumbing,

[jpdenver]

Moved inside for the winter.
Continued to add framing for the side decks.
If my day job slows down, I'll get to the point of actuallyattaching the pieces.
Here are some pics.
More to come,Jim

[jpdenver]

I took some time to do some priming of the interior,
just getting some paint on parts and pieces to helpseal it up. 
 
Then I finally attached the decks. 
First the sides, Then  built the frame for the removable sectionand added the deck to that. 
Still need to cut out some of the framework to allow deck penetration.
Slowly but surely - it is coming together.
Thanks for reading,Happy Thanksgiving

Jim PopeDenver, CO
USA

[derekwarner]

Always watching   on Jim......just make sure the boiler burner has plenty  of air for good combustion


We know of your time honored yearly 4th weekend of November celebration of Thanksgiving,so wish you safe & well in these troubled World times...maybe best to keep the dogs inside as they don't like fireworks


Derek

[jpdenver]

Derek,
The holiday with the most fireworks is our July 4 - Independence Day celebration. And we do keep the
girls in the house, usually with music playing - to mask the noise.  We have a number of large displays
within a couple of miles of us. 

The only fireworks around Thanksgiving are those caused by our illustrious president shooting his mouth off. 

Did you know that Thanksgiving is celebrated down your way? -"In the Australian external territory of Norfolk Island, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Wednesday of November, similar to the pre–World War II American observance on the last Thursday of the month. This means the Norfolk Island observance is the day before or six days after the United States' observance. The holiday was brought to the island by visiting American whaling ships.^{"    (from Wikipedia)}

Usually we have a very busy house - 17 for Dinner, 5 dogs underfoot.   

This year all my kids took a week vacation out of country, Mexico, Bahamas,  and Thailand. 

And left all their dogs with us,  so it is just my Bride and I ( and all the damn mutts)   

Thanks for your comments, I value your opinions - and those from others on this forum as well.   

Regards to all,

Jim

[derekwarner]

Morning Jim........in mainland Australia, we see a few Americanisms creeping in........Halloween is now publicized by the media to the point where all of our major shopping chains [Coles & Woolworths] market all of the required 1/2 pumpkin heads & the like to scare any 1/2 wit silly enough to answer their front door


When we were kids, we had never heard of Halloween, but with the ever changing shrinking voice of the world naturally consumerism takes over


You will certainly have a full house for your Thanksgiving  


I must not comment on your Political Master.....[but only to say his worldly aspirations have decimated my hard earned Superannuation value levels]


Derek

[jpdenver]

Took a little time off. 
Now back to the build.
I finished fitting the roof of the engine room to the deck,
had to cut a number of opening for fittings.
Then I built the skylights.  Reading ahead in the manual,it looks like I have to build a number of deck elements next.
I found that these old hands were staring to cramp up whilecutting out windows and doors with an Xacto Knife. 

So I took a Die-Filer that I made a few years ago and modified it to
accept a Jig-Saw blade.   Other than having to be careful, as the blade cuts on the
"up-stroke" -  It saves a lot of time.
So here are some pics.
Happy Holidays to all,Jim PopeDenver, CO USA

[jpdenver]

Oh yeah -
The pics ---