Steam engines/steam launches

[Bill R]

Can anyone recommend some reading material (preferably bound and printed, but online is ok) on the subject of marine steam engines and their workings and operation? Also any info on Victorian era steam launches would be appreciated as well.

TIA

[dhic001]

Now that depends on how in depth you want to go. There book that is the considered the bible of the revival of steamboating, is Steamboats and Modern Steam Launches, by Bill Durham. Basically its a series of magazines, over a three(?) year period in the 60s when steamboating as a hobby started to come to life. Its a great book, and well worth a read. The Steam Launch, by Richard Mitchell is a hardback book of pictures of steamboats and their machinery, not so techically based, but still a good volume. Both those are available from www.steamlaunch.com (http://www.steamlaunch.com)

I have a number of techical books in my collection too, foremost of which is Southern's Verbal Notes and Sketches. This two volume book is basically the marine engineers training manual, telling you how to put together your machinery, then how to maintain and run it. Its aimed at the big ship engineers, but is still valuable to the smaller guys. Its well out of print, but you might find it in a second hand bookshop.

Hope that starts you off,
Daniel

[Bob Cleek]

Pat Spurling at "Steamlaunch.com" (Elliot Bay Books) has everything available in print on live steam. Check out Google Books. They've scanned some good stuff from the turn of the century, but it is, of course, all technical journal stuff. When I find a good one, I print the whole book out and put it in a three ring binder. You'll go blind trying to read a whole book on line! If you are going to get interested in live steam, expect to end up getting a do it yourself steam engineering degree. You'll also have to acquire a machine shop and the skills to use it. For the technical stuff, and for parts, etc., there's a lot of cross-over with the live steam railroad modelers.

Needless to say, steamboats can be a very expensive enterprise unless you are able to build, maintain, and operate your own steam plant... on top of doing the same for the hull it's in, in which case you have to be retired to find the time to do all that! (Amazing guys, those live steamers!)

http://www.steamlaunch.com/images/photos/patboat.jpg

One of Spurling's stock steam launches.

Pat Ford, (PCFord) of this forum knows Pat Spurling well, IIRC. You might want to pm Pat and he may be able to put you in touch with Spurling. In my experience, if you call Elliot Bay Steam Launch Co. on the phone, you'll likely get Pat Spurling on the other end of the line.;

[dhic001]

Beware the steamlaunch pictured in Bob Cleek's posting, its made of fibreglass :eek::eek: Apart from building them in fibreglass, the Elliot Bay boats are good boat, well designed and fit for purpose. Steamboat people tend to come from two schools, those who are steam engineers who are just wanting to float their machinery in a suitable hull, and those are into steamboats as the whole entity. The former put amazing machinery in not so amazing hulls, while the later people's boats can vary from rough work boats to incredible pieces of marine and engineering artwork.
Daniel

[pcford]

Pat Ford, (PCFord) of this forum knows Pat Spurling well, IIRC. You might want to pm Pat and he may be able to put you in touch with Spurling. In my experience, if you call Elliot Bay Steam Launch Co. on the phone, you'll likely get Pat Spurling on the other end of the line.;

I know both Pat Spurlock and Bill Durham. Both are fine fellows.

Bill Durham lives in the same neighborhood as I do I run into him at the grocery store occasionally. He was disgusted with me (jokingly) when I told him I was working on an old unlimited hydro...he is very much an efficient hull form and appropriate power kind of fellow.

Pat Spurlock is a good guy with a droll sense of humor. He offers the plastic hulls...which are pretty as you can see and also new and old engines. He used to live in Seattle but now lives in our sister city to the south. Though I know both, I am really not connected to the steam scene....Spurlock would certainly be an excellent place to start investigation of the field. He's got a website, start there.