Re: Paddlewheel drawings
Ron; Good to see some interest in paddlewheelers! I've been working
on paddlewheel designs for some time, and over the past year have
been testing some improvements. Here's some suggestions for your
project:
Bolger's high-speed paddlewheel is a concept, as far as I know,
nothing like this has been used before. The only thing close are
those surf tricycles you see down at Datona Beach and they operate
much slower. His wheel is a closed cylinder with twice the usual
number of paddles of very small breadth. Also, his wheel is wider
and smaller in diameter than what normally would be used on that
small a boat. I short, make allowances so you can easily modify his
design. Use bolts instead of welds, etc.
I haven't done the math, but I suspect even with the motorcycle in
first gear and the reduction you show in the dwgs. the wheel will be
spinning too fast. When the wheel "breaks free" all you'll be doing
is giving your passengers a shower! I suggest you drive an
independent jack shaft, mounted on the transom, then another
reduction to the wheel. This slows the wheel down so you can run
your engine where its torque is highest, provides more thrust, and
you don't have to cut a hole in your transom for the chain. (You
might have to cut a notch though. Then, you can actually shift the
motorcycle for best performance.
Converting a motorcycle engine is rife with problems, to begin with
they are skinny, tall hard to mount and designed to cool in open
air. I suggest you consider a snow-mobile engine. They are about
the same size, 40Hp, low profile, easy to bolt down and come with a
variable speed transmission that you can clamp onto the jackshaft.
You'll need a substantial hub on the wheel's shaft to transmit a lot
of torque to the wheel. Use multiple keyways, no set screws here!
Also, (if you haven't thought of it already) use self-aligning pillow
blocks on your wheelshaft and jackshaft, they make life so easy.
Good luck with your project, I look forward to hearing more. Dan
Bollinger, Wabash River, Indiana
on paddlewheel designs for some time, and over the past year have
been testing some improvements. Here's some suggestions for your
project:
Bolger's high-speed paddlewheel is a concept, as far as I know,
nothing like this has been used before. The only thing close are
those surf tricycles you see down at Datona Beach and they operate
much slower. His wheel is a closed cylinder with twice the usual
number of paddles of very small breadth. Also, his wheel is wider
and smaller in diameter than what normally would be used on that
small a boat. I short, make allowances so you can easily modify his
design. Use bolts instead of welds, etc.
I haven't done the math, but I suspect even with the motorcycle in
first gear and the reduction you show in the dwgs. the wheel will be
spinning too fast. When the wheel "breaks free" all you'll be doing
is giving your passengers a shower! I suggest you drive an
independent jack shaft, mounted on the transom, then another
reduction to the wheel. This slows the wheel down so you can run
your engine where its torque is highest, provides more thrust, and
you don't have to cut a hole in your transom for the chain. (You
might have to cut a notch though. Then, you can actually shift the
motorcycle for best performance.
Converting a motorcycle engine is rife with problems, to begin with
they are skinny, tall hard to mount and designed to cool in open
air. I suggest you consider a snow-mobile engine. They are about
the same size, 40Hp, low profile, easy to bolt down and come with a
variable speed transmission that you can clamp onto the jackshaft.
You'll need a substantial hub on the wheel's shaft to transmit a lot
of torque to the wheel. Use multiple keyways, no set screws here!
Also, (if you haven't thought of it already) use self-aligning pillow
blocks on your wheelshaft and jackshaft, they make life so easy.
Good luck with your project, I look forward to hearing more. Dan
Bollinger, Wabash River, Indiana
GHC wrote:
the outer edge of the motor, so even if the motor were all the way against
the side of the hull, the sprocket would still be ~6" inboard. This would
require the paddlewheel to be that much shorter, and I think I need to keep
as much of it as possible. Also, I don't like the idea of that much weight
offset in so small a boat, due to the possibility (likelihood?) of swamping
when at rest. I also toyed with the idea of a split paddlewheel, with the
chain drive near the center. The biggest problem I have with that is the
hole for the chain drive, and the difficulty of sealing it against water.
Using the jackshaft, I can run it through a stuffing box to keep it
watertight. As far as power through a shaft, the only real difficulty I'm
going to have there is getting adapters machined, and getting it all
properly aligned in place.
Regards,
RonB
>Ron, I would definitely look at shifting that engine to the side toWell, I thought of that. However, the chain drive sprocket is inset from
>eliminate that 2' jack shaft - that's a lot of horsepower. You could move
>yourself, battery, and fuel to starboard...
the outer edge of the motor, so even if the motor were all the way against
the side of the hull, the sprocket would still be ~6" inboard. This would
require the paddlewheel to be that much shorter, and I think I need to keep
as much of it as possible. Also, I don't like the idea of that much weight
offset in so small a boat, due to the possibility (likelihood?) of swamping
when at rest. I also toyed with the idea of a split paddlewheel, with the
chain drive near the center. The biggest problem I have with that is the
hole for the chain drive, and the difficulty of sealing it against water.
