Blog

Paddle Tug Iona - the hull

So... here is a compressed build blog of my paddle tug Iona... and I'm playing catch-up as the vessel is 95% complete and has been sailed already, but there may be some interest in what I've done. Iona was scratch-built off plan and has turned out to be the cheapest build so far out of 3 I've made, mainly because I was able to source materials from the leftovers box! it's a 'mixed-media' boat 😜using traditional methods of plank on frame hull, with paddles made on my 3D printer, and other parts turned on the lathe. So starting with the hull, frames were drawn out, transferred to some scrap 9mm ply and cut out on my bandsaw, along with the keel. These were assembled on a build board with some right angle brackets / measuring tools and test fitted before being stuck in place with epoxy. This was quite difficult as the shape of the hull is critical and comes right at the start of the build. I did remake 1 frame to correct alignment. The deck stringers need to bend in 2 directions, so some steaming with a carpet steam cleaner attached to some tubes worked and the wood clamped in place to dry. Outboard sponsons (?) were fitted to make a frame for the es to fit on. Then a large sheet of ply forms the bottom of the hull, and the only job left to complete was the (tedious) planking. This was my 1st plank on frame ship... and it took ages. I think it came out reasonably OK but I'm not a perfectionist and I know if I'd spent more time it could be better... but I didn't! Next blog will feature building the es and superstructure.🤓

5 years ago by Harvey Kitten

Blog

PS Iona - Motors

So to power the tug I needed some sort of motor gearbox arrangement, and I wanted 2 of them so I could drive the paddles independently, using 2 ESCs / batteries. The answer came in the form of 1:16 scale model tank motors/gearboxes. I managed to find a couple on a well known selling platform... someone was upgrading their tank to metal gears and had 2 for sale. The gearing got the speed of the output shaft down to almost sensible, so I just needed to reduce it and connect the output to the paddle shafts... using Meccano gears & chains of course. This works well and allows scale speed running of the paddles up to much faster than scale speed!(if it's windy) Oh, just to mention the motor frames were mounted with grommets to blocks of wood to provide some suspension, and be removable if necessary.🤓

5 years ago by Harvey Kitten

Blog

Paddle Tug Iona- es & superstructure

Building the es was remarkably easy, once the 1mm ply had been steamed for bending. I decided to build the boxes first and make sure the paddles fitted inside later, the idea being that all this would come apart for maintenance should it be necessary. (it usually is!). There are few models to be found on the internet to use as reference and hardly any images of the original tug. And to confuse matters, PS Iona also existed as a passenger ship, as well as tug, and looked a bit different. The superstructure is really simple and quick to build, with some more planking! Am liking planking small areas now. The funnels came from some scrap plastic tubing in the garage... just the right diameter too, a lucky find. These will screwed in place from below once I have the other funnel parts made. I plan to run the tug on batteries rather than steam, as I am a relative novice to model boat building. The whole deck will be fitted with 1mm ply as a base before... more planking! Before all this is glued in place, I thought it best to water test the ship first and see how much ballast I am likely to need.

5 years ago by Harvey Kitten

Blog

boiler and struts

As this model will be Electric a mock boiler will be put in place for aesthetics as it can be seen clearly if you look directly front on, on the real ship. The struts that come out of the hull are for a extra piece of deck that then connects to the es.

5 years ago by rcmodelboats

Response

PS Enterprise

Hi Joe, paddle wheelers are very interesting such as the waverly but I chose the enterprise as she's pretty much a box and has lots of flat surfaces.

5 years ago by rcmodelboats

Forum

Paddle Steamer For Sale

Remote Control wooden and fibreglass scratch built Dart Belle paddle steamer for sale. 85cm long, 27cm wide, built to an excellent standard. With purpose built carrying box.

6 years ago by Doug79

Response

deck planks

es well on the way. Just the face to do now. Note they are bolted to hull & fit behind plates holding bearings. So they are removable.

6 years ago by hammer

Blog

es

while the paddles are on the drawing board being redrawn as I drew them with 8 spokes then realised there should only have been 7 thought i would have a stab at the es ,bendy MDF and bendy ply yah beauty made it slightly easier to get the curves .long live the wood workshop scrap bin or as the good lady calls it the back bedroom .

