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Author Topic: Bowman "Swallow" live steam powered boat W/ wood box  (Read 699 times)

St Paul Steam

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Bowman "Swallow" live steam powered boat W/ wood box
« on: March 17, 2023, 07:19:23 pm »
Hello fellows boatsman, I'm posting this here as well because I really need some advice on how to go about running this Bowman swallow boat out in the open water ? it seems to rev pretty fast & I don't want it heading out to Sea's far away, how would you suggest I tether this so as I can control it somewhat ? if anyone has any experience with something like this I would sure like to hear your input. thank you.

https://youtu.be/kOaMkYgDsf0
Bruce, St. Paul Indiana, USA
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Stoker

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Well okay now Bruce. Lovely craft!

First you must know that that little beauty will NOT spin up to anywhere near those RPMs when the propeller is in the water. Next I would suggest that someone has bent the tiller up some as it is supposed to drag on the aft deck so that the rudder can take and hold a set to either go straight or in a circle. You may even want to put some tubing over the tiller ball to make for more friction to set your rudder, with less marring of the after deck. Next thing you'll want to understand is that you want to be sure not to have the wind at your back, blowing out into the lake or pond, as if you put the rudder so the boat goes in a circle, that circle will just keep getting further out from shore. So you either want to have the wind in your face blowing ashore, or you want to have the wind blowing parallel to the shore so the boat will either keep coming in or stay about the same distance out! If you want to tether it, a fishing pole can come in handy and may also work for recovery if the boat ends up out of reach.

Hope any of that helps and is understandable!?!?
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yussufhippo

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Actually, lacking a smaller boating pond somewhere near, the very same question has kept me from trying out my "snipe" on Lake Constance, German/Swiss border, from here to the end of the lake at Bregenz, Austria, it's a mere 46km ... ;)

Perhaps one should have larger boat around. Well, now that I have my sailing boat in the water, just come around and we try them both with my sailor as rescue ship... Kidding aside, I see an additional problem: have some wind on the water and I fear that small waves will pose another threat for these open hulls.
I would like to have a proper boating pond, like the fabulous one in the Gardins de Tuileries, Paris, France. But that's again a bit far away...

Tethering the boat is a possibility, but looks, ah, a bit odd. And do not underestimate the sheer weight of a normal, wet line while a fishing line  might get entangled easily in the rudder/screw...
But perhaps I am simply a scaredy-cat.

St Paul Steam

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"Tethering the boat is a possibility, but looks, ah, a bit odd. And do not underestimate the sheer weight of a normal, wet line while a fishing line  might get entangled easily in the rudder/screw..."
my thoughts exactly, I'll wait until its warmer & put it in a swimming pool somewhere.
Bruce, St. Paul Indiana, USA
"Originality thrives in seclusion free of outside influences beating upon us to cripple the creative mind."
  Nikola Tesla

 

Todd Kahill and Three of His Great Models 2017