Using the jackshaft, I can run it through a stuffing box to keep it
watertight. As far as power through a shaft, the only real difficulty I'm
going to have there is getting adapters machined, and getting it all
properly aligned in place.
Regards,
RonB
Ron, I would definitely look at shifting that engine to the side to
eliminate that 2' jack shaft - that's a lot of horsepower. You could move
yourself, battery, and fuel to starboard...
-GHC
At 12:30 PM 7/27/2000 -0400, you wrote:
eliminate that 2' jack shaft - that's a lot of horsepower. You could move
yourself, battery, and fuel to starboard...
-GHC
At 12:30 PM 7/27/2000 -0400, you wrote:
>I'm continuing to work out how to get the small-scale prototype (for the
>Fast Stern Wheeler) working, and in doing so I've started working on some
>drawings. I've uploaded copies of these (both hi-res for downloading, &
>thumbnail for viewing) into the files section. I'll try to keep these
>updated as I get things sorted out.
>
>There seems to be absolutely no information available on small, high speed
>paddlewheels, so this project will be worked by intuition and trial &
>error. If it does make it to the water, and appears to work after a
>fashion, I'll put together some performance data.
>
>The framework to support the wheel & rudders will be aluminum channel &
>angle. The wheel will be an epoxy-coated sono-tube (commonly used as
>concrete forms), with 1-1/2"x1/8" aluminum angle for the blades.
>
>Skimmer rises up on it's skids on plane. How much so, I don't know. As it
>rises up, there will be less dip on the blades, so they will start to slip
>more as you go faster. We'll call this a safety feature :-) I think the
>height of the wheel will have to be adjustable, at least on the
>prototype. The bottom of the blades, and the bottom of the rudders, will
>be even with the bottom of the skids, so they will be reasonably
>protected. The motorcycle transmission does not have reverse, so damage to
>the rudders while backing won't be much of a problem. The boat is small &
>light enough that I should be able to do the docking manoeuvres with an oar
>or a short pole. If that doesn't work, an electric trolling motor should
>work well as an auxiliary.
>
>More as it happens.
>
>Regards,
>RonB
>
>
>
>
>Bolger rules!!!
>- no cursing
>- stay on topic
>- use punctuation
>- add your comments at the TOP and SIGN your posts
>- add some content: send "thanks!" and "ditto!" posts off-list.
>
>
I'm continuing to work out how to get the small-scale prototype (for the
Fast Stern Wheeler) working, and in doing so I've started working on some
drawings. I've uploaded copies of these (both hi-res for downloading, &
thumbnail for viewing) into the files section. I'll try to keep these
updated as I get things sorted out.
There seems to be absolutely no information available on small, high speed
paddlewheels, so this project will be worked by intuition and trial &
error. If it does make it to the water, and appears to work after a
fashion, I'll put together some performance data.
The framework to support the wheel & rudders will be aluminum channel &
angle. The wheel will be an epoxy-coated sono-tube (commonly used as
concrete forms), with 1-1/2"x1/8" aluminum angle for the blades.
Skimmer rises up on it's skids on plane. How much so, I don't know. As it
rises up, there will be less dip on the blades, so they will start to slip
more as you go faster. We'll call this a safety feature :-) I think the
height of the wheel will have to be adjustable, at least on the
prototype. The bottom of the blades, and the bottom of the rudders, will
be even with the bottom of the skids, so they will be reasonably
protected. The motorcycle transmission does not have reverse, so damage to
the rudders while backing won't be much of a problem. The boat is small &
light enough that I should be able to do the docking manoeuvres with an oar
or a short pole. If that doesn't work, an electric trolling motor should
work well as an auxiliary.
More as it happens.
Regards,
RonB
Fast Stern Wheeler) working, and in doing so I've started working on some
drawings. I've uploaded copies of these (both hi-res for downloading, &
thumbnail for viewing) into the files section. I'll try to keep these
updated as I get things sorted out.
There seems to be absolutely no information available on small, high speed
paddlewheels, so this project will be worked by intuition and trial &
error. If it does make it to the water, and appears to work after a
fashion, I'll put together some performance data.
The framework to support the wheel & rudders will be aluminum channel &
angle. The wheel will be an epoxy-coated sono-tube (commonly used as
concrete forms), with 1-1/2"x1/8" aluminum angle for the blades.
Skimmer rises up on it's skids on plane. How much so, I don't know. As it
rises up, there will be less dip on the blades, so they will start to slip
more as you go faster. We'll call this a safety feature :-) I think the
height of the wheel will have to be adjustable, at least on the
prototype. The bottom of the blades, and the bottom of the rudders, will
be even with the bottom of the skids, so they will be reasonably
protected. The motorcycle transmission does not have reverse, so damage to
the rudders while backing won't be much of a problem. The boat is small &
light enough that I should be able to do the docking manoeuvres with an oar
or a short pole. If that doesn't work, an electric trolling motor should
work well as an auxiliary.
More as it happens.
Regards,
RonB