7 years ago by marky

Blog

paddle tug Aid

Wife bought me a nice little book cheaper than the original cover price ,decided nice little paddle tug would be the next project enlarged the drawing in the book to desired size hull will be 30"(760mm)long keel and frames were laser cut will build the hull and plank then cut out for the es ,don't know if this is the right way but it made sense to me

7 years ago by marky

Response

Decks

Hi again, BTW: aren't you missing a row of Carley floats (double stacked) on the side of the island? in this pic the paddles are shown simply lashed to the bottom webbing, not in boxes! Also looks like some sort of container float lashed to the rail of the deck above. Which also seems to be an open gantry style, simply to hold the floats, not continuous solid deck as you have now 🤔 Cheers Doug 😎

7 years ago by RNinMunich

Media

Jane

One of my Old Trafford paddle steamers enhanced by my mate Duncan Laurimer and sailing on the put up pond at Tilford Rural Life Centre yesterday. Good fun was had by all !! The boiler is tablet fired [3 halves ] and is half filled with 65ml of water. Engine is single oscillator with 16:1 spur gearbox. Les Breame

7 years ago by lesliebreame

Blog

Feathering set up

A beam was needed to support the pivot for the feathering mechanism. it was made to straddle the gap between the two sponson supports. There’s even less information available about this than there was for the feathering mechanism. My second attempt was the best solution and comprised the following parts. - Two 3/8” lengths of ¼” brass angle; with a clearance hole drilled in the top flange near one end, to suit the small sheet metal screws I had on hand - A length of 1/8” x ¼” rectangular brass tube to span the gap between the sponsons. - Approx 2” length of ¼” x 0.030” thick brass strip - A ½” length of ½” wide by 0.030”thick brass strip - A 7mm length of 3/16” brass tube as a bushing for the pivot. The rectangular tube was cut to length to fit across the sponson supports and inside the es. The two pieces of ¼” angle were soldered at right angles under the ends of the 1/8” x ¼” tube. The paddle wheel and the beam were placed in position. The paddle wheel was set up while stationary to position the paddles so that one was on bottom dead centre and vertical. The axial position of the pivot point centre was marked on the beam, and the distance below the edge of the beam measured. The top edge of the ½” square strip was intended to be flush with the top of the beam, and a 3/16” hole was drilled through the former at the pivot point centre. This was soldered to the ¼” wide brass strip, and then the 3/16” tube soldered into the hole. The drill press was used to set it at right angles to the strip for soldering. The strip was joggled, to ensure the rotating paddles cleared the support beam, and with the 3/16” tube on the side nearest the hull. The brass strip was clamped to the support beam, with the complete assembly in place, and the pivot position adjusted to give the optimum motion of the mechanism. The brass strip was soldered to the support beam, and then removed and painted.

7 years ago by Trillium

Forum

Paddle wheeler lists

Hi, I recomend repeatedly to put your question to paddleducks.There you could certainly find modelers, who have experience with models paddlesteamers and can help with your problem. My model Lulonga has two independently driven wheel, each has its own ESC. Driving is a double ... classic rudder control but especially ESC ..drive back and forth is controlled via Throttle position on transmitter, using a Y cable. This allows the trimmer to adjust the speed .. optimally 90-150 rpm. Adjusting the speed of motors to the same value terms set by a trimmer on the transmitter. Own control direction is a mix throttle with "ailerons" channel (1 and 3). This allows you to change the speed of each wheel independently on Throttle position and thereby control the direction of navigation. . it is even possible to change the sense of rotation, so that the wheel rotates against each other. This ship turns almost on the spot. A wheel diameter of my Lulonga is 150 mm. A similar problem like yours, I did not met personally. next ..and perhaps your main problem may be that you can not mechanically practically ensuring that each wheel had the same number of turns .. Each motor has the same input voltage slightly different speeds .. and without trim it is Impossible to adjust. Additionally .. the question is the size of the model. As regard to speed of paddle wheels (rpm) I think it is practically negligible, if any blade touches the water before the blade wheel on the opposite side of the model.... maybe you need a proper trim then. Paddle wheel drive model has its own specific problems. The main problem is, that the model has a closed paddlebox . it happens that the water, instead of being driven backward, is suctioned into paddlebox ,rotates similarly as in the pump , and model practically do not move. Help .. proper area of holes in the paddlebox side panels (at least). Lulonga has louvers fixed at the back of paddlebox . My first paddleboat was australian type steamer Ned Kelly(live steam propulsion 115 cm long hull, hull breadth about 20 cm without paddleboxes). Her superstructure was too high and and a relatively small breadth of the hull caused great instability while sailing - the breadth recommended at least 25 cm. When I removed the superstructure, Improved stability, then model sailed with straight keel very exemplary. had the wheel of simple construction made of plywood, very effective .. though not as nice as yours at your model. I have model ,at present , quarterwheeler Lulonga(see gallery, the long article about model building you can find at Paddleducks) . She has also the paddlewheels of my homemade construction, nevertheless very heavy. Her stern sits very deep in the water The model is about 75 cm long, but due to the structure and shape of the hull would be good if and its length was at least 85 cm. I have a problem lengthwise balancing model. Tom

9 years ago by tomarack

Media

Mantua mississippI steam boat

Bought this part built with prop propulsion . but Im converting it to paddle power. im using a 600 motor with a 50/1 gearbox to power it , but I think I will have to change the setup as the noise is too loud ,even though it will Eventually it will have a 'Dixi' sound system installed .

