Archive for The Unofficial Mamod and Other Steam ForumThe Original Unofficial Toy Steam Forum Established 2006 The biggest, most popular global steam forum around! Accept NO imitations! We have a growing community of regular posting members who chat about all aspects of toy and model steam.
I would hate to get that wet, it is way too beautiful. You must be beside yourself waiting to get it home.
rangerssteamtoys
Beautiful boat. That engine looks like its got plenty of power.
kusuchi
johnreid wrote:
I would hate to get that wet, it is way too beautiful. You must be beside yourself waiting to get it home.
Apparently, it's never been wet. All that is about to change, however.
I can't decide whether to get it packed and shipped now or collect it at STIA 2010.
Les
kusuchi wrote:
johnreid wrote:
I would hate to get that wet, it is way too beautiful. You must be beside yourself waiting to get it home.
Apparently, it's never been wet. All that is about to change, however.
I can't decide whether to get it packed and shipped now or collect it at STIA 2010.
Richard, she is a beauty indeed, you must be dying to get your hands on her so surely your not going to wait over 5 1/2 months to sail her.
kusuchi
Some detail photos just in from Michael.
MooseMan
Oh my giddy aunt................
I NEED to see a video of Topaz and Seekadett cruising side by side in the bay of steam.
Just think of the fun you'll have....you and Andrew can have sail-offs!
That is SO nice I can't even bring myself to be jealous!
Les
I take you have booked you flight to go and pick her up as all these pictures are making me want to go and sail her.
MooseMan
Bowden cables rather than servo push rods.....oh boy that is slick!
kusuchi
Les wrote:
Richard, she is a beauty indeed, you must be dying to get your hands on her so surely your not going to wait over 5 1/2 months to sail her.
Living in the Virgin Islands one soon learns the art of patience. Not sure I've reached that level of mastery, however.
I'll probably e mail the two local export crating and shipping companies tomorrow.
This item does seem a little more delicate than Topaz, however, so I want to be sure they can do as good a crating job as the last company I used.
Thanks everyone for your kind comments. I am, indeed, very excited. She is 8" longer than Topaz and I'm sure I will be equally surprised by her actual size when I finally see her. The pictures never really give one a true impression of scale.
A few observations:
The gas tank and Hemmens attenuator are located under the fore deck egg crate, (which should have been painted silver). Gas in on the port side, out on the starboard. The steam pressure line runs along the port side of the gas tank to the bottom of the attenuator.
The aftermarket whistle is fed by a steam pipe on the port side of the boiler and controlled by a cable, sleeved in a copper pipe on the starboard side of the engine.
The exhaust steam is routed to the separation tank in the starboard 'coal bunker' next to the engine and onwards across the starboard side of the boiler to the funnel.
So what is in the port side 'coal bunker'?
mc_mc
The starboard coal bunker contains the oil separation tank as you say. I believe the portside one contains more RC sevos etc for the whistle, throttle etc. All of the RC stuff was installed by the previous owner. The screw and nut that's protruding is actually the power switch for all of the RC electronics, you pull it up to switch on and press it down to switch off. This was installed by the previous owner as he said it looks better than a plastic switch and I agree with him.
Bernhard
wooww ,,what a boat....great it is,,,,,,,good you have taken the dolls away...not offen you see so well made a boat,,,,,,,,
Regards Bernhard
.
kusuchi
mc_mc wrote:
The starboard coal bunker contains the oil separation tank as you say. I believe the portside one contains more RC sevos etc for the whistle, throttle etc. All of the RC stuff was installed by the previous owner. The screw and nut that's protruding is actually the power switch for all of the RC electronics, you pull it up to switch on and press it down to switch off. This was installed by the previous owner as he said it looks better than a plastic switch and I agree with him.
Very nice. Thanks Michael. A very classy enhancement over Topaz.
