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[EJL]

This is the one and only model ever made of this boat. In 1908 famous hydroplane Henry Faber filed drawing at the USA patent office for a paddlewheel driven hydroplane.
I got the drawings and set about drawing up plans. The result is what you see. The full size boat was never built due to lack of funding. 100 years after Henry filed his patent a boat albeit small hit the water.

The paddle is a multi bladed drum in the middle of the boat covered at the top and sides.  It works but I am having trouble with the elctric motors overheating- more work neeeded but the principle works.

Ernie Lazenby

[EJL]

The paddlewheel. (Before everything got finished but shows you the idea)

[Colin Bishop]

That wheel must put a heck of a load on the motor as you say. A very interesting design.

Colin

[Martin [Admin]]

Very interesting!
How fast does it currently go?
What size motor are you using?

Martin

[EJL]

Currently I am using a 700 geared down 2:1  on 12 volts.  The fastest boat of that era was around  35mph; at 1/12th scale the model is doing about 8mph and thus is not far off the speeds of the real boats at the time.

 I have options available and the drive system is very much work in progress.  I have used artistic licence on all the cosmetics/interior because I had nothing to work to. Fabers drawings were simply line drawings of the basic designs.

[EJL]

This photo shows the front section. A rather crude mock up engine fitted with non working gears to show how the real boat was intended to be driven. At this stage I had moved the electric motor and toothed drive belt to the back section but its now back to the front one!  Experimenting I love it!

The two black tubes are meant to be water tanks for triming the boat with a hand operated water pump linking them

[EJL]

The back end.  The drivers arm moves with the tiller arm. Figures are just plonked in roughly until I decide the final layout.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

Beautifully constructed. 

[Martin [Admin]]

Different!   

[EJL]

There has been a lot of interest in this model from the Paddle boat enthusiasts.  Some of them who are in my club said it would never work at all ie like 'stay put'

 My experiments lead me to conclude that its very doubtfull if a full size version would plane as Fauber intended but as you say its different and a talking point at the lakeside.
My club members always thought I am eccentric well this model supports that view!

 BTW its had a view nick names such as  the washing machine and the Hadron Collider!

[Garabaldy]

I really like it.  Its pretty.  Even if it "stayed put" on the water its still pretty 

Do you have any photos of it on the water?

[Martin [Admin]]

"Do you have any photos of it on the water?"

.... and the underside please?

[EJL]

Okay I am going to the lake on Wednesday, if its defrosted I will take some and photo the underside.

 Thanks for the interest lads it makes the effort worthwhile

Ernie Lazenby

[andrewh]

Ernie,

Lovely thought-provoking boat - thanks for sharing it with us

I had a look at a twin-motor setup (in Paddleducks)  - looks like two S600s with about a 1:2 drive to a common central shaft, then belt to the paddlewheel with maybe a 1:4 reduction  ratio - so the overall reduction is around 1:8 (?). 
Don't know exactly what the motors are but guessing as S600 - 7.2V they have a KV of 2500 approx, so the Kv of the paddle shaft could be expressed as about 315 rpm/V.

It tentatively seems to me that a middling size brushless motor with about 500KV could be added directly to the motor shaft (or a slim one each end!) which might take care of any transmission issues, and would probably eliminate any can-I-get-more-power-into-the-paddle questions.

Anyway strength to your arm
andrew

[EJL]

Hi Andrew.   The twin motor system geared down to 4:1 in total was an experiment. They overheated badly on the voltage required to produce meaningfull speed.

  The current motor is a 12 volt Graupner 700 geared down 2:1 and that overheats but the speed is good.  I have now removed every other blade from the drum for two reasons;    1. to reduce the load
               2. I  believe too many blades produces  a kind of negative energy ie unused work if you get my meaning.

The lake has been frozen so I don't know what effect this removal will have.  I can make another drum if the need arises.

 I also think other factors enter the equation;   The paddle box is vented at the top and sides to prevent hydraulic lock up; small brass pipes provide this but I am of a mind to increase the internal diameter of these pipes to increase the air flow. I have noticed that when the drum stops revolving the water is slow to drain out of the box.

 The drum has been tried the other way around;  Faubers idea was to have the water thrown backwards towards the centre line on the underside to create lift which it does but that tends to push the nose down. Having the drum facing the other way forces the water back and sidewards thus not imparting much lift at the back of the boat.

   This model is a bit like how long is a piece of string- endless possibilities

    At some stage I will be thinking about fitting a brushless motor set up but not quite yet.

Ernie.

[andrewh]

Ernie,

Thank for the reply - I can understand the overheating - effectively its a single BIG prop, albeit of a different type!

I can well see the snag with disposing of the carried-round water - it is 100% full size and the boat is much smaller to scale - judging by the bodies you have used it might be 1/10th or 1/12th size - so the water has far too much surface tension and viscosity for the scale wheel.  I'm sure that your idea of removing blades willl help.  I can imagine at some srtage of development it might run across the surface like a veritable basilisk - actually relying on the surface tension and speed to stay up

good luck with development!
andrew

[Martin [Admin]]

Hey Ernie, surely it should still work on a frozen lake, just may not steer very well !!!!   

[EJL]

well if the ice is not too thick the blades may break it up!

BTW It was my wife who called it the Hadron Collider! (The thing whizzing around at god knows how many MPH under the French Swiss border)r

The name on the side of the boat is  ' The Henry Fauber Hydroplane'

Fauber is very famous he designed lots of things not least a famous crank for 'whirly wheelers'  ( Bicycles)

Hes known as the Inventor of multi stepped hydroplanes. An interesting bloke.  His American Countymen would not help finance his ideas so he went to live in France where he was supported.  The French Maritime Museum in Paris has a lot of information about him.