9 years ago by topperles

Response

construction.

Correction: it's 39" long.

10 years ago by Trillium

Response

construction.

Max, one advantage of glueing the boxes in place is being able to make the handrails, which run down the boxes and onto the sponsons, as one piece and secure them. Scott, mostly scratch; apart from the items noted below, everything will be scratchbuilt, I.e, decks, sponsons, superstructure. It's 48" long. Roy

10 years ago by Trillium

Response

construction.

HI scott here new to the site and an avide tug boat builder is this boat of yours a kit or a scratch build?. From what I have seen looks really good. How big is this boat?

10 years ago by tugboatguy

Response

construction.

The build seems to be going well, very neat, glad you decided to enter the build blogs. I would advise making the es up in one piece and making removable. You never know when you make want to get to the paddles. Empress Queen was an example. Good Luck Max.(4clubs)

10 years ago by MAXTON

Blog

construction.

The es have almost been completed and painted. The outer faces are temporary construction pieces. Their construction began with the side walls being glued to styrene strips taped to a piece of glass. Trials on the water will determine whether the boxes will be glued in place and the outer faces made removable, or whether the the boxes will be complete units which are fastened in place as a removable whole. The after deck has been painted and the tow bars made from 1/8 by 1/4 brass tube heated and bent around a former.

10 years ago by Trillium

Blog

EMPRESS QUEEN ISLE OF MAN STEAM PACKET

1. Stern View, these ships of this era were very ornate. The gilding on the model was made from cake doily's. 2. The bow section plenty of brass fittings and loads of portholes. 3. Another view of the stern showing more of the portholes and round and square. The square ones were made from slices of a square section of brass and sealed with translucent hot glue, to represent the glass and also provide waterproofing. 4. View of the bridge and . The wood panel detail was printed out from the computer using Open Office Draw program, which I tend to use a lot. This is a free down load and anybody who uses a PC will find this suite of programmes very useful.

10 years ago by MAXTON

Blog

EMPRESS QUEEN ISLE OF MAN STEAM PACKET -

Construction of the es. The IOM three legs plaque was carved in wood by a guy in the isle of Man for a nominal fee and I cast some more in fibreglass resin in a plasticine mould. The es were made from various thickness's of plasticard and wood veneer stuck to the outside so they didn't look like painted plastic.

10 years ago by MAXTON

Blog

EMPRESS QUEEN ISLE OF MAN STEAM PACKET

Photo 1 The geared motor drives for the paddles. These were taken from disused cassette juke boxes by Wurlitzer Photo 2 The paddles were purchased as a kit from Waverley Models, not cheap but well made and the right scale. Photo 3 The home made rudder ready for installation. To give a good thro' this was fitted with gears as shown. Photo 4 the cowl vents on this model are very long and had to be homemade and cast in plasticine moulds with fibreglass resin strengthened with talcum powder. They were fitted to wooden dowels to give the length.

10 years ago by MAXTON

Media

SS (RMS) Empress Queen

SS (RMS) Empress Queen was a steel paddle steamer, which was the last of its type ordered by the isle of Man Steam Packet Company She was chartered by the Admiralty in 1915 and used for trooping duties until she ran aground off Bembridge, isle of Wight, England, and was subsequently abandoned. The model was scratch built on a modified fibreglass hull. The plans were obtained from Glasgow University and the model was nearly 7ft long with an overall beam including paddles of about 14 inches. She was independently powered with two geared motors from Wulitzer juke box components. I hope to do a build blog in the near future. She was purchased from me by the Beale Park, part of the Child Beale Trust Reading.

10 years ago by MAXTON

Blog

Main deck fitted.