Pretty much decided to bring her home asap. Although I have fond memories of Topaz being unveiled at STIA 2009, not sure I can wait that long this time.
kusuchi
Bernhard wrote:
wooww ,,what a boat....great it is,,,,,,,good you have taken the dolls away...not offen you see so well made a boat,,,,,,,,
Regards Bernhard
.
Thanks Bernhard. From you that is high praise indeed.
The launch was built by a former engineer of Bassett Lowke, here in the UK.
The dolls have walked the plank, perhaps my daughter will enjoy playing with them, but they will never appear on the launch again.
steamboatmodel
I didn't think the Dolls were that bad, After all it is a floating dollhouse. What are you going to do for a crew? All boats need a crew when sailing.
Regards,
Gerald.
johnreid
I think Richard needs to find a bigger Launch to put the Dolls in
kusuchi
steamboatmodel wrote:
I didn't think the Dolls were that bad, After all it is a floating dollhouse. What are you going to do for a crew? All boats need a crew when sailing.
Regards,
Gerald.
mc_mc
I feel that I must warn you: Some of the dolls were legless.
kusuchi
mc_mc wrote:
I feel that I must warn you: Some of the dolls were legless.
A common problem amongst Sailors.
johnreid
mc_mc wrote:
I feel that I must warn you: Some of the dolls were legless.
Whittle a wooden leg and give them a parrot. Arrrgggggg
Les
kusuchi wrote:
mc_mc wrote:
I feel that I must warn you: Some of the dolls were legless.
A common problem amongst Sailors.
That's not a problem, James arrived here headless.
mogogear
She looks all that you hoped for Richard!! Vicarious living through you is not at all a bad option till one day I will own my own Seekadett..
Congratulations !! Godspeed for her to be in your hands safely soon!
kusuchi
mogogear wrote:
She looks all that you hoped for Richard!! Vicarious living through you is not at all a bad option till one day I will own my own Seekadett..
Congratulations !! Godspeed for her to be in your hands safely soon!
Let's hope that will be soon, Greg. Thanks for your kind words.
Keith S
I wish I had a Hemmens attenuator.
WTH is a Hemmens attenuator??
mc_mc
Keith S wrote:
WTH is a Hemmens attenuator??
Maybe this will help:
It automatically regulates the gas flow to keep the boiler at a constant pressure. Neat huh?
Keith S
I see... sort of an automatic boiler/fire control. Neat.
logoman
cloud 9 Richard. congratulations and you were correct - it was a steal.
the construction is on another planet!
For me the MH&B engines are in a class of their own.
She throttles amazingly, better than my 2 cylinder. I think the geared shaft operated valves are unique to the MH&B engines, and are a joy to operate.
Steve_S
She's just stunning! What a beauty!
kusuchi
logoman wrote:
cloud 9 Richard. congratulations and you were correct - it was a steal.
the construction is on another planet!
For me the MH&B engines are in a class of their own.
She throttles amazingly, better than my 2 cylinder. I think the geared shaft operated valves are unique to the MH&B engines, and are a joy to operate.
Thanks Miles,
Greatly relieved now she's finally in Micheal's possession. Extremely pleased with what I've seen of the build. And I'm certainly very happy with the price I paid.
Couldn't have wished for a more fortuitous break. The MH&B triple is a very special addition, over and above what I was looking for in the vessel. I must have done something right somewhere! Can't wait to get her home.
Much kudos to Michael, who has gone a very long way beyond the call of duty in my assistance. To this day he is still sending me photos of minor details revealed by his intense and expert scrutiny.
I cannot thank him enough!
IndianaRog
Richard, I have been tardy in my review of this thread, but just made up for it...looked at all the pictures and videos...WOW is simply an understatement.
I didn't think a boat could top your Topaz, but this one does I believe. The power plant is awesome and the overall detail work incredible. Little things like the whistle cable passing thru a copper tube just speak volumes for the quality of the boat and builder.
Man, that is sweet!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rog
kusuchi
Thanks Rog, for your kind comments
I'm inclined to agree. Although I've been searching for this launch for some time I wasn't expecting to eventually acquire quite such a gem. I have indeed been fortunate!
