The Resurrection of Hope: Earl Morse, Steam Happens # 29

I have been commenting on the potential for the demise of our hobby for a number of years. The passing of many highly experienced steam boaters has deprived us of a personal connection to our history and the subculture we all cherish. At the same time, we have been negligent in the recruitment of young enthusiasts. It is abundantly clear that we “steamgeezers” need to pay far more attention to developing and supporting young enthusiasts.

The good news is that the last couple of years I have begun to see a turnaround. Dick Vennerbeck called my attention to Kenetic Steam Work Projects and the then west coast phenomenon of the “steam punk” movement a couple of years ago, a collaboration between young artists, technologists and a few elders. This group is very creative, celebrating the technology of the past in an inventive, fun-loving, and exciting new style. A visit to:

https://www.facebook.com/Kinetic-Steam-Works-171710162555/in

will give you insight into this movement, one that has now spread around the world.

1. A KSW “Steampunkified” sternwheeler as roving art

My experiences at the 2015 Lees Mills meet also added to my hope for our future. There were at least six young steamboat enthusiasts at the meet, three with boats and the others with rapidly growing skill sets and the ambition to get their dreams on the water. Moreover, I was even more impressed at the encouragement and generous assistance that many of the older boat owners provided this group of young enthusiasts. There were ample examples of technical advice, repair, design, and even the donation of parts and materials to help.

I seriously hope that our readers who were also in attendance at Lees Mills and other meets write of their baton-passing experiences in future articles and letters to the editor.

In this article I will focus on the efforts of one young couple, Alex and Michelle Salisbury from Rhode Island and their work in the restoration of a lovely California boat, the San Juaquin. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this restoration is that a young couple would devote as much time and resources to a restoration this size. Good for you Alex and Michelle! By the way, you have already met Michelle in the photograph collection from the 2015 Lees Mills meet shown on my webpage. After I had a camera failure Michelle generously donated her beautiful photographs to our collection.

2. Alex rock-dodging on Lake Winnipesaukee

First a little background information. Alex is no stranger to boat restoration. Three generations of his family have been involved in wooden boat building and restoration in Rhode Island over the years. Alex started his experience working in the boatyard at the age of about 13. He has restored many wooden boats, some of which were workboats and others more pleasure craft. In all cases they were very well done as you'll see from the photo below and additional photographs on my webpage.

3. An earlier ic resoration by Alex

In addition, Alex is a competitive sailor and thoroughly enjoys being on the water. At present he is restoring a lovely old catboat. While I'd call him a “young salt,” he's no novice. He was, however, new to steam, and this experience, while not taxing his boat restoration skills, required a new and thorough understanding of steam engine/ boiler design, power plant operation and emergency handling. He had had no previous experience with steam. It is obvious from his undertaking that he's a fast learner. Our ride with him at Lees Mills clearly showed how well he has mastered the details. He had his boat out a couple of times each day for his entire stay at Lees Mills without any significant problems.

4. Preparing to dock

The San Joaquin was formerly owned by Alan Amerian of Morgan Hill, California. The lovely hull of this boat was one of five built by Bud Lutza in Santa Cruz. It is 28 feet in length has a six-inch beam, and draws about 30 inches of water. Allen Blazick's boat, a sister, the Carrie-Jean (nee Santa Cruz II), was the subject of an article I wrote, “#14: “The On-going Saga of the Carrie-Jean and a Plunge into Art, ” the appendix to article 14 is available on my website for your review. It is the blue canopied boat on the right, below.

5. Alex and Michelle with sister boats Hope and Carrie-Jean

Alex and Michelle have renamed the “San Joaquin” as “Hope” in homage of their home state of Rhode Island's motto. Hence the title of the burgee.

6. Looking down Lake Winnipesaukee

Alex reports, “...we had it shipped across the country on its own trailer. We used the boat once after that in Wickford, Rhode Island whereby we had engine trouble. After pulling the HP spool valve, I found nearly all the rings broken. This is what initiated my decision to completely rebuild the boat.” and so it began.

7. HP valve spool with one of the three broken rings.

The boat was lifted from the trailer and placed on boat stands. The engine was stripped of its ornamental brass and bright work, disassembled and removed from the boat piece by piece, mainly by hand, not an easy job considering the cylinder block weighed 120 pounds and the lower end close to 400 pounds. Mike Condax had the valve cylinders rebored as they were seriously out of round. They were also professionally precision honed. He also made a new spool valve with water grooves in place of rings. Alex had met Mike through an ad placed requesting a steam-driven reciprocating water feed pump. As it turned out, the pump that Mike had was the original one placed in the San Joaquin in California. Back home again!

