A little more progress on the building front, and a few more decisions made with regards to exactly what I am trying to accomplish. So we now have planked decks front and rear of the engine, and maybe timber box grating around the engine. I have decided to cover up the servo at the side of the engine, so the full metal jacket now has a wooden over coat. I have also made a start on the pipe work and some serious silver soldering. Fluxed rods or easy-flow, that is the question? I have made a Windemere steam kettle, which will be fed from the bottom of the sight glass fitting, and it will be moved from its temporary location on the servo cover. Regards, Gary.

I decided to plank the rear section of aluminium plate, in the hope it would look better, and I think it is an improvement. The next step will be to plank the section under the boiler to match. My tip of the day is do not use super glue to stick plywood onto aluminium plate, it does not work, use Evo-stik contact. Regards, Gary.

Hi Mike, I have tried to take a couple of photos of the widening of the transmission tunnel come keel, to suit the drive chain and prop shaft sprocket. Please be warned that the hull is very thin, and it is a fibre glass repair job, good luck with that, it is worth the effort in the end, and I couldn't see any other way of sorting this problem. Regards, Gary.

Hi Mike, and good to see you back on here, and wow you certainly have been busy. The wooden hull you have built is exceptional and to an incredibly high standard. Definitely worth all the effort it looks bloody fantastic. With regards to the lady Jane hull, what a struggle to try and sort that out, I am talking about the transmission keel tunnel. A lot of thought went into exactly how to get around this problem and in the end it had to be a chain and sprockets. I used a 6" prop tube so as to try and keep the engine reasonably central. I also used a very small sanding wheel to widen the tunnel, and ended up with two holes through the keel. This was then redesigned to be a bit more user friendly and to take a 9 tooth sprocket about 19 mm wide. Yes, my engine is hinged at the front and jacked up at the back, this matches the prop shaft angle, and helps with chain tension. (I have spare chain and split links going spare, yours for the asking.) This has been an ongoing struggle but the end is now in sight. A couple more photos of your wooden hull engine bay would not go amiss, you are going to need some sort of a sump around your steam engine to catch the oil spray when running. Going to send you a PM. Regards, Gary.

Congratulations on your patience and meticulousness in building the Mturpin hull; the result is exceptional.
I agree with the decision to resin it.

Thanks for the reply, Gary.
You've given me some new information.
I never imagined anyone could power small steam engines for scale ship models with coal.
Amazing! I don't know how efficient this solution is, but it's definitely the closest to realism.
A niche solution for true enthusiasts.

Hi Gary Its a long time since I posted anything however I have a couple of question for you.
1) I see your latest launch is under construction, is it the Lady Jane hull ?
2) I see you current TVR1A unit is mounted horizontally above the prop shaft, presumably also horizontal, the question is -
Is it OK to mount the engine at an angle?, my Lady Jane prop shaft comes through at an angle of 15 degrees, I know I could use a couple of UJs but I'm not keen on this idea, Your thoughts would be appreciated.
I have been working on my Plank on Frame Lady Jane, however its a very time consuming job. A year into construction and both halves of the hull have been planked, followed by the most time consuming job of all, drilling and inserting copper nails, 5000 in all. this is now complete and ready for its coat of 1oz fibreglass.
This may seem odd covering it in fibreglass but its the best way of maintaining the wood colour and its water integrity plus added strength.
The inner hull will then get a few coats of finishing resin to complete the hulls water proofing.
If you look at the sample piece picture (1) that has a 1oz matting applied followed by two further coats of epoxy finishing resin the wood colour is good and the copper nails are visible.

Hi Alessandro, I have been off the air for a while as I managed to empty a full cup of coffee on to my keyboard, and everything went to hell, (my new one is spill proof?) To answer your question, I would say that yes the majority of steam boat users, are using gas and some have converted to gas, mind the majority of Saito engine users seem quite happy with their spirit fired blow lamp burners, this could easily be because the spirit used is cheaper than gas. Mind there is a few die-hards that use coal despite the fact this is very expensive, as it needs to be smokeless, and comes from Wales. I was also pleasantly surprised by the 3 1/2" diameter boiler, first by how much water it can hold, and secondly by the fact it ran for more than thirty minutes. Have a look at Martin Baylis Engineering and you will be pleasantly surprised and even more so when you mind out the prices. Regards, Gary. (Nature Photo.)

Hi Gary, that's exactly what I wanted to know. You were very thorough.
Lots of useful and interesting information.
I was surprised by the duration. Half an hour seems like a good amount of time.
I was thinking much less, 10 or 15 minutes at most.

Do they all run on gas, or are there other fuels (and I'm not just saying theoretically), like alcohol?
From what I understand, in any case, gas is the most efficient (in fact, water is the first to go), right?

Hi Alessandro, just a couple of photos to hopefully explain what an attenuator, the pressure operated gas valve, and a home made condenser come separator with prices. Regards, Gary.