Archive for Freesteam For collectors and enthusiasts of all steam engines          Freesteam Forum Index -> If it floats your boat! Phantom Steam Boat for Under Fifty Quid... This project came about for several reasons.... 1... I am skint at the moment, and with redundancies at work I cant aford to spend  money I might need in a short while. Hence the small budget. 2... There was quite a bit of timber and other stuff left over from my Sea Hawk project, and I cant stand to waste good materials. 3... I wanted a boat I could sail without the worry about how valuable or rare it was. My first task was to to see what size of hull I could get out of the timber available and build that first. Eagle and Snipe sized hulls were just not possible, but with a slight altering of Swallows design I could get 2 hulls out of the off cuts.   The hull is aprox' 1/4 of an inch narrower than Swallow at its widest point and I used two left over pieces of mahogany to support the rear deck becouse I didnt have any small pins or nails Phantom Steam Boat for Under Fifty Quid... My next task was to source a power plant for the new boat. It obviously had to be inexpensive, small and easy to get my hands on.   This had me stumped for a week or two, untill I found the ideal engine had been sitting in my collection all the time.   A Mamod SP1, my first steam engine purchased over 30 years ago when I was in my early teens. I am too fond of this engine to turn it into a marine plant, so I bought one from flea bay and converted that.   newts Top stuff Tony, i feel this is the start of something good The new bowman book, tells us that the boats were designed with the least waste in mind. The  Swallow, Snipe & Eagle were cut from the diminishing lumber stock & in theory should stack up like ''Russian dolls''. Phantom Steam Boat for Under Fifty Quid... The engine cost £25 and was delivered free. The seller had clearly stated its faults. The fly wheel was loose, no burner ect. The brass to make the modifications to as it is now was free. The parts have been made from off cuts and left overs, even the steam pipe was a left over from an earlier project. I tested it mounted on the piece of wood and it ran very well.   Phantom I think that is prob, where I got the idea that I could use the off cuts from. Sometimes you take in information without even knowing it.   Mamod Collector Lovely boat and excelent workmanship Tony And a nice touch with the power unit   silverfoxsteam That's really quite a remarkable job - I take my hat off to you! Scorpion2nz looks very interesting  and we await further installments Phantom Steam Boat for Under Fifty Quid... In order to keep costs down and stay in my budget I kept the paint colours to just two, gloss black and antique white plus a tin of clear. Two final items I had to buy were a small sheet of brass for the spray guard and a small black prop from the local model shop. Here is the result. newts That was quick,   Can we have some more info on the burner build please?   What did you use for the firebox heatshield? Phantom Steam Boat for Under Fifty Quid... I have steamed her in the test tank (bath) and everything went o.k. apart from a slight list to the right. I have hidden a small piece of lead to sort this where it cant be seen. The piece of plastic pipe joining the steam pipe will be replaced shortly with a small displacement lubricator which will be made from scrap brass and a 6mm bolt. The final costs are as follows The timber for the hull was free.. Brass bits and bobs were free.. The Mamod SP1 was £25.55 Paint was £12.05 Metal sheet and prop were £9.15 Total cost so far is   £46.75 I think that isnt a bad price for a nice little steam boat.       Hope my efforts encourage someone to have a go at something simular. You might find it good fun and is very do able with very little money. Phantom Steam Boat for Under Fifty Quid... The heat shield is tin plate folded with a piece of plumbers heat resistant cloth simply fitted behind it. The plumbers normally use the cloth to protect timber when they are soldering copper pipes. I get mine from the plumbing section in the local diy and just cut it to size using scissors. It seems to only come in black and is very coursely woven. It has worked very well so far as Ive not had any paint blister. Phantom Steam Boat for Under Fifty Quid... I will try and do some better shots of the burner shortly.   MFSteam Wonderful stuff, really looks the part. I wish I had more skills in wood working but then I probably wouldn't have enough time Mamod Collector Thats beautiful, a first class 5 star job   Phantom steam boat Sorry its taken a couple of days.     Some pics of the burner. To give you a better idea of the size the tank part is the same size as a standard minor one burner tank. The main body of the burner is a piece of copper pipe With brass sheet offcuts soft soldered top and bottom. The filler cap is a 6mm bolt cut down to size with a 1mm hole for the breather. A 6mm nut was part turned down for the insert and soft soldered from the top.. The slot for the wick was made using a dremmel type tool with 3 thin grinding disks to get the width right. The end cap is a cut down 4mm pan head bolt with the slot filled away. last but not least, MF wick stained purple from the meths, pushed down the tube before soldering on the end cap. Hope that makes sense. I sometimes write giberish without realising it       silverfoxsteam Absolutely brilliant - I'm gobsmacked. Thanks for the detailed pictures. Phantom steam boat I woke up this morning early and decided that it was time for the new boat to have her sea trials. Unfortunately there isnt a proper boat pond near to where I live so I decided that the local res' would have to do.       Its a nice spot and I go walking here quite often. I unpact my gear in a sheltered area away from the wind. Phantom steam boat Phantom steam boat I did a few short runs keeping the boat near to the shore, before picking up the camera again. At first I didnt realise it, I did though when it whent beyond the zoom of the camera.       Yep the boat was sailling off into the rougher water and no way to get it back.     Phantom steam boat Shortly after this shot I stopped hearing the engine, guess I should have fitted that dislplacement lubricator before trying this.   It was at this point I stopped worrying because the boat was starting to drift across the res'. As long as she didnt sink and I kept an eye on her she would drift to the other side. For the next hour or so I was playing "spot the boat"       Yes She is in this pic Mamod Collector You have to much talent P that boat is beautiful And congratulations on your sea trials the waves look really big And as a testiment to your boat building skills she returned unscathed Well done   Phantom steam boat I think Mr Jenkins should be thanked for designing very sturdy boats.   When I did get her back I decided I had done enough, so packed up and whent home. Next time I will take some string I think.       Mamod Collector When you go to the resovoir again P take some more video Not enough video of todays sailing   John Chapman Absolutely stunning, congratulations       Spokesmann Stunning work Phantom, the only type we were expect from you! Id attach a fine thread or string to the stern just in case when steaming them on open water, Ill do this with my Arrows. Phantom steam boat I think I will steal that idea about some form of line.   I am thinking maybe the light twine used on kites. silverfoxsteam Fishing line, with a reel? Mamod Collector silverfoxsteam wrote: Fishing line, with a reel? Good idea Steve   MFSteam I'd reccomend braid fishing line rather than the nylon type. Phantom steam boat The fishing line sounds like a good idea, should be water resistant.   In an effert not to look like a complete plonker in the local fishing tackle shop, What do I ask for ? Only thing I know about fish and fishing is in an aquarium 5 feet away from me now...     Spokesmann Id say so Phantom, it will surely help protect your work and investment should things go t*ts up on the water! MFSteam Ebay is your friend on these occasions something like this should be ok http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/100M-30LB-S...a5b3f755&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14 Phantom steam boat Many thanks for that guys.   Should stop the boat from steaming off into the middle of the res' again.   Minor1PJG This is absolutely fantastic, a real credit to you.  That little SP1 engine looks perfect   If you fancy doubling your money.... give me a shout! !        Freesteam Forum Index -> If it floats your boat! Page 1 of 1