The forward deck has been glued in. I make it a practice that mechanical and electrical components must be removable without cutting anything, so the aftermost 7 inches of the planked deck were cut off for later fitting as removable pieces. The remaining deck could only be fitted by dropping it in and then pushing forwards into position, a process requiring 3 steps. First the forward-most curving deck edge was coated with a paste-type epoxy, and the mating part of the hull interior was similarly coated. The deck was slid into position and then held at the correct height by bridge pieces and spacers made from scrap material. After that had set a more liquid epoxy was used to seal the straight deck edge on one side to the hull. This step was repeated for the other side. The main supports for the es are ¼ inch square brass tube angled to suit and epoxied. One support had to be made with a removable centre section so that the drive mechanism can be fitted and removed. The after deck has been made with camber but not sheer so it has been made from a single piece of styrene. The rudder tube was fitted and leak-tested before glueing the after deck into place.

10 years ago by Trillium

Blog

Forward deck and hull openings

The forward deck has been removed from the building board and trimmed ready for fixing into the hull. The hull itself has had all the openings cut: anchor recesses, freeing ports, mooring eyes, and holes for supports and paddle shaft. Generally these were centre-marked with a pin drill, drilled through 3mm dia, and then opened out with a step drill to the final size. A junior hacksaw blade was used to cut between the two holes forming the ends of the freeing ports, and then filed to size. Photos of these vessels (unfortunately checked after drilling) show no sign of the freeing ports; not sure whether that means they weren't fitted or they had close-fitting doors. So I may yet cover them in again.

10 years ago by Trillium

Directory

(Working Vessel) Claughton Paddle Steamer Mersey Ferry

The Claughton was a Mersey Ferry from late 1800 and Queen Victoria had a journey on her. She was a double ended paddle steamer ferry. She is total scratch built, no plans just from drawings and photos and reference to museum models. The model was very heavy and carted about on a motorized golf trolley; which she is on in the photo. The model had a 12" beam, but handled quite well as both paddles were independent drive, using two Wurlitzer juke box carousel motors which had an integral gearbox giving a rotation of approx. 100 rpm. (Motor: Wurlitzer carousel ) (ESC: vipers) (9/10)

10 years ago by MAXTON

Blog

Spliting a paddler.

Chris, I hope the pictures will help. They are both scale models Duke of Devonshire & Glen Usk. In the Duke the Is below the boat deck. Inside are false boxes stuck down with bath silicone. Glen Usk Is more like your model, with the box coming above the boat deck. On this one a strip of foam rubber between the top of the hull & the deck keep the water out. Note the cut outs In the sponson deck as she sails on 1.5 Inch draft ( I didn't know any better then) with a steam plant. Had to save weight every where. Still very tender so have the batteries on a pivot to move them side to side. Control It like a plane with the batre pivot on the aleron stick.The cook can just be seen at the galley port hole.

10 years ago by hammer

Response

Test Tank!

Is the model of a prototype or freelance? if freelance you could fit platforms for & aft on the . ( where the crew would stand to take mooring ropes). You could then fit the box to them .

10 years ago by hammer

Blog

Paddler Project

Further to my request last August for a source of 8-9cm diameter Paddles which was satisfied by Stephen producing some for me. The prolonged wet spell has finally got me doing something with the hull & wheels I now have. Please allow that I have no machine tools and only a little cluttered shed, and probably minimal skills. But I publish this in the hope that it might encourage others to have a go. So far I've fitted deck supports and boxed in the bow section as a (hopefully waterproof) chamber, Sourced a 'Heng Long' 1/16th Tank motor & gear chain which via some old 'Meccano'gears will drive the Paddle Wheels. The bushes for the paddle drive shaft are cut from an old stern tube. Also I've mounted a steering servo and made a rudder assembly from some brass scrap, the rudder arm is a suitably drilled and filed brass negative pin from an old 13A plug. I've also painted Stephen's wheels, which seem to be taking forever to dry! More as it happens! Chris

10 years ago by chrislang

Blog

Onward & upward

The superstructure another layer of plasticard on the sponsons. Two because I only had narrow strips. This includes the . in the background can be seen the information wall, with the elevation ,body plan & some of the photos. The base of the funnel cut from empty solvent can. The ventilators a table tennis ball cut in half & stuck on alI tube.

11 years ago by hammer

Blog

Cutting In half

At six feet long could be difficult to transport. So designed to split in half with out much effort & not be able to see the joint. The joint is 3/4" behind the paddle shaft, the wheels will cover it here. The join then goes along under the sponson then up through the doors in the bulwark. Held together by one bolt with wing nut & two pins. One end of the 1/4" thick pin fixed to the forward of those frames 1/16" apart, passing into a bush in the other. To avoid disturbing the steam plant a box extends in to the rear half, the small gap between can fill with water, but not enter the boat. Note the dowel through the sponson adding strength as I always lift here.

11 years ago by hammer