Is your steam powered boat a little slow?

[Kmot]

I always thought steam powered boats were slow and sedate. I was wrong! :eek:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVN8iHfQl3s&feature=related

[luger007]

Wow! That is one impressive steam powered craft!! Then again when you think about it, a nuclear power plant is pretty much a steam powered turbine.

[Umi_Ryuzuki]

okay, that was cool, but the 300kph tethered car in Brisbane?
What was that?? :confused: I couldn't even see the thing... lol :p

[CG Bob]

In the early days, IMPBA had only tether boats racing against the clock - very similar to the video. From the IMPBA website: "Boating in the early formation days of IMPBA was that of tether boating racing. Tether boating was against the clock, and the procedure was as follows: The course was a 105' diameter circle with a center pole at a maximum of 36" above the water line. The center pole had a free turning pivot at the top and a wire cable running line which measured 52'6" including the boat running bridle. The running bridle had to withstand a 250 pound pull test before it was permitted for use in competition. Once the boat was fired up and ready to run, it was hand launched with a person manning the center pole to hold the running line above water level until the boat was up to speed so the running line would not drag in the water. The boat owner waited until he thought the boat was running at top speed, then he would call for time. The boat had to make four laps in order to be timed. Four laps of the 52'6" radius circle equaled 1/4 mile.

Some of the big names in boating at that time were Ed Kalfus, Joe Horvath (the only two tether boaters to exceed 100 mph), Roger Mathews, Bob Graham, Pete Yauczer, Bob Palmer, Bill Baughman, Max Beiderman, Charles Watkins, and Tom Perzentka.

Radio control boating IMPBA was picked up in the late 1950's and early 60's."

The IMPBA website does list their current record holders. On the 1/16 mile "nitro" straightaway, Sol Robinio set a steamboat record of 9.262 mph in June 1994. The boat in the video appreared to be going much faster than that.

[spacephrawg]

I love the sound that thing makes. It makes me smile.

[toesup]

I always thought steam powered boats were slow and sedate. I was wrong!

Any idea how fast the boat was going?... :eek::eek::eek:

302 MPH (?) for the car?

[Predreadnut]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :)

[Tugboat Andy]

I didn't see them get out of the pond after they unleased that missile! Very brave! :eek:

[Kmot]

Yeah, yeah, yeah........... :rolleyes:

Tether cars, tether boats, etc all NITRO powered. We already knew about them.

This here is STEAM powered. Nuff said....... :D

[rockbus]

How do these steam engines work? Sounds like a pistion engine. Is it like a CO2 engine with the compressed steam?

[flyinghigh]

I love the history lessons though . Now tell me how the steam engine in that boat works .

[nick_75au]

The Engine is generally a poppet valve design, similar to a car engine , the boiler is a 10's of meters of steel tube wound in a coil, the burner is a blowlamp style burning kerosene or paraffin straight into the centre of the coiled tube.

Steam is generated instantaneously by the engine driven pump forcing water at high pressure into the red hot tubing of the boiler, flashing it into steam (flash steam) this steam reaches pressures of around 600 Psi generating tremendous power and high RPM. Its a very tricky balance of temperature, pump volume and engine capacity.

There is almost no steam reserve capacity as in a conventional boiler so a failure of the boiler has little energy behind it, also if the flame is extinguished the engine stops almost immediately.

hope this helps,
Nick

[marker]

The details here
http://steamcar.net/hydroplane.html

Mark

[Kmot]

Thanks for the info and links fella's. Well what do you know, it's a converted IC engine.

I had visions of an oscillator rocking frantically at a bazillion oscillations a minute! :p

[spacephrawg]

Thanks for the info and links fella's. Well what do you know, it's a converted IC engine.

I had visions of an oscillator rocking frantically at a bazillion oscillations a minute! :p

That would be really cool to see. I was on a Steam ferry at Mystic Seaport once that had one of those setups in it. Everyone else was looking at the harbor. I couldnt stop looking at the engine!

[steamboatmodel]

Model Engineering Societys weren't always just trains and engines here are some shots from The Toronto Society of Model Engineers archives:
http://tsme.netfirms.com/index.html
Regards,
Gerald

[graphixman]

Sweet!

[flyinghigh]

Nick and Mark ,
Thanks for the links and the explanations ! I was for some reason thinking it would be a twin piston design in my head though . I wonder how they keep the condensate from building in the chamber ? Maybe so much pressure it blows it out ehh . How is the piston and crank lubed ?

[nick_75au]

The temperature of the steam is high enough that there's no chance of condensate forming in the cylinder, Lubrication is usually force lube from another engine driven pump. It looks like they've set up the Ic engine with a bash valve intake and rely on the standard exhaust.. As the piston rises to TDC it opens up a valve (fitted in the glow plug hole) allowing the steam in.as the piston descends the steam is exhausted at the exhaust port is opened. You can see what i guess is the oil pump on the front of the engine in the first photo in the link.
Nick

[Kmot]

In the pick above of the "Doodlebug 3" it has what looks like a four stroke engine. Anyone have details on that engine?

[steamboatmodel]

In the pick above of the "Doodlebug 3" it has what looks like a four stroke engine. Anyone have details on that engine?
The engines were quite often ether built from plans or home shop creations. I will ask at the next meeting if anyone has any details.
Regards,
Gerald