A fine day for an excursion aboard SL A Boy's Will on McWain Pond, Maine
last updated 5 May 2012
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"A boy's will is the wind's will, And the thoughts of youth are long, long thoughts."
from the poem, "My Lost Youth," Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's
thoughts about his boyhood in Portland, Maine
Dreams of steamboats are those of men who have always been kids
Every once in a while a dream is caught and a flame burns brightly
the continuing saga of the steamboat "A Boy's Will"
A couple of pictures and a short video from the Lees Mill Meet,
September 2011
The Lees Mill Meet will
be held September 7-16, 2012. See you there!
Heavy traffic
Those Florida folks just don't appreciate a warm September sunny
day in New Hampshire!
Can't start em too young, though
click on either of the above pictures to view
video
Finally revised my model hybrid turbine-electric
prototype
to see the video click on the photo
A Special Steam-Up and Luncheon was Hosted by the David Thompson Family
on a Cool, Sunny March Day, 2010
Gabrielle and Bob Wallace
Will Again Host a
Live Steam Meet and Pot
Luck Supper
at their home on May
19th
157 Old Route 109 in
Moultonborough
call them at (603) 476
5685 for more information
Click on the image below to visit the Wallace's May 22, 2010 meet in Moultonboro, NH
Click here to view a
YouTube video of the Wallace's May 2011 meet
The Lee's Mills Annual Steamboat Meet
will be held in September 2012
FROM SATURDAY, SEPT 8, THROUGH SUNDAY, SEPT
16TH
Moultonboro, NH
(sometimes spelled Moultonborough. After all,
this is New Hampshire!)
Follow signs to the Loon Center and continue
about 2000 feet to docks
Show up during this session and ride some great steamboats FREE!
Coming Soon: Steam Happens #22: A
Model Steam Turbine Evolves
Christophe Carcenac de Torné
ccarcenacdetorne@gmail.com , a French model engineer, is looking for
information (mainly drawings) dealing with bronze cylinder castings for a triple
expansion marine engine he recently acquired. There are no markings on the
castings nor was he able to obtain any drawings.
The dimensions are of the cylinders are:
- total cylinder block length: 11"
- HP Cylinder bore: 1"
- IP cylinder bore: 1" 7/8
- LP cylinder bore: 3"
- Stroke: 2"
(by the dimensions, it seems like it's possibly either English of American)
As you can infer, with the aligned cylinders being around 1 ft (30cm, the length
of the caliper scale), this is quite a large model or, rather, a small
launch engine. Here's a photo of the three cylinders in place
Other photos of these castings as well as a 3D CAD drawing of the set are to
be found by clicking on the above photo.
If you have any plans, suggestions, or leads please inform Christophe
directly at the above email address. Please cc email me so that we may
follow his adventure on this site. This should be quite a beauty when
finished.
At Cabin Fever January 2008 I met with Joe Ritter, a very
clever engine designer from Mt. Airy, MD
Joe presented a new engine he designed which he calls a Pogo-Stick.
He also displayed his 6 cylinder, single-acting swash plate
engine that I'd love to see scaled up for a full scale boat.
The use of a swash plate, the radial arrangement of the
pistons and the direct alignment with the prop shaft would make this an ideal
small power unit. Click on the photo below for more details and movies of the
engine in operation.
Here's a photo of Peter Renzetti's Swash Plate engine
This one uses a shaft-ported valving, much as used in 2-stroke
model airplane engines.
In the picture below the pistons are all retracted. When
pressure is applied they each move to contact the swash or wobble plate.
Here's a rough diagram of Peter's valve porting
* * * * * ** * *
I recently found a site with lots of free
books on steamboats and engines. These are digitized and are downloadable as PDF
files for addition to your collection or browsing. Click on the bottle engine
image below to enter this site.
Then scroll to the bottom of their page and click on
"Online Steam Books"
I guarantee you'll find the online books rewarding!
* * * * * *
Of course, we now have the Google Books site
which has
a gargantuan and growing collection of old books
on-line free for your reading.
Click here to go to their search page
and try locating a book on any topic.
I recommend you use
Calibre to search for, download, and
organize your e-books
Al Berry's sweet new 2 hp Hasbrouck-designed #1 steam
engine
William Gill is putting the engine in his
new steamboat
This is a perfect engine for a small boat of 15-20 feet
click on either of the above photos of the engine to view a video of this engine running and being reversed
this is a large (2.8 meg) file. Download only if you have broadband
To see some pictures from summer 1999 click on the little photo of
Bruce
below
Watch out! there are 3D pictures in this collection
Instructions for how to view 3D pictures are at the bottom of this
page
Ginny Ryan, Sue Powarczynski at the dock
Maybe it's time for that diet
Hey Nick you got that engine ready yet!
Ya know, if we could just put 2 more inches of pitch on that prop
we'd be able to break out them water skis
summer 98, watching the pressure climb and waiting for the pizza to
get
done.
Yup, these steamboats offer everything.
A quiet ride, a hot cup of expresso and a toasty pizza...all in the
same
package....Try that with yer damn infernal combustion, will ya!
Kathy at the helm, Summer 98
The annual tire rotation summer 98.
New radials improve turning significantly
summer 98
Nick at the helm after our best time ever on the slalom course
Zero to six mph in forty five seconds!
Left my hair a mess and mild case of whiplash!
some repairs are definitely more fun than others!
Then there are other steamboats, too!
uncle Reb Shawn Fergeson on the deck of the Pavonia
(seated, his hands folded in prayer)
A rare stereo photo taken shortly before he was pushed overboard
And there are other means of steam propulsion, too!
Al G. at the reins of 20 rampant horses
and in stereo
and other forms of water transportation, too
How to view the stereo shots.
If you are over 40, back about 6 feet away from your screen (If you
are
under 40 stay right where you are).
Hold your left hand vertically between your eyes with the base knuckle
of
your index finger touching the tip of your nose.
Close your right eye and check to see that your left eye can clearly
see
the left picture. The close your left eye and check to see that your
right
eye clearly sees the right picture.
Now comes the tricky part. You actually have to relax your eyes
enough
to cause them to diverge (this is the opposite of crossing them).
The
eyes point outward a bit. This may take 5 or so minutes the first
time,
but becomes easier with each use as your eye muscles get some
practice. Eventually you should see a third image form
between the two real images. This middle image will be 3D and
should be right behind your vertical hand.
Get you hand out of the way by moving it downward and out of your
vision and
you should be able to hold a 3D image....
Some people take 10 to 15 minutes to master the art. Others can
get
it within 5 minutes...There are a few (about 5%) who can't do it....But
if
you were able to see those "random dot stereograms" Magic eye
images
that were popular about ten years ago you can do this...It's the same
skill.
Once you can free view the photos easily you can try getting closer to
the
screen.
Kathy at the helm, Summer 98 
The annual tire rotation summer 98. 
summer 98 