The engine is thought to have had been built by Davis & Son, later the Davis Dry Dock Co. in Kingston, Ontario. It was said to have been installed in a launch in CT, and purchased by J. Case Tilden of upstate NY who sold it to to Alan Amerian when he built San Joaquin. It is a piston valved, side-valved compound of 3.125 x 5.5 x 5 inch dimensions. It has a Bremme reversing gear.

8. Typical Bremme gear layout

9. Bremme gear on the engine. Note degree offset between the valve eccentric straps

“The boiler was built by Jerry Blaine of California. It is an Roberts/Almy type 3 -Drum water tube. It has 17 x 1" generating tubes on each side with 4" down-commers fore and aft and is all steel, all welded construction, built in the early 1990's. I normally run at 150 psi and the safety is set at 180...”

10. The exposed boiler core showing the original well laid out configuration.

“After seeing some broken ceramic refractory inside the boiler, I decided to strip it. When I removed the wood lagging, I found a surprise that I was unaware of. The boiler casing / inner flue liner, for lack of a better term, was completely shot. It appeared that this boiler had had refractory/liner issues before, as the metal liner was cut open and additional refractory installed (though it subsequently failed). I removed the boiler front casing and noticed further distortion of the metal. I removed the kerosene burners and did a thorough cleaning/ inspection.”

11. Discovery of the kerosene burner placement issue and subsequent damage

As a result of this discovery Alex removed all of the refractory and replaced it with ceramic board. It was then coated in additional ceramic to add rigidity and help contain the fire. He then re-cased the entire boiler in new stainless steel. The kerosene burners were moved keelward to move the fire away from the sidewalls. The original placement of the burners, it seemed, brought the fires too close to the side walls contributing to their disintegration. Future inspections will determine whether this strategy was effective.

“The bilges of the boat were cleaned of 30 years of grease and oil and all of the original wiring of the boat removed. I rewired the boat with marine wiring and marine circuit breakers. I have two tractor batteries in the boat and an onboard battery charger (no way to charge except for shore power). The only electrics on the boat are the navigation lights and a small six volt fuel pump for the kerosene burners. I went the whole week at Lees Mills last year without recharging, so I am very happy with the setup.

12. Rewiring example.

The running gear of the boat was removed in order to replace the cutless shaft bearing. After this, the engine was re-installed as well as the running gear, and my efforts shifted to cosmetic work. “

Alex removed all of the deck hardware and then scraped the teak deck. He then applied eight coats of varnish to the deck sanding between each coat. The interior woodwork was also sanded and re-varnished with a minimum of three coats. Some delamination issues were found in the canopy due to the fiberglass not being wrapped around the edge. The edges were refastened, sealed, and reinforced and protected with half round.

13. Refinished deck and woodwork

The brass and bronze deck hardware had been clear coated and showed significant cracking. Being a saltwater sailor, Alex removed the clear coating and polished each item. Alex and Michelle don't believe in clear coating brass or bronze since it tends to fail in salt water environments. The good news is Michelle doesn't seem to mind polishing brass and there's lots to do on this boat. Lucky Alex!

After the brightwork and brass were restored Alex restruck the water level using a laser and coated the hull with antifouling paint. The boat trailer was then rewired and painted and the boat placed back on the trailer. Four days later it was at Lee's Mills steaming merrily away.

14. Ready to be towed to Lees Mills

This is not a standard love story. A young couple usually restores a house not a steamboat. We have to give Alex and Michelle credit for the magnificent job that they've done and wish them the many years of happy steaming. The Salsbury's experience is a good example of the perspective that one should maintain when buying a second-hand boat. Do a thorough shakedown and detailed inspection ASAP. Be super critical in hunting issues, pursuing their causes and possible wear and design flaws. Lastly, don't assume that your solutions will be completely correctional. Keep your eyes and mind open and, MOSTLY, don't be too proud to enlist the help of others. One of the best reasons to attend steamboat meets is to draw on the experience of experienced “others.” You will certainly learn something beneficial and improve your boat and/or operation strategy every time.

The Ressurection of Hope is both a tribute to the Salsburys and a salute to those young people pursuing our hobby. We need to be more aware and supportive of young people who wish to get involved in steamboating and, as I saw evidenced Lees Mills in 2015, be prepared to help them get started and endure whenever we can. Alex had significant experience in boat building and the good fortune to have his family behind him to help and advise. Most young enthusiasts do not have such luck!

As usual, I have placed an appendix to this article on my website at:

www.earlmorse.org/steamboa.html

You'll find high resolution color photos and other interesting materials there. Scroll down the page and click on the appendix for this article. Please support young enthusiasts wherever you find them whenever you can. Be sure to write about their efforts and needs in this magazine and elsewhere.