| RUDDER | CONDENSER | BURNER | GENERATOR |

In 1916 Admiral Kitchen of the Bristish Navy was granted a patent for a variable speed reversing rudder. It totally does away with reverse gears, variable pitch propeller and can be used with advantage on small steamboats ( it is extensively used by the model steamboaters ). It was widely accepted in Great Britain and used until WW II by the British Navy. A 38' compromise stern cruiser was tested by the US Navy in 1921 and was stopped in her own length traveling at 12 mph. Why it was not accepted by the US Navy is not known, but as it was usually transom mounted, substantial strenghtening of the transom was required.

The device is simple to build and offers the ultimate flexibility in control. It consists of two semicircular rudders, port and starboard, which partially shroud the propeller and which can be closed, from partial clamshell folding to complete restriction. Each half is mounted through common-center solid and tubular rudder stock. From each stock extends an arm which controls the angularity of that blade. A worm screw with a rotational wheel and handle, resembling the tailstock wheel on a lathe, is mounted on the end of this screw, which also serves as the tiller ( I'm replacing the worm screw arrangement with a hydraulic piston ). By rotating the tailstock wheel, the clamshells are opened or closed ( regulating speed and ahead/astern direction ). By swinging the whole screw/tiller assembly from port to starboard, the boat can be steered. Engine rpm remains constant and the boat can be held stationary at a dock against any current.

Another hobby steamboater, Warren Caldwell in Texas, has fitted one to his 26 foot steamboat Santana and initial results show a measureable improvement in handling and performance.

For a detailed drawing that not only makes the operation understandable, but also gives construction details, select the hyperlink below.

C O N D E N S E R

In any steam plant the water used by the engine ( in the form of steam ) must be replaced in the boiler. Most land based engines ( even steam locomotives ) can do this readily. A vessel floating on water is not so lucky as the water of most rivers and lakes contains enough impurities to make it unuseable. And the salt in the water from bays, sounds, and oceans makes it totally unsuitable.

Since the early 1840s the solution to this problem has been to "capture" the steam exhausted from the engine and condense it back to water for reuse. In the process of condensation a vacuum is formed and, since it is below atmospheric pressure, additional work is obtained from the engine.

This is accomplished by one of two means: either a long pipe is led alongside the keel of the vessel, the exhaust steam entering at one end and the condensate pumped out at the other ( the water the vessel floats in being used to cool the exhaust steam ); or the exhaust steam enters a closed chamber which has many small tubes passing through it, water that the vessel is floating in being pumped through the tubes and cooling the steam, and the condensate pumped from the bottom of the chamber.

The first method is by far the cheapest and simplest. But the first Artemis encountered problems due to temperature fluctuations of 30°F in the Columbia River ( which was her "home" ) between early spring and late summer. This will in all probability be the case with a trailerable steamboat encountering many different bodies of water. An inboard, or "shell", condenser similar to that made for the first Artemis will work very nicely for the second Artemis, and for the same reasons.

The drawing available below clearly shows the modifications I made - and will make - to a hydraulic oil cooler, as well as the piping, etc. A word of caution - ALL hydraulic oil coolers have baffles and these baffles MUST be accessible in order to perform the modifications noted. If you can't make the modifications, IT WON'T WORK.

S T E A M   A T O M I Z I N G   B U R N E R

The first Artemis was fitted with an outside ( "drooling" ) steam atomizing burner. It came with the boat when we purchased her and had been made for the previous owner, Charlie King, by Dan Martin of Everett Engineering and Mosquito Enterprises. I had seen the burner in operation on Dan's Mosquito and it worked. I installed the burner in the "new" boiler in 1998 and it worked well while we owned the boat. Ken Hall took information and drawings from me and has installed a duplicate system in in his steam launch Oesa, also with good results.

This burner does not seem to care very much about the firebox configuration but needs a good draft, hence I strongly recommend a stack blower. I also recommend the use of a pressure regulating valve to supply steam to the atomizer and the stack blower. I have found a setting of 15 psi to work very well. I used a pressure regulating valve for 0.25" pipe from Fisher Controls Co, Marshalltown, Iowa, Type 95H with a spring in the 15psi range - I drilled the "pilot" hole in the valve body to 0.125" for better performance. Because the burner is outside atomizing, it will not "suck" the oil to it. Therefore a means must be provided for oil delivery. I previously used a 2 gallon "day tank" mounted on a bulkhead adjacent to and about 3 feet above the burner. This seemed to work quite well and I will probably incorporate a similar type arrangement. I am also told that 3 to 6 pounds of air pressure in the main fuel tank(s) works well.

About 4 feet of 0.25" stainless steel tubing was coiled in a "pancake" with a minimum diameter about 1" larger than that of the plenum and was mounted inside the furnace and surrounding the plenum where it projected into the furnace. This served to superheat the steam just before it reached the burner steam control valve. This is absolutely essential to remove any water suspended in the steam and greatly adds in vaporizing the oil. Caution - make sure you have removed all the "mill oil" from inside the tubing before using the atomizer or the residual oil will "carbonize" and small flakes will clog the steam slot.

All dimensions are in inches and, unless otherwise noted, should be adhered to.

E L E C T R I C   G E N E R A T O R

Initially I do not plan on installing an electric generator - especially driven separately from the main engine. The drawing below clearly shows how I "solved the problem" on the first Artemis - and, if I need an independent generator in the future, I will probably do something similar as it worked quite well.

Latest update, May 11, 2004

 
We are not a library or research service, but if you are interested in more information - or just want to leave a comment - you may access our COMMENTS form by selecting the "whistle" to the left.