Can't wait to sail the both of them together!
The use of Bowden cables, although most obvious on the aftermarket whistle, is at it's subtle best on the rudder control. The sleeved cables either side of the tiller are truly a credit to the MH&B design. Barely visible in the photos, the copper tubing sleeves curve under the deck on both the port and starboard side to the centrally located servo.
Beautifully authentic and fantastic attention to detail.
I'm thrilled to bits!
kusuchi
Hope to get her shipped out within the week. The gas tank is already on it's way.
Les
kusuchi wrote:
Hope to get her shipped out within the week. The gas tank is already on it's way.
Empty of course.
mc_mc
Les wrote:
kusuchi wrote:
Hope to get her shipped out within the week. The gas tank is already on it's way.
Empty of course.
Well I left the valve open for a couple of days and shook it quite a bit, so it's as empty as I could manage.
kusuchi
mc_mc wrote:
Les wrote:
kusuchi wrote:
Hope to get her shipped out within the week. The gas tank is already on it's way.
Empty of course.
Well I left the valve open for a couple of days and shook it quite a bit, so it's as empty as I could manage.
Les likes to ship his full.
Les
kusuchi wrote:
mc_mc wrote:
Les wrote:
kusuchi wrote:
Hope to get her shipped out within the week. The gas tank is already on it's way.
Empty of course.
Well I left the valve open for a couple of days and shook it quite a bit, so it's as empty as I could manage.
Les likes to ship his full.
Technically I did but I really blame Mamod.
kusuchi
Many thanks to Michael, who is delivering her to the shippers tomorrow.
Hopefully the long voyage across the Atlantic will begin soon.
johnreid
A not much larger boat might make the voyage on its own
I bet you will be sitting on pins and needles till it safely arrives.
Steve_S
johnreid wrote:
A not much larger boat might make the voyage on its own
Really?
(So if I chuck it in the sea at Scarborough.........)
mc_mc
This afternoon the boat made another leg of it's journey to here:
Here it is, it's masts down ready to be put into a custom made packing crate and air freighted down to Richard in the US Virgin Isles:
Let's hope it makes it there safely.
logoman
that place looks like it does a bomb proof job.
Atticman
Wonder how long it will take to get there...
What great co-operation, but I hope youve sneaked a picture or two onto the toy steam bible Mc-Mc
kusuchi
Steve_S wrote:
johnreid wrote:
A not much larger boat might make the voyage on its own
Really?
(So if I chuck it in the sea at Scarborough.........)
GULP
Not Scarborough....for goodness sake.
kusuchi
Atticman wrote:
Wonder how long it will take to get there...
What great co-operation, but I hope youve sneaked a picture or two onto the toy steam bible Mc-Mc
I would guess 2 - 3 weeks barring any screw ups. Hopefully, bypassing the Haz Mat BS should make for smoother sailing.
Can't thank Michael enough for all his assistance. Greatly looking forward to her arrival.
mogogear
I just noted it seems to be painted a more white-ish color on the hull than on other Seekadetts...Am I seeing things wrong?
Not that it matters a bit..It is a find and purchase of a life time
kusuchi
A small photo montage.
Not my first choice of music. The original soundtrack was deleted by You Tube for copyright reasons.
As if a 2.32 minute excerpt from an obscure 5.52 minute jazz track, attached to pictures of a steam launch, could possibly threaten anyone's copyright. If anything, it could only promote the original.
This policy is really starting to p... me off. WMG's naked greed is getting to be something of a joke. The same song is available in an 8.32 minute live version on You Tube in it's entirety.
johnreid
That is such a lovely boat, I cant wait to see a video of it in the VI.
I was reported to YouTube by a "friend" that works for the RIAA and believe that is why each and every time I try to include music on my videos they block it. No music on ,y videos at all.
I would hate to get that wet, it is way too beautiful. You must be beside yourself waiting to get it home.
All that is about to change, however. 
